Criminal Convictions in England and Wales

What is a Criminal Conviction?

A criminal conviction is a formal finding of guilt by a court following a plea of guilty or a finding of guilt after trial. It is recorded on the Police National Computer (PNC) and forms part of the person's criminal record. Convictions are distinct from out-of-court disposals such as cautions, which are also recorded but are not convictions.

The court process leading to conviction varies depending on whether the offence is summary (magistrates' court only), either-way (either court), or indictable-only (Crown Court only). The classification of the offence determines the court that deals with the case, the maximum sentence available, and the procedural rules that apply.

A conviction includes not only the finding of guilt but also the sentence imposed. The sentence is the court's response to the offending and can range from an absolute discharge (no punishment) to life imprisonment. Between these extremes sit fines, community orders, suspended sentences, and immediate custodial sentences. The type and length of sentence determines the rehabilitation period: how long until the conviction becomes "spent" and no longer needs to be disclosed in most circumstances.

Convictions are distinct from several related but different outcomes. A caution (simple or conditional) is an admission of guilt recorded by the police without a court hearing. A fixed penalty notice is a financial penalty imposed without a court appearance unless the recipient contests it. A bind over is an order to keep the peace but is not a conviction. An acquittal, whether by a jury or by a magistrates' bench, means no conviction is recorded.

Types of Criminal Conviction

Criminal offences in England and Wales are classified into three categories, each determining the court that hears the case and the procedures that apply.

Summary Offences

Summary offences are the least serious category. They are tried exclusively in the magistrates' court before a bench of lay magistrates or a district judge. There is no right to trial by jury. Examples include common assault (section 39 Criminal Justice Act 1988), most driving offences, minor public order offences under the Public Order Act 1986, and being drunk and disorderly. The maximum sentence a magistrates' court can impose for a single offence is generally 6 months' imprisonment (12 months for two or more either-way offences), although many summary offences carry lower maximums. A conviction following a guilty plea or finding of guilt in the magistrates' court is a "summary conviction."

Indictable-Only Offences

Indictable-only offences are the most serious. They must be tried in the Crown Court before a judge and jury. The magistrates' court has no power to try these offences: it can only conduct an initial hearing before sending the case to the Crown Court under section 51 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Examples include murder, manslaughter, robbery, rape, and causing grievous bodily harm with intent (section 18 Offences Against the Person Act 1861). A conviction in the Crown Court is a "conviction on indictment," and the sentencing powers are substantially greater, up to and including life imprisonment.

Either-Way Offences

Either-way offences can be tried in either the magistrates' court or the Crown Court. The allocation procedure is governed by sections 17A to 26 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980. The court first considers whether it is suitable for summary trial, taking into account the nature and seriousness of the offence. If the court decides it is suitable, the defendant is given the choice: accept summary trial or elect Crown Court trial with a jury. If the court considers its sentencing powers insufficient, the case is sent to the Crown Court. Common either-way offences include theft, burglary, assault occasioning actual bodily harm (section 47 OAPA 1861), fraud, and criminal damage where the value exceeds £5,000.

The distinction matters for rehabilitation. A summary conviction and a conviction on indictment are both convictions, but the available sentences differ significantly, and the sentence determines the rehabilitation period.

The Criminal Record

When a person is convicted of a criminal offence, the conviction is recorded on the Police National Computer (PNC). The PNC is managed by the Home Office and operated by the National Police Chiefs' Council. It is the central database of criminal records in England and Wales and is also used by police forces in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

What is Recorded

The PNC records considerably more than convictions alone. A person's PNC record may include:

• Convictions: every conviction from any court in England and Wales, including the offence, the date, the court, and the sentence imposed.
• Cautions: simple cautions and conditional cautions administered by the police, which require an admission of guilt.
• Reprimands and warnings: the youth justice equivalents of cautions (now replaced by youth cautions and youth conditional cautions under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012).
• Arrests: the fact that a person was arrested, even if no further action was taken. Arrest records can be retained under the Management of Police Information (MoPI) guidance.
• Non-conviction disposals: fixed penalty notices, penalty notices for disorder, and community resolutions.
• Intelligence markers: police intelligence logs, which may include information about suspected involvement in criminal activity even without an arrest or conviction.
• Wanted and missing markers: current or historical markers relating to wanted persons or missing persons reports.

How Long Records are Retained

Conviction data is retained on the PNC for 100 years from the date of birth of the individual. In practice, this means a conviction recorded at age 18 will remain on the PNC until the person is 118. The College of Policing's MoPI guidance sets retention rules for non-conviction data, which are reviewed periodically but typically retained for a minimum of 6 years for adults. The distinction between the PNC record (retained for 100 years) and the disclosure of that record (governed by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and filtering rules) is critical. A conviction may remain on the PNC long after it has become spent.

