When making decisions about your eligibility for a licence we consider cautions (including conditional cautions), warnings, absolute/conditional discharges and admonishments differently from convictions.

They are dealt with as follows:

• Cautions, warnings, absolute/conditional discharges and admonishments that are at least five years old will be disregarded.
• A single caution, warning, absolute/conditional discharge or admonishment will be considered more leniently than other convictions if you have an otherwise clean record as this does not indicate a pattern of criminality and could be considered out of character.
• The greater the number of cautions, warnings, absolute/conditional discharges and admonishments on your record, the more likely it will be that we will refuse your licence.
• The principles applied to rehabilitation will be taken into account when considering a recent caution where other criminality exists on your record.

Cautions, Warnings, Absolute/Conditional Discharges and Admonishments for Significant Offences

• We will disregard a single caution, warning, absolute/conditional discharge or admonishment for a significant offence over two years old on an otherwise clean record.

Consider Additional Factors

• We will consider additional factors where you have only one caution, warning, absolute/conditional discharge or admonishment for a significant offence in the past two years on an otherwise clean record. You will be invited to submit mitigation.
• We will consider additional factors where you have two or more cautions, warnings, absolute/conditional discharges or admonishments for significant offences in the past five years. You will be invited to submit mitigation. Higher numbers of cautions, warnings, absolute/conditional discharges or admonishments for significant offences on your record will increase the likelihood that we will refuse your licence application.

Automatic Refusal

• We will automatically refuse your licence application where you have two or more cautions or warnings for significant offences in the past two years. Two absolute/conditional discharges or admonishments for significant offences will not lead to an automatic refusal, but you will be invited to submit mitigating information.
• We will automatically refuse your application if you have a caution, warning, absolute/conditional discharge or admonishment for a significant offence in the past two years and your criminal record includes any relevant significant convictions which resulted in a custodial sentence where the sentence restriction(s) ended in the five years before your application.
• We will automatically refuse your application if you have a caution, warning, absolute/conditional discharge or admonishment for a significant offence in the past two years and your criminal record includes any relevant serious convictions which resulted in a custodial sentence where the sentence restriction(s) ended in the 10 years before your application.

Cautions, Warnings, Absolute/Conditional Discharges and Admonishments for Serious Offences

• We will disregard any caution, warning, absolute/conditional discharge or admonishments for a serious offence over five years old.

Consider Additional Factors

• We will consider additional factors where you have only one caution, warning, absolute/conditional discharge or admonishment for a serious offence in the past five years on an otherwise clean record. You will be invited to submit mitigating information.

Automatic Refusal

• We will automatically refuse your licence application where you have two or more cautions or warnings for serious offences in the past five years. Two absolute/conditional discharges or admonishments will not lead to an automatic refusal, but you will be invited to submit mitigating information.
• We will automatically refuse your licence application if you have a caution, warning, absolute/conditional discharge or admonishment for a serious offence in the past five years, and any convictions for significant offence(s) which resulted in a custodial sentence where the sentence restriction(s) ended in the five years before your application.
• We will automatically refuse your application if you have a caution, warning, absolute/conditional discharge or admonishment for a serious offence in the past five years and any convictions for other serious offence(s) which resulted in a custodial sentence where the sentence restriction(s) ended in the 10 years before your application.