Associates Disclosure Planner
This tool is designed to help you think through your relationships objectively before you start your formal vetting paperwork. It focuses on preparation, not judgement.
Do not enter names or sensitive details • Independent guidance only
How a relative or associate is actually assessed
Anyone connected to you who comes up in vetting is treated as a third party: parents, partners, ex-partners, siblings, children, extended family, co-residents, friends, and associates such as business partners. A third party is assessed if they have convictions or cautions for recordable offences, or there is intelligence suggesting involvement in criminal activity. The decision uses the same two-stage test as the rest of vetting, and it is made by the force vetting manager or a nominated decision-maker, not by recruitment.
| Factor in the guidance | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Nature of the relationship | A parent you live with is different from a cousin you see at weddings. |
| Your openness, or likely awareness | Whether you declared them, or were very likely unaware of their activity. |
| How recent the police interest was | Recent matters weigh more than old ones. |
| Evidence of distance | Whether you live apart and how often, and what type of contact you have. |
| Any financial relationship | Shared finances, a business together, or maintenance payments. |
| Whether you might handle their information | The likelihood of coming across them in the job, or being asked to handle their data. |
| Effect on your duty | Whether you could face adverse pressure or a conflict of interest. |
| Nature, number and seriousness of offences | Including how long the activity went on, and any ongoing investigation that may need monitoring. |
Factors from the College of Policing Vetting APP (May 2025), Appendix N, section 6.1.
Refusal, or a risk-managed approach?
The guidance does not treat every concern as a refusal. Where a risk is identified but can be managed, clearance can be granted with conditions, and you should normally be told what they are. Every force also has a notifiable association policy, which exists to support people who disclose relationships that could compromise their work, safety or reputation, so that risks can be managed and advice given. Refusal is most likely where the concern is serious, current and close, or where the applicant has not been open about it.
Who you will be asked to list
Forces use the national sample form or their own version of it, so read the wording on yours. The College of Policing sample form and force pages such as Lancashire's show what is normally required.
| Who | What the forms ask |
|---|---|
| Partner | Full details of your current partner. |
| Ex-partners | Anyone you separated from or ended a relationship with in the last three years, and anyone you have a child with, regardless of when. |
| Children | National sample form: all children regardless of age, including step, adopted, foster and partner's children. Lancashire's list asks about children over 10, and the APP's table of standard checks covers children aged 10 and over. Follow your force's wording. |
| Parents | Biological, adoptive, step-parents and legal guardians, plus their current partners. |
| Siblings | Full, half, step and adopted siblings. |
| Partner's parents | Listed on the form; Lancashire also names them. |
| Co-residents | Everyone you live with. |
| Anyone you know with a record | Anyone, including relatives, you know or have reason to believe has convictions, is or was engaged in criminal activity, or associates regularly with criminals. |
| Other risks | People connected with extreme groups, people whose work could create a conflict (private investigators, journalists, defence legal teams), and people dismissed from the police. |
The guidance defines associating broadly. It includes an acquaintance, friendship or relationship, simply knowing someone even if you have no contact, being a member of the same group, and communicating by phone or social media as well as in person.
How to declare someone well
Source: Vetting APP (May 2025), Appendix I, notifiable associations questions 8.13 to 8.17.
Next steps, free first
Work through the free planner above, then use the free vetting stage checker to see where you are in the process. If you want a written read on your own circumstances, the AI Vetting Assessment gives a free overview, and the full report (£19.99) adds a draft disclosure paragraph. It prepares you; it does not predict the outcome.
Defining The Associate
The national vetting form's definition is wide: an acquaintance, friendship or relationship, simply knowing someone even with no contact, belonging to the same group, or keeping in touch by phone or social media. What you must declare under the associations questions is narrower: people you know, or have reason to believe, have convictions, are or were involved in crime, have extremist links, could create a conflict of interest, or were dismissed from policing.
Close Contact
People you live with, see regularly or are close to. The guidance lists a close emotional or social connection, or living near each other, among the factors against clearance where the person is involved in crime.
- Cohabitants and Partners
- Immediate Family (Parents/Siblings)
- Constant Social Contacts
Casual Contact
Distant relatives or former colleagues you rarely see are less likely to matter. If you know they have a record or are involved in crime, the form still asks you to declare them.
- Distant Relatives
- Professional Acquaintances
- Former Colleagues
The Coercion Audit
The national form explains that vetting assesses associations that could lead to compromise, corruption, coercion, adverse pressure, a conflict of interest or reputational damage. If a close friend is involved in crime, the concern is not necessarily that you are, but that you could be pressured or influenced, for example into looking up or sharing police information.
Source
Vetting APP (May 2025), Appendix I, notifiable associations guidance.