Who Has Access

Access to the PNC is restricted. The primary users are police forces across the United Kingdom, the National Crime Agency, HM Revenue and Customs, the Ministry of Defence, immigration officers, and certain other law enforcement bodies. Employers do not have direct access to the PNC. Instead, criminal record information is disclosed to employers through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) at one of four levels, subject to the filtering rules described below.

Subject Access Requests

Under the Data Protection Act 2018 (which incorporates the UK GDPR and the Law Enforcement Directive), any person has the right to make a subject access request (SAR) to find out what information is held about them on the PNC. The request is made to ACRO Criminal Records Office, which administers subject access requests for police records. There is no fee for a SAR. ACRO must respond within one calendar month, although this can be extended by a further two months for complex requests. The response will include all personal data held, including convictions, cautions, arrests, and any intelligence markers, subject to limited exemptions for ongoing investigations or national security.

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA) was enacted to give those who have been convicted of a criminal offence the opportunity to put their past behind them. After a specified period (the "rehabilitation period"), the conviction becomes "spent" and the person is treated, for most purposes, as if the conviction had never occurred.

The underlying policy is that a person who has been convicted and has not reoffended for a sufficient period should not continue to be disadvantaged by that conviction. The Act was a significant social reform: before 1974, there was no mechanism by which a conviction could be disregarded, and the stigma of a criminal record was permanent regardless of its age or seriousness.

The rehabilitation periods were significantly shortened by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO), with effect from 10 March 2014. The current periods are:

The "end of sentence" for a custodial sentence means the full sentence length, not the point of release on licence. A person sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment who is released at the halfway point (6 months) still has a sentence of 12 months for ROA purposes. The rehabilitation period of 4 years then runs from the end of the full 12-month sentence.

Where a person receives multiple sentences on the same occasion, each sentence has its own rehabilitation period. However, if any sentence is never spent (over 4 years' custody), none of the sentences imposed on that occasion become spent. The full text of the ROA 1974 and the 2014 amendments is available at legislation.uk.

DBS Checks

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) provides criminal record certificates at four levels. The level of check determines what information is disclosed.

The distinction between "regulated activity" and other work is defined in Schedule 4 of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, as amended by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Only roles that meet the definition of regulated activity qualify for Enhanced with Barred Lists checks.

Filtering Rules

Certain old and minor convictions and cautions are automatically removed ("filtered") from Standard and Enhanced certificates. The current filtering rules, which took effect from 28 November 2020, work as follows:

• Adult convictions: filtered after 11 years if the conviction did not result in a custodial sentence and is not for a "specified offence" (listed in the Police Act 1997 (Criminal Record Certificates: Relevant Matters) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020).
• Adult cautions: filtered after 6 years on the same basis (no custodial sentence, not a specified offence).
• Youth convictions (under 18 at date of conviction): filtered after 5.5 years on the same basis.
• Youth cautions: filtered after 2 years.

Since the November 2020 changes, each conviction and caution is assessed individually against the filtering criteria. Previously, the "multiple conviction rule" meant that if a person had more than one conviction, none could be filtered regardless of their nature. This rule was removed following the Court of Appeal's judgment in R (P) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] UKSC 3, which found that the blanket disclosure regime was disproportionate and breached Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Specified Offences

Specified offences can never be filtered, regardless of how old they are. The list includes all sexual offences, violent offences resulting in a custodial sentence, offences against children, terrorism offences, and certain other serious offences. The full list runs to several hundred entries and is set out in the relevant statutory instrument.

Employment and Convictions

Under section 4 of the ROA 1974, a person with a spent conviction is treated as a "rehabilitated person" and need not disclose the conviction when asked about criminal records by an employer. An employer who dismisses or refuses to employ a person solely because of a spent conviction may be acting unlawfully.

However, exceptions apply for certain roles listed in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. These include: work with children or vulnerable adults, healthcare professionals, legal professionals, accountants, police officers and traffic wardens, roles in financial services, and positions involving national security.

For excepted roles, the employer may ask about spent convictions, and the applicant must disclose them. However, even for excepted roles, the filtering rules still apply: filtered convictions and cautions do not need to be disclosed even in an excepted role. This is a relatively recent development and is sometimes misunderstood by employers.

Ban the Box

The "Ban the Box" campaign encourages employers to remove the criminal record tick-box from initial application forms, deferring questions about convictions until later in the recruitment process. Many public sector employers and large private firms have adopted this approach. The rationale is that applicants with criminal records are disproportionately screened out at the application stage, before the employer has had any opportunity to assess their suitability for the role.

