Frequently asked questions – Information site by charity Unlock

Use it | What is it? | User guide | FAQ’s | Terms of use

This section has specific questions & answers relating to www.disclosurecalculator.org.uk. Find out more about the Calculator here.

+-Is there a limit to the number of personal uses?

There is no longer a limit on the number of uses. This follows the removal of the need to register to use the Calculator on either a personal basis or as a practitioner or organisation.

+-Do I have to set up an account to use it?

If you’re using the calculator on a personal basis (i.e. about your criminal record, or that of a family member/friend) then you do not have to set up an account.

You no longer need to set up a multiple-use account if you wish to use the calculator as a practitioner or organisation as part of your work.

+-What countries does it cover?

The calculator operates using the rehabilitation periods as they apply in England & Wales. Contacts for the law in other countries can be found here.

It might not always be as obvious as where you live when it comes to deciding which rules apply. See our detailed guidance on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act for more information.

+-When might I use the 'old rules'

This has been kept for use in a small number of cases where people might need to work out when their convictions became spent under the old law. For example, where there is an employment dispute and the person started the job before March 2014. However, it’s important to note that when you were convicted is irrelevant – the changes in March 2014 are ‘retrospective’, which mean they apply to people who were convicted before March 2014, so apart from in exceptional circumstances, you should use the current rules to work out when your convictions become spent.

+-I only got 100 hrs - what do I put into the Calculator?

You should also have given been given a community order. You should enter the length of that order.

+-My conviction became spent before March 2014 but it now seems to be treated as unspent – can that happen?

If a conviction was treated as spent before the 10th March, it stays spent and isn’t affected by the changes.

In a small number of cases, the changes made in March 2014 lengthened the rehabilitation period, particularly where individuals received multiple summary offences, and where individuals have received Detention and Training Orders.

In this situation, you should use the old version of the Calculator to work out any convictions that were dealt with before 10th March 2014. Anything that is spent before that point can be discounted. Anything that carries forward should be entered into the Calculator again, but this time using the new rules, to work out when they would become spent.