A spent conviction is one that’s reached a set period, defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Once a conviction is considered spent, it’s removed from your criminal record – but it could stay on your driving record for longer.

An unspent conviction is one that’s not reached this defined time.

Remember, you’ll need to declare all unspent motoring convictions when you get a quote. If you don’t, your policy could be voided.

You can use this gov.uk tool to check if a conviction is still considered unspent.