Quarterly docket report
State of the Clearance Docket, Q3 2018
← Q2 2018 · full-year 2018 · next quarter →
The quarter in brief
DOHA judges decided 388 industrial security-clearance cases in Q3 2018, granting 35% of them. That is 1 point lower than Q2 2018 (36% of 369). A year earlier, Q3 2017 recorded 40% of 495. Financial Considerations was the most common concern, appearing in 256 decided cases. The typical case decided this quarter took 338 days from Statement of Reasons to decision, 8 days shorter than the prior quarter.
Month by month
- July145 decided
- August142 decided
- September101 decided
Outcomes by concern
- Financial Considerations (F)32%81 granted175 denied
- Personal Conduct (E)18%20 granted90 denied
- Foreign Influence (B)63%35 granted21 denied
- Drug Involvement & Substance Misuse (H)26%11 granted32 denied
- Criminal Conduct (J)33%9 granted18 denied
- Alcohol Consumption (G) †37%7 granted12 denied
- Foreign Preference (C) †64%9 granted5 denied
- Sexual Behavior (D) †25%1 granted3 denied
- Handling Protected Information (K) †25%1 granted3 denied
- Psychological Conditions (I) †0%0 granted1 denied
- Use of Information Technology (M) †0%0 granted1 denied
| Concern | Granted | Denied | Grant rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Considerations (F) | 81 | 175 | 32% |
| Personal Conduct (E) | 20 | 90 | 18% |
| Foreign Influence (B) | 35 | 21 | 63% |
| Drug Involvement & Substance Misuse (H) | 11 | 32 | 26% |
| Criminal Conduct (J) | 9 | 18 | 33% |
| Alcohol Consumption (G) | 7 | 12 | 37% † |
| Foreign Preference (C) | 9 | 5 | 64% † |
| Sexual Behavior (D) | 1 | 3 | 25% † |
| Handling Protected Information (K) | 1 | 3 | 25% † |
| Psychological Conditions (I) | 0 | 1 | 0% † |
| Use of Information Technology (M) | 0 | 1 | 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 Q3 2018 took a median of 338 days from the Statement of Reasons to the decision (measured on 370 cases with both dates in the text). The prior quarter’s median was 346 days.
Full timeline breakdowns are available on Measured timelines.
Hearing and written record
- In-person hearing46% granted · 264 cases
- On the written record12% granted · 121 cases
Representation
- With an attorney49% granted · 79 cases
- Self-represented31% granted · 308 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 2018-07-01 through 2018-09-30; appeals counted separately. Definitions and checks: methodology. Cite as: CASE, State of the Clearance Docket, Q3 2018 (clearancesearchengine.com/reports/quarterly/2018-q3). Computed live from the record as it stands today; decisions DOHA publishes late are added to their quarter automatically.