Do I need to declare a caution or conviction to my regulator?
If you are a registered doctor, nurse, midwife, nursing associate, pharmacy professional or allied health professional, the answer is almost always yes. Each regulator asks about criminal matters when you join the register and expects you to report new ones during your career, without waiting for your next renewal or revalidation.
A caution or conviction does not automatically stop you joining or staying on a register. Many registered professionals have declared criminal matters and continue to practise. What regulators look at is how serious the matter is, whether it relates to your work, what it says about risk, how long ago it happened and, above all, whether you were honest about it.
What does each regulator require?
The wording differs, but the duties are similar. They cover charges, not only convictions, and they apply to matters in any country.
| Regulator | When to tell them | What to report (summary) |
|---|---|---|
| GMC (doctors) | Without delay | Accepting a caution, being charged with or found guilty of an offence anywhere in the world, or a finding by another regulator |
| NMC (nurses, midwives, nursing associates) | As soon as you can, and at revalidation | Any caution or charge, a conditional caution, or being found guilty of an offence; also tell employers. At revalidation you declare charges, cautions and convictions, including conditional discharges |
| HCPC (allied health professionals, including paramedics and physiotherapists) | As soon as possible, and at renewal | Accepting a caution, being charged with or found guilty of an offence, or action by another regulator or employer |
| GPhC (pharmacists and pharmacy technicians) | Promptly, and at renewal | Relevant criminal matters. Check the GPhC's current guidance for the time limit |
You must report a charge even if you intend to plead not guilty. The regulator will usually wait for the court's decision before deciding what to do, but it needs to know so it can consider whether any interim action is needed to protect the public.
Telling your employer
Most employment contracts require you to tell your employer about arrests, charges, cautions and convictions, often immediately. Agency and bank staff usually have the same duty to their agency, and doctors should also tell their Responsible Officer. Your employer may ask you to update your DBS check (or PVG membership in Scotland). Check your contract and local policy.
Do I have to declare a spent conviction?
Usually, yes. In England and Wales, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 allows many cautions and convictions to become spent after a set time, and most employers then cannot ask about them. But healthcare professions are listed in the Exceptions Order 1975. That means regulators and healthcare employers can ask about spent matters, and you must answer truthfully unless the matter is protected.
What does protected mean?
Protected cautions and convictions are filtered: they do not appear on standard or enhanced DBS certificates and do not need to be declared, even to a regulator. In England and Wales, the current DBS filtering rules are summarised below. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules, through Disclosure Scotland and AccessNI.
| Matter | When it is filtered (England and Wales) |
|---|---|
| Adult caution | After 6 years, unless the offence is on the list of specified offences |
| Adult conviction | After 11 years, only if it is spent, did not lead to a custodial or suspended sentence, and is not a specified offence |
| Conviction received under 18 | After 5 and a half years, on the same conditions |
| Specified offences (for example serious violent and sexual offences, and others relevant to safeguarding) | Never filtered |
Do I need to declare a speeding fine or driving offence?
This is one of the most common questions. The general position is that minor motoring matters dealt with by a paid fixed penalty notice, such as a parking fine or a speeding fixed penalty with points, are not convictions and are not usually declarable. The HCPC lists minor motoring offences dealt with by fixed penalty among the matters that generally do not need declaring, and the BMA gives similar advice to doctors about the GMC.
- A paid fixed penalty notice for speeding or parking: generally not declarable.
- A speeding offence that goes to court and ends in a conviction: declarable.
- Drink driving or drug driving: a criminal conviction that must be declared.
- A charge for any driving offence that goes to court, such as careless or dangerous driving: declarable when charged.
If you are not sure which category your matter falls into, ask your regulator or adviser.
What about cautions or convictions from another country?
Regulators' duties apply to matters anywhere in the world. If you are an internationally educated professional applying to a UK register, you will usually be asked about criminal matters in every country where you have lived and may need a police certificate or certificate of good conduct.
A matter that is treated as minor, informal or expired in another country's system may still fall within the UK question. Read each question on the application form carefully and answer exactly what it asks. If an overseas process does not match a UK category neatly, explain it in plain terms and include the official documents.
What happens after you declare?
A conviction is normally treated as proof of the facts it was based on, so the regulator will not re-try the case. It looks instead at what the matter means for patient safety and public trust.
| Factor | What the regulator considers |
|---|---|
| Nature of the offence | Violence, sexual offending, dishonesty, drugs, harm to vulnerable people, or links to work |
| Seriousness | The sentence, and whether it was a single event or a pattern |
| Time | How long ago it was and what you have done since |
| Health | Whether alcohol, drugs or a health condition were involved and are being managed |
| Insight | Whether you accept responsibility and understand the impact |
| Honesty | Whether you declared promptly and accurately |
A single drink-driving conviction, declared promptly, with no link to work and with clear insight, may be closed without action or with advice. Offences involving sexual misconduct, serious violence or theft from patients are treated as very serious. Where alcohol or drugs were involved, the regulator may ask for health evidence. If this applies to you, your GP, occupational health service or NHS Practitioner Health can offer confidential support.
What if I did not declare something I should have?
