13 Adjudicative Guidelines for Security Clearance

The 13 adjudicative guidelines for security clearance are the categories of concern federal adjudicators use to decide whether giving you access to classified information is “clearly consistent with the interests of national security.” They are set out in Security Executive Agent Directive 4 (SEAD 4), which took effect on June 8, 2017, and they apply across every federal department and agency.¹ Under that standard, any unresolved doubt is resolved against the applicant, so the burden is on you to show that granting access is safe.²

The 13 Guidelines

Each guideline targets a category of behavior or circumstance that could compromise national security. The letters A through M are the labels adjudicators and lawyers actually use.

Guideline A — Allegiance to the United States: Actions or associations suggesting loyalty to a foreign government or intent to harm the United States.
Guideline B — Foreign Influence: Relationships, financial ties, or obligations to foreign nationals or governments that could create a conflict of interest or open the door to coercion.
Guideline C — Foreign Preference: Behavior suggesting you favor another country over the United States, such as voting in a foreign election or using a foreign passport instead of your U.S. one.
Guideline D — Sexual Behavior: Conduct that could make you vulnerable to blackmail or coercion, particularly behavior you have reason to conceal.
Guideline E — Personal Conduct: Dishonesty, poor judgment, or refusal to follow rules, with special emphasis on lying or omitting information on your security application.
Guideline F — Financial Considerations: Whether financial problems like unresolved debt, tax evasion, or unexplained wealth make you susceptible to bribery or pressure.
Guideline G — Alcohol Consumption: Excessive drinking that impairs judgment or reliability, including alcohol-related arrests.
Guideline H — Drug Involvement and Substance Misuse: Illegal drug use, misuse of prescription drugs, and failure to complete a drug treatment program.
Guideline I — Psychological Conditions: Diagnosed conditions that could impair judgment, reliability, or trustworthiness if left untreated or unmanaged.
Guideline J — Criminal Conduct: Any history of illegal activity, whether or not it resulted in arrest or prosecution.
Guideline K — Handling Protected Information: Failure to safeguard classified or sensitive material, including careless security violations.
Guideline L — Outside Activities: Employment, volunteer work, or service with foreign entities that could create loyalty conflicts.
Guideline M — Use of Information Technology: Unauthorized access to computer systems, data breaches, or other misuse of government or personal IT systems.

A few of the labels changed when SEAD 4 replaced the older criteria in 32 CFR Part 147. Older material may still reference “Drug Involvement” (now “Drug Involvement and Substance Misuse”), “Security Violations” (now “Handling Protected Information”), or “Emotional, Mental, and Personality Disorders” (now “Psychological Conditions”).³

How Adjudicators Actually Decide

No single guideline operates in isolation. Adjudicators apply a “whole person” analysis, weighing everything they know about you, favorable and unfavorable, to reach an overall judgment.³ One red flag under one guideline will not automatically sink a clearance if the rest of the record is clean.

SEAD 4 lists nine factors adjudicators weigh against any conduct that raises a concern:

Nature and seriousness: How harmful or risky the conduct was.
Circumstances: Whether you knew what you were doing and chose to do it anyway.
Frequency and recency: A one-time mistake ten years ago looks very different from a pattern last month.
Age and maturity: Conduct in your teens carries less weight than the same behavior at 35.
Voluntariness: Whether you were pressured or acted freely.
Rehabilitation: Concrete evidence you have changed, such as completing treatment or paying off debt.
Motivation: Why you did what you did.
Vulnerability to pressure: Whether the conduct could be used against you as leverage.
Likelihood of recurrence: Whether it could happen again.

The government is not deciding whether you are a good person. It is deciding whether any risk exists that you could be compromised, and it must find that granting your clearance is “clearly consistent with the interests of national security.”

The Guidelines That Trip Most People Up

In theory all 13 matter equally. In practice a handful generate most of the real-world denials and revocations.

Financial Considerations (Guideline F)

Guideline F catches people off guard because they assume it targets fraud or bribery. Adjudicators are really looking at whether your financial situation makes you a target. Significant unresolved debt, a history of not paying taxes, or spending well beyond your income all raise flags.

Bankruptcy is not automatically disqualifying. A single bankruptcy in a lifetime, especially one caused by job loss, medical emergency, or divorce, is generally mitigable if you can show the problem is under control. The key mitigating factors under Guideline F include demonstrating that the trouble resulted from forces outside your control and that you have sought financial counseling with clear evidence the situation is improving.⁴ Repeat filings draw heavier scrutiny. A Chapter 13 repayment plan tends to look better than a Chapter 7 discharge because it shows an effort to repay creditors.

Clearance holders are also required to self-report certain financial events. Under Security Executive Agent Directive 3, bankruptcy and any debt more than 120 days delinquent are reportable.⁵ For Top Secret holders, unusual cash windfalls of $10,000 or more, such as an inheritance or gambling winnings, must also be reported.

Drug Involvement and Substance Misuse (Guideline H)

Marijuana is where this guideline collides with everyday life. Regardless of what your state allows, marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and adjudicators treat it that way. Using marijuana in a state where it is legal does not protect you. Telling an adjudicator you plan to keep using it, even recreationally in a legal state, is close to an automatic disqualifier because it signals intent to violate the federal law you would be entrusted to uphold.

Past marijuana use is not a death sentence, especially if it was experimental, happened years ago, and you can show you have no intention of using again. The same framework applies to other drugs, though harder substances face tougher scrutiny. An expressed intent to continue using any illegal drug, or failure to complete a prescribed treatment program, will almost certainly result in denial.³

Personal Conduct and Honesty (Guideline E)

Do not lie on your SF-86. Guideline E treats dishonesty during the investigation as its own disqualifying concern, separate from whatever you were trying to hide. An applicant who honestly discloses a DUI from five years ago is in a far stronger position than one who conceals it and gets caught.

