PVG compliance shouldn't be a second job.

From April 2026, lifetime PVG membership ends. Every volunteer in Scotland — whether they work with children or vulnerable adults — now faces a 5-year renewal cycle. Coordinators without a system will miss deadlines.

PVG Pal handles your entire safeguarding operation — applications, policies, procedures, references, incident recording, training, credential tracking, audit preparation, and reporting. One platform replaces the spreadsheet, the filing cabinet, and the panic before every inspection.

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14-day cancel-anytime guarantee · Full refund if you cancel in the first 14 days

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Youth rugby coach working with young players on a Scottish playing field
🏉 Sports Clubs 🤝 Charities ⛪ Churches ⚽ Scouts & Guides 🏢 Any Voluntary Org

One product, 48 Scottish governing body frameworks built in — adapts automatically to your organisation type

The PVG problem is real — and the stakes just got higher.

Since July 2025, allowing an unchecked or barred volunteer into regulated work is a criminal offence — and organisations, and in some cases coordinators personally, can now face prosecution. The scope of who needs a PVG has expanded. And as of April 2026, lifetime membership is gone — every volunteer now sits on a rolling 5-year renewal cycle. Most coordinators are still managing all of this with a spreadsheet and hope.

And PVG is not just for children's work. It applies equally to roles involving vulnerable adults — grief support groups, dementia befriending, mental health drop-ins, disability clubs, food bank case workers.

PVG tracking is only the beginning. Most coordinators are also responsible for the annual review of safeguarding policies, recruiting and running the safeguarding panel, safe-recruitment procedures, reference checks, volunteer interviews, incident recording, training, logging the other credentials each role requires, annual reporting, and preparing for audit. All of it typically sits across a folder, an inbox, and a spreadsheet — with no single system tying it together.

Most coordinators are doing their very best with what they've got — but they live with a quiet worry. Have I covered everything? If the auditor walked in tomorrow, would we actually pass? That worry is rational. The job has outgrown the tools.

Your role has gone from important to legally non-negotiable. PVG Pal gives you one system for the whole job — so you can focus on safeguarding the people in your care, not chasing the paperwork that proves it.

Volunteers serving tea to elderly parishioners in a warm church hall

The rules have changed. Three times.

The PVG scheme landscape has shifted significantly in the past year. If you're still managing compliance the old way, you're exposed.

April 2025

Expanded scope

The mandatory scope of the PVG scheme expanded, bringing more roles and organisations into the requirement net. Trustees, committee members, and new role types now need PVG clearance.

July 2025

Criminal offences & more regulated roles

Criminal offences were introduced for organisations that fail to carry out proper PVG checks — coordinators can now face prosecution, not just civil penalties. At the same time, more roles were brought into the regulated activity net, widening who needs a PVG.

April 2026

Five-year renewals begin

Lifetime PVG membership ends. Every scheme member now faces five-year renewals, meaning coordinators need to manage an ongoing compliance calendar — not a one-time check.

Your role just became legally critical. We're here to help.

Get Started

PVG Pal tracks every deadline, every renewal, every requirement — so you don't have to.

Up and running in about 30 minutes.

Six steps from signing up to fully-operational safeguarding. No consultant, no training course, no multi-week onboarding.

1

Set up your organisation

Tell us who you are — organisation name, your role, your safeguarding panel or committee members, your meeting premises. The dashboard tailors itself to your governing body and your org type automatically.

2

Adopt or build your policies

Have a governing body? Adopt their official framework in one click — we pull in their policy, procedures and code of conduct, and you add your local details. No governing body? Either Smart Import what you already have, or let our AI draft your complete safeguarding document set from scratch, tailored to your activities.

3

Add your existing team

Already keep a register? Take a photo of it, forward an email, or upload a spreadsheet, Word doc or PDF — our AI reads it and sets up your volunteers for you. Starting fresh? Quick Add a name and role in seconds.

4

Onboard new volunteers end to end

Send a QR code or link — they download the free app and their PVG journey begins. You see every step in real time: ID verification, application submitted, Disclosure Scotland link, 14-day share window, clearance. No more "where is this one up to?", no more missed deadlines forcing the whole application to restart.

5

Set credential & training requirements

Define what each role needs beyond PVG — first aid, instructor levels, safeguarding training, food hygiene. Volunteers see a checklist, snap a photo of each certificate, and our AI logs the details. Everything expires on the dashboard before it expires in real life.

✓

Stay compliant, pass every audit

From now on, the dashboard tracks PVG status, renewals, training, references, incidents, consents, and document adoption automatically. When the auditor arrives, share a read-only link — 20 of 22 Church of Scotland checklist questions are already answered from your live data (and the equivalents for every other governing body).

