What the law says
The Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act is a new law. It says that a child under the age of 12 cannot be responsible for committing an offence.
This law was fully implemented on 17 December 2021.
The new law means that some people do not have to disclose information about how they behaved before they were 12.
It affects:
- people with convictions obtained before they were 12
- people with certain behaviours from before they were 12
- some of Disclosure Scotland's processes
- what Disclosure Scotland may disclose about people
What this means for disclosures
It means that information about the way you behaved before you were 12 will not appear on a:
- basic disclosure
- standard disclosure
Following a review process, Disclosure Scotland may include it on:
Contact Disclosure Scotland
If you have a question that's not answered anywhere in this guide, email: DSPolicyTeam@disclosurescotland.gov.scot.
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