A criminal record is not only a legal status, but also a factor that can significantly affect a person’s future life. Even after serving the sentence, it can limit access to certain positions, create obstacles to participation in elections, employment, traveling abroad or serving in the army. Among Ukrainians, there are often questions about when a criminal record is considered extinguished or removed, what rights a person loses during its existence and whether they are automatically returned after the expiration of the term.
IA “FAKT” turned to the lawyers of the “Repeshko and Partners” bar association to provide readers with comprehensive explanations: what a criminal record means in the context of Ukrainian legislation, how it affects the rights and obligations of a citizen, and what you need to know in order not to find yourself in a situation where a formally expunged criminal record continues to act as a limitation.
Once upon a time, it was fashionable to have a printout on the wall in the offices of investigators with the slogan: “If you’re not sitting yet, it’s not your merit, it’s our fault!”. From that opera: “There would be a person, and the article would be found!”. However, as of November 2024, 38,992 people were held in penitentiary institutions of Ukraine. There are 15,549 people in SIZO and UVP. There are 22,550 people in correctional colonies. There are 50 people in educational colonies. This is not taking into account persons who are released from punishment for a conditional term and not only.
In general, the Criminal Code (CPC) of Ukraine provides that the following types of punishments may be applied by the court to persons found guilty of a criminal offense:
1) fine;
2) deprivation of a military, special title, rank, rank or qualification class;
2-1) deprivation of a state award of Ukraine;
3) deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities;
4) public works;
5) corrective works;
6) service restrictions for military personnel;
7) confiscation of property;
7-1) probation supervision;
8) arrest;
9) restriction of will;
10) keeping servicemen in a disciplinary battalion;
11) deprivation of liberty for a certain period;
12) life imprisonment.
As you can see, even a fine or community service in the sense of criminal law are types of punishment that have corresponding consequences. And one of the consequences in the understanding of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is a criminal record.
Criminal record is the legal status of a person, which arises in connection with his conviction for criminal punishment and is characterized by the occurrence of certain legal consequences for him under the conditions specified in the law. A person is recognized as having a criminal record from the day the guilty verdict enters into force and until the conviction is expunged or expunged. Therefore, after the announcement of the verdict, a person has the right to file an appeal through the court of first instance, which passed the judgment, within 30 days from the day of announcement of the verdict. Court decisions of appeal and cassation courts become legally binding from the moment they are announced.
As stated in the law, a criminal record has legal significance in the case of committing a new criminal offense, as well as in other cases provided for by the laws of Ukraine. And indeed, there are many cases where whether or not a person has a criminal record matters. This applies to appointment to certain positions, admission to work with certain material values and many other cases. Prior to 2025, having a criminal record played a significant role in military records.
Persons convicted by a court verdict without a sentence or with exemption from punishment or those who have served a sentence for an act, the criminal wrongfulness and punishment of which has been eliminated by law, are recognized as having no criminal record. Persons who have been rehabilitated are recognized as having no criminal record.
We would like to draw your attention to the fact that only the norms of the Criminal Code of Ukraine have such a consequence as “criminal record”. Persons who were brought to administrative responsibility according to the norms of the Code of Ukraine on administrative offenses do not have the specified consequence.
The general legal consequences of a criminal record consist of various restrictions established by law for persons who have an outstanding or unexpunged criminal record, in particular:
– prohibition to accept certain positions. In some cases, such a ban is established regardless of the type of crime for which there is a criminal record, in others, a criminal record is taken into account only for an intentional crime or a certain type of crime. According to Art. 76 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a citizen who has a criminal record for committing an intentional crime cannot be elected to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, if this criminal record has not been extinguished and not removed in accordance with the procedure established by law;
– restrictions on the implementation of entrepreneurial activities. Persons who have been prohibited by the court from engaging in a certain activity cannot be registered as entrepreneurs with the right to carry out the relevant activity before the end of the term established by the court verdict;
– restrictions on access to state secrets, which is a condition for holding certain positions;
– restrictions on the departure of a citizen of Ukraine abroad;
– deprivation of the right to receive certain benefits.
So, for example, in the case of conviction for committing a crime, payments to a public servant, provided for by the current legislation, are terminated.
Regarding mobilization and criminal record. Until May 18, 2024, Article 37 of the Law “On Military Duty and Military Service” provided that persons who were previously sentenced to imprisonment for committing a serious or particularly serious crime have the right to be excluded from military registration. After exclusion from registration, such persons acquire the status of non-military conscripts and are not subject to conscription for military service upon mobilization. But currently, mobilization norms have undergone changes, the latest of which took place at the beginning of this year. Currently, criminal record and mobilization have the following relationship.
As of now, paragraph 6 of Article 37 of the Law of Ukraine “On Military Duty and Military Service” defines who can be excluded from military registration. And there are only four such categories. The first is people who have died or are officially recognized as missing or dead. The second is those who lost their Ukrainian citizenship.
The third is citizens who, according to medical reports, are recognized as unfit for military service. And the fourth – those who have reached the maximum age of being in the reserve. As we can see, a criminal record is not among them. The law does not explicitly provide that the presence of an outstanding sentence automatically excludes a person from military registration. This is an important point that creates many legal questions and requires a separate interpretation.
At the same time, Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 560 of May 16, 2024, which defines the rules of mobilization during a special period, clearly states: those citizens who have a criminal record or are under investigation can also be called up for military service. Of course, there are exceptions. But the general rule is this: a criminal record by itself—even for a felony or especially a felony—is not an automatic basis for deferment or exemption from the draft.
Let’s list who can be conscripted into the army according to this resolution. First, there are those who have previously been convicted of misdemeanors or minor crimes – even if they received an actual punishment in the form of restriction or deprivation of liberty, arrest or correctional work. They can be mobilized, except in the case of crimes against the national security of Ukraine.
