Criminal Records

Convicted of a criminal offence when over 18

This document provides advice about what that means and what the consequences are in terms of your record.

What is an adult conviction?

An adult conviction means that the court has found that you are guilty of one or more criminal offences either because you pleaded guilty or you were convicted at trial, and you are over 18. Your conviction for the offence(s) will be recorded on a database called the Police National
Computer (PNC).

Even if you committed the offence as a child (under 18), if you were 18 or over on the date you were convicted, then your conviction is treated as an adult conviction

Do I have to tell my employer, college or insurance company?

Spent convictions

Generally, the answer depends on whether the conviction is spent or unspent. Any employer, college course or insurance company can ask you
about unspent convictions and cautions. There may be a box on an application form asking if you have unspent cautions or convictions.

When your conviction becomes spent will depend on the sentence that the court gave you. If you received a prison sentence of more than four years your conviction will never be spent.

Some employers can ask you about convictions or cautions even if they are spent. They can only ask you about unspent convictions if are applying for certain jobs.

Additional orders

However, if the court gave you another order as part of your sentence, for example a compensation order or a restraining order, then the sentence will not be spent until that order has also finished. For a compensation order, it will be spent when the money has been paid in full.

Multiple convictions or cautions

If you get convicted or cautioned for another offence before this conviction is spent, then none of those cautions or convictions are spent until they all are. You should therefore check if each conviction or caution has been spent separately

Filtered convictions

Whether a conviction or caution is filtered is different to whether it is spent. Employers for certain jobs can ask you about unfiltered convictions and cautions. If your conviction is for a violent or sexual offence other than common assault then it will never be filtered. There is a list of offences that will never be filtered on gov.uk. If you received a custodial sentence, including a suspended sentence, then your conviction will never be filtered. If your conviction is for any other offence, and you did not receive a sentence of imprisonment, then your conviction will be filtered 11 years after the date you were convicted. If an employer is asking you about spent convictions or cautions, they may carry out an enhanced or a standard criminal check. All unfiltered cautions and convictions will appear on both a standard or an enhanced check. This will usually happen for a job working with children or vulnerable adults, such as a teacher or a childminder. However, it may also be required for a job where you might come into contact with children, such as a plumber if you may need to go into schools or people’s houses.

Enhanced criminal record checks

If your employer carries out an enhanced criminal record check, then the police have a wide discretion about what to disclose. The police can add other information that they consider relevant in addition to unfiltered cautions and convictions. Normally they will not disclose a conviction that has been filtered, but there may be exceptional circumstances when they think it is necessary to do so. If this happens you should seek legal advice.

Other effects of an adult conviction

The conviction will stay on the Police National Computer for the rest of your life. It may affect a number of things other than applying for jobs,
college and insurance. For example:

• If you apply for certain jobs which require a very high level of security checks (such as to become a police officer or a judge) or want to join the security services (such as MI5), it will be disclosed to your employer, as the nature of certain jobs will require employers to see everything on your record, even things that are filtered. These are very rare – most jobs will only ask for an enhanced criminal record check.
• If you are prosecuted for another offence, your record will be produced to a criminal court, and that will include your conviction.
• An adult conviction may affect any immigration applications you make, for example for leave to remain or for citizenship.
• An adult conviction may be disclosed in other legal proceedings, such as family law proceedings or to other professionals, such as social services, for safeguarding reasons.
• An adult conviction may affect travel to other countries. Each country has its own rules about criminal records, and so you would need to seek legal advice about the country you wish to travel to.
• Certain sexual offences will lead to notification requirement (also known as the ‘sex offenders register’) which means you have to keep the police informed of where you are residing, or could lead you to being barred from working with children or vulnerable adults

Further information and support

If you would like further information about any of these or other questions, please seek legal advice or visit the websites of the Youth Justice Legal Centre10 or Unlock11 (a charity for people with criminal records).

Written by Jennifer Twite (Garden Court Chambers) in collaboration with Katya Moran and Laura Cooper at the Youth Justice Legal Centre.

Cautioned by the police

This document provides advice about what that means and what the consequences are in terms of your record.

