Security Clearance Issues

Common underlying problems in security clearance cases, and the adjudicative guidelines that cover them.

Security clearance decisions apply Security Executive Agent Directive 4 (SEAD 4), the National Security Adjudicative Guidelines. Its Appendix A groups security concerns into 13 guidelines, from financial considerations to personal conduct. Each page below explains how one common underlying problem is treated: the concern it raises, the guideline it usually falls under, and the kinds of mitigating information adjudicators consider.

To see all 13 guidelines side by side, use the Adjudicative Guidelines Explorer.