Director of Central Intelligence Directive 6/4, Annex A

(Note: The content of this Annex is taken verbatim from the Presidentially approved Investigative Standards and Temporary Eligibility Standards and should be read in the context of access eligibility to SCI, although the actual wording addresses a broader application to clearance actions.)

The following investigative standards are established for all United States Government civilian and military personnel, consultants, contractors, employees of contractors, licensees, certificate holders or grantees and their employees and other individuals who require access to classified information, to include Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) and Special Access Programs (SAPs), and are to be used by government departments and agencies as the investigative basis for final clearance determinations. However, nothing in these standards prohibits an agency from using any lawful investigative procedures in addition to these requirements in order to resolve any issue identified in the course of a background investigation or reinvestigation.

There are three standards (Table 1 in the Appendix summarizes when to use each one):

a. The investigation and reinvestigation standards for "L" access authorizations and for access to CONFIDENTIAL and SECRET (including all SECRET-level SAPs not specifically approved for enhanced investigative requirements by an official authorized to establish SAPs by sect. 4.4 of Executive Order 12958);

b. The investigation standard for "Q" access authorizations and for access to TOP SECRET (including TOP SECRET SAPs) and SCI; and

c. The reinvestigation standard for continued access to the levels listed in para. 2(b).

Some elements of standards specify a period of coverage (e.g., seven years). Where appropriate, such coverage may be shortened to the period from the Subject's eighteenth birthday to the present or to two years, whichever is longer.

Investigations and reinvestigations may be expanded under the provisions of Executive Order 12968 and other applicable statutes and Executive Orders.

Investigations that satisfy the requirements of a given standard and are current meet the investigative requirements of all levels specified for the standard. They shall be mutually and reciprocally accepted by all agencies.

If a person who requires access has been retired or separated from US Government employment for less than two years and is the Subject of an investigation that is otherwise current, the agency regranting the access will, as a minimum, review an updated Standard Form 86 and applicable records. A reinvestigation is not required unless the review indicates the person may no longer satisfy the standards of Executive Order 12968 (see Table 2).

The National Agency Check is part of all investigations and reinvestigations. It consists of a review of:

a. Investigative and criminal history files of the FBI, including a technical fingerprint search;

d. Such other national agencies (e.g., CIA, INS) as appropriate to the individual's background.

STANDARD A
National Agency Check with Local Agency Checks and Credit Check (NACLC)

a. Access to CONFIDENTIAL and SECRET (including all SECRET-level SAPs not specifically approved for enhanced investigative requirements by an official authorized to establish SAPs by sect. 4.4 of Executive Order 12958), and

The reinvestigation may be initiated at any time following completion of, but not later than ten years (fifteen years for CONFIDENTIAL) from the date of, the previous investigation or reinvestigation. (Table 2 reflects the specific requirements for when to request a reinvestigation, including when there has been a break in service.)

a. Completion of forms: completion of Standard Form 86, including applicable releases and supporting documentation.

c. Financial Review: verification of the Subject's financial status, including credit bureau checks covering all locations where the Subject has resided, been employed, or attended school for six months or more for the past seven years.

d. Date and Place of Birth: corroboration of date and place of birth through a check of appropriate documentation, if not completed in any previous investigation; a check of Bureau of Vital Statistics records when any discrepancy is found to exist.

e. Local Agency Checks: as a minimum, all investigations will include checks of law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction where the Subject has lived, worked, and/or attended school within the last five years, and if applicable, of the appropriate agency for any identified arrests.

The investigation may be expanded if necessary to determine if access is clearly consistent with the national security.

STANDARD B
Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI)

a. Completion of Forms: completion of Standard Form 86, including applicable releases and supporting documentation.

c. National Agency Check for the Spouse or Cohabitant (if applicable): completion of a National Agency Check, without fingerprint cards, for the spouse or cohabitant.

d. Date and Place of Birth: corroboration of date and place of birth through a check of appropriate documentation; a check of Bureau of Vital Statistics records when any discrepancy is found to exist.

e. Citizenship: for individuals born outside the United States, verification of US citizenship directly from the appropriate registration authority; verification of US citizenship or legal status of foreign-born immediate family members (spouse, cohabitant, father, mother, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters).

f. Education: corroboration of most recent or most significant claimed attendance, degree, or diploma. Interviews of appropriate educational sources if education is a primary activity of the Subject during the most recent three years.

g. Employment: verification of all employments for the past seven years; personal interviews of sources (supervisors, coworkers, or both) for each employment of six months or more; corroboration through records or sources of all periods of unemployment exceeding sixty days; verification of all prior federal and military service, including discharge type. For military members, all service within one branch of the armed forces will be considered as one employment, regardless of assignments.

