A Right-to-Work DVS Check Now Needs a Registered Provider
From 1 October 2026, UK employers choosing a digital verification service (DVS) for right-to-work checks need a provider registered for that purpose under SI 2026/700. The instrument was made in June and commenced on 1 October. A generic DVS certificate is insufficient.
The final Home Office employer guide was added on 1 October after a draft update in September. Its final text is the reference for checks from commencement.
Check the provider's right-to-work entry
The regulations define a right-to-work DVS provider, or RtW DVSP, by a note on its register entry. For each check, the employer needs two confirmations: the entry carries the relevant supplementary-code note, and the service supplied for that check followed the code. The confirmations concern the actual provider and check, not the platform brand.
The public OfDIA register guidance lets the hiring team search for a provider, view its listed services and check its certificate.
The Home Office guide for employers says an intermediary screening platform must identify the registered RtW DVSP that performed the check. The employer needs the provider's output, must compare the photograph and biographical details with the person presenting for work, and must keep a clear copy during employment and for two years afterwards before secure disposal. Facial recognition is optional. If used for the prescribed comparison, it must be provided by a registered RtW DVSP.
The related right-to-rent changes also took effect on 1 October, but that scheme applies to qualifying residential tenancies in England. A landlord choosing a DVSP needs a provider registered for right-to-rent checks. Right-to-work registration does not cover lettings by itself. The Home Office landlord code explains the separate duties.
Keep the other permitted routes available
Using a DVS is optional. The Home Office discrimination code says employers must not treat applicants less favourably because they use another permitted check. Someone who can use physical documents may choose that route. The Home Office online check is separate and may be required for an eVisa holder, so a blanket promise of a manual option would also be wrong.
This creates a handoff between procurement and recruitment. Procurement may approve a supplier while a recruiter sees only an onboarding screen. A platform contract does not identify the entity behind each result. Make that identity visible in the hiring review. Ask procurement to name the registered service in its supplier record and give recruiters a way to see when that service changes. A contract review done only at onboarding will not catch a later provider switch.
An exception path matters too. If the service is unavailable or cannot match an image, the team needs a way to decide which permitted route applies to that person. A failed digital check should lead to review, not an automatic conclusion about immigration status. Give that decision a named owner and tell the applicant which evidence can be used next. Otherwise, an ordinary technical failure could become an unexplained rejection before anyone considers the permitted options. These are workflow recommendations drawn from the published requirements, not extra statutory conditions.
Primary sources
- UK statutory instrument 2026/700
- Home Office employer guide publication page
- Home Office employer guide, PDF
- OfDIA DVS register guidance
- Home Office discrimination code
- Home Office right-to-rent code
This article provides general operational information, not legal advice.