What is a caution?

You will have received a caution from the police if you have admitted committing a criminal offence and the police have decided to caution you. Your caution and the offence you admitted will be recorded on a database called the Police National Computer (PNC). If you are 18 or over when you get a caution, then you have to consent to receiving a caution. You may have been given a caution or a conditional caution. If you are under 18, this will be called a youth caution1 or a youth conditional caution. If you have previously been given a reprimand or a final warning when you were under 18, this is now treated the same as a youth caution. Your caution will only be a youth caution if you were under 18 when you received the caution. If you were 18 or older, it will be an adult caution even if you were a child (under 18) when you committed the offence.

Do I have to tell my employer, college or insurance company if I have a caution?

Generally, the answer depends on whether the caution is spent or unspent. Any employer, college or insurance company can ask you about unspent convictions and cautions. There may be a box on an application form asking if you have unspent convictions or cautions.

In most cases, cautions, youth cautions, reprimands and final warnings are all spent immediately, so in most cases you can tick ‘no’. A conditional caution is spent three months after you received it. If you had an unspent conviction on your record when you received your caution, then your caution will not be spent until that conviction is also spent.

Some employers can ask you about convictions or cautions even if they are spent. They can only ask you if are applying for certain jobs. Also, they can only ask you about unfiltered convictions and cautions. Whether a conviction or caution is filtered is different to whether it is spent.

Employers can check your criminal record no matter what role you apply for – this is called a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check or criminal record check. If an employer is asking you about spent convictions or cautions, they may carry out a standard criminal check or an enhanced criminal record check.

This will usually happen for a job working with children or vulnerable adults, such as a teacher or a childminder. However, it may also be required for a job where you might come into contact with children, such as a plumber who may need to go into schools or people’s houses.

Youth cautions, youth conditional cautions, reprimands and final warnings are all filtered immediately and they should not be disclosed in a criminal record check. There may be exceptional circumstances where the police consider that they should disclose it in an enhanced check – if this happens, you should seek legal advice.

An adult caution will be filtered six years after it is received, unless it is for a violent or sexual offence, or other specific offences – then it will never be filtered. There is a list of offences that will never be filtered on gov.uk.  

Multiple convictions or cautions

If you get convicted or cautioned for another offence before this caution is spent, or if you had an unspent conviction or caution when you received this caution, then none of those cautions or convictions are spent until they all are. You should therefore check if each conviction or caution has been spent separately.

Enhanced criminal record checks

If your employer carries out an enhanced criminal record check, then the police have a wide discretion about what to disclose. Normally they will not disclose a caution that has been filtered, but there may be exceptional circumstances when they think it is necessary to do so. If this happens, you should seek legal advice, especially if you received a caution when you were under 18.

Other effects of a caution The caution will stay on the Police National Computer for the rest of your life. It may affect a number of things other than applying for jobs, colleges or insurance. For example:

If you apply for certain jobs which require a very high level of security checks (such as to become a police officer or a judge) or want to join the security services (such as MI5), cautions will be disclosed to your employer, as the nature of certain jobs will require employers to see everything on your record, even things that are filtered. These are very rare – most jobs will only ask for a standard or an enhanced criminal record check.

If you are prosecuted for another offence, your record will be produced to a criminal court, and that will include your caution.

A caution may affect any immigration applications you make – for example, for leave to remain or for citizenship.

A caution may be disclosed in other legal proceedings, such as family law proceedings; or to other professionals, such as social services, for safeguarding reasons.

A caution may affect travel to other countries. Each country has its own rules about criminal records, and so you would need to seek legal advice about the country you wish to travel to.

Certain offences will lead to notification requirement (also known as the ‘sex offenders register’), or could lead you to being barred from working with children or vulnerable adults.

Further information and support

 If you would like further information about any of these or other questions, please seek legal advice or visit the websites of the Youth Justice Legal Centre12 or Unlock13 (a charity for people with criminal records). Written by Jennifer Twite (Garden Court Chambers) in collaboration with Katya Moran and Laura Cooper at the Youth Justice Legal Centre.

