Quarterly docket report
State of the Clearance Docket, Q4 2015
← Q3 2015 · full-year 2015 · next quarter →
The quarter in brief
DOHA judges decided 378 industrial security-clearance cases in Q4 2015, granting 49% of them. That is 11 points higher than Q3 2015 (38% of 362). A year earlier, Q4 2014 recorded 45% of 308. Financial Considerations was the most common concern, appearing in 278 decided cases. The typical case decided this quarter took 292 days from Statement of Reasons to decision, 15 days longer than the prior quarter.
Month by month
- October140 decided
- November111 decided
- December127 decided
Outcomes by concern
- Financial Considerations (F)46%128 granted150 denied
- Personal Conduct (E)38%35 granted56 denied
- Drug Involvement & Substance Misuse (H)58%25 granted18 denied
- Foreign Influence (B)57%20 granted15 denied
- Criminal Conduct (J) †44%7 granted9 denied
- Foreign Preference (C) †53%8 granted7 denied
- Alcohol Consumption (G) †38%5 granted8 denied
- Handling Protected Information (K) †100%6 granted0 denied
- Sexual Behavior (D) †20%1 granted4 denied
- Psychological Conditions (I) †50%1 granted1 denied
- Use of Information Technology (M) †100%1 granted0 denied
| Concern | Granted | Denied | Grant rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Considerations (F) | 128 | 150 | 46% |
| Personal Conduct (E) | 35 | 56 | 38% |
| Drug Involvement & Substance Misuse (H) | 25 | 18 | 58% |
| Foreign Influence (B) | 20 | 15 | 57% |
| Criminal Conduct (J) | 7 | 9 | 44% † |
| Foreign Preference (C) | 8 | 7 | 53% † |
| Alcohol Consumption (G) | 5 | 8 | 38% † |
| Handling Protected Information (K) | 6 | 0 | 100% † |
| Sexual Behavior (D) | 1 | 4 | 20% † |
| Psychological Conditions (I) | 1 | 1 | 50% † |
| Use of Information Technology (M) | 1 | 0 | 100% † |
† fewer than 20 decided cases, too few to generalize. Cases often raise several concerns, so rows overlap.
Time from Statement of Reasons to decision
Cases decided in Q4 2015 took a median of 292 days from the Statement of Reasons to the decision (measured on 361 cases with both dates in the text). The prior quarter’s median was 277 days.
Full timeline breakdowns are available on Measured timelines.
Hearing and written record
- In-person hearing59% granted · 230 cases
- On the written record33% granted · 147 cases
Representation
- With an attorney71% granted · 58 cases
- Self-represented45% granted · 319 cases
An association in the decided record, not a measure of what representation causes: represented and self-represented cases can differ in many ways.
Population: decided hearing-level STANDARD_ISCR decisions dated 2015-10-01 through 2015-12-31; appeals counted separately. Definitions and checks: methodology. Cite as: CASE, State of the Clearance Docket, Q4 2015 (clearancesearchengine.com/reports/quarterly/2015-q4). Computed live from the record as it stands today; decisions DOHA publishes late are added to their quarter automatically.