Who you are asked about depends on your force's form. Standard recruitment vetting (RV) asks about your partner, ex-partners, parents, siblings, children and anyone you live with, and separately asks whether you know or associate with anyone, including relatives, who has convictions or is involved in criminal activity. The table in the next section shows the detail.
"Each case must be decided on its own merits." Vetting Code of Practice, 5.6
Regularity of Contact
If you have a cousin with a conviction whom you only see once a year at a wedding, your risk profile is vastly different from someone who lives with that person. Vetting officers look for the level of "access" an associate has to your life. The more intertwined your lives are, the more detail you will need to provide.
The Risk Spectrum
Knowing someone with a record does not mean you fail. The guidance lists factors on both sides: evidence of distance and openness support clearance, while a close relationship, recent or serious offending, money links and non-disclosure count against it. Leaving out an association you knew about is itself one of the factors against.
Disclosure is your
Primary Tool
The national form says declaring an association and what you know about it is likely to reduce risk, because it allows open conversations and tailored advice. Openness supports clearance, though the APP says it is not an overriding factor on its own (8.8.3).
The guidance says declaring an association is likely to reduce risk, because it allows open conversations and tailored advice.
If you are unsure whether someone should go on the form, the forces' own advice is to include them. Lancashire Constabulary says: "If you are unsure whether something should be declared, include it." joiningthepolice.co.uk suggests contacting your preferred force's vetting unit for advice before you apply if you are worried.
The Family Audit
Family checks worry many applicants. It is important to remember that you cannot choose your family, but you can choose how you interact with them. Vetting teams are not looking for a "perfect" family tree; they are looking for a candidate who is not compromised by their environment.
Immediate Family Focus
Parents (including step-parents), siblings, half-siblings and step-siblings are all listed on the form and checked against police records. Give their full names, dates of birth and addresses, or as much as you know if you are estranged.
Estrangement
If you cannot give full details for someone, give as much as you know (dates and places of birth, known addresses, ages) and say why the rest is missing. Estranged relatives still count: Lancashire Constabulary, for example, says estranged family members with a record must be included.
Extended Circles
Aunts, uncles and cousins are not on the standard family list, but the form asks whether you know or associate with anyone, including relatives, who has convictions or is involved in crime. The guidance says associating includes simply knowing someone, even with no contact.
Children: follow your force's wording
Some forces ask about children over the age of 10 (Lancashire's form does), while the national sample form in the College of Policing guidance asks for all children regardless of age, including step, adopted, foster and partner's children. Answer the question as your own force's form words it. The concern is loyalty and conflicts of interest, not the child.
One of the most frequent misconceptions is that a family member's criminal record is an automatic bar. This is False. The force looks at the nature of the crimes, how long ago they happened, and whether the relative is still involved in criminality. Time since the offences and their seriousness are both listed factors, so an old, minor matter is weighed very differently from recent or serious involvement.
Managing Family Risk
When declaring family members with convictions, describe the relationship as it really is: how often you are in contact, whether you live together, and whether you share money or property. Only state boundaries that are true. If they are, say so plainly; if they are not, do not claim them, because the vetting unit may ask about them at interview.
Partners & Social Circles
Partners, ex-partners and friends are third parties too. The same factors apply: how close the relationship is, how recent and serious any offending is, any shared finances, and whether you have been open about it.
The Partner Check
"Your partner's details go on your form and are checked against police records, like any other third party. A partner's record is weighed on the same factors as anyone else's: the nature of the relationship, your openness, how recent and serious it is, and any financial connection."
Close Friends
The form asks whether you know, or have reason to believe, that anyone you associate with has convictions or is involved in crime. Failing to disclose something you reasonably knew about may cause your integrity to be questioned. You are not expected to investigate your friends, and you must not run police checks to find out.
Ex-Partners
The form asks about ex-partners from the last three years, and anyone you share a child with, to understand any influence or loyalty that may remain, especially where there are joint responsibilities such as children, finances or a mortgage. If you have safety concerns because of domestic abuse, say so on the form: the process takes safeguarding needs into account.
Digital Echoes
The guidance says membership of an organisation whose aims contradict the duty to promote racial, religious and social equality is incompatible with vetting clearance, and that includes casual association online such as following, subscribing to, commenting on, sharing or liking its posts. Association covers phone and social media contact, not just meeting in person.
Relationships are weighed, not banned. Silence does.
Context and honesty matter more than who you know. Use the builder to structure your history and document your boundaries clearly.
The Risk Audit
Beyond the relationship itself, Appendix N of the APP asks decision-makers to think about what could go wrong in practice if you were appointed. Four of its questions are summarised below.
Priority 01
Pressure
Could your performance of duty be adversely affected, for example through pressure or a conflict of interest? A financial relationship with the person is listed separately as a factor.