h. References: four references, of whom at least two are developed; to the extent practicable, all should have social knowledge of the Subject and collectively span at least the last seven years.

i. Former Spouse: an interview of any former spouse divorced within the last ten years.

j. Neighborhoods: confirmation of all residences for the last three years through appropriate interviews with neighbors and through records reviews.

k. Financial Review: verification of the Subject's financial status, including credit bureau checks covering all locations where Subject has resided, been employed, and/or attended school for six months or more for the last seven years.

l. Local Agency Checks: a check of appropriate criminal history records covering all locations where, for the last ten years, the Subject has resided, been employed, and/or attended school for six months or more, including current residence regardless of duration. (NOTE: If no residence, employment or education exceeds six months, local agency checks should be performed as deemed appropriate.)

m. Public Records: verification of divorces, bankruptcies, and other court actions, whether civil or criminal, involving the Subject.

n. Subject Interview: a Subject Interview, conducted by trained security, investigative, or counterintelligence personnel. During the investigation, additional Subject Interviews may be conducted to collect relevant information, to resolve significant inconsistencies, or both. Sworn statements and unsworn declarations may be taken whenever appropriate.

o. Polygraph (only agencies with approved personnel security polygraph programs): in departments or agencies with policies sanctioning the use of the polygraph for personnel security purposes, the investigation may include a polygraph examination, conducted by a qualified polygraph examiner.

The investigation may be expanded as necessary. As appropriate, interviews with anyone able to provide information or to resolve issues, including but not limited to cohabitants, relatives, psychiatrists, psychologists, other medical professional, and law enforcement professionals may be conducted.

STANDARD C
Single-Scope Background Investigation-Periodic Reinvestigation (SSBI-PR)

The reinvestigation may be initiated at any time following completion of, but not later than five years from date of, the previous investigation (see Table 2).

a. Completion of Forms: completion of Standard Form 86, including applicable releases and supporting documentation.

b. National Agency Check: completion of a National Agency Check (fingerprint cards are required only if there has not been a previous valid technical check of the FBI).

c. National Agency Check for the Spouse or Cohabitant (if applicable): completion of a National Agency Check, without fingerprint cards, for the spouse or cohabitant. The National Agency Check for the spouse or cohabitant is not required if already completed in conjunction with a previous investigation or reinvestigation.

d. Employment: verification of all employments since the last investigation. Attempts to interview a sufficient number of sources (supervisors, coworkers, or both) at all employments of six months or more. For military members, all service within one branch of the armed forces will be considered as one employment, regardless of assignments.

e. References: interviews with two character references who are knowledgeable of the Subject; at least one will be a developed reference. To the extent practical, both should have social knowledge of the Subject and collectively span the entire period of the investigation. As appropriate, additional interviews may be conducted, including with cohabitants and relatives.

~~f. Neighborhoods: interviews of two neighbors in the vicinity of the Subject's most recent residence of six months or more. Confirmation of current residence regardless of length.~~

h.f. Local Agency Checks: a check of appropriate criminal history records covering all locations where, during the period covered by the reinvestigation, the Subject has resided, been employed, and/or attended school for six months or more, including current residence regardless of duration. (NOTE: If no residence, employment, or education exceeds six months, local agency checks should be performed as deemed appropriate.)

i.g. Former Spouse: an interview with any former spouse unless the divorce took place before the date of the last investigation or reinvestigation.

j.h. Public Records: verification of divorces, bankruptcies, and other court actions, whether civil or criminal, involving the Subject since the date of the last investigation.

k.i. Subject Interviews: a Subject Interview, conducted by trained security, investigative, or counterintelligence personnel. During the reinvestigation, additional Subject Interviews may be conducted to collect relevant information, to resolve significant inconsistencies, or both. Sworn statements and unsworn declarations may be taken whenever appropriate.

j. References: Interviews with two character references who are knowledgeable of the subject; at least one will be a developed reference. To the extent practical, both should have social knowledge of the subject and collectively span the entire period of the reinvestigation. As appropriate, additional interviews may be conducted, including with cohabitants and relatives.

k. Neighborhoods: Interviews of two neighbors in the vicinity of the subject's most recent residence of six months or more. Confirmation of current residence regardless of length.

The reinvestigation may be expanded as necessary. As appropriate, interviews with anyone able to provide information or to resolve issues, including but not limited to cohabitants, relatives, psychiatrists, psychologists, other medical professionals, and law enforcement professionals may be conducted.

