What is this clearance document?

A directory of the forms and notices that appear in a security clearance case. Search by form number or by a phrase from the page in front of you. Each entry says what the document is, whether it is something you normally see, and where the description comes from.

Many of these are routine processing notices between agencies rather than decisions about you. For the correspondence in a contested case — the interrogatory, the Statement of Reasons, the hearing notice, the decision and the appeal — see correspondence in a DOHA case, which covers those in more depth.

• Adverse action, hearing and appeal

  What arrives when the answer is provisionally no, and what governs the process that follows.

  • Statement of Reasons

    SOR

    You normally see or sign this.

    The document that sets out, allegation by allegation, why the government is not presently able to find that access is clearly consistent with the national interest. It is the start of the due-process stage, not the end of the case.

    What you do: Respond within the stated deadline, answering each allegation. Cases are lost by default far more easily than they are lost on the merits.

    Also called: SOR, statement of reasons, security concerns letter, statement of security concerns

    Full entry for SOR

    Source: DOHA — Industrial Security Program — DOHA: where the finding cannot be made, "a Statement of Reasons (SOR) is issued to the individual", and the SOR with the response goes to DOHA.

  • Statement of Reasons Receipt and Statement of Intent

    SOR/SOI

    You normally see or sign this.

    The election page inside the SOR packet. It records that the packet was received and captures the choice of how to respond, including whether a personal appearance is requested.

    What you do: Return it within the deadline in the packet. It is separate from the substantive response to the allegations, and returning one does not substitute for the other.

    Also called: SOI, SOR/SOI, statement of intent, SOR receipt

    Full entry for SOR/SOI

    Source: DCSA — Security Review Proceedings FAQ — DCSA FAQ: a personal appearance is requested "through the Statement of Reasons Receipt and Statement of Intent (SOR/SOI) (Subject) page located in the SOR packet".

  • File of Relevant Material

    FORM

    You normally see or sign this.

    The government’s evidence package in a case decided on the written record rather than at a hearing. Department Counsel assembles it and it goes to the Administrative Judge.

    What you do: You have a set period to respond in writing once you receive it. That response is normally the last opportunity to put evidence in front of the judge.

    Also called: FORM, file of relevant material

    Full entry for FORM

    Source: DOHA — Industrial Security Program — Named in DOHA’s industrial security program material as the written-record evidence package.

  • Prehearing Guidance for DOHA Hearings

    You normally see or sign this.

    Procedural guidance the DOHA Hearing Office sends to applicants ahead of a hearing. It supplements DoD Directive 5220.6; it does not replace it.

    What you do: Read it before the hearing. It sets out how the hearing runs and what is expected of you.

    Also called: prehearing guidance, pre-hearing guidance

    Full entry for Prehearing Guidance for DOHA Hearings

    Source: DOHA — Industrial Security Program FAQs — DOHA FAQ: "The DOHA Hearing Office also sends to applicants a copy of Prehearing Guidance for DOHA Hearings."

  • Appeal Instructions

    You normally see or sign this.

    The instructions the Appeal Board sends to both parties once a timely notice of appeal is received. Like the prehearing guidance, they supplement DoD Directive 5220.6 rather than replacing it.

    What you do: Follow the deadlines in them exactly. An appeal is decided on the existing record, so it is an argument about the decision, not a second chance to submit evidence.

    Also called: appeal instructions, notice of appeal, DOHA appeal

    Full entry for Appeal Instructions

    Source: DOHA — Industrial Security Program FAQs — DOHA FAQ: "When the Appeal Board receives a timely notice of appeal, it sends to the parties a copy of Appeal Instructions."

Each entry was checked against the issuing agency’s own published source, and documents that could not be verified against an official source are deliberately not listed. Descriptive research on published procedures. Not legal advice, and not a prediction about any pending case.