The police forces had challenged a ruling that they should delete the records from their database, which could have meant the records of one million people were lost.
The court of appeal has said the convictions can still be of value, and that the police should be allowed to retain the information if they so wish.
The police had concerns the information may be needed in future, and that if it were deleted ex-cons might be able to lie on job applications about whether they had ever had any convictions.
The five police forces who lodged the appeal were Greater Manchester, West Midlands, Staffordshire, Humberside and Northumbria forces.
'If the police say rationally and reasonably that convictions, however old or minor, have a value in the work that they do, that should, in effect, be the end of the matter,' said Lord Justice Waller, sitting with Lord Justices Carnwath and Hughes.
Ian Readhead, Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) director of information said: 'This decision provides valuable clarification on the retention of criminal conviction data on the police national computer.
'While this particular case involved five individuals, the ramifications of losing the appeal were potentially huge. This data assists police officers in their work in preventing crime and protecting the public and the loss of such valuable information would have been detrimental to that.
'Although principally used for police purposes, these records are also critical to the courts, the Criminal Records Bureau, the Independent Safeguarding Agency, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Home Office, who all supported this appeal.'
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