Check if you need to tell someone about your criminal record
Driving convictions
A court might give you a conviction for a driving offence, for example speeding or drink driving.
The conviction could be:
- a fine
- a driving ban (‘disqualification’)
- community service or a prison sentence
Fixed penalty notices (FPN) and penalty charge notices (PCN) are fines for minor driving offences. They will not appear on your criminal record unless a court gives you a conviction because of one.
Whether a driving conviction is ‘spent’ affects what information you need to give a potential employer, university or college.
‘Endorsements’ (penalty points)
A court will give a driving ban or fine with penalty points that appear on your driving record. This is known as an ‘endorsement’.
An endorsement can stay on your driving record for longer than your criminal record.
This means a potential employer, university or college might find out about a driving ban or fine after it’s spent, if they request to check your driving record.
When a fine with an endorsement becomes spent
The fine becomes spent either:
- 5 years after you got it, if you were 18 or over
- 2 years and 6 months after you got it, if you were under 18
When a driving ban with an endorsement becomes spent
When a driving ban becomes spent depends on how:
- long the ban lasts
- old you were when you got it
If you were 18 or over
If the ban lasts less than 5 years, it becomes spent 5 years after you got it.
If the ban lasts more than 5 years, it becomes spent on the date it ends.
If you were under 18
If the ban lasts less than 2 years and 6 months, it becomes spent 2 years and 6 months after you got it.
If the ban lasts more than 2 years and 6 months, it becomes spent on the date it ends.