BS7858 in one paragraph
BS7858 is the British Standard for screening people who work in a secure environment. Its full title is BS 7858:2019 Screening of individuals working in a secure environment — Code of practice, published by BSI, the UK national standards body. It sets out how an employer should confirm that a candidate is who they say they are, has the right to work in the UK, and has an accounted-for history over at least the last five years — before trusting them with people, property, cash or sensitive sites.
The current edition is BS 7858:2019, which replaced the 2012 version. When people say “BS7858 vetting”, “BS7858 screening” or “a BS7858 check”, they mean screening carried out to this standard.
Who needs BS7858 screening?
BS7858 is a code of practice, not a law. Nobody is prosecuted for not following it. In practice, though, it is mandatory for large parts of the security sector because other schemes and contracts depend on it:
- SIA Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) — security companies applying for or holding approved contractor status are expected to screen staff to BS7858.
- Certification bodies such as NSI and SSAIB audit security service and systems companies against it.
- Client contracts and insurers — data centres, banks, cash-in-transit operators, airports and critical national infrastructure frequently write BS7858 into their supplier requirements.
Typical roles include security officers, door supervisors, CCTV operators, cash-in-transit crews, data-centre engineers, event security, facilities staff at high-security buildings and field engineers. See BS7858 screening by industry.
What does a BS7858 check involve?
A screening programme built to BS7858:2019 covers:
- Identity verification — confirming identity, current address and date of birth.
- Right to work in the UK, following Home Office guidance.
- A 5-year history of employment, education, self-employment and any time out of work — or back to age 16 if that is more recent. Some roles and clients require 10 years.
- Gap verification — any gap of more than 31 days must be backed by documentary evidence. See the 31-day gap rule.
- Financial checks — County Court Judgments, bankruptcy, insolvency and individual voluntary arrangements.
- Criminal record — a self-declaration of unspent convictions, alongside a criminal record check at basic disclosure level.
Many employers also add sanctions and politically exposed person (PEP) checks, and roles that need an SIA licence include a licence check. Our BS7858 checklist sets every item out in order.
How long does BS7858 screening take?
The slow part of BS7858 is rarely the checks themselves — it is waiting on former employers and referees, and chasing candidates for gap evidence. Bureau screening is often quoted in weeks for that reason.
The standard lets a candidate start work before everything is finished. Once limited screening is complete they can begin under conditional employment, as long as full screening is completed within 12 weeks (16 weeks for 10-year screening). See limited screening and conditional employment.
On Yezda, candidates can be conditionally cleared within hours, and a full, verifiable certificate typically takes around 2 working days. Referee response times are the main variable.
Can you run BS7858 screening in-house?
Yes. Nothing in the standard requires a third-party bureau — the employer is responsible for the screening decision either way. What makes in-house screening hard is the admin: collecting documents, chasing referees, reconciling five years of history and keeping an audit trail.
That is what Yezda is for. It is self-serve BS7858 screening software: the platform collects and chases everything, detects gaps, and your own team reviews each case and signs it off. Every case ends in a branded certificate anyone can verify online.