Request information under Clare's Law: Make a Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) application
This form isn't for reporting domestic abuse. If you need to do that, please report a crime.
This scheme enables the police to release information about any previous history of violence or abuse a person might have.
Under Clare's Law you can:
- apply for information about your current or ex-partner because you're worried they may have a history of abuse and are a risk to you
- request information about the current or ex-partner of a friend or relative because you're worried they might be at risk
Please note: The Clare’s Law (DVDS) scheme does not replace: CRB (Criminal Record Bureau) Checks, DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks, subject access requests or FOI requests.
Advice tool
Request information under Clare's Law: Make a Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) application
You can make a DVDS request in two ways, online or at a police station.
Online
You'll need the following details, if possible, to make your request:
- the full name and any previous names of the person you're applying to find out about (in the request process this person is known as the 'subject')
- the current address and any previous addresses in the last five years for the subject
- we’ll ask you, as part of your request, how you’d like to be contacted. We’ll only contact you that way. We’ll also ask about when it’s best to contact you, eg dates and times.
Average completion time: 15 minutes.
Please note: You won't be able to save your request as you go; you'll have two hours to complete each step of the form before it times out.
Click 'Start' below to begin your request.
At a police station
You can go to any police station to make a request. A police officer or member of police staff will take down some details and talk you through the next steps.
You'll be asked to give your:
- name
- address
- date of birth
A safe means of contacting you will be agreed and we'll carry out some initial checks to make sure there are no immediate risks or concerns. If there are, or if you tell us a crime has happened (domestic abuse is a crime), we may act on that.
What happens after I make a request?
We aim to do an initial review of the application within 24 hours to assess whether:
- the application will progress
- there is any immediate or imminent risk
If the application does progress it will be referred to a team / unit to follow up and they'll aim to contact you about a face to face meeting, if one is required, within 10 working days of your application being made.
At that meeting you'll need to bring proof of your identity, ideally photo ID which has your date of birth and address on it (eg a passport or driving licence).
If you don't have a passport or driving licence, we may accept another form of photo ID, a birth certificate, utility bill or bank statement.
If we do decide to share information about the person you've made a request about, we'll only share that information with the person who is at risk of harm or the person who is best placed to protect that person from harm.
If we think someone is at risk, we or our partner agencies, will take action.
We aim to complete applications within 28 working days, but there may be reasons why it takes longer than this. If it does, we will let you know.
If you think someone is at risk, or you suspect or know about domestic abuse happening, please call us on 101 or report it to us online.