Quarterly docket report
State of the Clearance Docket, Q1 2019
← Q4 2018 · full-year 2019 · next quarter →
The quarter in brief
DOHA judges decided 347 industrial security-clearance cases in Q1 2019, granting 33% of them. That is 2 points higher than Q4 2018 (31% of 309). A year earlier, Q1 2018 recorded 36% of 541. Financial Considerations was the most common concern, appearing in 212 decided cases. The typical case decided this quarter took 291 days from Statement of Reasons to decision, 23 days shorter than the prior quarter.
Month by month
- January96 decided
- February118 decided
- March133 decided
Outcomes by concern
- Financial Considerations (F)28%60 granted152 denied
- Personal Conduct (E)21%17 granted65 denied
- Foreign Influence (B)61%34 granted22 denied
- Drug Involvement & Substance Misuse (H)26%9 granted26 denied
- Criminal Conduct (J)39%11 granted17 denied
- Alcohol Consumption (G)31%8 granted18 denied
- Sexual Behavior (D) †27%3 granted8 denied
- Handling Protected Information (K) †43%3 granted4 denied
- Psychological Conditions (I) †0%0 granted5 denied
- Foreign Preference (C) †100%5 granted0 denied
- Use of Information Technology (M) †20%1 granted4 denied
- Outside Activities (L) †100%1 granted0 denied
| Concern | Granted | Denied | Grant rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Considerations (F) | 60 | 152 | 28% |
| Personal Conduct (E) | 17 | 65 | 21% |
| Foreign Influence (B) | 34 | 22 | 61% |
| Drug Involvement & Substance Misuse (H) | 9 | 26 | 26% |
| Criminal Conduct (J) | 11 | 17 | 39% |
| Alcohol Consumption (G) | 8 | 18 | 31% |
| Sexual Behavior (D) | 3 | 8 | 27% † |
| Handling Protected Information (K) | 3 | 4 | 43% † |
| Psychological Conditions (I) | 0 | 5 | 0% † |
| Foreign Preference (C) | 5 | 0 | 100% † |
| Use of Information Technology (M) | 1 | 4 | 20% † |
| Outside Activities (L) | 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 Q1 2019 took a median of 291 days from the Statement of Reasons to the decision (measured on 341 cases with both dates in the text). The prior quarter’s median was 314 days.
Full timeline breakdowns are available on Measured timelines.
Hearing and written record
- In-person hearing44% granted · 224 cases
- On the written record12% granted · 110 cases
Representation
- With an attorney49% granted · 68 cases
- Self-represented29% granted · 276 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 2019-01-01 through 2019-03-31; appeals counted separately. Definitions and checks: methodology. Cite as: CASE, State of the Clearance Docket, Q1 2019 (clearancesearchengine.com/reports/quarterly/2019-q1). Computed live from the record as it stands today; decisions DOHA publishes late are added to their quarter automatically.