Old Driving Conviction from Court

[darkguy18]

Hi All,

I've been looking at the forum for days now but my question, while it has been asked many times from other people, it has never been answered.

I have a driving conviction from court for SP30 (speeding), 3 points in license and £80 fine. The offence occurred more than 3 years ago and I currently have no points in my license. The problem is is that what was supposed to be a fixed penalty notice, it ended up in court because I never responded to the police.. I've done a subject access request and there is no information on the police national computer.

So the question really is, where do I need to declare this in citizenship application? Is it a criminal offence? And is the day of offence the day of conviction when it goes to court?

Thanks!

[Indguru90]

Hi All,

I've been looking at the forum for days now but my question, while it has been asked many times from other people, it has never been answered.

I have a driving conviction from court for SP30 (speeding), 3 points in license and £80 fine. The offence occurred more than 3 years ago and I currently have no points in my license. The problem is is that what was supposed to be a fixed penalty notice, it ended up in court because I never responded to the police.. I've done a subject access request and there is no information on the police national computer.

So the question really is, where do I need to declare this in citizenship application? Is it a criminal offence? And is the day of offence the day of conviction when it goes to court?

Thanks!

Very interesting that your conviction does not seem to be on the PNC. Did you ever use a different name? Even though a speeding offence is not a recordable offence and does not lead to a criminal record, it ought to appear on the PNC under local info...

Even so, you should nevertheless make full disclosure of these proceedings. You were, as a matter of law, convicted of a criminal offence (albeit a fairly minor one). Your conviction will not by itself prevent your being naturalised.

HO policy is reasonably clear. A fine is a non-custodial sentence and will be taken into account in the assessment of your good character for three years post-conviction (if you had paid the FPN, it would in general not have been relevant at all). You state that you were convicted more than three years ago, and that you have a clean driving record.

Therefore, on the facts stated, you should declare your conviction in section 3 of form AN but it will not lead to problems regarding good character. Good luck with your application.

[darkguy18]

Very interesting that your conviction does not seem to be on the PNC. Did you ever use a different name? Even though a speeding offence is not a recordable offence and does not lead to a criminal record, it ought to appear on the PNC under local info...

Even so, you should nevertheless make full disclosure of these proceedings. You were, as a matter of law, convicted of a criminal offence (albeit a fairly minor one). Your conviction will not by itself prevent your being naturalised.

HO policy is reasonably clear. A fine is a non-custodial sentence and will be taken into account in the assessment of your good character for three years post-conviction (if you had paid the FPN, it would in general not have been relevant at all). You state that you were convicted more than three years ago, and that you have a clean driving record.

Therefore, on the facts stated, you should declare your conviction in section 3 of form AN but it will not lead to problems regarding good character. Good luck with your application.

Thank you for your response. I think what is not clear in the HO guidelines is what is the conviction date. I can only see offence date in my driving license, which has expired after 3 years, however the conviction date could well be within 3 years.. Therefore the question would remain in this case if I would have to apply for discretion outside statutory requirements and tick the very last box of the application form.

[Indguru90]

Thank you for your response. I think what is not clear in the HO guidelines is what is the conviction date. I can only see offence date in my driving license, which has expired after 3 years, however the conviction date could well be within 3 years.. Therefore the question would remain in this case if I would have to apply for discretion outside statutory requirements and tick the very last box of the application form.

I don't quite understand your response - the conviction date has nothing to do with HO guidance, it is simply the date on which the magistrates' court imposed the fine and points on you. If you were present in court, you may have a record of when you attended that day. In any event, you should have been issued with the appropriate paperwork regarding the fine, which is always dated.

If your concern is that your conviction date (not the date of the offence) may fall within the preceding three years, you should contact the magistrates court that convicted you of the driving offences. They will have the papers on file. I used to practise civil litigation and it's quite straightforward accessing your own civil papers at the courts. I would expect it to be similar in criminal proceedings before a magistrates court without needing to resort to a subject access request.