The stakes go beyond losing the clearance. Knowingly making a false statement on a federal form is a felony under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, punishable by up to five years in prison.⁶ The statute requires the statement to be “knowing and willful,” so misremembering a date or accidentally omitting a short-term address is not a crime. But investigators cross-reference your SF-86 answers against records, interviews, and public data, and if something looks intentionally omitted, you will be asked to explain.

Foreign Influence and Foreign Preference (Guidelines B and C)

These two work together. Guideline B focuses on your connections: a spouse who is a foreign national, family members living abroad, financial accounts in another country. Guideline C focuses on actions that suggest you prefer another country’s interests, like voting in a foreign election or using a foreign passport rather than your U.S. one.

Dual citizenship alone is not disqualifying. SEAD 4 states that holding citizenship in another country, by itself, does not create a security concern unless there is an objective showing of foreign preference or an attempt to conceal it.⁴ What does create a concern is failing to disclose a foreign passport or identity card, or entering and leaving the United States on a foreign passport. Top Secret holders face additional reporting requirements, including foreign bank accounts, foreign property ownership, and direct involvement in foreign business.⁵

Alcohol Consumption (Guideline G)

A single DUI from years ago, standing alone, is generally mitigable, especially where it does not fit into a broader pattern. The mitigating factors under Guideline G look at whether the incident was isolated, how long ago it occurred, and whether you have demonstrated rehabilitation since.⁷

If you have been diagnosed with alcohol dependence, adjudicators want to see concrete steps: successful completion of an inpatient or outpatient treatment program, ongoing participation in a recovery group, at least 12 months of abstinence, and ideally a favorable prognosis from a credentialed medical professional. Multiple alcohol-related incidents over a short period create a much harder case because they suggest a pattern rather than a one-off lapse.

Psychological Conditions (Guideline I)

This guideline causes more unnecessary anxiety than any other. Many applicants avoid therapy because they believe it will cost them their clearance. Guideline I is narrowly focused: it becomes a concern only when a diagnosed condition could impair your judgment, reliability, or trustworthiness and you are not managing it. Seeking treatment for depression, anxiety, PTSD, grief, or relationship issues tends to work in your favor because it demonstrates responsibility.

The SF-86 itself exempts certain categories of counseling from mandatory disclosure, including counseling related to military combat and counseling for victims of sexual assault.⁸ Temporary emotional difficulties caused by a specific life event, such as a death in the family, an illness, or a divorce, are explicitly recognized as mitigating under SEAD 4 when the situation has been resolved and you are no longer affected.³

What Happens If a Guideline Is Triggered

When an adjudicator finds unresolved concerns, you will receive a Statement of Reasons (SOR). It spells out exactly which guidelines are at issue and the specific facts behind each. Executive Order 12968 guarantees you a detailed written explanation, access to the documents the decision was based on, and the right to be represented by a lawyer at your own expense.⁹

You typically have a limited window, often 20 days, to submit a written response. That response is your chance to present mitigating evidence: documents showing debts have been resolved, letters from treatment providers, proof of counseling completion, or anything else that addresses the specific concerns. Missing the deadline can result in automatic denial.

If your written response does not resolve the concerns, you can request a hearing before an administrative judge at the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA). The judge makes a recommendation that goes to a Personnel Security Appeals Board (PSAB) for a final determination. You can also skip the hearing and appeal directly to the PSAB in writing.¹⁰ The PSAB’s decision is final within the agency, though the agency head retains personal authority to act on the panel’s recommendations.

The Guidelines Still Apply After You Are Cleared

The government has moved away from periodic reinvestigations toward a Continuous Vetting model. Automated checks pull data from criminal, financial, terrorism, and public records databases on an ongoing basis throughout the time you hold your clearance.¹¹ The same 13 guidelines apply.

You also have affirmative reporting obligations under SEAD 3. All clearance holders must report unofficial foreign travel, continuing associations with foreign nationals that involve personal bonds, and any contact with known or suspected foreign intelligence operatives. Additional triggers depend on your clearance level:⁵

Secret holders and above: Arrests, bankruptcy or debt more than 120 days delinquent, alcohol or drug treatment, attempts by others to elicit classified information, and applications for foreign citizenship or passports.
Top Secret holders: All of the above plus foreign bank accounts, foreign property ownership, direct involvement in foreign business, foreign national roommates staying more than 30 days, voting in a foreign election, and any unusual cash infusion of $10,000 or more.

Failure to report a required event can itself become a Guideline E (Personal Conduct) concern, a second problem stacked on top of whatever you failed to report.

1
Department of Energy. Security Executive Agent Directive 4 – National Security Adjudicative Guidelines
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3161 – Procedures
3
eCFR. 32 CFR Part 147 – Adjudicative Guidelines for Determining Eligibility for Access to Classified Information
4
Director of National Intelligence. Security Executive Agent Directive 4 – Adjudicative Guidelines
5
Director of National Intelligence. Security Executive Agent Directive 3 – Reporting Requirements for Personnel with Access to Classified Information or Who Hold a Sensitive Position
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1001 – Statements or Entries Generally
7
eCFR. 32 CFR 147.9 – Guideline G Alcohol Consumption
8
Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. Revised Instructions for Completing Question 21 Standard Form 86
9
GovInfo. Executive Order 12968 – Access to Classified Information
10
Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. Appeal an Investigation Decision
11
Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. Continuous Vetting