Get a security clearance: the SF-86 and the issues that actually sink one
A complete, consistent SF-86 with a documented 10-year history, the adjudicative guidelines self-audited before submission, mitigation prepared in writing for debt, foreign contacts, drug history, and past conduct, the interview handled, and any interrogatory or statement of reasons answered on time.
Free preview: 4 of 22 steps
Work through them in the real run view, exactly as a buyer does. No account, no payment, nothing saved.
3 free unlocks per month — yours to keep forever
No account needed — nothing is saved.
Included with every copy
- Your own copy — keep it forever
- Gets better over time — free updates included
- Run it on web and mobile
- Invite a partner to go through it with you — you share the same progress
- Make it your own — a private copy you can edit to fit your situation
- The playbook's community — ask questions, get additions, and see how other buyers improve it, right on the step
Who it's for
Candidates for cleared federal and defense-contractor jobs who hold a conditional offer or a clearance requirement from a sponsor, and current clearance holders facing a reinvestigation, an interrogatory, or a statement of reasons. Not for public-trust suitability cases that use the SF-85P.
About this playbook
This guide takes a cleared-job candidate from a conditional offer to a certified SF-86 and through the investigation itself: reconstructing a documented 10-year history from records, completing the form section by section, and self-auditing against the 13 adjudicative guidelines before the government does. You will write concrete, evidence-backed mitigation for the four issue areas that sink the most applications — debt, foreign contacts, drug history, and past conduct — prepare for the investigator interview and the polygraph, and know exactly how to answer an interrogatory or statement of reasons within its deadline. It covers Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret investigations initiated through e-QIP or NBIS, including the foreign-contact reporting rules and the whole-person framework adjudicators apply. It does not cover public-trust suitability cases, court appeals, or choosing an attorney — it tells you the point at which you actually need one.
What you'll do, step by stepFree preview
Only a sample is open: 4 of 22 steps can be read in full. The rest unlock when you buy.
Phase 1: Set the foundation: level, sponsor, and records
3 stepsPhase 2: Reconstruct the full 10-year history
4 stepsPhase 3: Self-audit against the adjudicative guidelines
3 stepsPhase 4: Write mitigation for the four issue areas that sink clearances
4 stepsPhase 5: Complete and submit the SF-86
4 stepsPhase 6: Investigation, interview, and responding to adverse action
4 steps
Details
What you need first
A pending or confirmed security clearance requirement sponsored by a US federal agency or cleared contractor, US citizenship or a verified citizenship status for the position, access to the personal records and contact information described in the steps, and a computer with a supported browser for e-QIP or NBIS data entry. Start only when your sponsor has confirmed the level and the form.
