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Criminal Records and DBS

A criminal record is not permanent for most purposes, but the rules are layered and widely misunderstood. Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act most sentences become spent after a rehabilitation period, after which you generally do not have to disclose them. Separately, DBS checks come in three levels showing different things, and certain serious offences never disappear from the higher checks. Call 0800 007 4103 free, any hour — and a one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor (£145, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

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Criminal Records and DBS at a glance

Spent means not disclosable

Once spent, you generally need not disclose a conviction for most jobs, insurance or housing

Three levels of DBS

Basic shows unspent convictions only; standard and enhanced show more, including some spent matters

Filtering has limits

Older, minor, single convictions can be filtered from standard and enhanced checks — serious offences never are

Cautions count too

A caution is not a conviction but is a record, and can appear on higher-level checks

Exempt roles ask for more

Work with children or vulnerable adults, and some professions, sit outside the ordinary spent-conviction protection

When a conviction becomes spent

The rehabilitation period runs from the date of conviction and depends on the sentence, not the offence: fines and community orders have relatively short periods, custodial sentences longer ones scaled to length, and the longest sentences are never spent. Periods run concurrently rather than stacking, but a further conviction during a rehabilitation period can extend matters. Once spent, you are generally entitled to answer no when asked about convictions, and an employer who rejects you for a spent conviction outside the exempt categories is on shaky ground. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

What each DBS check actually shows

A basic check shows unspent convictions and conditional cautions only, and anyone can request one about themselves. A standard check shows spent and unspent convictions and cautions subject to filtering, and is available only for specified roles. An enhanced check adds any information a chief officer of police reasonably believes relevant — which can include allegations that never led to charge — and, where the role qualifies, a check against the barred lists. Employers frequently request a higher level than the role legally entitles them to; that is worth questioning. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Living with a record

Disclose accurately when you must and not more than you must: over-disclosure of spent matters costs people jobs unnecessarily, and under-disclosure where disclosure was required is usually treated as dishonesty, which is worse than the original offence. Insurance is a common trap, because insurers ask about unspent convictions and a non-disclosure can void a policy at the moment you claim. If information on an enhanced certificate is wrong or unfairly included, there is a dispute process and, for police-supplied information, an independent monitor. Travel is a separate regime again — some countries refuse entry on records the UK treats as spent. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Dealing with a criminal record, step by step

Work out whether it is spentThe rehabilitation period depends on the sentence imposed, not on how serious it felt.

Check what level of check the role can lawfully requireEmployers often ask for more than the role entitles them to.

Dispute wrong or unfair information on the certificateThere is a formal process, and it works. Call 0800 007 4103 free, any hour — and a one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor (£145, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

Criminal Records and DBS — your questions answered

Do I have to tell an employer about an old conviction?

Not once it is spent, for most jobs — you can lawfully answer no. The exceptions are exempt roles such as working with children or vulnerable adults, and certain regulated professions, where you must disclose what the higher-level check would show. If in doubt about which category a job falls into, ask what level of DBS check will be carried out; the answer tells you what regime applies.

Will a caution show up on a DBS check?

It can. A caution is an admission of guilt recorded against you, not a conviction, but it appears on standard and enhanced checks unless it has been filtered. Youth cautions and older simple cautions for less serious matters filter relatively quickly; cautions for specified serious offences never do. A basic check will not show a simple caution.

Can I get a conviction removed from my record?

Convictions themselves are not deleted — they become spent and, at the DBS level, may be filtered so they stop appearing. What can sometimes be challenged is a caution administered improperly, or additional police information included on an enhanced certificate that is inaccurate or disproportionate. Both have formal routes, and both are worth advice because the applications are evidence-driven.

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