What Are the 13 Adjudicative Guidelines for Security Clearances?

The 13 adjudicative guidelines for security clearances are the criteria set out in Security Executive Agent Directive 4 (SEAD 4) that federal adjudicators use to decide whether granting you access to classified information would pose a risk to national security. They are lettered A through M, each covering a distinct area of your background, and adjudicators weigh them together rather than treating any one as decisive. The authority for the system runs back to Executive Order 12968, which called for uniform standards across the federal government.¹ SEAD 4 is the current version of those standards and applies to every agency that grants clearances.²

The 13 guidelines are:

Guideline A – Allegiance to the United States
Guideline B – Foreign Influence
Guideline C – Foreign Preference
Guideline D – Sexual Behavior
Guideline E – Personal Conduct
Guideline F – Financial Considerations
Guideline G – Alcohol Consumption
Guideline H – Drug Involvement and Substance Misuse
Guideline I – Psychological Conditions
Guideline J – Criminal Conduct
Guideline K – Handling Protected Information
Guideline L – Outside Activities
Guideline M – Use of Information Technology

Guideline A: Allegiance to the United States

The threshold question is whether your loyalty lies with the country. Guideline A flags involvement in terrorism, sedition, or efforts to overthrow federal or state government, along with membership in organizations that advocate illegal action against the government. It rarely surfaces in routine cases, but when it does it carries more weight than almost anything else in a file.²

Guideline B: Foreign Influence

This guideline looks at your connections to people and organizations outside the United States. Close ties to foreign nationals, especially family living abroad or anyone connected to a foreign government, and financial interests in another country, can create pressure points that a hostile service might exploit.² Having foreign relatives does not automatically disqualify anyone. Adjudicators consider whether contacts are casual or close, whether the foreign country is hostile or allied, and whether you have promptly reported the relationships as required.

Guideline C: Foreign Preference

Guideline C is about what you do, not who you know. Actively exercising the privileges of foreign citizenship is the trigger. Possession or use of a foreign passport is the classic example, and the Department of State has noted that a willingness to surrender the passport may not be enough if you retain the underlying citizenship for benefits like education, employment, or inheritance rights.³ Serving in a foreign military or accepting foreign government benefits such as pensions or healthcare also falls here. Dual citizenship is evaluated case by case, not with a blanket rule.

Guideline D: Sexual Behavior

Sexual orientation plays no role in clearance decisions. Guideline D concerns conduct that could create vulnerability to blackmail or that reflects seriously poor judgment. Criminal sexual behavior, particularly offenses involving minors or non-consensual acts, is treated as a significant risk.² High-risk conduct that someone feels compelled to hide is also a concern, because the secrecy itself creates leverage.

Guideline E: Personal Conduct

Personal conduct is the broadest guideline and the one that catches the most applicants. It covers dishonesty during the investigation itself: inconsistencies on the SF-86, false statements during interviews, refusal to cooperate. It also covers rule violations at work, disruptive behavior toward authority, and a history of associating with people involved in criminal activity.² Lack of candor during an official inquiry is treated as one of the most serious disqualifying factors, and knowingly providing false information on the SF-86 is a federal felony under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, carrying up to five years in prison.⁴ Adjudicators repeatedly say that honest disclosure of unfavorable information is far less damaging than trying to hide it.

Guideline F: Financial Considerations

Financial problems are the single most common reason people lose or are denied clearances. The logic is simple: someone under severe financial pressure is more vulnerable to bribery. SEAD 4 identifies nine specific disqualifying conditions under Guideline F, including inability or unwillingness to pay debts, a history of missed obligations, unexplained affluence, deceptive practices like check fraud or tax evasion, compulsive gambling, and failure to file tax returns.²

There is no fixed dollar threshold. Adjudicators look at the overall pattern: how much debt exists, whether it is in collections, whether there have been bankruptcies, garnishments, or liens. The single most important factor is what you are doing about it. A documented repayment plan, credit counseling, or a legitimate dispute of a debt carries real weight. Ignoring the problem is what sinks the application.

Guideline G: Alcohol Consumption

Social drinking is not a concern. Drinking that leads to arrests, workplace incidents, or a pattern of impaired judgment is. DUI convictions, alcohol-related fights, or reporting to work intoxicated all signal reliability problems.² A single incident years ago followed by responsible behavior is treated very differently from multiple recent arrests. Completed treatment and sustained sobriety are strong mitigating evidence.