Secondly, these are persons convicted of serious or even particularly serious crimes, provided that they are not crimes against national security. Such people are subject to conscription by a special decision of the General Staff, intelligence or SBU.
Thirdly, convicts who have been sentenced to probation (probation) can be sent to the service. But not everyone: the ban applies to those convicted of particularly serious corruption crimes, murders with particular brutality, sexual violence, as well as a number of crimes directly listed in the Criminal Code. Such convicts, if they are still mobilized, must serve only in specialized units.
Fourth, even those who are currently in custody as suspects or accused may be subpoenaed—again, with the exception of a certain list of serious crimes. If the preventive measure was canceled, they are obliged to appear at the Military Commissariat no later than 48 hours from the moment of the relevant decision.
And finally, even those who are not in custody, but are involved in criminal cases, can also be mobilized – following a court decision to cancel a preventive measure for the purpose of military service. Therefore, the mere presence of a criminal record — even for a serious or particularly serious crime — does not protect a person from mobilization. It is no longer an unconditional ground either for exclusion from military registration or for postponement. And this clearly follows from the current regulatory framework. However, citizens of Ukraine who are serving their sentences in penal institutions or who have been subjected to coercive measures of a medical nature are not eligible for military registration.
Who is considered to be criminally liable but has no criminal record? Those who do not have a criminal record are recognized as:
1) persons sentenced to a criminal sentence with probation, if during the probationary period they do not commit a new criminal offense and if, during the specified period, the decision to release them from serving a probationary sentence is not canceled on other grounds provided for by law. If the term of the additional punishment exceeds the duration of the probationary period, the person is recognized as having no criminal record after serving this additional punishment;
2) pregnant women and those who have children under 7 years of age and convicted with exemption from punishment with probation, if during the probationary period they do not commit a new criminal offense and if after the end of this period, a decision is not made to refer them to serve the punishment imposed by the court verdict. In addition, persons convicted of a criminal misdemeanor, after serving their sentence;
3) persons who have served punishments in the form of service restrictions for servicemen or detention in the disciplinary battalion of servicemen or have been released early from these punishments, as well as servicemen who have served their punishment in guard duty instead of arrest;
4) persons sentenced for committing a crime to the main punishment in the form of a fine in the amount of no more than three thousand tax-free minimum incomes of citizens, deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities, community service, correctional work, probation supervision or arrest, if they do not commit a new criminal offense within a year from the date of serving the sentence (main and additional);
5) persons sentenced for committing a crime to restriction of freedom, if they do not commit a new criminal offense within two years from the date of serving the sentence (main and additional);
6) persons sentenced to imprisonment or the main punishment in the form of a fine for a minor crime, if they do not commit a new criminal offense within three years from the date of serving the punishment (main and additional);
7) persons sentenced to imprisonment or the main punishment in the form of a fine for a serious crime, if they do not commit a new criminal offense within six years from the date of serving the punishment (main and additional);
8) persons sentenced to imprisonment or the main punishment in the form of a fine for a particularly serious crime, if they do not commit a new criminal offense within eight years from the date of serving the punishment (main and additional).
When it comes to the mobilization of people with a criminal record, everything boils down to three key words: non-serious, serious and especially serious crime. It sounds like a hierarchy of the criminal world, but in fact it is a clear scale prescribed in the Criminal Code of Ukraine. It is she who determines who can be mobilized and who cannot. A crime punishable by a fine of up to 170,000 hryvnias or up to five years behind bars is considered a minor crime. For example, theft without aggravated circumstances is not the end of the world, and a person with such a criminal record may well receive a summons.
A serious crime is already something more serious: the punishment can reach 10 years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 425 thousand hryvnias. It can be robbery, robbery, or serious bodily injury. But even in such cases, a person does not automatically “take off” from the mobilization list – the main thing is that it is not a crime against the foundations of national security.
Especially serious is already a criminal “heavy duty”. These are cases where more than 10 years of imprisonment, huge fines or even life sentences are provided. For example, deliberate murder with particular cruelty, rape, terrorism, treason. But even here, as the Cabinet resolution shows, mobilization is still possible — if the same issues of national security are not affected.
And the most important thing: Ukrainian legislation no longer perceives a criminal record as a taboo for serving in the army. Instead, there is an individual approach, exceptions and long lists of clarifications. And therefore, the past today is not always a shield against a subpoena.
Let’s note one more legal nuance. Information on prosecution, absence (presence) of a criminal record or restrictions provided for by the criminal procedural legislation of Ukraine is provided in the form of extracts from the information-analytical system “Accounting of information on the prosecution of a person and the presence of a criminal record”, including through the Diya portal. However, it should be remembered that this system stores and provides information, including information about:
- court decision: date, name of the court, articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, type and term of punishment, effective date;
- execution of punishment;
- application of probation measures;
- conviction of citizens of Ukraine on the territory of foreign countries;
- removal/expungement of a criminal record.
Therefore, a criminal record is not just an entry in the registry, but a status that can affect a person for years, even after the end of the sentence. It can limit access to public service, work in the educational or medical field, prohibit the possession of weapons, create obstacles when crossing the border or participating in elections. And recently, it does not exempt even from mobilization.
Despite the widespread stereotype that a criminal record disappears without a trace after “expungement”, in real life its consequences often remain. Not only legally, but also socially – in certificates, questionnaires, decisions of employers and state bodies.
The law gives a chance to return to a full-fledged life after the sentence, but this path requires careful knowledge of one’s rights, the ability to defend them and the understanding that even an expunged criminal record does not always mean “the past is forgotten.” Especially in the conditions of martial law, when the state rethinks the limits of what is allowed.
