Security clearance eligibility is terminated when someone moves out of a position requiring access. But what if you’ve started the clearance process or are in the middle of a background investigation – what happens to that ‘eligibility in process’? Are you able to cancel an application for a security clearance mid background investigation?
“I’ve applied for a Public Trust investigation (a civilian agency) through my company. However, after a few months I had a change of plans and recently resigned from the company. When resigning, I asked my company security rep to cancel the investigation. He told me he notified the agency contracting officer who is supposed to track the status of the investigation. However, I got a sense from him that there was no good visibility into the cancellation process, and it was possible the investigation could continue running for some time. I did not like that idea, since I specifically did not want my private records to stay active in their system (NBIS), nor my contacts getting called, while I no longer have a need for any of that. So, I logged on back to NBIS thinking I can see the status of my submission and communicate with an adjudicator, but to my surprise I see absolutely nothing there. My application that I had submitted earlier has disappeared. Why is that?? If I am the one who filled in the forms in NBIS, shouldn’t I be able to recall it/request cancellation directly, without relying on the agency contracting officer? Is there any way to do that?”
If individuals could buy their own clearances, perhaps you could stop the investigation. But that isn’t the way clearances work.
How to Cancel a Security Clearance Background Investigation
Your best contact will be to let the security officer know for the defense contractor or federal agency who is sponsoring your security clearance. If an investigator calls you can inform them that you no longer need the investigation and refuse to meet. Same thing with your references.
Technically, you cannot directly cancel a background investigation for a security clearance once it has been initiated, the same way technically an individual can’t start or sponsor their own investigation – the process has to be initiated by the government or a security officer acting on behalf of the government. You can withdraw your application for a security clearance (and have the employer rescind the job offer), which would effectively stop the investigation process.
In this case, because the applicant is technically pursuing a position of public trust and not an actual security clearance, the steps of the process are largely automated, and a basic check of online records.
This question was posed from a subscriber at ClearanceJobsBlog.com, where you can read and discuss government security clearance process, how to get a security clearance job, and background investigations issues.
Much about the clearance process resembles the Pirate’s Code: “more what you’d call guidelines than actual rules.” This case-by-case system is meant to consider the whole person, increase process security, and allow the lowest-risk/highest-need candidates to complete the process. This article is intended as general information only and should not be construed as legal advice. Consult an attorney regarding your specific situation.
