When is a conviction spent- Scottish Law

[TonTonMacoute]

I have also posted this in Scotsnet

I thought that the time it took for a conviction to be spent depended on the charge, but I have now learned that it depends on the sentence.

The sentence was an admonishment (or is it admonition?) which I gather is the equivalent of an Absolute Discharge in England, and is therefore spent immediately.

I would be very grateful if anyone has the answer to this question, thank you.

According to the Scottish government (who should know what they are talking about), if the individual was under 18 an admonishment becomes spent after 2.5 years. If they were over 18 it becomes spent after 5 years.

Oh, thank you. You don't have a link do you please? I've been going mad trawling through hundreds of websites.

Here you go:

www.mygov.scot/scotland-works-for-you/scotland-works-for-you-guidance-pack.pdf?inline=true

Look in Annex A on page 44.

By the way, a conviction may still show up on DBS checks or similar even after it is spent.

That's great, thank you, I will have a look.

Yes, I know that it will always show up in some areas unfortunately. He has just realised that he can't go to the States without having a visa interview and things like that.