An unspent conviction is a criminal record that has not yet reached a point where it does not need to be disclosed anymore. It is part of an individuals criminal record and will appear on all criminal record checks, including basic, enhanced, and standard checks. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 defines the rehabilitation period, which is the time it takes for a conviction to become spent. The length of the rehabilitation period depends on the sentence a person received in court, the age of the offender, and the specifics of the sentence, such as whether they went to prison. Once a conviction is spent, it does not have to be mentioned in certain situations, giving people a fresh start. However, spent convictions will still appear on standard and enhanced DBS checks, but employers must act as if the spent convictions have never happened.

In summary, an unspent conviction is a criminal record that has not yet reached the end of its rehabilitation period and will appear on all criminal record checks. A spent conviction is a criminal record that has reached the end of its rehabilitation period and has been removed from an individuals criminal record, but it may still appear on standard and enhanced DBS checks.