There can be some confusion about what “spent” means. The Rehabilitation of Offenders (NI) Order 1978 was introduced to give people a chance to ‘make a fresh start’. After a period, convictions can become ‘spent’ making it legally right to say ‘No’ when asked the question ‘Do you have any convictions?’
The length of time (i.e. the rehabilitation period ) depends on the age at the time of conviction, the type of sentence received and the jurisdiction the check is being carried out in.
Important: For the purposes of “regulated activity”, (working with children, the disabled or vulnerable adults) or certain roles in the finance or security sectors, certain convictions normally considered spent will have to be disclosed regardless. These roles will require an Enhanced AccessNI Certificate.
Currently, any prison sentences over 30 months (2.5 years) can never become spent. This means they will always show up on a basic AccessNI.
