Security clearance what do they check

The presence of debt in and of itself is not the problem; any patterns or life habits that involve financial irresponsibility, carelessness, or the ability to place oneself in a position to be compromised? The real culprit behind a large number of unsuccessful applications for a security clearance? Financial considerations are among the highest causes of having a security clearance application denied. In , the Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals Board heard 2, appeals from those who were denied a security clearance following the background check; of that number, more than were denied because of financial problems.

Compare that to only roughly appeals for denial of clearance based on personal conduct. According to the official site of the U. Department of State, those denied a security clearance or have had their existing clearance revoked will be notified of both the reasons why and the availability of an appeal to the decision to deny or revoke the clearance. S Department of State official site says, but much may depend on the procedures established by the hiring entity.

For help with any background check issue, it will be necessary to work with the hiring agency. If the applicant requests a hearing, the applicant with or without an attorney or personal representative may present witnesses and other evidence at the hearing. The AJ makes a written decision and a copy is sent to the applicant. If the clearance is denied, the applicant is notified in writing and advised of their right to appeal the decision.

DoD civilian employees and military personnel can submit a written rebuttal to the SOR, but they are not entitled to a hearing. If they submit a rebuttal to the SOR, the adjudicator will decide to grant or deny the clearance in light of information submitted in the rebuttal.

PSAB decisions are made by a majority vote. The appeal must be based on procedural error s by the AJ. The PSAB issues a written decision addressing the material issues raised on appeal and a copy is sent to both parties. If the original decision is reversed or affirmed, the decision of the PSAB is final. In either case new evidence can be submitted. Those who choose to appear before an AJ are permitted to explain their case with or without an attorney or personal representative , submit supporting documents, and present witnesses.

Although a Personal Appearance is very similar to a hearing; there is usually no opposing counsel. The PSAB notifies the applicant of their final decision and includes reasons for their decision. Applicants who are denied a clearance with or without an appeal are barred from applying for a security clearance for a period of one year. This system is used for all types of personnel clearance actions, including initiating requests for clearance investigations.

In July DoD announced the integration of various personnel security including JPAS , facility clearance, and training databases into the Defense Information Systems for Security DISS , providing a single portal to request, conduct, and record personnel security actions.

First you must determine who conducted your investigation. Box Boyers, PA In addition, you must provide a notarized statement or an unsworn declaration made in accordance with 28 U.

Executed on date. Polygraphs are instruments that measure physiological responses respiration, pulse, blood pressure, and galvanic resistance to stress. They are not generally used for collateral security clearances, unless they are necessary to resolve serious credible derogatory information that cannot be resolved through conventional investigative means. Polygraph examinations are conducted as a supplement to, not as a substitute for, other forms of investigation that may be required under the circumstances.

Polygraphs exams are only administered by agencies with approved personnel security polygraph programs and these exams are only conducted by government trained and certified examiners.

Within the context of security clearances, the purpose of a polygraph exam is to assist in determining whether or not an applicant can be trusted with sensitive information.

The exams are used to determine eligibility for special assignment or special access are limited to two types of polygraph exams, and either one or both exams may be administered. A Counterintelligence Polygraph is the most common type of polygraph exam. A Counterintelligence Polygraph asks the candidate questions limited to those necessary to determine whether the examinee ever had any involvement with or knowledge of:.

DoD Lifestyle Polygraph exam questions cover the following topics. A Full Scope Polygraph exam is a combination of both the Counterintelligence and Lifestyle polygraphs.

Types of Security Clearance Investigations. The Tier 3 investigation is required for a Secret or Confidential clearance for federal employees, military and contractor personnel.

Information regarding the exact scope and period of coverage of the Tier 3 investigation is not publicly available. Currently PRs are required at year intervals for Secret clearances and at year intervals for Confidential clearances. When the new Federal Investigative Standards which were approved in December are fully implemented near the end of , Confidential and Secret clearance holders will be reinvestigated at least once every 5 years, but not necessarily on or near the 5-year anniversary of their last investigation.

Each year a certain percentage of these reinvestigations will be selected on a random basis. It includes a National Agency Check, credit check, law enforcement record checks, an Enhanced Subject Interview ESI , interviews of former spouses; interviews of character, employment, neighborhood, and educational references; reviews of residence, employment, and academic records.

Information regarding the exact scope and period of coverage of the Tier 5 investigation is not publicly available. It is also conducted at 5-year intervals. PPRs may not be requested when certain questions on the clearance application contain responses indicating a possible security or suitability issue. Information regarding the exact scope and period of coverage of the Tier 5R investigation is not publicly available. Top Secret clearance holders will be reinvestigated at least once every 5 years.

Once fully implemented in late Top Secret clearance holders will also be reevaluated on a random or continuous basis between investigative cycles. Except for some pilot projects that already exist, it will be several months to a year before the necessary policies, standards, training, and administrative requirements can be put in place for federal agencies to actually begin cyber vetting. The RSI consists of a focused investigation to provide additional specific information to resolve developed issue s that fall outside the scope of coverage of other investigative products offered by the Office of Personnel Management OPM.

A trustworthiness investigation is a DoD term used for a background investigation for a person who is nominated for non-critical sensitive or critical sensitive national security position that does not involve access to classified information. Non-critical sensitive positions require the same investigation and reinvestigation required for a Secret clearance and critical sensitive positions require the same investigation and reinvestigation required for a Top Secret clearance.

These investigations are adjudicated using the same standards used for security clearances. The type of investigation depends on the risk level Low Risk, Moderate Risk, or High Risk of the position the employee or employment candidate will occupy.

If the position also requires a national security clearance, a single investigation can be completed that fulfills both suitability and security clearance requirements. The requirements for a Fitness investigation are exactly the same as a Suitability investigation.