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Cancel in 14 days, pay nothing · Annual or monthly

Scout leader guiding young people on an autumn woodland hike in Scotland

From scout hikes to Sunday schools — every volunteer role with regulated contact needs a PVG.

Everything a coordinator needs. Nothing a volunteer doesn't.

Live Dashboard

See every volunteer's status at a glance. Traffic-light compliance by group — including PVG status, documents, references, and training. No more spreadsheets.

Framework Adoption

Your governing body already has safeguarding documents. PVG Pal imports them, adds your local details, and gives you a complete personalised document set with a pre-loaded audit checklist — most questions auto-answered from your data. No governing body? Our AI builds policies from scratch in minutes.

Smart Import

Upload your existing register — spreadsheet, Word doc, even a PDF. Our AI reads it and sets up your volunteers automatically. Migration in minutes.

Volunteer Wallet

Every volunteer carries their PVG details, deadlines, and share guide in their pocket. Plus a Need to Know safeguarding card — emergency contacts, key rules, and training status, always one tap away. Free forever.

Consent Tracking

Photography, residentials, data sharing — send consent requests to parents via email, SMS, or WhatsApp. Full audit trail.

Smart Deadlines

Every PVG application has ticking clocks — 14 days to complete the Disclosure Scotland link, 14 days to share the certificate, and now 5-year renewals. Miss one and the whole process restarts. PVG Pal tracks every deadline and nudges before time runs out.

Credential Tracking

First aid, instructor qualifications, food hygiene, water safety — define which credentials each role needs, and volunteers see it as a checklist. Submit via app upload, email (certsandtraining@pvgpal.app), or WhatsApp — Claude AI extracts expiry dates, issuing bodies, and qualification details automatically. Auto-approves on high confidence matches. Reminders at 90, 30, and 7 days before expiry. 11 credential categories built in, fully customisable.

Reports & Registers

Your compliance register auto-populates from live data. One tap generates a professional safeguarding report for your committee or board — compliance summary, training status, upcoming renewals. Export as Excel or PDF. Replaces 30 minutes of manual work.

AI Assistant

"Does our tea lady need a PVG?" "What about the parent who drives the minibus?" "Will our dementia befriending volunteer need clearance?" Plain-English answers to real questions, instantly — aware of your organisation type and whether you work with children, vulnerable adults, or both. Plus AI photo-check for volunteer ID documents (never stored).

Incident Log

If something happens, record it properly. Secure, encrypted incident recording with full audit trail. Your auditor sees that a system exists — never the details.

Supervision & Governance

Track volunteer supervision, safeguarding panel membership, and governance actions. Prove you're not just compliant — you're actively managing safeguarding.

Auditor Mode

Generate a time-limited read-only link (1, 3, or 7 days) for your auditor or inspector. They see a pre-loaded checklist for your org type — SG11 for Church of Scotland, sportscotland CWPO for sports clubs, equivalents for others. 20 of 22 questions auto-answered from your data. Formal dated PDF report at the end.

Renewal Forecast

12-month bar chart showing exactly when each volunteer's 5-year PVG renewal is due, with a volunteer-level table and reminder status. Plan the renewal wave before it hits — instead of scrambling when deadlines arrive.

Volunteer leading children in arts and crafts at a community hall

Sunday school leaders, youth group helpers, craft volunteers — all regulated roles. All tracked by PVG Pal.

See it in action.

Here's what PVG Pal looks like for coordinators and volunteers.

Coordinator Dashboard

Your entire volunteer team at a glance. See who's cleared, who's pending, and who needs a nudge — all from one screen. Compliance score, group breakdowns, and urgent actions front and centre.

PVG Pal coordinator dashboard showing volunteer compliance status
PVG Pal volunteer wallet showing PVG membership details

Volunteer Wallet

Every volunteer carries their PVG details, deadlines, and linked organisations in their pocket. Free forever.

PVG Pal notification screen showing deadline reminders and updates

Smart Notifications

Deadline reminders, nudges from your coordinator, and clearance confirmations — all in one place. Nothing gets missed.

From PVG tracker to safeguarding platform.

Other tools track PVG applications. PVG Pal runs your entire safeguarding operation.

PVG Tracking
Policies & Procedures
Safe Recruitment
Incident Management
Training & Supervision
Audit Preparation
Reports & Registers
Volunteer Safeguarding Card

Your governing body's framework, ready to go.

