Get Garda vetting in Ireland

You cannot apply for Garda vetting on your own. Here is how it works through your employer or club, what to have ready, and how long it takes.

Garda vetting checks whether someone who works or volunteers with children or vulnerable adults has a criminal record. You cannot apply yourself: the organisation you will work or volunteer with starts it, and you then fill in an online form from the National Vetting Bureau.

Do you need it?

You need vetting if your role involves work with children or vulnerable adults. This includes staff, volunteers, students and apprentices in childcare, schools, health services, sports clubs and similar groups. Private security staff, such as door supervisors, must also be vetted.

What you need

• A valid email address and internet access
• Current photo ID with your name and date of birth
• Proof of address with your name on it, dated in the last 6 months
• Every address you have lived at since birth, with no gaps in years
• Any other names you have used, such as a married name or deed poll name
• Details of any convictions or pending court cases, in Ireland or abroad
• If you are 16 or 17: a Parent/Guardian Consent Form signed by a parent or guardian

Step by step

1. Ask the organisation for its vetting invitation form and fill it in.
2. Show your ID and proof of address. The organisation checks them, usually in person, using the NVB1 or NVB2 Identity Document Validation form.
3. Open the email with your secure link from the National Vetting Bureau at vetting.garda.ie.
4. Log on with the email address from the invitation and your date of birth.
5. Fill in every screen in one sitting. You have 2 hours and cannot save part of the form.
6. Add each past address with Add New Address and each conviction with Add.
7. Check the summary page and click Finish.
8. Wait for the organisation to review your form and send it to the Bureau.
9. Get your copy of the vetting disclosure from the organisation when it arrives.

How much it costs and how long it takes

Some cases take longer, for example if you lived in the UK or another EU country for 6 months or more. There is no fast-track service. The Bureau's pages do not list a fee for applicants, so ask your organisation if it charges anything.

Common mistakes

• Letting the link expire. It lasts 30 days. A reminder comes after 21 days.
• Leaving gaps in your address history.
• Carrying on when your pre-filled details are wrong. Stop and ask the organisation for a new form.
• Asking the Gardaí for vetting to emigrate. You need a Police Certificate instead.

Related guides

• How to change your name by deed poll
• How to get a document apostilled or authenticated
• How to get a PPS number
• How to get a Public Services Card