Criminal Record Disclosure Calculator - User Guide

www.disclosurecalculator.org.uk

On this page:

1. What is it?
2. How do I register to use it?
     2.1 Personal use
     2.2 Corporate use
   
3. What information do I need to use it?
4. What happens to the information I provide?
5. How do I answer the questions?
     5.1 Before you start
     5.2 Name of conviction
     5.3 Date of conviction
     5.4 Type of offence
           5.4.1 Loitering or Soliciting
           5.4.2 Summary offence
           5.4.3 Any other offence
     5.5 Sentence or disposal received
           5.5.1 Consecutive, EPP, IPP and foreign convictions
     5.6 Do you need to add a further conviction?
     5.7 Date of Birth
     5.8 Email Address
6. What do the results mean?
     5.1 Convictions that are unspent
     5.2 Convictions that are spent
7. Disclaimer
8. Terms of Use
9. Frequently asked questions
10. Questions/queries

1. What is it? Back to top

The Criminal Record Disclosure Calculator (“the calculator”) is a web tool that can be used to find out when a criminal record becomes spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. For more information about the calculator, click here.

To use the Calculator, visit www.disclosurecalculator.org.uk.

This guide provides details about the calculator and how you can use it to find out when your criminal record becomes “spent” under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

General information on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the relevant rules/provisions can be found here. 


2. How do I register to use it?

2.1 Personal use

If you are an individual with a criminal record, or family/friend - Register for personal use

Please note: This option is for personal use only. It should only be used by individuals with a criminal record and friends/family on behalf of that individual. It should not be used by organisations, professionals or others (e.g. mentors) who are providing support or services to people with a criminal record. 

1. To set up a personal account, visit www.disclosurecalculator.org.uk and in the 'Register for personal use' section enter your email address and choose a password. Please make sure you use a personal email address. Personal accounts with professional or organisational email addresses may be de-activated to prevent any breaches of the Terms of Use.
   
2. You will be sent an email confirming your account details. Please keep this email safe - for data protection reasons, we do not store the passwords that individuals choose. As a result, if you forget your password, we will not be able to provide this to you.
3. Your confirmation email will contain an activation link that you have to click to activate your account. This will take you to the homepage of the Calculator where you will be able to login to your account. You will not be able to login to your account until you have clicked on the activation link send to you by email.
   

2.2 Corporate use

If you are an organisation/professional - Register for corporate use

1. To set up a corporate account, click here. On this page, there will be a link to a form to send us your details.
   
2. Complete this form, including details of what level of account you would like.
3. Once submitted, your application will be processed and you will be sent an invoice with details of how to make payment.
4. Once payment has been received, you will be contacted by email to confirm that you account has been set up. Your account will also be allocated a password. This will be included in the email that you are sent. Please keep this email safe - for data protection reasons, we do not store passwords.
   

For both personal and corporate accounts

Whilst you are logged in to your account, the homepage will display what account you are logged into, how many uses you have remaining, and a link to logout. 

3. What information do I need to use it? Back to top

The tool will only work if you know the following details about all of the convictions or disposals that you have received:

1. The date of conviction
2. The type of offence
3. The sentence or disposal that you received
4. Your date of birth

Information is provided about how to find out some of the above information if you don’t know it already.

The tool is only as good as the information that you input - it will only give you an accurate result if you input accurate information.

If you are not entirely clear on the details of your convictions, there is information on how to find out about your criminal record available here. 

 
4. What happens to the information I provide? Back to top

The information collected by this tool is used to provide on-screen results. You also have the option to receive the results by email. Any information you provide will not be shared with a third-party or used by UNLOCK for marketing purposes.


5. How do I answer the questions? Back to top

5.1 Before you start Back to top

You should enter your convictions in the order that they were received, starting with the first/earliest.

5.2 Name of conviction Back to top

You should complete this field if you would like to give a name to the conviction. This is optional, but may help you to identify this conviction when looking at the results page.


5.3 Date of conviction Back to top

You should input the date that you were convicted, not when you were sentenced.