PVG Pal knows what your governing body requires. We pull their official safeguarding documents, add your local details, and give you a complete set of policies personalised to your organisation — in minutes, not weeks.

1

Select your body

Choose from 48 Scottish governing bodies — churches, sports, youth organisations, and charities.

2

Add your details

Answer a few quick questions — your coordinator, backup contact, activities, and premises. That's it.

3

Documents ready

Your complete safeguarding document set is generated, personalised, and ready for your committee to adopt.

Frameworks we support

Churches

Church of Scotland
Catholic Church (SCSSA)
Scottish Episcopal
Free Church
Baptist Union
Methodist Church
+ 2 more

Sport

Scottish Rugby
Scottish FA / SYFA
Scottish Swimming
Scottish Gymnastics
Netball Scotland
RYA Scotland
+ 19 more SGBs

Youth

Scouts Scotland
Girlguiding
Boys' Brigade
Girls' Brigade
Duke of Edinburgh
MOD Cadets

Charities

SCVO members
OSCR-registered
Care Inspectorate
Volunteer Scotland
Any voluntary org
AI builds your policy

Built for your sports club.

Rugby, football, swimming, gymnastics, netball, sailing, athletics — 27+ Scottish sporting bodies (SGBs) plus sportscotland all work the same way: PVG applications go through VSDS, credentials matter almost as much as clearances, and parents need to give consent for everything from photos to residentials. PVG Pal handles the lot.

VSDS enrolment, explained and handheld

VSDS (Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services) is the free government-funded service that every non-church organisation must enrol with before submitting a single PVG application. The process is simple but poorly explained. PVG Pal walks you through it step by step — we tell you what the online form needs, what happens after you submit it, when VSDS will contact you, and we hold your Enrolled Body Code the moment it arrives. Not enrolled yet? No problem — we'll still set up your club and prompt you when you're ready.

Credentials in seconds, not weeks

First aid, safeguarding in sport, BASI levels, coaching certificates, lifeguard qualifications, UKCC awards — define which credentials each role needs, and volunteers see them as a checklist. They snap a photo, forward a certificate email, or (soon) send a WhatsApp — our AI reads the document and pulls out the issuing body, expiry date, and qualification level automatically. Their wallet updates, your dashboard updates, and the requirement goes green. No chasing. No filing. No guessing when things expire.

Parental consent — done in seconds, auditable for years

Photography, match-day transport, residentials, away tournaments, overnight camps, data sharing — send consent requests to parents by email, SMS, or WhatsApp from your dashboard in one tap. They respond from their phone. You see a live status for every child and every consent type, with a full GDPR-compliant audit trail. When the SGB auditor asks "can you prove you have photo permission for this under-14?", one click answers it.

CWPO-ready, SGB-branded audit reports

Whether your title is Child Wellbeing & Protection Officer, Club Welfare Officer, or Safeguarding Lead, PVG Pal knows what your governing body wants. Your dashboard uses your SGB's terminology. The audit checklist matches your SGB's framework. The PDF report you hand to sportscotland or your SGB inspector is pre-populated from live data and carries their required fields. 20 of 22 answered before you open it.

Built for the Church of Scotland.

The Church of Scotland is Scotland's largest congregational network and runs its own safeguarding architecture — SG03, SG07, Kirk Session oversight, Safeguarding Service submissions. PVG Pal handles all of it natively — no plug-ins, no workarounds.

SG03 self-disclosure in-app

Guided screen-by-screen wizard. PDF generated on-device and sent directly to the Safeguarding Service — we never store the response.

SG07 register, auto-populated

Your compliance register fills itself from live volunteer data. Export for Kirk Session or Presbytery in one tap.

Delegation kiosk for family members

Church law blocks coordinators from processing their own relatives. PVG Pal detects the conflict and hands the application to a second seat or delegate via a kiosk-mode flow.

Annual Code of Conduct adoption

Versioned Code text, immutable acceptances, daily renewal cron. Every volunteer re-adopts annually — tracked automatically.

Simple pricing. No per-volunteer charges.

Volunteer app is always free. Switch or cancel anytime.

