Will a Background Investigator Tell Your Family About a Secret Marriage?

Eloping is an easy way to become legally partnered without the hullabaloo of planning an extravagant wedding. I get it – I planned my own and it’s stressful, time consuming, and can be costly. But marrying in a secretive fashion may still come with a cost if you decide to keep it away from your friends and family long-term, especially if you have to note a legal marriage on the SF-86.

Will background investigators divulge your secret to the other branches of your family tree? And if so, could this slow down the background investigation process?

MaldDatm97 writes:

My wife must go through an SSBI for her job. The thing is, neither her parents nor my parents know that we got married. We’re not trying to hide it from them, we just wanted to keep up appearances since we had a courthouse wedding but are planning on having a ceremony later for our family.

My question is: are background investigators allowed reveal to our family that we are married? If so, we’ve both decided to just come clean so they find out from us instead of through the investigators, but if not, we would just like to keep up appearances. Thank you in advance.

A big disclaimer: The information you provide on the SF-86 “may be confirmed during the investigation, and may be used for identification purposes throughout the investigation process.”

Applicants also sign that they “authorize custodians of records and other sources of information pertaining to [them] to release such information upon request of the investigator, special agent, or other duly accredited representative of any Federal agency authorized…regardless of any previous agreement to the contrary.”

If there is anyone aware of your union, it could be gathered during the course of the investigation.

One investigator on the thread notes that while background investigators are not supposed to reveal your information to your references you provided, it does happen and a marriage could easily be divulged to your parents by accident.

Another potential hold-up: if sources are asked if you’re married or single, and they say “I don’t know” or “single”, this could be conflicting information from your security questionnaire and it would be something an investigator would likely follow up on, further causing delays in your investigation and adjudication.

No matter the “extenuating circumstances”, it’s probably easier to be honest up front. An investigator says, “By itself, that is not an issue. It does appear to be a possible pressure point on you because of the ‘extenuating circumstances.’”

Maybe you wouldn’t give up national secrets to hide your elopement. But when you try to hide a courthouse wedding – it could raise concerns about other things you’d want to hide, and why.

Much about the clearance process resembles the Pirate’s Code: “more what you’d call guidelines than actual rules.” For this reason, we maintain ClearanceJobsBlog.com – a forum where clearance seekers can ask the cleared community for advice on their specific security concerns. Ask CJ explores questions posed on the ClearanceJobs Blog forum, emails received, and comments from this site. This article is intended as general information only and should not be construed as legal advice. Consult an attorney regarding your specific situation.