One of the most common — and misunderstood — questions in the security clearance process is whether an applicant can have someone with them during a personal subject interview.
Here’s the key point: there is no blanket security clearance policy that says you cannot.
Where the confusion starts is with procedure. Investigative service providers may rely on internal guidance or handbooks that discourage third-party participation. Those procedures are often treated like hard rules, even though they don’t carry the same authority as formal policy.
Complicating matters further, many interviews today are conducted in public spaces or virtually. Privacy in a background investigation already exists in a gray area, which makes blanket statements about who can or cannot be present even harder to justify.
There are valid reasons someone might want another person in the room. Applicants dealing with trauma, ongoing legal issues, or particularly complex backgrounds may feel more comfortable with a support person or attorney present. While having legal counsel can sometimes raise concerns or slow the process, it is not automatically prohibited.
Do applicants have a right to bring someone? No. Security clearances are opt-in. But applicants absolutely have the right to ask questions, request clarification, and push back when something is framed as “policy” without actually being policy.
Investigators document interviews — they do not make final clearance decisions. That distinction matters.
The best preparation remains the same: review the adjudicative guidelines, practice concise responses, avoid oversharing, and focus on honesty and trustworthiness. Much of the clearance process operates on guidelines rather than hard rules, and understanding that nuance can make the process far less intimidating.
