Disclosure Scotland PVG Changes

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Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) - Information for Recipients and their Personal Assistants (PAs)

This advice is for Recipients / Award Managers and Personal Assistants (PAs) in Scotland.

What is the PVG Scheme?

The PVG Scheme, managed by Disclosure Scotland, is where a criminal record and suitability check is undertaken to ensure people are safe to work with children and / or vulnerable adults.

The PVG Scheme is for those in regulated roles. A Personal Assistant (PA) is considered to be a regulated role.

Changes to Legislation

From 1 April 2025, changes to the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 meant that people working in a regulated role must register to become a member of the PVG scheme.

It is a legal requirement for any PAs who support you to join the PVG scheme and it will be a criminal offence for the PA to work in a regulated role if they do not have a PVG membership. This includes both employed and self-employed PAs.

The employer cannot be held accountable if the PA does not join the PVG Scheme. However, you should be aware of the need to make sure your PA is aware of this legal requirement.

At your review visit, the assessor will ask for information on the number of PAs you employ and the number that are registered as a PVG member, and this information will be recorded on your ILF Scotland file.

Exceptions to Mandatory Membership

There are some exceptions to PVG membership, which apply if:

They have a personal relationship with you and do not get paid to support you.
They are living with you as a “family member”, defined as “a relationship between two people who live in the same household and treat each other as though they were members of the same family”

How to Apply to the PVG Scheme:

To apply for the PVG Scheme, PAs should use the information and link to the application form at Disclosure Scotland - mygov.scot and make sure they use the link for PAs.

If you are a personal assistant, self-employed or work for an individual - mygov.scot

Details of what is shown on the disclosure results can also be found on the Disclosure Scotland website.

If your PA is joining the PVG scheme for the first time, or they are an existing member for another group (e.g. children) and are now working with vulnerable adults, they should apply for a Confirmation of PVG scheme membership (Join).

If they are an existing member continuing to work with the same vulnerable group on their membership but have a new employer, they should apply for a Confirmation of PVG scheme membership (Existing).

Your PA can join the PVG Scheme without any involvement from you, or they can ask you to countersign their application. If you countersign the application, you will receive a copy of the results of the disclosure check. Otherwise, you should ask your PA to share the results of the application with you.

Applications and Cost

The cost of joining the PVG Scheme is usually £59, and £18 for a Confirmation of Membership. However, for applications received from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027, a PVG Fee Waiver will apply, if the following steps are followed on the application process.

The PVG Fee Waiver will apply to PAs directly paid by their employer who receives their funding via Self-Directed Support Option 1 and / or Independent Living Fund Scotland.

PAs should submit an offline application by email using the links on the Disclosure Scotland website. Please ensure that the prefix FSC is clearly included in both the Position Applied For field and the Personal Employer section of the application form. The submission email must also include FSC in the subject line. The payment section of the form should be left blank.

If you have any questions relating to the fee waiver, please contact socialcarefairwork@gov.scot.

How long does PVG Membership last?

As of 1 April 2026, the PVG Scheme has moved from a lifetime membership to a five-year membership. Anyone joining the scheme from that date will receive a five-year membership. Renewal will be required every five years to remain a PVG scheme member. The renewal process is separate from applying for a disclosure.

If your PA is already a PVG member in the lifetime scheme, no action is needed at this stage, but Disclosure Scotland will contact them at some point as part of a phased transition of moving members from the lifetime scheme to the five-year membership scheme.

Details of this change can be found at:

Five-year PVG scheme membership now in place - Disclosure Scotland