When the security clearance investigation of a contractor employee is completed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the investigative file, which is called a Report For Adjudication (RFA), is sent to the Industry Division (Division A) of the DOD Consolidated Adjudications Facility (DOD CAF). If the RFA is for a Secret clearance and does not contain any potentially disqualifying information, the RFA can be favorably adjudicated by computer (eAdjudication) and the clearance can be granted without any further review…

Most defense contractor applicants for security clearance*, who receive a Statement of Reasons (SOR), have the choice of requesting a hearing before a Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) Administrative Judge (AJ) or requesting that an AJ make a decision based solely on the written record without a hearing.  The applicant must submit a written response to the SOR in order to choose one of these options.  Failure to respond to the SOR within the prescribed time results in automatic clearance denial or revocation and forecloses any right to an appeal…

In an article, “DOHA Pre-Hearing Process,” I wrote about what happens after a contractor applicant receives a Statement of Reasons (SOR) explaining why the Government intends to deny or revoke their clearance.  That article covers the process and events up to the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) hearing…

Several years ago I wrote an article about “Rebutting and Appealing Security Clearance Denials.”  Since then things have changed regarding federal contractor clearances, but much of the information in that article remains valid today.  What has changed slightly is the adjudication process.  In late 2012 the positions for staff adjudicators at the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO) and staff adjudicators at the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) were transferred to the Industry Division of the DOD Consolidated Adjudications Facility (DOD CAF)…