Ask Theodorous › Tools › Spent conviction
When is my conviction spent?
Work out when an adult conviction or caution in England and Wales becomes spent, after which you usually do not have to disclose it.
Nothing you enter is sent to us or stored.
How this is calculated
Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, most convictions become spent after a set period. For adults:
- Fine: 12 months from conviction.
- Community order or conditional discharge: when the order ends, or 2 years from conviction if it has no end date.
- Custody of 1 year or less: 12 months after the sentence, including licence, ends.
- Custody over 1 year, up to 4 years: 4 years after the sentence ends.
- Custody over 4 years: 7 years after it ends, unless it was for a serious offence, which is never spent.
- Driving endorsement: 5 years from conviction.
- Simple caution: immediately. Conditional caution: 3 months.
Periods are shorter for under 18s. A later conviction can extend the period. Standard and enhanced DBS checks, used for work with children, vulnerable adults and some professions, can show spent convictions unless they are filtered.
Read the full guide: When does a conviction become spent?
Record holding you back? Speak to a solicitor.
Free, confidential first call, answered 24 hours a day.
Request a call backCall 0843 636 7687WhatsApp us