Government departments and agencies may, in their discretion, exclude requirements (j) and (k) above from the reinvestigation when no information of security concern is developed by the investigative source listed in (a) through (j). If information of security concern is yielded by these sources, the requirements of (j) and (k) must be met as well as the expansion requirements of paragraph 18.

Appendix
Decision Tables

If the requirement is for

And the person has this access

Based on this investigation

Then the investigation required is

Using standard

CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET, "L"

none
______

CONF,SEC,"L"

none
______

out of date NACLC or SSBI

NACLC

TOP SECRET, CSI; "Q"

none, CONF, SEC, "L"

______

TS, SCI; "Q"

none or current or out of date NACLC
______

out of date SSBI

SSBI

______

SSBI-PR

____

If requirement is for	And age of the investigation is	Type required if there has been a break in service of ____ months
		0-23 months	24 months or more
CONFIDENTIAL	0 to 14 yrs. 11 mos. _______ 15 yrs. or more	none (NOTE1) ________ NACLC	NACLC
SECRET, "L"	0 to 9 yrs. 11 mos. _______ 10 yrs. or more	none (NOTE1) ________ NACLC
TOP SECRET, SCI, "Q"	0 to 4 yrs. 11 mos. _______ 5 yrs. or more	none (NOTE1) _______ SSBI-PR	SSBI

NOTE 1: As a minimum, review an updated Standard Form 86 and applicable records. A reinvestigation (NACLC or SSBI-PR) is not required unless the review indicates the person may no longer satisfy the standards of Executive Order 12968.

Investigative Standards for Temporary Eligibility for Access

The following minimum investigative standards, implementing section 3.3 of Executive Order 12968, "Access to Classified Information", are established for all United States Government and military personnel, consultants, contractors, subcontractors, employees of contractors, licensees, certificate holders or grantees and their employees and other individuals who require access to classified information before the appropriate investigation can be completed and a final determination made.

Based on a justified need meeting the requirements of section 3.3 of Executive Order 12968, temporary eligibility for access may be granted before investigations are complete and favorably adjudicated, where official functions must be performed prior to completion of the investigation and adjudication process. The temporary eligibility will be valid until completion of the investigation and adjudication; however, the agency granting it may revoke it at any time based on unfavorable information identified in the course of the investigation.

3. Temporary Eligibility for Access at the CONFIDENTIAL and SECRET Levels and Temporary Eligibility for "L" Access Authorization.

4. Temporary Eligibility for Access at the TOP SECRET and SCI Levels and Temporary Eligibility for "Q" Access Authorization: For Someone who is the Subject of a Favorable Investigation not Meeting the Investigative Standards for Access at those Levels.

5. Temporary Eligibility for Access at the TOP SECRET and SCI Levels and Temporary Eligibility for "Q" Access Authorization: For Someone who is not the Subject of a current, favorable personnel or Personnel Security Investigation of any kind.

As a minimum, such temporary eligibility requires completion of the Standard Form 86, including any applicable supporting documentation, favorable review of the form by the appropriate adjudicating authority, immediate submission of a request for an expedited SSBI, and completion and favorable review by the appropriate adjudicating authority of relevant criminal history and investigative records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and of information in the Security/Suitability Investigations Index (SII) and the Defense Clearance and Investigations Index (DCII).

Temporary eligibility for access must satisfy these minimum investigations standards, but agency heads may establish additional requirements based on the sensitivity of the particular, identified categories of classified information necessary to perform the lawful and authorized functions that are the basis for granting temporary eligibility for access. However, no additional requirements shall exceed the common standards for background investigations developed under section 3.2(b) of Executive Order 12968. Temporary eligibility for access is valid only at the agency granting it and at other agencies who expressly agree to accept it and acknowledge understanding of its investigative basis. It is further subject to limitations specified in sections 2.4(d) and 3.3 of Executive Order 12968, "Access to Classified Information."

DCID 6/4 ANNEX A: Investigative Standards for Background Investigations for Access to Classified Information

STANDARD A National Agency Check with Local Agency Checks and Credit Check (NACLC)

STANDARD B Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI)

STANDARD C Single-Scope Background Investigation-Periodic Reinvestigation (SSBI-PR)

Appendix Decision Tables

Investigative Standards for Temporary Eligibility for Access

STANDARD A
National Agency Check with Local Agency Checks and Credit Check (NACLC)

STANDARD B
Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI)

STANDARD C
Single-Scope Background Investigation-Periodic Reinvestigation (SSBI-PR)

Appendix
Decision Tables