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Issue Encyclopedia · Guideline E · Personal Conduct

Lack of Candor in Interview / Investigation

What the decided record shows for this issue, computed from public DOHA hearing-level decisions. Descriptive history, not a prediction.

Does lack of candor in interview / investigation affect a security clearance?

Lack of Candor in Interview / Investigation is an issue decided under Guideline E, Personal Conduct. In the decided DOHA record it appears in 1,590 hearing-level cases, and 11% of the 1,589 decided ended with access granted (170 granted, 1,419 denied). The mitigating conditions judges credited most often, and example decisions either way, are below.

Basis: 1,589 decided hearing-level cases raising this issue. Descriptive history of decided cases, not a prediction.

More questions people ask the record

Decided cases

1,590

hearing-level decisions raising this issue

Granted

11%

170 granted · 1,419 denied or revoked

Official mitigating conditions cited

The formal mitigating conditions the case profiles identified on this issue, in cases that were granted and in cases that were denied. Each is shown with its paragraph number and a plain name. Read what each condition says.

  • ¶ 17(a) · A prompt, good-faith correction made before being confronted

    In granted cases
    28
    In denied cases
    12

  • ¶ 17(c) · Minor, long ago, infrequent, or under unique circumstances

    In granted cases
    25
    In denied cases
    2

  • ¶ 17(b) · The omission followed advice of counsel, and full cooperation followed

    In granted cases
    18
    In denied cases
    6

  • ¶ 17(d) · The behavior acknowledged, with counseling or other positive steps

    In granted cases
    10
    In denied cases
    1

  • ¶ 17(e) · Steps taken to reduce vulnerability to pressure

    In granted cases
    6
    In denied cases
    2

Circumstances credited in granted cases

The specific circumstances the judge expressly credited among the granted cases on this issue where that detail was extracted.
  • acknowledgment and remorse · credited in 2 granted cases
  • corrected falsification promptly · credited in 2 granted cases
  • passage of time · credited in 2 granted cases

Recent decided examples

  • ISCR Case No. 25-00528Granted2026

    Applicant, a 26-year-old DOD contractor employee, was granted eligibility for access to classified information. The SOR alleged marijuana use on two occasions, a positive urinalysis in February 2024, …

  • ISCR Case No. 24-01085Granted2026

    Applicant, a defense contractor quality assurance program manager and Navy veteran, faced allegations under Guidelines J, E, and H involving decades of criminal conduct, traffic offenses, workplace di…

  • ISCR Case No. 26-00313Denied2026

    The case involves security concerns under Guidelines D and E, leading to the denial of the applicant's security clearance. The applicant was accused of viewing sexually explicit material involving min…

  • ISCR Case No. 24-01633Denied2026

    The applicant mitigated some security concerns related to drug involvement but failed to mitigate personal conduct issues. The applicant admitted to using and cultivating marijuana, which raised quest…

See all 1,590 decisions on this issue

Related issues under Guideline E

How these numbers are measured

Scope: decided hearing-level cases whose per-allegation profile records this issue, matched to the same issue value the search filters use, so a count here and a filtered search always agree. A case raising several issues counts under each one. The mitigating conditions and the credited circumstances below were extracted for a subset of the record, so both are counts of cases rather than rates. Pages exist only for issues with at least 25 decided cases, and † marks any split built on fewer than 20.

Reading the statistics

  • Granted = access granted or continued; Denied = denied or revoked.
  • Grant rate = granted ÷ (granted + denied).
  • † marks figures based on fewer than 20 cases, too few to be reliable.
  • Hovering any rate shows its statistical range (a 95% confidence interval).
  • Figures are descriptive counts over decided, public DOHA ISCR decisions, never predictions or assessments of any pending case.

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