Garda Vetting for NCI Students

All full time and part time students on the following programmes are required to undergo mandatory, in-person Garda Vetting before taking part in any professional placement or any practice-based elements of the programme: 

• BA (Honours) in Early Childhood Education and Care
• Postgraduate Diploma in Arts in Educational Practice in Teaching for Further Education

Questions regarding the Garda Vetting Process can be directed to the email addresses at the end of this article. 

What is Garda Vetting?

The Garda Vetting Act refers to the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012–2016 in Ireland, which commenced on the 29th of April 2016. 

This legislation requires that people working with children or vulnerable persons undergo Garda (police) vetting before taking up such roles.

Due to recent changes to the legislation around Garda Vetting as of July 2025, all vetting must be verified in-person by designated members of NCI staff.

There is no longer a postal option, and electronic submissions are no longer accepted. All students must make an appointment with a designated member of NCI staff to complete their vetting in person in the college.

Why do I need to be vetted? 

Part of your course includes field visits to Childcare, Early Learning or Educational settings where you will be required to interact with children or individuals under the age of 18. 

You will not be eligible to take part in these visits until you have fully completed the vetting process. 

This could result in delays to your progression on your chosen course. Vetting is mandatory for all students.

Getting Started: Before your appointment

NVB1 Form

Before your appointment, print off the NVB1 form and fill in page 2 legibly with blue or black pen in BLOCK letters. Please ensure you are using the current NVB1 Garda Vetting form, effective from 1st July 2025. 

Forms must be completed with "wet ink"; photocopies and scans will not be accepted. 

• For the section "Role being vetted for", please fill in "Further Education Student Placement" (PGDEP) or "Early Years Student Placement" (BAHECEC).
• Please leave the box in the upper right hand corner blank - this is for office use only.
• Sign the form with a first and last name signature, the date of completion, and ensure the consent box is ticked.

NVB3 Form - under 18's

If you are under 18, you must complete the Applicant Details section of the NVB3 Form and ask a parent or guardian to complete the contact details and consent sections on the form.

Required Documents - Proof of Identity documentation

Source original, hard copies of the following documents: 

• Valid and in-date Photographic ID to include name and date of birth (e.g. Passport, Driving License, Irish Certificate of Naturalisation, National Identify Card) - must be the original document and not a photocopy - NCI Student ID and Public Services Card not accepted.
• Proof of address (dated within 6 months) which clearly links the individual to the stated address (Utility bill within 6 months, Bank Statement, Building Society Statement, Credit Union Statement/Passbook), Government Correspondence Letter, Letter from Local Council confirming Residency. Address must be the applicant's current address and match the address given on the NVB1 form. Document must have a date on it within the last six months. Revolut and mobile phone bills are not accepted.

Booking Your Appointment

Once you have completed the forms and sourced your supporting documents, please book an appointment slot to meet with us. Appointments will take place in the Student Support Hub on the ground floor of the Mayor Square building. 

Please check in at reception when you arrive so our colleagues can let us know you have arrived. Please have all relevant documentation out and ready for review. 
There are 10-minute slots available on various dates and times, please book in under the correct programme code. These slots are 1 per person, please come at the time that's been allocated to you to avoid queues and extended waiting times. Please arrive on time for your meeting; if you arrive early, we may not be available to meet with you immediately. 

If you are running late or you can no longer make your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible via email. We are unable to take calls from students during appointment times. 

At Your Appointment

We will review your form and fill out page three of the NVB1 Form in front of you. 

We can also help you with filling out your form and answer any questions if needed. 

We will then take a scan of your Photo ID and your Proof of Address document and return them to you –  we need to scan both documents to process your application. 

We will submit your application to the online NVB portal and pass your document scans to Caroline Dolan in our HR Department for further processing. 

After Your Appointment - eVetting

When we have submitted your application to the online portal, you will then receive an email to the email address you wrote on the form (student email is recommended). 

The invitation to the e-vetting website will be sent to this address, you must complete the e-vetting portion of process by yourself within 30 days and submit it for approval. Approvals take 1 – 2 weeks, depending on the volume of submissions. 

If you do not receive an email invitation to the e-vetting stage, please notify us as soon as possible. 

If you are under the age of 18 and have submitted a NVB3 form, the vetting disclosure email will go to your parent or guardian's email address. They must complete the second stage of the process on your behalf.

If you do not complete the online stage and your vetting expires, we will have to do the whole process again.

The staff who carried out your in-person vetting have no visibility of the online platform and cannot give you updates on the progress of your application. 

Students will not receive a copy of their vetting disclosure; these are held with NCI's HR Department until the conclusion of your programme. If you wish to receive a copy of your vetting disclosure, please reach out to hrqueries@ncirl.ie.

Final Tips & Takeaways

Timekeeping

Come to your appointment on time, not early or late. Have all of your documentation out and ready for review.

Documents

Please ensure all documents are hard-copy, original documents which are valid and in-date. All forms must be “wet ink”, i.e. filled in with pen. Please use one character per box and ensure that forms are legible.

Communication

If we email you, please respond. We will do our best to get back to all emails on the same day or the next day.

Emails

It’s a good habit to check your emails at least once a day for any relevant college updates.

Appointments

Please present yourself at the desk and let the person on duty know you have arrived for a Garda Vetting appointment. 

Contact

Please direct all queries on the Garda Vetting process to BOTH of the email addresses below: 

• Caragh Downey, Social Sciences Placement Coordinator - caragh.downey@ncirl.ie
• Fionnuala Ennis, Executive Assistant to the Registrar - fionnuala.ennis@ncirl.ie