Convicted of a criminal offence when under 18

This document provides advice about what that means and what the consequences are in terms of your record.

What is a childhood conviction?

A childhood conviction means that the court has found that you are guilty of one or more criminal offences either because you pleaded guilty or you were found guilty, and you are under 18. Your conviction for the offence(s) will be recorded on a database called the Police National Computer (PNC). Your conviction will only be treated as a childhood conviction if you were under 18 when you were convicted. This is the day that you first pleaded guilty at court, or the day that the court found you guilty. If you were 18 or older when this happened, it will be treated as an adult conviction even if you were a child (under 18) when you committed the offence.

Do I have to tell my employer, college or insurance company?

Spent convictions

Generally, the answer depends on whether the conviction is spent or unspent. Any employer, or college or insurance company can ask you about unspent convictions and cautions. There may be a box on an application form asking if you have unspent cautions or convictions. When your conviction becomes spent will depend on the sentence that the court gave you. If you received a prison sentence of more than four years, your conviction will never be spent.

Additional orders

If the court gave you an order as part of your sentence – for example, a compensation order or a restraining order – then the conviction will not be spent until that order has also finished. For a compensation order, it will be spent when the money has been paid in full.

Additional orders

If the court gave you an order as part of your sentence – for example, a compensation order or a restraining order – then the conviction will not be spent until that order has also finished. For a compensation order, it will be spent when the money has been paid in full.

Multiple convictions or cautions

If you get convicted or cautioned for another offence before this conviction is spent, then none of those cautions or convictions are spent until they all are. You should therefore check if each conviction or caution has been spent separately.

Filtered convictions

Employers can check your criminal record no matter what role you apply for – this is called a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check or criminal record check.

Also,

Whether a conviction or caution is filtered is different to whether it is spent. Employers for certain jobs can ask you about unfiltered convictions and cautions.

If your conviction is for a violent or sexual offence other than common assault, then it will never be filtered. There is a list of offences that will never be filtered on gov.uk.

If you received a custodial sentence, including a Detention and Training Order (DTO), then your conviction will never be filtered.

If your conviction is for any other offence and you did not receive a sentence of imprisonment, then your conviction will be filtered 5.5 years after the date you were convicted.

If an employer is asking you about spent convictions or cautions, they may carry out a standard criminal record check or an enhanced criminal record check. All unfiltered cautions and convictions will appear on both a standard or an enhanced check.

This will usually happen for a job working with children or vulnerable adults, such as a teacher or a childminder. However, it may also be required for a job where you might come into contact with children, such as a plumber if you may need to go into schools or people’s houses.

Enhanced criminal record checks

If your employer carries out an enhanced criminal record check, then the police have a wide discretion about what to disclose. The police can add other information that they consider relevant in addition to unfiltered cautions and convictions. Normally they will not disclose a conviction that has been filtered, but there may be exceptional circumstances when they think it is necessary to do so. If this happens, you should seek legal advice.

Other effects of a childhood conviction

A childhood conviction will stay on the Police National Computer for the rest of your life. It may affect a number of things other than applying for jobs, college and insurance. For example:

• If you apply for certain jobs which require a very high level of security checks (such as to become a police officer or a judge) or want to join the security services (such as MI5) it will be disclosed to your employer, as the nature of certain jobs will require employers to see everything on your record, even things that are filtered. These are very rare – most jobs will only ask for an enhanced criminal record check.
• If you are prosecuted for another offence, your record will be produced to a criminal court, and that will include your conviction.
• A childhood conviction may affect any immigration applications you make – for example, for leave to remain or for citizenship.
• A childhood conviction may be disclosed in other legal proceedings, such as family law proceedings; or to other professionals, such as social services, for safeguarding reasons.
• A childhood conviction may affect travel to other countries. Each country has its own rules about criminal records, and so you would need to seek legal advice about the country you wish to travel to.
• Certain sexual offences will lead to notification requirement (also known as the ‘sex offenders register’) which means you have to keep the police informed of where you are residing, or could lead you to being barred from working with children or vulnerable adults.