If you do not know the exact date of the conviction, you may want to take steps to find this information out officially (see here for more information). Otherwise, it is possible for you to provide an estimate of the date of conviction, either to the nearest month or year, but this may produce inaccurate results, particularly if you have multiple convictions.

If you do no know the exact date, and still want to use the calculator, you should enter a date which is at the end of the month or year when you think you were convicted. For example, if you know you were convicted in 2008, you should enter 31/12/2008. Your results will then show the latest possible date your convictions will be spent.
 
 
5.4 Type of offence Back to top

This section is particularly important for further convictions. The majority of offences will fall within the “Any other offence” category (this is the default option).

• Loitering or Soliciting – under section 1 of the Street Offences Act 1959.
• Summary offence – summary offences,  scheduled offences and certain Armed Forces offences
• Any other offence – an offence which is either triable-either-way or indictable. This category covers most offences

If you cannot work out which offence category your conviction falls into from the information below, you should contact the Government-funded Resettlement Helpline provided by Nacro as they should be able to provide some assistance:

1. Call:          020 7840 6464
2. Email:        helpline@nacro.org.uk
3. Write:        Nacro Resettlement Helpline, 159 Clapham Road, London, SW9 0PU

5.4.1 Loitering or Soliciting Back to top

You should select this option if you convicted of an offence under section 1 of the Street Offences Act 1959.
 

5.4.2 Summary offence Back to top

You should select this option if your conviction was:

1. For a summary offence
2. For a scheduled offence under section 22 of the Magistrates Court Act 1980
3. For an offence under section 13(3)(b) of the Armed Forces Act 1996

1. Was my conviction for a summary offence?

You should select “Summary offence” if your conviction is regarded as a summary offence.

There is no official list of all summary offencesection  However, to help you identify whether your conviction was for a summary offence, there is some useful information below.

If you were convicted of an offence in this list, your conviction was for a summary offence. This is a list of all summary offences which are known as “recordable” (i.e. offences which are automatically recorded on the PNC).

There is also a list of Notifiable Offences that the Home Office has published, which breaks down the offences into Indictable, Triable-either-way, or Summary.

Some of the more common offences that are classed as summary offences include:

1. Assault on a constable (Police Act 1996 section 89(1)
2. Common assault and battery (Criminal Justice Act 1988 section 39)
3. Assaults - Common (County Courts Act 1984 section 14)
4. Unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle (Theft Act 1968 section 12(1)Aggravated vehicle taking – criminal damage of £5,000 or under
5. Criminal damage, £5,000 or less (Criminal Damage Act 1971, Magistrates Courts Act 1980 section 22)
6. Driving whilst disqualified (Road Traffic Act 1988 section 103(1)(b)

 
2. Was my conviction for a scheduled offence under section 22 of the Magistrates Court Act 1980?

You should select “Summary offence” if you were convicted for a “scheduled offence”.  Schedule 2 of the Magistrates Court Act 1980 sets out what offences may be regarded as a scheduled offences, which basically include a limited number of triable either way offences that may be dealt with summarily where the value involved is small.

It is difficult to determine whether an offence will be treated summarily in the future, but it should be clear whether a previous offence was treated as a scheduled offence and therefore classed as a summary offence (i.e. dealt with in a Magistrates court).

A conviction would be regarded as a scheduled offence if:

1. The offence was one of the following –
   a. Offences under section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 (destroying or damaging property), excluding any offence committed by destroying or damaging property by fire.
   b.    aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of the offence above
   c.    attempting to commit the offence above
   d.    inciting another to commit the offence above
2. The value involved is less than £5,000. The value includes the value of property destroyed and/or the value of alleged damage. How this is measured is detailed in the Schedule.  
3. The offence was dealt with in a Magistrates Court as a scheduled offence.

3. Was my conviction for an offence under section 13(3)(b)Armed Forces Act 1996?

You should select “Summary offence” if you were convicted for any of the offences below.  These offences are those set out in section 13(3)(b) of the Armed Forced Act 1996  as those listed in Schedule 4 of the Act.  

