Which UK social work register am I checked against? The four-register map

Social work regulation is devolved into four statutory registers: Social Work England, the SSSC (Scotland), Social Care Wales and the NISCC (Northern Ireland) — never collapse these into a “UK social work register”. Three rules follow. No passporting: registration in one nation does not authorise practice (or the title) in another — a mover must register with the destination regulator. Scope differs: the SSSC, Social Care Wales and the NISCC also register the wider social care workforce (students, care workers, managers), so “on the register” ≠ “registered as a social worker” — the check must confirm the register part. The disclosure regime follows the nation: Enhanced DBS with barred-list check in England (children’s and/or adults’, per role), PVG via Disclosure Scotland in Scotland, AccessNI in Northern Ireland — mandatory and non-substitutable alongside the register check. A UK-wide employer therefore needs the fan-out across all four registers; a check against Social Work England alone verifies nothing about a social worker practising in Glasgow, Cardiff or Belfast. All four registers offer free public web search.