Information disclosed in a criminal record check
A basic, standard or enhanced AccessNI check will disclose different types of information about your criminal record history to an employer. Some cautions, fines, offences and spent convictions won't appear. But convictions for certain crimes stay unspent and will always appear on your record.
Different levels of check and disclosures
An AccessNI check is a criminal history record check which provides different levels of information about you. There are three levels of check:
- a basic check contains details of all convictions considered to be unspent
- a standard check contains details of all spent and unspent convictions, informed warnings, cautions and diversionary youth conferences
- an enhanced check contains the same information as a standard check and police records held locally - to work with children and vulnerable adults, the check may include information held by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
| Level of check | unspent convictions | spent convictions | barred lists | relevant police information | caution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | yes | no | no | no | no |
| Standard | yes | yes | no | no | yes |
| Enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Penalties and fines excluded from checks
A criminal record check doesn't include:
- a fixed penalty charge
- a parking fine
- some motoring offences
- a fine for not having a TV licence
Types of criminal record information
Conviction
If you’re prosecuted for an offence in court and found guilty, you have a conviction for that offence.
You might receive:
- a discharge
- a fine
- a prison sentence (including a suspended sentence)
- community service or other penalty
Spent and unspent convictions
If you're still in your rehabilitation period following a criminal conviction, your conviction is unspent. Any custodial sentence over two and a half years stays unspent.
If you were found guilty of a criminal offence by a court, following the specified time-period, your conviction will be considered “spent”. The specified time is the rehabilitation period.
Cautions, diversionary youth conference plans and informed warnings are automatically spent.
An AccessNI basic check doesn't include spent convictions.
| Sentence | rehabilitation period |
|---|---|
| Over 30 months in prison | never spent |
| Over six months but less than 30 months in prison | ten years (five years if convicted and person is under18) |
| Less than six months in prison | seven years (three and a half years if person is under 18 when convicted) |
| Fine or community service order | five years (two and a half years if person is under 18 when convicted) |
| Probation | for the period of the order or one year whichever is longer |
| Detention in a place directed by Minister of Justice/SofS under Article 45 of CJ (Children) (NI) Order 1998 |
six months or less – three years over six months but less than 30 months – five years |
| Attendance Centre Orders, remand home orders, training school orders, juvenile justice centre orders | one year after order expires |
| Care and supervision orders under Children and Young Persons' Act (NI) 1998 | date the order ceases or one year, whichever is longer |
| Hospital orders under Mental Health Act (NI) 1961 or Mental Health (NI) Order 1986 | five years from date of conviction or two years after the order expires, whichever is longer |
| Disqualification and other orders imposing disability, prohibition or other penalty | date the order ceases |
| Absolute discharge | six months |
| Any other sentence for which the Order does not specify a specific period | five years (two and half years if under 18 when convicted) |
Other ways offences can be treated
Offences can be treated in different ways. These are sometimes called non-court disposals or diversionary disposals.
Caution
If you admit an offence, the police can give you a caution. A caution is not a conviction. A caution is a warning which is subject to disclosure for six years if you’re an adult, or two years if you’re under 18, unless it is for a specified offence.
Diversionary youth conference
If an offender under 18 admits guilt, they can agree to a diversionary youth conference. They and their parent or guardian go to several meetings that might divert the young person from criminal behaviour. The diversionary conference is subject to disclosure for two years after the date accepted, unless it is for a specified offence.
Informed warning
If you admit an offence, the police can give you an informed warning without going to court. A warning is not a conviction. It is subject to disclosure for 12 months, unless it is for a specified offence. This applies to both adults and young people under 18 years old.
Relevant police information
An enhanced check can disclose non-conviction information or 'soft intelligence’ if the police believe it's relevant to the role you’re applying for and that it should to be disclosed. This could be:
- an incident that didn't go to court
- information about an ongoing police investigation
If police disclose information on your certificate but you think it isn't relevant or shouldn't be disclosed, you can raise a dispute with AccessNI.
Barred list checks
The Disclosure and Barring Service keeps two barred lists:
- people who are unsuitable for working with children
- people who are unsuitable for working with vulnerable adults
People on these lists are barred from regulated activity with children and vulnerable adults. It is a criminal offence for someone on these lists to work or apply to work in regulated activity.
To read about roles that are regulated, go to:
Filtering criminal records
Sometimes details of your criminal record won’t appear on your disclosure certificate. This is called ‘filtering’. AccessNI filters convictions and cautions for minor or certain old offences from standard and enhanced checks.