Provisions of the Army Act 1955 and the Air Force Act 1955

Any offence under any of the provisions of the Army Act 1955 or the Air Force Act 1955 listed below:

Section 29    Offences by or in relation to sentries, persons on watch etc.
Section 29A  Failure to attend for duty, neglect of duty etc.
Section 33    Insubordinate behaviour.
Section 34    Disobedience to lawful commands.
Section 34A  Failure to provide a sample for drug testing.
Section 35    Obstruction of provost officers.
Section 36    Disobedience to standing orders.
Section 38    Absence without leave.
Section 39    Failure to report or apprehend deserters or absentees.
Section 42    Malingering.
Section 43    Drunkenness.
Section 43A  Fighting, threatening words etc.
Section 44    Damage to, and loss of, public or service property etc.
Section 44A  Damage to, and loss of, Her Majesty’s aircraft or aircraft material.
Section 44B  Interference etc. with equipment, messages or signals.
Section 45    Misapplication and waste of public or service property.
Section 46    Offences relating to issues and decorations.
Section 47    Billeting offences.
Section 48    Offences in relation to requisitioning of vehicles.
Section 50    Inaccurate certification.
Section 51    Low flying.
Section 52    Annoyance by flying.
Section 54    Permitting escape, and unlawful release of prisoners.
Section 55    Resistance to arrest.
Section 56    Escape from confinement.
Section 57    Offences in relation to courts-martial.
Section 61    Making of false statements on enlistment.
Section 62    Making of false documents.
Section 63    Offences against civilian population.
Section 69    Conduct to prejudice of military discipline or air-force discipline.

Any offence under section 68 (attempt to commit military offence) or 68A (aiding and abetting etc., and inciting, military offence) of the Army Act 1955 in relation to an offence under any of the provisions of that Act listed in paragraph 2.

Any offence under section 68 (attempt to commit air-force offence) or 68A (aiding and abetting etc., and inciting, air-force offence) of the Air Force Act 1955 in relation to an offence under any of the provisions of that Act listed in paragraph 2.

Provisions of the Naval Discipline Act 1957

Any offence under any of the provisions of the Naval Discipline Act 1957 listed below:

Section 6      Offences by or in relation to sentries, persons on watch etc.
Section 7      Failure to attend for duty, neglect of duty etc.
Section 11    Insubordinate behaviour.
Section 12    Disobedience to lawful commands.
Section 12A  Failure to provide a sample for drug testing.
Section 13    Fighting, threatening words etc.
Section 14    Obstruction of provost officers.
Section 14A  Disobedience to standing orders.
Section 17    Absence without leave etc.
Section 18    Failure to report deserters and absentees.
Section 21    Low flying.
Section 22    Annoyance by flying.
Section 25    Inaccurate certification.
Section 27    Malingering.
Section 28    Drunkenness.
Section 29    Damage to, and loss of, public or service property etc.
Section 29A  Damage to, and loss of, Her Majesty’s aircraft or aircraft material.
Section 29B  Interference etc. with equipment, messages or signals.
Section 30    Misapplication and waste of public or service property.
Section 31    Offences relating to issues and decorations.
Section 32    Billeting offences.
Section 33    Offences in relation to the requisitioning of vehicles etc.
Section 33A  Permitting escape, and unlawful release of prisoners.
Section 33B  Resistance to arrest.
Section 33C  Escape from confinement.
Section 34A  False statements on entry.
Section 35    Falsification of documents.
Section 35A  Offences against civilian population.
Section 38    Offences in relation to courts-martial.
Section 39    Conduct to the prejudice of naval discipline.

Any offence under section 40 (attempt to commit naval offence) or 41 (aiding and abetting etc., and inciting, naval offence) of the Naval Discipline Act 1957 in relation to an offence under any of the provisions of that Act listed in paragraph 5.


5.4.3 Any other offence Back to top

You should select this option if your conviction does not fit into any of the above categories. This will be the case for most convictions, including triable either way and indictable offence, subject to the above.

If your conviction it is not on the list of recordable summary offences (mentioned above), but it is on this list  (a list of triable either way and indictable offences), then your conviction was not for a summary offence (it was for either an Indictable of Triable Either Way offence) and you should select “Any Other Offence” as the type of offence.


