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The Personnel Vetting Process

Determining a Candidates Eligibility

Moving Forward: Trusted Workforce 2.0

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Overview

The U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) conducts more than 38,000 personnel vetting actions for the Department of State as a whole.

Personnel vetting is the process used to assess individuals seeking to obtain security clearances to allow access to classified national security information or for those seeking public trust and low risk/non-sensitive positions. It encompasses the policies, processes, and tools used to determine whether a person should be trusted:

• To work for, or on behalf of, the government (suitability/fitness);
• To occupy a sensitive position, which may include having access to classified information (national security).
• With a credential granting access to government IT systems and/or facilities (credentialing);

Information developed during the personnel vetting process enables DSS and mission partners to determine an individual’s suitability for government employment, fitness to work as a contractor, eligibility for access to classified information or to hold a sensitive position, and authorization to be issued a federal credential.

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The Personnel Vetting Process

The Personnel Vetting Process is conducted through the following steps:

	A job candidate receives a conditional offer of employment and is contacted by a Clearance Coordinator.     The Clearance Coordinator assists the candidate through completing and submitting the appropriate forms – either a Questionnaire for National Security Positions (SF 86), Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions (SF 85), Questionnaire for Public Trust Positions (SF 85P), or successor form (e.g., Personnel Vetting Questionnaire [PVQ]) – and other required documents to begin the process.
	DSS reviews the security package and formally opens a background investigation. In some cases, eligibility may be granted at this stage due to the candidate’s prior background vetting for federal employment.  This falls under a policy called “reciprocity” under Security Executive Agent Directive (SEAD) 7: Reciprocity of Background Investigations and National Security Adjudications.
	DSS conducts record and fingerprint checks against commercial and government databases.
	DSS verifies and corroborates key information and events from the candidate’s past and recent history.  This may include interviews of the candidate and people who know the candidate well.
	After the investigation is complete, DSS or the appropriate suitability entity adjudicates and determines the candidate’s suitability for government employment or fitness to work as a contractor, eligibility for access to classified information or to hold a sensitive position, and authorization to be issued a federal credential.
	In some cases, background investigations may be forwarded to a suitability panel within the Bureau of Global Talent Management. All Foreign Service applicant investigations are sent to the Board of Examiners for evaluation by a Suitability Review Panel to determine suitability for employment with the Foreign Service, even if the candidate already holds the appropriate national security clearance.
	After determining the candidate’s eligibility, the appropriate hiring authority is notified of the final decision, who then notifies the candidate. Any unfavorable outcomes will be communicated directly to the candidate, who will be advised of the opportunity to withdraw from the process and process to appeal the denial.

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Determining a Candidate’s Eligibility

At the end of the personnel vetting process, a trust determination is made for the candidate.

Trust determinations are suitability, fitness, national security (eligibility for or continued access to classified information or to hold a sensitive position), and credentialing determinations that determine an individual can be trusted to protect people, property, information, and mission, as appropriate under relevant adjudicative standards. In some cases, a candidate may be eligible for a preliminary determination.

Preliminary Determination
After initiating a background investigation and completing preliminary checks, agencies may determine if an individual is fit to enter on duty before the conclusion of the investigation and adjudication; this decision is a preliminary determination. For sensitive positions, agencies may make a preliminary determination to approve the individual for temporary eligibility for access to classified information or to occupy the sensitive position.  A preliminary determination allows individuals to start in their position sooner, but is not a final determination and can be withdrawn at any time. Traditionally, the Department has referred to these determinations as “interim” determinations.

When is a preliminary determination granted?
EO 12968, as amended, allows agencies to make a preliminary determination in exceptional circumstances. The hiring office may request a preliminary determination based on their assessment of exceptional circumstances where official functions must be performed. DSS may be able to grant a preliminary determination after reviewing all submitted documents and after certain investigative checks come back with favorable results. This can occasionally take as little as two months from the date a conditional offer is accepted.

What does it mean if the preliminary determination is denied?
If an applicant’s preliminary determination is denied, additional investigative work must take place prior to a final determination. The denial of an applicant’s preliminary determination does not have negative implications for the applicant’s final determination.

Suitability/Fitness Determination
Based on employment category, a candidate may be subject to a separate and distinct suitability or fitness determination.

Suitability is a determination of whether the character or conduct of an individual applying to or occupying a position anywhere in the federal government may have an adverse impact on the integrity or the efficiency of the government.

Fitness is a determination of whether an individual has the character or conduct determined necessary to perform work for, or on behalf of, an agency within the U.S. Government. For more information, navigate to the E.O. 13488.

 National Security Eligibility Determination
A national security determination is a determination of whether an individual’s eligibility for access to classified information or eligibility to hold a sensitive position is clearly consistent with the national security interests of the United States. Any doubt must be resolved in favor of national security.

Candidate’s backgrounds are assessed using the SEAD 4: National Security Adjudicative Guidelines , the single common criteria used to evaluate all individuals who require national security eligibility. In addition to these standards, DSS considers all available, reliable information about a person – past and present, favorable, and unfavorable – when reaching a national security eligibility determination; this is known as the “whole-person concept.”

For the National Security Eligibility Determination, the following factors are and are not considered:

Facts Considered	Factors Not Considered
Stability Trustworthiness Reliability Discretion Character & Judgement Honesty Unquestionable loyalty to the U.S.	Race Color Religion Sex National origin Disability Sexual Orientation

Credentialing Determination
A credentialing determination is a determination of whether an individual’s eligibility to obtain a Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) compliant personal identity verification (PIV) credential is consistent with protecting the life, safety, property, or health of people with access to federal facilities and with protecting the government’s physical assets or information systems.

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Moving Forward: Trusted Workforce 2.0

TW 2.0 reimagines what it means to establish and maintain a relationship of trust with an individual throughout their affiliation with the government and is the DSS’ way of modernizing the personnel security program. It is the broadest transformation and modernization of the federal government’s personnel vetting system, to date. TW 2.0 strengthens national security, enables swifter vetting, increases mobility of the U.S. government workforce, and provides insight into personnel behavior with risk detection and response.

For more information, please refer to Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)’s Transforming Personnel Vetting: Measures to Expedite Reform and Further Reduce the Federal Government’s Background Investigation Inventory.

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Contact Us

Who should I contact if I have questions about my background investigation?  

For assistance with background investigations being conducted by a federal agency other than the Department of State, please contact that agency directly.  

If the position is a federal contracting position, individuals should contact their company’s facility security officer or human resources office.  

For assistance with completing the security clearance package for a Department of State investigation or to inquire about the status of your security clearance with the Department of State, email the DSS Office of Personnel Security and Suitability Customer Service Center at SecurityClearance@state.gov or call between 8 A.M – 5 P.M. EST at (771) 333-6740.  

For more information on the security clearance process, please visit our frequently asked questions.

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