Practical Protections

If an employer asks an unlawful question about spent convictions in a non-excepted role, the applicant is entitled to answer "no" without that constituting dishonesty. This protection extends to interview questions, application forms, and contractual declarations. If an employer subsequently discovers the spent conviction and dismisses the employee, the dismissal may be challenged as unfair under the Employment Rights Act 1996.

For an overview of how sentencing determines the rehabilitation period, and how different disposals affect disclosure, further reference is available.

Convictions and Travel

A criminal conviction can restrict a person's ability to travel internationally. Each country sets its own rules on the admission of foreign nationals with criminal records, and these vary significantly.

United States

The United States has among the strictest rules. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), a person with a criminal conviction involving "moral turpitude" or a controlled substance offence is generally inadmissible. This includes common offences such as theft, fraud, and assault. British nationals with criminal convictions are ineligible for the Visa Waiver Program (ESTA) and must instead apply for a B-1/B-2 visa at the US Embassy, attending an interview in person. A waiver of inadmissibility may be available in some cases, but the process is lengthy and uncertain. Even a spent conviction under UK law must be disclosed on the US visa application: the US does not recognise the concept of spent convictions.

Canada

Canada routinely denies entry to individuals with criminal convictions, including drink-driving offences (which are classified as indictable offences under the Canadian Criminal Code). A person may be "criminally inadmissible" to Canada even for a single conviction. Options include applying for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) for short visits or for "criminal rehabilitation" after a waiting period (typically 5 years after completion of sentence for summary offences, 10 years for indictable offences). Canada and the United States share criminal record data through their respective law enforcement databases.

Australia

Australia requires all visa applicants to make a character declaration. Under section 501 of the Migration Act 1958, a person fails the "character test" if they have a "substantial criminal record," defined as a sentence of 12 months or more (whether or not the sentence was suspended). Shorter sentences and spent convictions may still require disclosure depending on the visa class. The Australian Border Force has access to international criminal record databases and may refuse entry even where the applicant has not disclosed the conviction.

European Union and Schengen Area

Since Brexit, British nationals are third-country nationals for EU immigration purposes. While short visits (up to 90 days in a 180-day period) generally do not require a visa, entry can be refused on public security grounds. The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), expected to become operational, will require pre-travel screening that may include criminal record checks. Individual EU member states retain the right to refuse entry on public policy or security grounds.

Other Countries

Japan, New Zealand, and South Africa all ask about criminal history on visa applications. Some Middle Eastern states (particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia) require police clearance certificates for residency permits. Many countries have no systematic criminal record checking at the border, but dishonesty on an immigration form can itself result in a ban and may constitute a criminal offence in the destination country.

Convictions and Insurance

Criminal convictions can affect a person's ability to obtain insurance and the premiums charged. The legal framework governing disclosure to insurers differs from the employment context.

The Duty to Disclose

Under the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 (CIDRA), a consumer applying for insurance must take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer. In practice, this means the applicant must answer the insurer's questions honestly and accurately. The applicant is not required to volunteer information that has not been asked about.

If the insurer asks about "criminal convictions," the applicant must disclose unspent convictions. If the question specifically asks about "all convictions" or "any convictions including spent convictions," the position is more complex.

Spent Convictions and Insurance

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 does not fully protect insurance applicants in the way it protects job applicants. The Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 reformed consumer insurance disclosure to provide that an insurer cannot refuse to pay a claim solely because of the non-disclosure of a spent conviction. However, this protection only applies to claims: the insurer can still ask about spent convictions at the application stage for certain types of insurance.

In practice, many motor and home insurance application forms ask about unspent convictions only. Where the question is limited to unspent convictions, spent convictions need not be disclosed. Where the question is ambiguous, CIDRA requires the insurer to bear the risk of any ambiguity: the insurer's question must be clear and specific.

Consequences of Non-Disclosure

If a relevant unspent conviction is not disclosed when asked, the insurer may:

• Void the policy from inception (treat it as if it never existed) if the non-disclosure was deliberate or reckless.
• Adjust the claim proportionately if the non-disclosure was careless but not deliberate. This means the insurer pays only the proportion of the claim that reflects what it would have charged had the conviction been disclosed.
• The insurer cannot refuse a claim on the basis of a spent conviction that was not asked about.

Convictions and Housing

Criminal convictions can affect access to both social and private housing, although the legal position is more protective than many applicants assume.