Guideline H: Drug Involvement and Substance Misuse

Use, possession, or distribution of any substance illegal under federal law raises a concern, regardless of state legalization, and this includes misuse of prescription medications. Adjudicators weigh how recent and how frequent the use was, whether treatment has been completed, and whether behavior has changed.²

Marijuana causes the most confusion. Clarifying guidance issued by the Director of National Intelligence in 2021 emphasized that marijuana use remains a relevant adjudicative factor even in states where it is legal, but state-legal use is not automatically disqualifying. Adjudicators still weigh recency, frequency, whether the applicant acted with knowing disregard for federal law, and whether behavior has changed. Agencies are encouraged to advise prospective employees to stop all marijuana use once they sign the SF-86. Knowingly investing directly in marijuana growers or retailers can hurt an application; holding a diversified mutual fund that happens to include marijuana-related stocks is not treated as relevant.⁵

Guideline I: Psychological Conditions

A mental health diagnosis does not disqualify anyone. Guideline I looks at whether a psychological condition produces behaviors indicating poor judgment or an inability to follow security protocols, and whether the condition is being managed effectively.² Someone maintaining regular care and following a treatment plan is in a much stronger position than someone ignoring a serious condition. The government has worked to reduce stigma here, on the reasoning that discouraging treatment produces worse security outcomes than the treatment itself.

Guideline J: Criminal Conduct

A criminal record does not automatically end an application, but felony convictions and patterns of multiple offenses signal disregard for the law. The nature of the crime matters: violent offenses and crimes involving dishonesty weigh more heavily than an old minor misdemeanor.² Some criminal histories also trigger a hard statutory bar under the Bond Amendment, described below.

Guideline K: Handling Protected Information

Guideline K covers physical security failures with classified material: leaving a safe unlocked, removing classified documents from a secure facility, or failing to follow storage procedures.² It tests whether you have the discipline to follow handling rules consistently.

Guideline L: Outside Activities

This guideline looks at employment, consulting, or volunteer work that could conflict with your security responsibilities. Working for a foreign government or for any entity that could give a foreign power insight into sensitive operations is the primary concern, along with outside activity that creates a financial dependency on a foreign source or that could be used to influence your professional judgment.²

Guideline M: Use of Information Technology

Guideline M is the digital counterpart to Guideline K. It covers unauthorized access to networks, introducing prohibited hardware or software into secure systems, and violating computer-use policies.² A casual attitude toward IT rules is one of the clearest signals that someone should not have access to sensitive material.

How Adjudicators Actually Apply the Guidelines: The Whole-Person Concept

No single guideline decides the outcome. SEAD 4 requires adjudicators to apply the whole-person concept, weighing nine factors before reaching a decision:²

The nature and seriousness of the conduct
The circumstances surrounding it, including whether you participated knowingly
Frequency and recency
Your age and maturity at the time
Voluntariness, meaning whether you chose the conduct or were pressured into it
Evidence of rehabilitation
Motivation
Vulnerability to pressure or exploitation
Likelihood the conduct will recur

Most favorable decisions on close cases are won here. An applicant with one DUI eight years ago, no subsequent incidents, and completed treatment looks very different from someone with two DUIs in the last three years and no treatment, even though both fall under Guideline G. Adjudicators are looking for a trajectory, not a spotless record, and demonstrated behavioral change is the most powerful mitigating evidence you can offer.

Where the Guidelines Stop: Mandatory Bars Under the Bond Amendment

Most guideline concerns can be mitigated through the whole-person analysis. Some cannot. The Bond Amendment sets statutory bars that agencies cannot waive. For access to Special Access Programs, Restricted Data, or Sensitive Compartmented Information, a clearance cannot be granted or renewed if the individual has been convicted and imprisoned for more than one year, dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces, or determined mentally incompetent by a court or administrative body.⁶

A separate Bond Amendment provision bars all clearance levels for anyone who is a current unlawful user of a controlled substance or an addict. These are not adjudicative judgment calls and cannot be resolved through the guideline mitigating factors.⁶

If a Guideline Concern Leads to Denial

If the government proposes to deny or revoke your clearance based on one or more guidelines, you receive a Statement of Reasons (SOR) identifying the specific concerns. For Department of Defense personnel, the process runs through the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals under DoD Directive 5220.6. You have 20 days from receipt to submit a detailed written response, under oath, with documentary evidence and references addressing each allegation. If the written response does not resolve the matter, you can request a hearing before an administrative judge, where you can present evidence, bring witnesses, cross-examine sources of adverse information, and appear with an attorney or personal representative. Either side can then appeal the judge’s decision to the DOHA Appeal Board.⁷ Other agencies have their own procedures, but the underlying principle holds across the government: no final unfavorable decision without notice of the specific guideline-based reasons, an opportunity to respond, and a review process.

1
The American Presidency Project. Executive Order 12968 – Access to Classified Information
2
Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Security Executive Agent Directive 4
3
U.S. Department of State. Dual Citizenship – Security Clearance Implications
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1001 – Statements or Entries Generally
5
Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Security Executive Agent Clarifying Guidance Concerning Marijuana
6
Center for Development of Security Excellence. Bond Amendment
7
Executive Services Directorate. DoD Directive 5220.06