Scottish Government previously announced that the cost of Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme applications has been waived for eligible workers joining social care services in the third sector, private sector, and independent sector. Disclosure Scotland has now provided information regarding this eligibility, and how to apply for the fee waiver on PVG scheme applications.

The waiver applies to workers in social care commissioned services in the sectors listed above, and workers must be working in a new role as a manager, supervisor, practitioner or support worker within eligible service areas. This waiver applies to PVG scheme applications received by Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services (VSDS) and submitted to Disclosure Scotland between Saturday 1 August 2026 and Saturday 31 July 2027, when the waiver will end.

Eligibility Criteria

The waiver applies to workers in social care commissioned services in the third sector, private sector, and independent sector. To qualify, workers must:

be taking up a new job, or taking up a new position with their existing employer, in an eligible role (listed below)
have made a PVG scheme application between Saturday 1 August 2026 and Saturday 31 July 2027

Eligible Roles

Please note, early learning and childcare (ELC) roles are not covered by this fee waiver.

Workers must be working in a new role as a manager, supervisor, practitioner or support worker, in one of the following service areas:

adult services:
- care homes
- care at home services
- day care services
- housing support
- adult placement services
- respite services
children’s services:
- care homes for children and young people
- residential school care accommodation
- secure accommodation services
- care at home and housing support for under 18s

Personal assistants: The waiver also applies to personal assistants who are directly paid by an employer funded through Self-Directed Support Option 1 and/or Independent Living Fund Scotland. This includes children’s personal assistants.

How to Apply

If a role requires membership of the PVG scheme, is a paid post and the employee or organisation is applying through VSDS, the application must be submitted as normal via the VSDS page.

When applying, you must tick “yes” for a paid post, and enter “FSC” in the “Position Applied For” field, alongside the job title. VSDS will then process your application to Disclosure Scotland, and no payment will be required by the applicant or organisation.

Personal Assistants

Personal assistants should submit an offline application directly to Disclosure Scotland by email instead. You must include the prefix “FSC” in both the “Position Applied For” field and the “Personal Employer” section of the form, and in the email subject line. The payment section should be left blank.