Quarterly docket report
State of the Clearance Docket, Q4 2018
← Q3 2018 · full-year 2018 · next quarter →
The quarter in brief
DOHA judges decided 309 industrial security-clearance cases in Q4 2018, granting 31% of them. That is 4 points lower than Q3 2018 (35% of 388). A year earlier, Q4 2017 recorded 32% of 614. Financial Considerations was the most common concern, appearing in 202 decided cases. The typical case decided this quarter took 314 days from Statement of Reasons to decision, 24 days shorter than the prior quarter.
Month by month
- October138 decided
- November88 decided
- December83 decided
Outcomes by concern
- Financial Considerations (F)28%57 granted145 denied
- Personal Conduct (E)21%16 granted62 denied
- Foreign Influence (B)56%19 granted15 denied
- Criminal Conduct (J)31%10 granted22 denied
- Drug Involvement & Substance Misuse (H)28%9 granted23 denied
- Alcohol Consumption (G)45%9 granted11 denied
- Use of Information Technology (M) †17%1 granted5 denied
- Sexual Behavior (D) †20%1 granted4 denied
- Handling Protected Information (K) †25%1 granted3 denied
- Psychological Conditions (I) †0%0 granted3 denied
- Foreign Preference (C) †50%1 granted1 denied
| Concern | Granted | Denied | Grant rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Considerations (F) | 57 | 145 | 28% |
| Personal Conduct (E) | 16 | 62 | 21% |
| Foreign Influence (B) | 19 | 15 | 56% |
| Criminal Conduct (J) | 10 | 22 | 31% |
| Drug Involvement & Substance Misuse (H) | 9 | 23 | 28% |
| Alcohol Consumption (G) | 9 | 11 | 45% |
| Use of Information Technology (M) | 1 | 5 | 17% † |
| Sexual Behavior (D) | 1 | 4 | 20% † |
| Handling Protected Information (K) | 1 | 3 | 25% † |
| Psychological Conditions (I) | 0 | 3 | 0% † |
| Foreign Preference (C) | 1 | 1 | 50% † |
† 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 2018 took a median of 314 days from the Statement of Reasons to the decision (measured on 305 cases with both dates in the text). The prior quarter’s median was 338 days.
Full timeline breakdowns are available on Measured timelines.
Hearing and written record
- In-person hearing39% granted · 216 cases
- On the written record12% granted · 92 cases
Representation
- With an attorney44% granted · 54 cases
- Self-represented28% granted · 254 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 2018-10-01 through 2018-12-31; appeals counted separately. Definitions and checks: methodology. Cite as: CASE, State of the Clearance Docket, Q4 2018 (clearancesearchengine.com/reports/quarterly/2018-q4). Computed live from the record as it stands today; decisions DOHA publishes late are added to their quarter automatically.