For questions regarding the status of an individual's security clearance, individuals should contact their Security Manager or designated security official for assistance. If you are looking for more information about your adjudication, please click here.

Department of Defense (DoD) Consolidated Adjudications Facility (CAF)

DCSA’s DoD CAF is the sole authority to determine security clearance eligibility of non-Intelligence agency DoD personnel occupying sensitive positions and/or requiring access to classified material including Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI). The DoD CAF customer base includes all military service members, military applicants, civilian employees, and consultants affiliated with DoD, to include the staff of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, the Congressional Budget Office, the United States Capitol Police, selected judicial staff, DoD personnel at the White House, and contractor personnel under the National Industrial Security Program (NISP). The CAF executes its mission in accordance with appropriate laws, DoD regulations and policy.

For more information on the DoD CAF, click here.

Security Clearance Eligibility

Whenever military members, federal employees, or contractors require access to classified national security information, and/or assignment to a national security sensitive position, an individual must be granted security clearance eligibility at the proper level to access that information or occupy the national security sensitive position.

A security clearance eligibility is a determination that a person is able and willing to safeguard classified national security information and/or occupy a national security sensitive position. The three national security clearance eligibility levels are: Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret.

Although DCSA is the Investigations Service Provider for investigations that support clearances and clearance eligibility, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is the Security Executive Agent in charge of oversight of investigations and adjudications for eligibility for access to classified information and eligibility to hold a sensitive position.

To learn more about security clearances and maintaining eligibility, click here.

Suitability

Suitability refers to a person's character or conduct that may have an impact on the integrity or efficiency of the individual’s government service. Certain standards of character and conduct are used to evaluate whether federal employees in covered positions — in accordance with Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 731 — will fulfill their position duties and responsibilities effectively, and in doing so, support their employing agency’s reputation and mission.

Suitability adjudication is distinct from assessment of an individual’s qualifications for a job and from assessment of eligibility for access to classified information or assignment to sensitive duties.

Although DCSA is the Investigations Service Provider for investigations that support covered positions subject to suitability, fitness, and credentialing standards, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the Suitability Executive Agent in charge.

To learn more about suitability determinations, click here.

Credentialing

The DoD has used Common Access Cards (CAC) cards as a form of identification and access control for many years. The 2004 Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) instituted a similar requirement for the entire federal government, establishing the use of Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards.

To learn more about credentialing, click here.

Fitness

Fitness refers to the adjudicative decision made on excepted service, contractor, and other federal personnel working for, on behalf of the federal government. These adjudicative guidelines are like suitability guidelines but governed by different regulations. Instead of being governed by Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 731 (5 CFR 731), fitness determinations are made under separate guidelines determined by the entities making the decisions.

Although no one standard exists for fitness decisions, the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) within OPM issued “Contractor Fitness Adjudication — Best Practices” guidance in 2013, which can be found on the CHCO website here.