Regulators treat failing to declare as a separate concern, and often a more serious one than the offence. Answering no to a clear question on a form can be judged dishonest using the test from Ivey v Genting Casinos (2017): what did you actually know or believe, and was your conduct dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people? Matters often come to light later through DBS checks or police notifications.
I did not declare it because it was years ago and only minor. It has nothing to do with nursing, and it is not fair for it to be held against me now.
My NMC application asked about cautions and convictions that were not protected. I had a conviction for shoplifting and was fined. I believed it was spent, so I answered no, but I did not check the rules or ask for advice. I now understand that nurses must declare spent matters unless they are protected, and mine was not. When this came to light, I took advice from my union, made a full declaration with the court record, and wrote a reflection on both the offence and my failure to check.
The stronger version states the facts accurately, accepts responsibility without exaggerating or minimising, shows understanding of why the rule applies to healthcare, and describes prompt corrective action.
How do I write a good declaration?
- Take advice: Speak to your defence organisation, trade union or solicitor before you submit anything.
- Read the question: Check your regulator's current guidance and the exact wording of the form, and note any time limits.
- State the facts: Give the date, the offence as recorded, the police force or court and the outcome. Do not reword or soften the offence.
- Attach documents: Include what the regulator asks for, such as the caution record, certificate of conviction or sentencing remarks.
- Reflect: Explain briefly what happened and why, why it matters for your profession, and what you have done since.
- Add evidence: Include relevant courses, health support and testimonials from people who know about the matter.
- Tell your employer: Inform your employer, agency or Responsible Officer as your contract and policies require.
Hannah, a physiotherapist, was convicted of drink driving after a social event, fined and banned from driving. She told the HCPC and her manager within a few days. Her declaration matched the court record exactly, included a short reflection on her decision to drive and its potential consequences for other people, and attached evidence that she had completed a drink-driver rehabilitation course and spoken to her GP. There was no suggestion that alcohol had affected her work.
Getting help with your reflection
This guide explains general principles and is not legal advice. Your regulator's current guidance and your adviser should shape your actual declaration.
Our course Criminal Convictions, Cautions and Declaring to Your Regulator explains each regulator's duties, the rehabilitation of offenders rules, how regulators assess criminal matters and how to write an honest, well-evidenced declaration and reflection. The courses on medication errors and record keeping are available too if your learning covers wider practice.
Frequently asked questions
Can you be a nurse with a caution?
Yes, often. A caution does not automatically bar you from the NMC register. The NMC considers the nature and seriousness of the matter, when it happened and what you have done since. Being open about it matters a great deal. Some serious offences, such as sexual or violent offences, raise much greater concerns.
Do I need to tell the NMC if I am arrested but not charged?
The NMC Code focuses on cautions, charges and convictions, so an arrest alone is not usually listed. However, your employer's policy may require you to report an arrest, and circumstances vary. Check the current NMC guidance and your contract, and take advice from your union or defence organisation.
How soon must a doctor tell the GMC about a charge?
Good Medical Practice says doctors must tell the GMC without delay if, anywhere in the world, they have accepted a caution, been charged with or found guilty of a criminal offence. You should also tell your employer and Responsible Officer in line with your contract.
Do I need to declare a conviction that is spent?
For healthcare registration, usually yes. Healthcare professions are exempt from most spent conviction protections under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, so you must declare spent cautions and convictions unless they are protected under the DBS filtering rules, or the equivalent rules in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Will a drink driving conviction affect my registration?
It must be declared, but a single drink-driving conviction that is declared promptly, has no link to work and is accompanied by clear insight is often closed without a sanction. The regulator may consider whether there is an underlying health concern and may ask for medical evidence.
What happens if I forgot to declare a caution on my application?
Take advice and correct it as soon as possible. Regulators treat non-disclosure as a question of honesty, but a voluntary late declaration with a clear, honest explanation is viewed much more favourably than one discovered through a DBS check or by others.
Do I need to declare a conviction from my home country?
Yes. UK regulators' questions cover matters anywhere in the world. Answer the application questions exactly as asked, provide official documents and, if the overseas process does not match a UK category, explain it plainly. If you are unsure, ask the regulator or an adviser.
Related courses
Criminal Convictions, Cautions and Declaring to Your Regulator
This course explains when UK healthcare professionals must tell their regulator and employer about criminal charges, cautions and convictions,…
Medication Errors: Reflection and Remediation
This course explains why medication errors happen, what you must do when one occurs, and how to show a regulator or employer that you have understood…
Record Keeping and Documentation: Remediation Course
This course explains what good clinical documentation looks like, why record-keeping concerns arise, and why altering or falsifying a record is…
Sources and further reading
- Good Medical Practice (2024). General Medical Council.
- Revalidation: health and character. Nursing and Midwifery Council.
- Character issues that need to be declared. Health and Care Professions Council.
- Filtering rules for criminal record check certificates. Disclosure and Barring Service.
- Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. legislation.gov.uk.
- Declaring a criminal conviction. British Medical Association.
- Standards for pharmacy professionals. General Pharmaceutical Council.
Practitioner Insight is an independent education provider. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the GMC, MPTS, NMC, HCPC, GPhC or any NHS organisation, and this information is not legal advice. If you have been referred to a regulator, speak to your defence organisation, trade union or legal representative.
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