Conditional criminal record: does the person have a criminal record and when is it expunged

“Conditional criminal record” is what people usually call the situation in which the court issued a judgment of conviction and imposed a punishment, but released the person from serving it on probation. The Criminal Code of Ukraine (hereinafter — the CC) contains no such term: what it has is release from serving a sentence on probation (Article 75 of the CC). Here are the answers to two questions: whether a person is considered to have a criminal record while the probation period lasts, and when the criminal record is expunged. When the court applies such a measure, how long the probation period may last, what obligations are imposed on the convicted person and what happens if they are violated — see the article on conditional punishment.

In brief

• Yes, the person has a criminal record — from the day the judgment of conviction enters into legal force.
• The criminal record is expunged after the end of the probation period, if no new criminal offence has been committed during that time and the decision to release on probation has not been revoked.
• If the additional punishment lasts longer than the probation period, the criminal record is expunged after it has been served.
• If during the probation period the person committed a new criminal offence, or the court revoked the release and sent the person to serve the punishment, expungement after the probation period does not occur.

What “conditional criminal record” means

In this case the judgment is one of conviction, and a punishment has been imposed. The court only decides to release the convicted person from serving it, provided that during the probation period the person does not commit a new criminal offence and performs the obligations imposed on them (Article 75(3) of the CC).

This is not the same as release from punishment. The law deems persons convicted without the imposition of a punishment, or with release from punishment, not to have a criminal record (Article 88(3) of the CC). With release from serving a sentence on probation, a criminal record does exist — more on this below.

Whether a person is considered to have a criminal record

Yes. A person has a criminal record from the day the judgment of conviction enters into legal force until the criminal record is expunged or removed (Article 88(1) of the CC). This provision makes no separate exception for persons released on probation. On the contrary, point 1 of Article 89 of the CC links the expungement of their criminal record to the end of the probation period — so while the period lasts, the criminal record remains.

A criminal record has legal significance if the person commits a new criminal offence, and also in other cases provided for by law (Article 88(2) of the CC). The probation period does not cancel these consequences. Which restrictions a criminal record entails is examined in the article what a criminal record is and what its consequences are.

When a conditional criminal record is expunged

The law deems persons released on probation not to have a criminal record if during the probation period they do not commit a new criminal offence and if during that period the decision to release on probation is not revoked on other grounds provided by law (point 1 of Article 89 of the CC). Unlike those who have served a punishment, this point sets no separate period after the end of the probation period: expungement is tied precisely to the end of the probation period.

The length of the probation period is determined by the court (Article 75(3) of the CC), so the expungement date depends on the judgment. The limits of the period, in particular for juveniles, are in the article on conditional punishment.

If an additional punishment has been imposed

If, together with the release on probation, the court imposed an additional punishment and its term exceeds the length of the probation period, the person is deemed to have no criminal record only after that additional punishment has been served (point 1 of Article 89 of the CC).

Pregnant women and women with children under seven

For them the law provides a separate type of release on probation (Article 79 of the CC), and the expungement rule is worded differently. There is no criminal record if no new criminal offence has been committed during the probation period and, after the end of that period, no decision has been made to send the woman to serve the punishment imposed by the judgment (point 2 of Article 89 of the CC). Here the law directly links expungement to the court’s decision after the end of the period: the court, depending on the convicted woman’s behaviour, releases her from the punishment or sends her to serve the punishment imposed by the judgment (Article 79(4) of the CC).

How violating the conditions affects the criminal record

• A new criminal offence during the probation period. The first condition of point 1 of Article 89 of the CC is no longer met, so expungement under this point does not occur; how punishment is then imposed is covered in the article on what happens if the conditions of probation are violated. If both the previous and the new offence are intentional, this is also recidivism — the commission of a new intentional criminal offence by a person who has a criminal record for an intentional criminal offence (Article 34 of the CC).
• Failure to perform the obligations or systematic offences for which administrative penalties were imposed and which indicate an unwillingness to take the path of reform — in that case the court sends the convicted person to serve the imposed punishment (Article 78(2) of the CC). The Criminal Executive Code calls this procedure the revocation of release from serving a sentence on probation and sending the person to serve the imposed punishment (Article 166(2) of the Criminal Executive Code of Ukraine). If the court made such a decision during the probation period, expungement under point 1 of Article 89 of the CC does not occur.

After being sent, the person serves the imposed punishment, and expungement is no longer tied to the probation period. For those who have served a punishment, Article 89 of the CC sets separate periods, counted from the day the principal and additional punishment was served (Article 90(1) of the CC). For example, after imprisonment for a minor crime committed as an adult, this is three years without a new criminal offence (point 7 of Article 89 of the CC), and if the crime was committed before the age of 18 — one year (Article 108(1) and 108(2)(2) of the CC). All the periods and the procedure for calculating them are in the article on the expungement and removal of a criminal record.

Whether a criminal record can be removed early

Article 91(1) of the CC provides for the early removal of a criminal record by the court for a person who, after serving restriction of liberty or imprisonment, has proved their reform by exemplary behaviour and a conscientious attitude to work. This provision does not mention persons released on probation — their criminal record is expunged at the end of the probation period. When and how the court removes a criminal record is covered in the same article on the expungement and removal of a criminal record.

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The provisions are cited as currently in force as of 13 October 2026.