Administrative Return Notice
What it is
Sent when the type of investigation requested does not match the sensitivity or access information recorded in the request. The investigation has not started, and the paperwork must be corrected and returned.
What you do
Nothing directly, but it is worth asking the security office whether the request has been corrected — this notice means the clock has not started.
Also called
administrative return, case papers returned, returned notice.
Where this comes from
DCSA — Terms and Definitions. DCSA: case papers returned where the investigation type is inconsistent with the Agency Use Only block; "the investigation has not been initiated".
Where this sits
Stage: Investigation and case status · Applies to: Government-wide
Other documents at this stage
How the process worksA contested case follows a published sequence. Open this for the short version, or put a question to Ask Mode on the home page. Accounts are free and include up to 25 questions per day.
A contested case follows a published path: a Statement of Reasons, the government's written list of its concerns (an SOR), a written answer, a hearing or a decision on the written record, the judge's decision, and in some cases an appeal.
Read the stages of a DOHA case · Ask a question about the process
Checked against the issuing agency's own published source. Descriptive research on published procedures. Not legal advice, and not a prediction about any pending case.
Where to go from here
I do this for clients
Rank every decision by how closely it matches a matter, see how the assigned judge has ruled, and keep it together with cited exports.
For attorneys and firms →I am researching or teaching
Statistics, exports, monitoring, and the API, arranged individually. For scholarship and public interest work that usually means no charge.
Request access →Decided public cases: descriptive, never a prediction.