The NISP is the industrial security program that governs the contractual security obligations of DoD contractors and contractors of 31 other federal agencies. There are over 13, contractor facilities that are cleared for access to classified information. A company must be sponsored for an FCL by a federal agency or a cleared contractor.

A company cannot sponsor itself for an FCL. The cleared contract or federal agency requests the FCL when a definite, classified procurement need has been established. Sponsorship is in the form of a letter to the Facility Clearance Branch of the Defense Security Service, requesting that a particular company be processed. It should also provide the contract number for the classified procurement, a copy of the Contract Security Classification Specification, facility clearance level needed and the requestor point of contact and phone number.

It is an agreement between the Government and the contractor. The Government agrees to issue the FCL and inform the contractor of the security classification of information to which the contractor will have access, and the contractor agrees to abide by the security requirements set forth in the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual NISPOM.

A DD Form is issued when classified work is contracted to a facility. It provides the security classification and safeguarding requirements to be applied to information.

The federal agency or cleared contractor issues the to the contracted facility and justifies the need for a FCL. The review is conducted to assist the contractor in following the requirements of the NISPOM and ensure that safeguards employed by the contractor are adequate for the protection of classified information. The IS Rep determines the frequency of such formal reviews, but reviews are normally conducted annually.

Ordinarily, those who have control over the company e. The facility is not eligible for a FCL. The cleared contractor or federal agency must follow the same sponsorship procedures, and personnel clearances for all KMPs must be upgraded as well.

A contractor is determined as having FOCI when under such a level of foreign control or influence that it cannot be cleared without a negation method. In such cases the Government customer who approved the facility and owns the information inspects the facility. However, agencies cannot force individuals to hand over their passwords for private accounts, or provide pseudonyms for any profiles.

Also, social media information gathered as part of a background check will not be retained unless it is considered "relevant" to the security status of the person in question. Click here to find current guidance on social media usage. Does your resume pass the 6-second test? Get a FREE assessment. Whether you want to polish up your resume, find veteran job fairs in your area, or connect with employers looking to hire veterans, Military. Sign up for a free Military.

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Here are He describes what life The results of these investigations are sent to the sponsoring agency, which will either approve or deny the clearance based on the information in the background investigation. There are three levels of security clearances which correspond to the sensitivity of the information to which the applicant will have access. The three levels, in ascending order of sensitivity are: Confidential information that could cause damage to national security ; Secret information that could cause serious damage to national security , and Top Secret information that could cause exceptionally grave damage to national security.

In addition, there are some Special Access Programs that are commonly associated with higher levels of security, which require access to information that is particularly vulnerable and demand even greater security clearence; Sensitive Compartmented Information is one common category of information requiring greater scrutiny before access can be approved.

Federal offices have the ability to request an interim security clearence allowing the applicant to work on a temporary basis until the investigation is completed. The assessment considers factors that could cause a conflict of interest and place a person in a position of having to choose between commitment to the United States, including commitment to protect classified information, and another compelling loyalty.

The clearance process for Secret level access uses an investigation called the National Agency Check with Law and Credit that goes back five years, while the clearance process for Top Secret uses a Single Scope Background Investigation that goes back ten years. Various reasons exist why someone may be denied a security clearance.

There are 13 adjudicative guidelines that have been established for making these individual assessments under 5 CFR The guidelines include allegiance to the United States, foreign influence, foreign preference, sexual behavior, personal conduct, financial considerations, alcohol consumption, drug involvement, psychological conditions, criminal conduct, security violations, outside activities, and misuse of information technology systems.

Under 5 CFR As a result, negative information about one area of concern may not be sufficient for an unfavorable determination.

This change was made in an effort to address the huge backlog of cases that was causing very long wait times and was not intended to affect the requirements of the background check process.

As of October , a signifigant percentage of the backlog has been cleared and processing time has decreased, although it is still wise to complete the necessary paperwork as quickly as possible.

While DCSA is now the primary office conducting background suitability investigations for positions within the Executive Branch, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is in charge of security investigations for access to classified information and for sensitive positions.

Investigations that require record checks, reference interviews, or subject interviews are usually conducted by the field investigators, either federal agents or contract investigators.

The questionnaire or SF that initiates a background check will be mailed to successful applicants. However, you may wish to review these questionnaires prior to applying to make sure that you are comfortable with the inquiry and to raise any questions you may have in a timely manner; you can also begin to gather the required information and documents to expedite your submission.

Click here , then select Standard Forms to find the various numbered forms mentioned below. The questionnaires vary with the different divisions and the types of positions. It is the form most commonly required form for law student interns. It asks for personal identifying data as well as criminal records, illegal drug involvements, financial delinquencies, mental health counseling, alcohol related incidents and counseling, civil court actions, misuse of computer systems, and subversive activities for seven to ten years with some questions having no time limit.

The SF is the form commonly used by Department of Justice to request investigations for its attorneys. The most common suitability issues that arise during the review process are past unlawful use of drugs and failure to comply with financial obligations. SF, for example, requests information regarding illegal drug use, supplying, possession, or manufacture in the last year. Other more sensitive forms request more extensive information on illegal drug activity, possibly extending back for seven to ten years.

Credit checks are also done routinely. If you have either of these or other issues on your record, it can slow down the process, but it does not automatically preclude you from employment. Outcomes are decided on a case by case basis and decisions take into consideration the severity and frequency of the occurrence, the circumstances surrounding the occurrence, how recent the occurrence is, and the steps taken to cure the issue.

Although the government generally wants law abiding citizens to work for them, they are most concerned with recent or current illegal activity and repeated use of hard narcotics, such as cocaine.