Hi, I have been meaning to respond to this thread for some time now. Firstly, in response to the question "does anyone know the best way to find out if I have a criminal record?", to best way is to undertake a Police Subject Access Request (it costs £10) at your local police HQ and you will find out all the information they hold on you. You don't necessarily have to have a criminal conviction to have a criminal record. The PNC record will include "additional information" - there is a link to what is on one at Welcome to unlock.org.uk. On the point of SRPO regarding dismissing someone for having a spent conviction, this can only be done if the position is exempt from the ROA 1974. Otherwise, it would be a breach of statutory duty under the ROA and breach the Police Act 1997. Of course, anybody could try and dismiss somebody, and it would depend on the dismisee challenging this - this is often very rare given that they probably won't want to shout to the rooftops about their criminal conviction. On finding out whether you have any "unspent" convictions which need to be disclosed, the best way to go about this is by applying for a Basic Check through Disclosure Scotland. Although this costs £23, it will provide a certificate with only unspent conviction information on it. The English CRB have been planning, for some time now, to implement this provision in England, but it is yet to happen!