Social Housing Allocation

Local authorities in England are required to have an allocation scheme under Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996. The scheme may take into account a person's behaviour, including criminal convictions, when determining priority. However, the authority must act reasonably: a blanket policy of excluding all applicants with criminal convictions would be unlawful. The authority must consider the nature and age of the offence, the relevance to housing, and any evidence of rehabilitation.

The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 placed additional duties on local authorities to prevent and relieve homelessness. A criminal conviction does not disqualify a person from being assessed as homeless or from receiving homelessness assistance. However, a local authority may find that an applicant became homeless "intentionally" if, for example, they lost their previous tenancy due to criminal behaviour. Even then, the authority must still provide advice and assistance.

Private Tenancies

Private landlords are not generally obliged to conduct criminal record checks on prospective tenants. Some landlords or letting agents may ask about criminal convictions as part of a referencing process, but there is no legal requirement to do so. The Tenant Fees Act 2019 restricts the fees that landlords and agents can charge, but does not specifically address criminal record checks.

Where a landlord asks about convictions, the ROA 1974 applies: spent convictions do not need to be disclosed. However, unlike in the employment context, there is no specific enforcement mechanism for a landlord who unlawfully asks about spent convictions. In practice, the landlord's decision to refuse a tenancy is rarely challenged.

Supported and Exempt Accommodation

Certain types of supported housing, including approved premises (formerly probation hostels) and exempt accommodation for people with specific needs, are specifically designed for people leaving the criminal justice system. These are typically managed by housing associations, charities, or the probation service itself. Criminal convictions are expected and accounted for in the allocation process.

Convictions and Professional Regulation

Regulated professions impose their own requirements regarding criminal convictions, separate from the general employment rules under the ROA 1974. Most regulatory bodies have the power to refuse registration, impose conditions, or remove a professional from the register following a conviction. The approach varies by regulator.

Solicitors: SRA

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) requires disclosure of all convictions (including spent convictions) as part of the character and suitability assessment for admission to the roll of solicitors. The SRA's assessment is forward-looking: it considers whether the conviction indicates a risk to the public or to public confidence in the profession. A single minor conviction many years ago is unlikely to prevent admission. A serious or recent conviction, or a pattern of offending, may result in refusal. Practising solicitors must report any conviction to the SRA within 7 days.

Doctors: GMC

The General Medical Council (GMC) requires disclosure of all cautions and convictions (including spent) at the point of registration and on annual renewal. Under the Medical Act 1983, the GMC's fitness to practise procedures may be triggered by a conviction. The GMC may impose conditions on practice, suspend registration, or erase a doctor from the medical register. The GMC's approach depends on the nature of the offence, its relevance to medical practice, and the risk to patients.

Nurses: NMC

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) operates a similar system. All criminal convictions and cautions must be disclosed, and the NMC's fitness to practise panels can impose conditions, suspension, or striking off. The NMC has issued guidance stating that minor motoring convictions are unlikely to call fitness to practise into question, while offences involving dishonesty, violence, or sexual misconduct are treated very seriously.

Financial Services: FCA

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) operates the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR), which requires firms to assess whether individuals are "fit and proper" to hold controlled functions. Criminal convictions (including spent convictions) must be disclosed on the FCA's approved persons application forms. The FCA considers the nature, seriousness, and age of the conviction. Offences involving dishonesty or financial crime are particularly relevant and may result in refusal of approval.

Teaching: TRA

The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) maintains a list of individuals prohibited from teaching. A teacher convicted of a relevant offence may be referred to the TRA, which can impose a prohibition order. The TRA considers the seriousness of the offence, the teacher's role, and whether the conviction affects their suitability to teach. Convictions for offences against children result in automatic prohibition. Teachers must undergo Enhanced DBS checks with barred list information as a condition of employment.

Other Regulated Professions

Similar rules apply to accountants (regulated by ICAEW, ACCA, or CIMA), social workers (Social Work England), barristers (Bar Standards Board), pharmacists (General Pharmaceutical Council), and many other professions. The common thread is that regulated professions require disclosure beyond what the ROA 1974 would otherwise mandate, and the regulator exercises a judgement about suitability that is separate from the criminal justice process.

Motoring Convictions

Motoring convictions (endorsements and penalty points) are recorded by the DVLA as well as on the PNC. Endorsements remain on the driving licence for 4 or 11 years depending on the offence. Most endorsements (speeding, traffic signal offences, careless driving) stay on the licence for 4 years from the date of the offence. More serious endorsements (drink-driving, causing death, dangerous driving) remain for 11 years from the date of conviction.

Penalty points remain "active" for 3 years from the date of offence and stay on the licence for a further period. Accumulating 12 or more penalty points within 3 years results in disqualification under the "totting up" provisions of section 35 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988. New drivers (within 2 years of passing their test) face automatic revocation of their licence under section 3 of the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995 if they accumulate 6 or more points.

