Digital Right to Work Checks: What UK Employers Need to Know About IDVT and DVS
Since April 2022, UK employers have had a third option for right to work checks — not just manual document inspection or the Home Office online service, but a fully digital route using certified identity providers. If you've never used it, or you're still referring to it as an "IDSP check" rather than a "DVS check", here's what you need to know following the June 2025 update to the employer's guide to right to work checks.
This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice on your specific situation, consult a qualified immigration solicitor.
What changed in June 2025
The employer's guide updated in June 2025 introduces new terminology that aligns with the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. The service that employers use to run digital checks is now called a Digital Verification Service (DVS) rather than an Identity Service Provider (IDSP). The underlying technology — Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT) — remains the same; only the framework terminology changed.
If you see "IDSP" in older guidance or from a provider, it means the same thing as DVS in current guidance. The check itself hasn't changed.
Who can be verified this way
Digital right to work checks using a DVS are only available for:
- British citizens with a valid UK passport
- Irish citizens with a valid Irish passport or Irish passport card
That's it. If your employee has any other type of immigration status — EU settled status, a work visa, a share code — they cannot use the DVS route. For those employees, you continue using the Home Office online right to work service with a share code, or a manual document check in specific circumstances.
What a DVS check involves
A certified Digital Verification Service uses IDVT to verify the identity of the person against their passport. From the employer's side, the process typically works like this:
- The employee completes a digital identity check through the provider's platform (usually via a smartphone app or web portal) — uploading a scan of their passport and taking a biometric selfie
- The DVS verifies the passport's authenticity and confirms the person matches the document
- The employer receives an output showing the result, the document checked, and the date of the check
- The employer reviews the output and confirms they are satisfied with it
You cannot simply ask an employee to show you the DVS result on their own phone — you need to receive and store the output yourself. The employer's guide is clear: you must "retain a clear copy of the check for the duration of the employment and for two years after the employment has come to an end."
What statutory excuse a DVS check gives you
A DVS check by a certified provider gives you a continuous statutory excuse — the same protection as a List A manual document check. You don't need to run follow-up checks on an employee you've verified through a certified DVS, because the check establishes that the person is a British or Irish citizen (and therefore permanently entitled to work in the UK).
Compare this to the online share code check for visa holders, which only gives you a statutory excuse until the employee's permission expires — after which you need to run a follow-up check. DVS avoids that recurring obligation for British and Irish staff.
The catch: the statutory excuse only applies if you use a certified provider and receive the check output correctly. Using a provider that isn't certified, or treating a DVS check as equivalent to just viewing the employee's own screen, doesn't give you a statutory excuse.
How to find a certified provider
The government maintains a statutory register of certified digital identity services. As of December 2025, this is available through the list of certified digital identity and attribute services on GOV.UK.
You can search the register to verify that a specific provider holds current certification. A provider telling you they are certified is not sufficient — check the register yourself, particularly as certification can lapse.
Well-known providers in this space include TrustID, Yoti, Experian, and others listed on the register. Pricing varies significantly — most charge per-check, with discounts at volume. For micro-employers with occasional British/Irish hires, the cost per check may not be justified compared to a free manual check.
DVS vs manual check vs online check — which to use
| Employee type | Manual check | DVS check | Online share code check |
|---|---|---|---|
| British citizen with passport | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Irish citizen with passport | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| EU citizen (settled/pre-settled status) | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Non-EU visa holder (eVisa) | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Awaiting Home Office decision | Via ECS | ✗ | Via ECS |
For British and Irish citizens, all three routes that apply (manual and DVS) provide equivalent statutory excuse. DVS is faster and doesn't require the employee to be present in person — useful for remote hires. Manual is free. Both give continuous (not time-limited) statutory excuse.
For everyone else, you use the online service or the Employer Checking Service.
What records to keep
Whether you use a DVS or a manual check, your record-keeping obligations are the same:
- A copy of the document verified (for manual checks: a photocopy of the relevant pages)
- For DVS: a copy of the check output showing the result, the document, and the date
- The date you made the check
- For online checks: a downloaded copy of the profile page showing immigration status, photo, and check date
Retention period: the duration of employment plus two years after the person leaves. Then securely destroy.
The employer's guide is explicit: if you don't record the date you conducted the check, you may face a civil penalty even if the employee actually has the right to work.
Why DVS checks don't change your follow-up obligations for everyone else
A common misconception: if a business uses DVS for British staff, people assume the digital approach extends to visa holders. It doesn't. For any employee whose check was done via the online share code system — EU settled status holders, eVisa holders, work visa holders — you still have follow-up obligations when their immigration permission expires.
See our guide to follow-up right to work checks for how those timelines work, and our follow-up check timeline calculator to track expiry dates automatically.
The practical case for (and against) DVS
The case for: remote hiring is cleaner without DVS — no need to arrange an in-person document inspection. DVS also removes the risk of human error in assessing document authenticity. For recruiters or employers with high British/Irish passport holder volume, the time saving is real.
The case against: for micro-employers running occasional checks, the cost per check (typically £5-20 depending on provider) may not justify the benefit over a free manual document check. A manual check of a British passport is simple — the document is clear, the authenticity markers are familiar, and the process takes minutes.
The decision isn't regulatory — both routes are equally valid. It's operational.