Monthly
Annual Save 17%

Individual Volunteer

Free
Forever. No card required.
  • Personal PVG wallet
  • Deadline reminders (14-day share, 5-year renewal)
  • One-tap certificate sharing guide
  • Credential uploads & tracking
  • Join unlimited organisations
  • AI assistant for PVG questions
Download Free App

Starter

£199/year
or £20/month
  • Up to 25 volunteers
  • 1 coordinator seat
  • Live dashboard & nudge centre
  • Compliance register export
  • AI assistant
  • Training tracker
  • References & interview tracking
  • Supervision tracker
  • Basic incident log
  • Safeguarding policy builder (1 document)
Get Started
Popular

Growth

£299/year
or £35/month
  • Up to 100 volunteers
  • 3 coordinator seats
  • Everything in Starter
  • Audit mode & self-assessment
  • Consent workflows
  • Compliance notifications
  • Full document library (AI-generated policies, procedures, code of conduct, risk assessments)
  • Full incident log
  • Governance tracker
  • Governing body reports
  • Risk management plans
Get Started

National Organisation

Let's Talk
For sport governing bodies, denominations & umbrella bodies
  • Roll out across all your clubs or congregations
  • Volume pricing based on number of groups
  • Your branding, your framework built in
  • Priority feature requests considered
  • Dedicated onboarding & support
Contact Us
Volunteer facilitating a peer support group in a community centre

PVG isn't just for children's work. Grief support, dementia befriending, mental health drop-ins — all require PVG clearance.

Built for real coordinators, by a real coordinator.

Built by a safeguarding coordinator who manages compliance for both a church and a rugby club. PVG Pal doesn't just track PVG applications — it runs the entire safeguarding operation. Policies, procedures, references, incidents, training, audit prep, and reporting — all in one place. Designed for users who aren't technical — large text, simple buttons, and WCAG AAA accessibility. If your coordinator can use a phone, they can use PVG Pal.

Volunteers sorting food parcels at a community food bank

Food bank case workers, community outreach volunteers — if there's vulnerable contact, there's a PVG requirement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Not at all. PVG Pal works for any Scottish organisation with PVG obligations — rugby clubs, football clubs, scouts, guides, swimming clubs, charities working with vulnerable adults, and all denominations. The dashboard adapts to your org type automatically.
Never. The volunteer app is free forever. Only the coordinator's organisation pays.
No — upload your existing spreadsheet (or Word doc, or PDF) and our AI reads it, extracts your volunteers, and sets everything up. You just review and confirm. Most coordinators are fully migrated in under 10 minutes.
All data is stored on Cloudflare's EU servers, fully UK GDPR compliant. We do not store ID documents, certificate contents, or self-disclosure form responses.
Yes — card details are taken at signup, but you can cancel any time in the first 14 days from Settings → Billing and you won't be charged.
Your data is never deleted due to payment lapse. If you stop paying, your dashboard enters read-only mode — you can still see everything, you just can't add volunteers or send nudges. Reactivate anytime and pick up where you left off.
Absolutely. PVG applies to any regulated role involving children or protected adults — dementia befriending, grief support, mental health drop-ins, disability clubs, and more. PVG Pal tracks both workforce types and handles the different application requirements automatically.
Yes. All data is stored on Cloudflare's EU servers and processed in full compliance with UK GDPR. We never store ID documents, certificate contents, or self-disclosure form responses. Any volunteer or coordinator can request a full data export or deletion at any time from their account settings, or by emailing hello@pvgpal.app. Our full Privacy Policy and Data Processing Agreement are available in the footer.
Coordinators can use the web dashboard from any browser — no app required. For volunteers, the free app gives them their PVG wallet, deadline reminders, and one-tap certificate sharing. But if a volunteer doesn't download the app, their record switches to coordinator-managed mode automatically — you can manage everything on their behalf from your dashboard. Nobody is left behind.
Yes. Many safeguarding coordinators are also PVG-checked volunteers at their own or other organisations. PVG Pal handles this seamlessly — you can manage your organisation's volunteers from the dashboard while also maintaining your own personal PVG wallet. If you volunteer at a second organisation, your existing details are pre-filled automatically.
Absolutely. Your data is yours. Coordinators can export their full compliance register as CSV or PDF at any time from the dashboard. Volunteers can request a complete data export from their account settings. If you ever want to leave PVG Pal, you take everything with you — we never hold your data hostage.
If your organisation belongs to a governing body (Church of Scotland, a sports SGB, Scouts, etc.), PVG Pal imports their official framework and helps you personalise it with your local details. If you don't have a governing body, our AI builds a complete policy from scratch based on Scottish best practice. Either way, it takes about 3 minutes.
Absolutely. PVG Pal pre-loads your org type's official audit checklist and auto-fills answers from your data. References, training records, adopted policies, incident logs — it all feeds in automatically. For most organisations, PVG Pal auto-answers 20 of 22 checklist questions. Share a time-limited link with your auditor and they see the evidence for themselves.

Know a coordinator who needs this?

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Word of mouth is how most coordinators find us.