What were the top reasons for security clearance denial and revocation in 2018? Just like in years past, financial issues continue to far outpace other issues – with 1224 denials related to finances, versus an almost equal number for all of the other 12 adjudicative criteria combined.
The second highest cause of security clearance denial was personal conduct, with 501 security clearance denials or revocations for department of defense security clearance holders. What causes a personal conduct security clearance denial? Often these denials are related to lying on the SF86 or failing to disclose a significant issue such drug use or bankruptcy.
The next highest causes of security clearance denial were foreign influence, drug involvement, and criminal conduct. Both outside activities and allegiance to the United States resulted in no clearance denials.
Moral of the story? If you want to keep or get a security clearance, get your finances in order and make sure you’re honest with the government about any issues – you’re better off mitigating the problems than trying to hide them.
