Check if you need to tell someone about your criminal record
Discharges
A discharge is a type of conviction where a court finds you guilty but does not give you a sentence because the offence is very minor.
The conviction could be:
- an absolute discharge
- a conditional discharge, where you could still get a sentence if you break the conditions
- a ‘bind over’, where you could get a fine if you break the conditions
Whether a discharge or bind over is ‘spent’ affects what information you need to give a potential employer, university or college.
When an absolute discharge becomes spent
It becomes spent straight away.
When conditional discharges and bind overs become spent
They become spent either:
- on the date they end
- 2 years after you got one, if there’s no end date