Further information and support

If you would like further information about any of these or other questions, please seek legal advice or visit the websites of the Youth Justice Legal Centre11 or Unlock12 (a charity for people with criminal records). Written by Jennifer Twite (Garden Court Chambers) in collaboration with Katya Moran and Laura Cooper at the Youth Justice Legal Centre.

The police have taken ‘no further action’ in your matter

This document provides advice about what that means and what the consequences are in terms of your record.

What is ‘no further action’?

You may have been arrested and/or interviewed by the police in connection with an allegation that you committed a criminal offence. Or you may not even have been interviewed, but you may be aware that the police were investigating or considering a criminal matter. In a case of ‘no further action’, the police have decided not to continue the case. There are a number of possible reasons why they have not continued the case. For example:

• They may have given you a formal warning, such as a cannabis warning or a penalty notice.
• If you are under 18, you may have agreed to speak to the Youth Offending Team (YOT) who have agreed that you should be diverted from the formal criminal justice system.
• The police may have decided that there is not enough evidence to proceed, or that they do not believe that you have committed the offence. In all these circumstances, the details of the allegation will be kept on police databases.

Does this mean I have a criminal record?

Whilst there are allegations recorded about you on police databases, on this basis alone you do not have a criminal record. You will not normally be asked if you have a criminal record, you will normally be asked if you have any convictions or cautions. ‘No further action’ is not a conviction or a caution.

Effects of ‘no further action’ in certain situations

Work

Employers can check your criminal record no matter what role you apply for. This is called a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check or criminal record check. Many jobs will ask about convictions or cautions, but some employers may also carry out an enhanced criminal record check.

This will usually happen for a job working with children or vulnerable adults, such as a teacher or a childminder. However, it may also be required for a job where you might come into contact with children, such as a plumber if you may need to go into schools or people’s houses.

When an employer carries out these enhanced checks, the police will decide if any information they have about you about previous allegations is relevant and needs to be disclosed to your employer. This does not happen very often. If there is an allegation recorded against you, it will probably not come up in a criminal record check. It is more likely to be disclosed if there are a number of allegations that show a pattern of concerning behaviour, or if there is something very serious or concerning about the allegation. If something comes up in a criminal record check that you were not expecting, you should seek legal advice. The criminal record check has information on it about how to appeal or query any decision if the information provided is inaccurate or if you consider it should not have been disclosed.

The DBS also have the discretion about whom to bar from working with children or vulnerable adults. Therefore if an allegation has been made, or a series of allegations, even if they have not resulted in formal action, they can be considered by the barring service, who will then write to you if they consider that you should be prevented from working with children or vulnerable adults. If this happens, you should seek legal advice.

Travel

Whilst with a ‘no further action’ you do not have a criminal record, there are some countries that will ask questions about whether you have been arrested for certain offences. Whilst it is unlikely to affect travel to most countries, you should check whether there are any relevant questions about investigation or arrest before applying for a visa.

Other circumstances

There are limited circumstances – such as for immigration applications, family law proceedings or future criminal proceedings – when it is possible that the police can choose to disclose information they have about you to another court or professional involved with you or your family. They might, for example, tell other professionals if they think that the allegation that was made raises a safeguarding concern.

What information is kept and for how long?

The police will usually keep the details of what they have investigated on their computer systems. You have a right to see what is recorded against you, and you can do so by making what is called a ‘subject access request’ (SAR), which can be made through the ACRO (Criminal Records Office) website. If you make a SAR, you should make sure that you ask for information on the Police National Computer (PNC) as well as from the police force who arrested you. The police should review the information that they keep to ensure it remains accurate and continues to be relevant. They may delete information if it is very old and no longer relevant. You can apply for your data to be deleted, but you should consider that it is likely to be reasonable for the police to keep most information for a number of years after the allegation is made.

Further information and support

If you would like further information about any of these or other questions, please seek legal advice or visit the websites of the Youth Justice Legal Centre2 or Unlock3 (a charity for people with criminal records). Written by Jennifer Twite (Garden Court Chambers) in collaboration with Katya Moran and Laura Cooper at the Youth Justice Legal Centre.