Quarterly docket report
State of the Clearance Docket, Q1 2016
← Q4 2015 · full-year 2016 · next quarter →
The quarter in brief
DOHA judges decided 517 industrial security-clearance cases in Q1 2016, granting 39% of them. That is 10 points lower than Q4 2015 (49% of 378). A year earlier, Q1 2015 recorded 46% of 322. Financial Considerations was the most common concern, appearing in 385 decided cases. The typical case decided this quarter took 317 days from Statement of Reasons to decision, 25 days longer than the prior quarter.
Month by month
- January121 decided
- February206 decided
- March190 decided
Outcomes by concern
- Financial Considerations (F)38%146 granted239 denied
- Personal Conduct (E)27%34 granted92 denied
- Drug Involvement & Substance Misuse (H)33%17 granted35 denied
- Foreign Influence (B)60%25 granted17 denied
- Criminal Conduct (J)24%8 granted26 denied
- Foreign Preference (C)57%13 granted10 denied
- Alcohol Consumption (G)14%3 granted18 denied
- Handling Protected Information (K) †50%3 granted3 denied
- Use of Information Technology (M) †60%3 granted2 denied
- Sexual Behavior (D) †50%2 granted2 denied
- Psychological Conditions (I) †0%0 granted2 denied
| Concern | Granted | Denied | Grant rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Considerations (F) | 146 | 239 | 38% |
| Personal Conduct (E) | 34 | 92 | 27% |
| Drug Involvement & Substance Misuse (H) | 17 | 35 | 33% |
| Foreign Influence (B) | 25 | 17 | 60% |
| Criminal Conduct (J) | 8 | 26 | 24% |
| Foreign Preference (C) | 13 | 10 | 57% |
| Alcohol Consumption (G) | 3 | 18 | 14% |
| Handling Protected Information (K) | 3 | 3 | 50% † |
| Use of Information Technology (M) | 3 | 2 | 60% † |
| Sexual Behavior (D) | 2 | 2 | 50% † |
| Psychological Conditions (I) | 0 | 2 | 0% † |
† 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 Q1 2016 took a median of 317 days from the Statement of Reasons to the decision (measured on 491 cases with both dates in the text). The prior quarter’s median was 292 days.
Full timeline breakdowns are available on Measured timelines.
Hearing and written record
- In-person hearing49% granted · 259 cases
- On the written record28% granted · 257 cases
Representation
- With an attorney56% granted · 78 cases
- Self-represented35% granted · 434 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 2016-01-01 through 2016-03-31; appeals counted separately. Definitions and checks: methodology. Cite as: CASE, State of the Clearance Docket, Q1 2016 (clearancesearchengine.com/reports/quarterly/2016-q1). Computed live from the record as it stands today; decisions DOHA publishes late are added to their quarter automatically.