Declaring police charges, cautions and convictions

Satisfying our requirements about good character

Whenever you apply for or renew your registration, you must satisfy the Registrar of your good health and good character. This means

  • you must inform us if you have a police charge, caution or conviction
  • the Registrar will decide if an offence will affect your registration
  • we review police charges, cautions and convictions to look for patterns of offences.

Having a police charge, caution or conviction is a serious matter. However, a positive reference from your line manager could help your application. The reference which must be signed on headed paper, must show your line manager is aware of the offence(s) you have committed, give an opinion on your fitness to practise. The Registrar will also consider your own account of the circumstances that led to the offence.

As of July 2010, we have revised our policy on registration for nurses and midwives who have received a caution or conviction for an alcohol or drug related offence. Read the revised policy.

Do not declare fixed penalty fines for traffic offences unless they led to a disqualification. You do not need to declare offences again if we have already dealt with them.

Your application may be considered by the Registrar's Advisory Group.

The Registrar will then make a formal decision, taking the group’s advice into account. If the Registrar does not feel satisfied as to good health and good character, he may refuse the application outright or invite you to support your application with additional information.

To speak to someone about your police charges, cautions and convictions, please call: 020 7681 5463.

Created date :
03/03/2010
Modified date :
13/01/2012