Childhood criminal records: the plan to stop disclosure to employers

On 13 November 2026 the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) launched a consultation on reforming the disclosure of childhood criminal records. The core idea: a person would no longer have to tell employers and education providers about a criminal record gained as a child. The Youth Justice Board (YJB) has welcomed the move.

Why it is being discussed

YJB chief executive Stephanie Roberts-Bibby says that 'reinforcing a criminal identity can be stigmatising and increase the risk of further offending.' The thinking is that a mistake made as a teenager should not block a person from study and work for life. For now this is only a proposal out for consultation; the law has not yet changed.

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How disclosure works now

The current framework is the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Under it, after a set period a conviction becomes 'spent' — and for most employers you do not have to declare it. The period is the length of the sentence plus a 'buffer' that is shorter for under-18s than for adults.

The rehabilitation periods

For custodial sentences the buffer runs from the end of the sentence (including any licence period). The main buffers are:

• prison term over 4 years: 7 years for an adult and 3.5 years for someone sentenced under 18;
• over 1 year up to 4 years: 4 years and 2 years;
• 1 year or less: 1 year and 6 months;
• a fine: 1 year for an adult, 6 months for a young person;
• community and rehabilitation orders: 2 years (or until the order ends);
• a conditional caution: 3 months;
• a simple caution and an absolute discharge: spent immediately.

What to keep in mind

There are exceptions. For work with children and vulnerable adults, and in some professions, an enhanced check is carried out through the DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service), where different rules apply: the most serious violent and sexual offences are always disclosed. The proposed reform concerns what a person must declare themselves, and does not yet change these checks.

If you are unsure whether your record is spent and whether to declare it, check the rules on gov.uk or get free advice from a specialist charity before filling in an employer's form.

What a worker should do

If you are asked to fill in a form about convictions, first check which type of check the employer needs: basic, standard or enhanced. A basic check shows only unspent convictions, and once the rehabilitation period has passed you do not have to mention the old matter. For standard and enhanced checks, some old and minor records are filtered out automatically under separate rules. Honesty matters, but there is no need to declare more than the law requires.