A disqualification from driving is recorded separately. A person disqualified for 56 days or more may be required to retake the driving test before their licence is restored. Motoring convictions follow the same ROA rehabilitation periods as other convictions: a fine for a speeding offence becomes spent after 1 year, while a custodial sentence for dangerous driving follows the custodial rehabilitation periods.

Motoring convictions must generally be disclosed to motor insurers regardless of whether they are spent, because most insurance application forms specifically ask about driving convictions within the last 5 years. This is separate from the ROA regime.

The Right to be Forgotten

The concept of a "right to be forgotten" in the context of criminal convictions involves two distinct legal frameworks: data protection law and search engine delisting.

Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR

Article 17 of the UK GDPR (retained from the EU GDPR) provides a right to erasure of personal data. However, this right is subject to significant exceptions. Where data processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority, the right to erasure does not apply. The retention of criminal records on the PNC falls squarely within this exception: law enforcement data processing is governed by Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018, which implements the Law Enforcement Directive and does not include a general right to erasure.

In practice, this means you cannot require the police to delete your conviction record from the PNC. You can, however, request that inaccurate data be corrected, and you can challenge the retention of non-conviction data (such as arrest records or intelligence markers) where the retention is no longer necessary or proportionate.

Search Engine Delisting

The European Court of Justice established in Google Spain SL v Agencia Espanola de Proteccion de Datos (2014) that individuals have the right to request that search engines delist results that are "inadequate, irrelevant, or no longer relevant." This principle has been applied in the UK context under the DPA 2018.

In NT1 and NT2 v Google LLC [2018] EWHC 799 (QB), the High Court considered delisting requests from two individuals with spent convictions. One request succeeded (NT2) and one failed (NT1). The court weighed factors including the seriousness of the offence, the time elapsed, the applicant's subsequent conduct, and the public interest in the information remaining searchable. The decision established that a spent conviction does not automatically entitle a person to delisting, but it is a significant factor in the balancing exercise.

Practical Limits

Even where a search engine delists a result, the underlying information (for example, a news article about a court case) remains online. Delisting only removes the link from search results for the individual's name: the article itself is not deleted. Media organisations are generally protected by the journalism exemption under Schedule 2, Part 5 of the DPA 2018, and cannot be compelled to remove accurate contemporaneous reporting of court proceedings.

Overturning a Conviction

A conviction may be overturned on appeal. The defendant has an automatic right of appeal from the magistrates' court to the Crown Court. The Crown Court rehears the case in full (a "hearing de novo") and can confirm, vary, or reverse the conviction or sentence. This is a complete rehearing, not a review of the lower court's decision.

From the Crown Court, appeal lies to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) with leave, on grounds that the conviction is unsafe. Leave to appeal must be obtained either from the trial judge (a "certificate that the case is fit for appeal") or from the Court of Appeal itself. The test is whether the conviction is "unsafe" under section 2 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968. The Court of Appeal may quash the conviction, substitute a conviction for a lesser offence, or order a retrial. The appeal routes reference covers 33 appeal paths across the justice system.

Where an appeal has failed or is no longer available, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) may refer the case back to the Court of Appeal if there is new evidence or a new argument that raises a real possibility that the conviction would be overturned. The CCRC is an independent body established by the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. Since its creation, the CCRC has received over 28,000 applications and referred approximately 780 cases to the Court of Appeal, of which roughly 70% have resulted in the conviction being quashed.

A conviction that is quashed on appeal is treated as if it never occurred. It is removed from the person's criminal record and does not need to be disclosed. However, if a retrial is ordered and the person is convicted again, the new conviction replaces the original.

Statistics

Criminal conviction statistics provide context for understanding the scale of the criminal justice system in England and Wales.

The reoffending rate measures the proportion of offenders who commit a further offence within a one-year follow-up period. The adult rate of approximately 25% has remained broadly stable over the past decade. Short custodial sentences (under 12 months) are associated with higher reoffending rates than community orders or suspended sentences, which is one reason the Sentencing Council has repeatedly emphasised that short custodial sentences should be a last resort.

The PNC holds records on approximately 12 million individuals. This does not mean 12 million people have criminal convictions: the PNC also records cautions, arrests, and non-conviction disposals. Approximately 11 million adults in England and Wales have a criminal record of some kind (conviction or caution), representing roughly one in four of the adult male population and one in ten of the adult female population.

Key Legislation

The following statutes form the primary legal framework governing criminal convictions, disclosure, rehabilitation, and records in England and Wales.

The full text of all UK legislation is available at legislation.uk.