5.5 Sentence or disposal received Back to top

You should enter the specific sentence/disposal that you received for the conviction. This will determine the rehabilitation period for that specific offence.

It is important to ensure that you select the exact sentence/disposal that you received. There are many disposals that have similar wordings but have different rehabilitation periods.  If you choose the wrong one, the results of the calculator may be inaccurate. For example:

Community Order                                             5 years (for those 18 and over)
Probation Order (on or after 3 February 1995)     5 years (for those 18 and over)
Probation Order (before 3 February 1995)           1 year (or until order expires)                       

There are also many that are no longer used, but for historical purposes the option of selecting these is needed.

Notes are displayed underneath the drop-box for many of the sentences/disposals chosen, to give some additional information about then (for example, when they were introduced or abolished).

If you received more than one sentence or disposal, you should record them all by selecting “Add another disposal to this conviction”. Multiple sentences or disposals can impact on when a conviction becomes spent, as the disclosure period for the conviction is equal to the sentence/disposal with the longest rehabilitation period.


5.5.1 Consecutive, EPP, IPP and foreign convictions Back to top

1. Multiple convictions with consecutive prison sentences in the same proceedings

To get the correct disclosure result you must use the total length of the prison sentence for every conviction in the proceedings. For example: -

You were sent to prison for 8 months in total. This was made up of a 3 month sentence and a 5 month sentence, ordered to run consecutively.

• Enter conviction one (the 3 month sentence)
• Under  ‘sentence or disposal received’, select ‘Prison sentence, more than 6 months up to 30 months.’ Do not select ‘Prison sentence, 6 months or less’
• Click “Add a conviction dealt with under the SAME proceedings”
• Enter conviction two (the 5 month sentence)
• Under  ‘sentence or disposal received’, select ‘Prison sentence, more than 6 months up to 30 months.’ Do not select ‘Prison sentence, 6 months or less’

2. Extended Sentence for Public Protection (EPP)

To get the correct disclosure result you must use the custodial period plus the time on licence. For example: -

You received an EPP with 1 year in custody and 3 years on licence, a total of 4 years.

• Under  ‘sentence or disposal received’, select “Prison Sentence, more than 30 months”. ’
• Do not select ‘Prison sentence, more than 6 months up to 30 months’.

3. Indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP)

All IPP sentences are treated as prison sentences over 30 months, even when a tariff of less than 30 months was given.  Under  ‘sentence or disposal received’, select “Prison Sentence, more than 30 months”.


4. Foreign convictions

If you were convicted abroad, you may still be protected by the ROA.  However, there can be significant differences in terminology and types of sentence. If your sentence does not match with a sentence in this country (for example a ‘behavioural bond’, the Ministry of Justice has advised UNLOCK that you should “find a domestic sentence which is the nearest equivalent”. However, if you are unsure, we advise that you contact the Sentencing Policy and Penalities Unit at the Ministry of Justice to request their view. Write to: Rehabilitation of Offenders Act Policy Advisor, Sentencing Policy and Penalties Unit, Ministry of Justice, 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ, or email ROA@justice.gsi.gov.uk.  


5.6 Do you need to add a further conviction? Back to top

If you have more than one conviction, you need to enter your further convictions depending on whether they were dealt with in the same proceedings or whether they were dealt with separately. 

How to deal with breaches

If you originally received a community order or a conditional dischage, and then were later brought before the court for a breach of the order, this can affect the rehabilitation period of the original conviction. Yyou should breaches as further convictions dealt with in the same proceedings. This will ensure that the earlier conviction and the later breach are dealt with together, and that the longer rehabilitation period is applied to both.  

Please note: Be careful not to select either of these options unless you do actually have a further conviction, as there is currently no ability to remove a conviction once one of these options are selected, so you would need to start again.


5.7 Date of Birth Back to top

This is needed to determine how old you were at the point of conviction, as some disclosure periods vary depending on your age at the time of conviction.


5.8 Email Address Back to top

If you wish to be sent the results to you via email for your own records, you should enter your email address and confirm it in the box below.

