Rehabilitation of Offender Rules and Amendment to Filtering

Changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act

From October 2023, the rehabilitation periods below align with government legislation under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA).

To ensure the protection of the public, the changes do not apply to persons sentenced to more than 4 years imprisonment following a conviction for any serious violent, sexual, or terrorist offences listed in Schedule 18 of the Sentencing Act 2020. These convictions will continue to never become spent and will therefore always be disclosed. 

In addition, rehabilitation periods for some disposals/sentences will be reduced.  For example:

• Custodial sentences of more than 1 year and up to 4 years will now become spent 4 years after the end of the sentence,
• Custodial sentences of up to 1 year will now become spent 1 year after the end of the sentence.
• Community Orders and Youth Rehabilitation Orders will now become spent at the end of the order.