Criminal offence which is not spent

Care Check. Skip to content If you have committed a crime, whether recently or years ago, you may be worried about undergoing a DBS check. What do spent and unspent convictions mean? How long does a conviction stay on your DBS? How long does it take for a conviction to be spent? What does this mean for finding work?

Real people's names aren't used. Arnold is He didn't serve prison time or get a suspended sentence. This is his only conviction. This will be filtered because the offence is not on the specified list and the conviction is more than 11 years old.

Basia is She didn't serve prison time or get a suspended sentence for either offence. These convictions will be filtered as they are both over 11 years old and the offences are not on the specified list.

This will be filtered because the offence is not on the specified list and the conviction happened over five and a half years ago when Cole was under Delia is She was convicted of common assault in She received six months detention in the Young Offenders Centre, suspended for two years. Ely is He was convicted of possessing prohibited images of children in This is a single office which happened over 11 years ago. This conviction will not be filtered because it is a specified offence.

This caution will not be filtered. Flora was over 18 when cautioned. Her caution is eligible to be filtered in , six years after the caution. This caution will be filtered because Guy was under 18 when cautioned and over two years have passed since the caution.

Helga is She was cautioned for shoplifting in She committed another offence in The caution will not be disclosed as Helga was under 18 when cautioned. Her separate conviction will be filtered in , provided she has no further convictions. Irene is This period is:. Where a person is convicted of a subsequent offence an offence other than a simple or regulatory offence during the rehabilitation period, the period runs from the date of the subsequent conviction.

Convictions where the offender is sentenced to more than 30 months imprisonment whether or not that sentence is suspended are excluded from the regime. Once the rehabilitation period has expired, it is lawful for a person to deny including under oath that the person has been convicted of the offence, and the conviction must be disregarded for occupational licensing purposes subject to certain exceptions, see below.

It is unlawful for any person to disclose the conviction unless:. A spent conviction is one that cannot be disclosed or taken into consideration for any purpose.

Eligible convictions become spent following a 10 year conviction and proven offence-free period for adults, and a 5 year conviction and proven offence-free period for juveniles.

Schedule 1 of the Act sets out a number of exceptions to the rule where spent convictions can be released. Some examples of this include:. Unless applying for particular types of work see below , a person who has spent convictions and cautions does not have to disclose them to prospective employers.

Employers cannot refuse to employ someone with spent convictions. However, when applying to work in certain types of employment, for example, working with children or vulnerable adults, certain professions such as law, health care, and pharmacy, senior management posts within certain sectors and employment where matters of national security are involved, the application form will state that it is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act In these situations, you will need to disclose all your cautions and convictions, and they may be disclosed on your DBS criminal records check.

Regarding any other convictions and cautions: convictions are not shown after eleven years in relation to persons 18 or over or five and a half years in relation to persons under 18 , and cautions are not shown after six years in relation to persons 18 or over or two years in relation to persons under If the image does not display, you can view it here: Flow Chart. Please be aware that the information that police forces disclose may differ from the above and particularly in relation to enhanced disclosures, any information that the Chief Constable feels relevant with regards to the reason for the check, can be disclosed.