The email will be sent with the subject line “Disclosure Calculator Results” and will contain the results of the details that you inputted into the tool. Your email address will not be passed to a third-party, and will only be used by UNLOCK to contact you if any technical issues are identified with the results you have been sent.

Given the highly personal nature of the information that will be sent in this email, you should ensure that you choose an email address which only you (or people you trust with your conviction information) have access to.



6. What do the results mean? Back to top

On the results page, you have the option of listing the results by conviction order or by spent date order.

Below is a brief summary of the implications of having a criminal record, split into whether it is unspent or spent.


6.1 Convictions that are unspent Back to top

• If asked by an employer, you have to disclose them, and they can legally refuse you or discriminate against you.
• They will be disclosed on all types of criminal record disclosure (basic, standard and enhanced).
• Whether you are asked about convictions or not, you have to disclose them when buying insurance as it is regarded as a material fact.
• If asked, you will have to disclose themwhen applying for products and services, such as a mortgage or renting a house.
• You could be prosecuted if you fail to disclose them when asked.

6.2 Convictions that are spent Back to top

• For ordinary jobs (those not exempt from the ROA), you do not need to disclose them to an employer, even if they ask about “all convictions” or “any convictions” or even for “spent convictions”.
• For roles/positions covered by the ROA, they should not be used as a reason to refuse you or disadvantage you in any way
• For roles/positions that are exempt from the ROA, you should disclose them if asked.
• They will be disclosed on standard and enhanced criminal record checks, and employers can legally refuse you or discriminate against you.
• They will not be disclosed on a basic criminal record check.
• They will remain on your record for life – they will not be deleted.
• You do not need to disclose them to insurers when purchasing insurance.
• You may have to disclose them when travelling abroad, as foreign jurisdictions are not obliged to follow the ROA.

7. Disclaimer Back to top

DISCLAIMER: This tool is reliant on the information inputted. Whilst every reasonable effort has been taken to ensure that this tool functions in accordance with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, we cannot guarantee its accuracy or completeness, and any liability is expressly excluded and disclaimed by UNLOCK. If you propose taking further action based on the results of this tool, you are strongly advised to consider obtaining specific professional or legal advice before doing so.


8. Terms of Use Back to top

The Terms of Use of the Disclosure Calculator are available here.


9. Frequently asked questions Back to top

Why have you limited personal use to 5 uses?

Personal use is specifically for individuals with a criminal record and their family/friends. These individuals should only need to use it once, but may need a couple of attempts to input the correct information. The limit of 5 uses is to prevent the personal use function being mis-used by organisations and professionals.

I've not received the activation email

Activation emails are issued immediately after you have submitted to register for personal use of the Calculator. If you can't see it in your inbox, check your 'Junk' or 'Spam' folder, and make sure you entered the correct email address.

How do I activate my account?

The most common question we receive about the Calculator is about how to activate your account.

Once you've registered, you'll receive a confirmation email which will contain an activation link that you have to click to activate your account. You will not be able to login to your account until you have clicked on the activation link send to you by email. This will take you to the homepage of the Calculator. To use the tool, all you need to do is login by entering your email address and password, then click 'Click here to login'. The 'Account details' section will display your login details, and below this you'll be able to begin entering your conviction details.

If you are having problems logging in after clicking the activation link, check the privacy settings of your browser, try a different browser, or try a different computer. Once the account is 'activated', the only reason you shouldn't be able to log in is if you're using the incorrect password. Please note that Unlock does not keep a record of your password.


10. Questions/queries Back to top

Any technical issues that you experience when using the Calculator should be reported to christopher.stacey@unlock.org.uk with the subject line 'Calculator - Technical Issue'.

If you have any questions about how to use the Calculator which are not covered in the user guide, you can contact our Information & Advice Service (IAS):

If you need help in finding out whether your convictions are spent, you should contact the Government-funded Resettlement Helpline provided by Nacro:

1. Call:           020 7840 6464
2. Email:        helpline@nacro.org.uk
3. Write:        Nacro Resettlement Helpline, 159 Clapham Road, London, SW9 0PU