Priority 02
Information
Is there potential for information leakage, and how likely is it that you would come across the person or be asked to handle their information in your job?
Priority 03
Reputation
Are the circumstances likely to bring discredit to, or embarrass, the police service, or damage the force's operational capability?
Priority 04
Distance
Evidence of distance between you and the associate is one of the factors the guidance lists, so a genuine change in circumstances can matter.
The Golden Rule
"Failure to disclose knowledge of associates' criminal activities ... may cause your integrity to be questioned."
From the national vetting form guidance (Vetting APP, Appendix I), which adds that it "could result in your vetting clearance being declined". Declaring someone does not guarantee clearance, but it lets you explain the relationship yourself.
Professional Preparation
Preparation is the difference between a panicked response and a steady, professional one. Follow this structured roadmap to build a consistent and high-integrity disclosure.
Audit Your Circle
Do not rely on memory. Work through every relationship your force's form names, including step and half relatives and your partner's parents, and gather full names, dates of birth and addresses. Some forces, such as Avon and Somerset, say it is your responsibility to tell the people you list that they will be checked. Do not run, or ask anyone to run, police checks.
Structure the Facts
Use neutral, factual language and only state what is true and what you actually know: dates, the nature of the relationship, how often you are in contact, and whether you live together or share money. If you do not know something, say so rather than guess.
"I am declaring my [relationship], [name, date of birth, address]. To my knowledge they were [convicted of / investigated for] [what you know] in [year]. We [do / do not] live together. We are in contact [how often, and how]. [Any shared finances or property, or none]."
These are the details the national form asks for. Fill in only what is true for you, and say plainly what you do not know.
Common Pitfalls
"Who your relatives are is weighed on the facts. Leaving them off the form is what turns it into an integrity problem."
Missing Step and Half Relatives
joiningthepolice.co.uk lists "not providing a full list of family members, including step family and half siblings" among the most common errors. Answer each question as your form words it; you do not need to list people the form does not ask about.
Guessing the Rules
Do not decide for yourself what "matters". The national form asks for every significant relationship in the last three years, whether or not you lived together, and anyone you share children with. It says casual relationships are not required.
Review our full guide on Common Vetting Mistakes to ensure you aren't accidentally creating risk where none exists.
If you were refused because of family or associates
This is one of the hardest outcomes to read, because the guidance says the results of checks on family members and associates should not be disclosed to the applicant. Forces are still expected to give as much information as possible, including what is in the public domain, and to tell you about your right to appeal.
- Ask for the rationale. Your letter should give reasons or say why it cannot.
- Consider the three appeal grounds: the decision was unreasonable; there is information that could not reasonably have been considered and could have materially affected the decision; or a procedure was breached or there was unfairness. New information about your distance from the person, or an error about who they are, can fit the second ground. Since 13 July 2026 this appeal is a legal right for police officer candidates (reg 4G); see how to appeal a vetting decision.
- Remember it is not a permanent record of guilt. The guidance says a declined clearance does not set a precedent, and cannot be the reason for a later refusal where circumstances have changed or the risk is reduced.
Our full guide to failed police vetting due to family sets out the factors for and against clearance in the College's guidance, the possible outcomes, what the force must tell you and when you can apply again. For refusals on any ground, see what happens if you fail vetting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a family member's criminal record make you fail police vetting?
Why do people fail police vetting due to family?
Who do I have to list on the police vetting form?
Do I have to declare a relative I have not spoken to for years?
What if I did not know about a relative's or friend's criminal history?
Do friends and ex-partners count as associates in police vetting?
Will I be told which relative caused a refusal?
Can I appeal or reapply if I was refused because of family or associates?
How should I explain a relative's conviction on the form?
Do social media connections or likes count as associations?
Disclaimer: This guide is independent information. Always follow instructions from your force vetting unit and recruitment team. If you are unsure about disclosure, ask your force for guidance.
Sources used on this page
- Vetting authorised professional practice (College of Policing, May 2025) - Appendix N section 6 (associations), Appendix I (national vetting form) and sections 6.3, 9.8.3 and 10.
- Vetting Code of Practice - the two-stage vetting test (section 5.6).
- Police constable pre-employment guidance (College of Policing, April 2024) - relatives and associates with criminal convictions or cautions.
- Lancashire Constabulary vetting page - an example of a force listing who must be declared, including children over 10 and a partner's parents; "if you are unsure ... include it".
- joiningthepolice.co.uk: What's involved in vetting? - family records must be declared but do not automatically stop you; common errors such as missing step family and half siblings.
- Avon and Somerset Police: Vetting - checks on close family and co-residents, and the applicant's responsibility to tell them.
Forces apply the national guidance through their own policies and forms, so follow the wording of yours.