Filtering does not remove convictions for serious offences or convictions that resulted in a prison sentence.
Offences that aren't filtered
AccessNI does not filter:
- a conviction or caution, diversionary youth conference or informed warning for a specified offence
- a conviction resulting in a custodial sentence (including a suspended sentence)
- a conviction for trying to commit a specified offence
- a conviction for encouraging or helping someone else commit a specified offence
Specified offences
Specified offences are serious crimes that will always appear on an AccessNI check no matter when the crime occurred or the offender’s age when convicted.
Specified offences include:
- murder, manslaughter, kidnap, hijack, money laundering
- violence
- sexual crimes
- safeguarding or child protection matters
If you’re convicted of an offence abroad and the foreign authorities share this information with UK police, this offence could appear on your criminal record in Northern Ireland. AccessNI will not filter an offence if it is equal to any on the specified list.
Filtered offences
AccessNI filters information about certain convictions and offences.
| Conviction | 18 or over at time of conviction | Under 18 at time of conviction |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions for non-specified offences | filtered after 11 years | filtered after five and a half years |
| Cautions for non-specified offences | filtered after six years | filtered after two years |
| Diversionary Youth Conferences | not applicable | filtered after two years |
| Informed warning for non-specified offence | filtered after one year | filtered after one year |
Examples of filtered records
The examples of filtered records explain when filtering applies to cautions or convictions for minor offences. Real people's names aren't used.
Old and minor offence – conviction and fine
Arnold is 52. He was convicted and fined £50 for common assault in 2006. 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.
More than one offence – convictions and fines
Basia is 50. She was convicted and fined £100 for common assault in 2005. In 2006 she was convicted and fined £100 for shoplifting. 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.
Under 18 – conviction and fine for an old offence
Cole is 24. He was convicted of common assault in 2011 and fined £200.
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 18.
Under 18 - conviction and suspended prison sentence
Delia is 20. She was convicted of common assault in 2017. She received six months detention in the Young Offenders Centre, suspended for two years.
This conviction will not be filtered because Delia received a prison sentence.
Specified offence - conviction and fine
Ely is 30. He was convicted of possessing prohibited images of children in 2004. He was fined £500.
This is a single office which happened over 11 years ago. This conviction will not be filtered because it is a specified offence.
Over 18 - caution for a minor offence
Flora is 25. She was cautioned for shoplifting in 2019.
This caution will not be filtered. Flora was over 18 when cautioned. Her caution is eligible to be filtered in 2025, six years after the caution.
Under 18 – caution for a minor offence
Guy is 20. He was cautioned for shoplifting in 2015.
This caution will be filtered because Guy was under 18 when cautioned and over two years have passed since the caution.
Caution and conviction for minor offences (under 18 and adult)
Helga is 21. She was cautioned for shoplifting in 2010. She committed another offence in 2015. She was convicted and fined £100.
The caution will not be disclosed as Helga was under 18 when cautioned. Her separate conviction will be filtered in 2026, provided she has no further convictions.
Informed warning and a caution
Irene is 22. She received an informed warning for theft in 2015 and a caution for burglary in 2016.
She has two offences but none of this information will be on her check. Unlike convictions, more than one caution or informed warning can be filtered. The offences aren't on the specified list. More than two years have passed since the caution and one year since the informed warning.
Other information on a standard or enhanced check
Filtering doesn't remove information about your criminal history from your record. It means certain details aren't shown on your AccessNI check.
Sometimes AccessNI filters a caution or conviction but the offence appears on your certificate under “other information”. This happens when police believe a caution or conviction might be relevant to a job and should be disclosed on your certificate.
Independent review of criminal record information
Sometimes before a disclosure certificate is issued, AccessNI will ask for an independent review of criminal record information. An independent reviewer will do the review. The reviewer isn't employed by AccessNI.
If you were under 18 when convicted, the conviction is now spent and there is no information on adult offences, any criminal record information will go to an independent reviewer.
They'll write and ask if you want to say anything about the disclosure of this information. If you want to give information to the reviewer, you have 14 days to reply.
The independent reviewer might also ask for more information from:
- police
- the probation board
- the Youth Justice Agency
Once the reviewer considers all the relevant information, they'll issue a certificate with:
- all the criminal record information held about you
- some but not all of the criminal record information held about you
- none of the criminal record information held about you
AccessNI will write and tell you the independent reviewer's decision and your certificate will be issued. The independent reviewer's decision is final.