Standard Form 86, Questionnaire For National Security Positions: Fill & Download for Free

I hate cloak and dagger answers. There isn’t anything dark about it. It all depends on the requirements for position you are slated to fill. Go here and start reading. https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf86-non508.pdfThis is a link to the dreaded Standard Form 86 “Questionnaire for National Security Positions”. This will be used in your “Security Background Investigation”.If your clearance is just for Confidential or Secret (not everybody has a TS or TS/SCI slot), you’ll only be subjected to a National Agency Check, which is a computerized search of investigative files and other records held by federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations and Office of Personnel Management and a Local Agency Check. Which is a review of appropriate criminal history records held by local law enforcement agencies, such as police departments or sheriffs, with jurisdiction over the areas where you have resided, gone to school, or worked. Or course you will also be subject to a review of your Credit Record.If your position requires a Top Secret with or without a compartmented clearance (SCI) then be prepared to have your life put under a microscope with a Single Scope Background Investigation. This will include the above AND field interviews of references to include coworkers, employers, personal friends, educators, neighbors and other appropriate individuals. As well as checks of records held by employers, courts and rental offices. And last but not least a subject interview. The Defense Investigative Service uses two types of investigators to conduct these investigations; DSS Agents and Contractors. Neither have senses of humor.My first time at a TS/SCI (nearly 50 years ago) was painless as my father (a Navy Captain at that time) gave me a lot of advice on do’s and don’ts.One thing…don’t lie. Never, never, never lie. You WILL be found out and it WILL cause you grief.

Though I am not sure exactly what you mean by “legal stipulation”, there is a federal standard form completed by incoming staff. You can download the SF-86: Questionnaire for National Security Positions at the US Office of Personnel Management’s Standard Forms page. (It’s a 136-page PDF.)There may now be a supplemental questionnaire completed by potential Cabinet secretaries, senior staff members, etc. The legal history unearthed in Rob Porter’s background investigation would already by covered by the SF-86 and related interviews. Less obvious issues get added to vetting processes after lessons learned the hard way. For example, in January 1993, Zoe Baird withdrew from the confirmation process to serve as U.S. Attorney General after it became known that she did not pay Social Security taxes for a household employee. Ever since then, questionnaires cover employee taxes, whether or not such questions appear on the SF-86 or similar government forms.As to the aftermath of the current scandal, any standard background check would reveal the charges filed against Rob Porter, and the fact that a judge issued a domestic violence protective order. And the standard SF-86-based background investigation DID reveal this. John Kelly and others in the Trump Administration chose to overlook the evidence and the inability of Porter to obtain a permanent security clearance. It is not clear to me whether there will be repercussions for other Trump appointees who are being denied full security clearances. It’s possible that Trump officials at the FBI and at other law enforcement agencies will be ordered to give permanent security clearances despite pre-existing apolitical standards. I do not have the expertise to know whether that would violate any laws.

How difficult is it to pass the CIA background check? How extensive is it?The background check isn’t a test. It’s your life. All of it, with emphasis on the period after childhood.For many people, it’s impossible. They might have loose morals, a cynical disregard for honesty and integrity. They may disregard laws and regulations. They’re financially imprudent, in debt and with poor credit. They’re poor students, uneducated and unintelligent. They’re impulsive, unconsidering of consequences, heedless of risks to themselves and others. They’re self-indulgent, undisciplined, users of drugs and abusers of alcohol. They have no roots, no deep loyalties to community, society and country.For other people, normal, hardworking, honest people, the hardest part of the background check will be filling out the 130+ pages of a Questionnaire for National Security Positions, Standard Form 86. https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf86.pdf . It helps to be a good student, well-educated, literate, articulate and well-read. It’s good to have succeeded in an achievement program like scouting, and to be athletic and active in sports. It’s good to have roots in family, community, society. It’s a plus to be practical, to be able and interested and skilled and self-sufficient in lots of areas of life. Be known for having good social values, manners, and morals. It wouldn’t hurt to have done some military service, with a good record.