If the applicant paid for the application:
You can trigger an automatic refund by withdrawing the application before it enters vetting using the withdraw button at the bottom of the application page.
A refund is automatically triggered when:
You withdraw the application before it has been:
Approved, and
Entered the vetting process with the DBS.
Once the vetting process has started, the application fee becomes non-refundable, and withdrawal cannot be guaranteed.
In this scenario:
The system automatically issues a refund to the applicant via their original payment method.
You can expect the money to reach you within 3–10 working days.
This timeframe starts from the first Monday after the refund is agreed.
The exact time depends on who you bank with.