A National Agency Check for federal employment is the set of automated federal database searches — FBI criminal and fingerprint files, prior investigation records, and Department of Defense clearance history — that sits at the core of every federal background investigation. On its own it isn’t something you request or schedule. It’s the foundation layer built into whatever investigation your position requires, from a summer internship to a Top Secret clearance. For most new civilian hires, it arrives wrapped inside a Tier 1 investigation that kicks off after you accept a conditional job offer.
What the NAC Searches
The NAC is a batch query across several federal record systems. According to the Department of the Army’s description of investigation types, it covers:
- FBI name and fingerprint files, checked against nationwide criminal history and law enforcement contact records.
- OPM’s Security/Suitability Investigations Index (SII), which shows whether you’ve been the subject of a previous federal background investigation and how it came out.
- The Defense Clearance and Investigations Index (DCII), a DoD database of prior clearance eligibility determinations and investigation history.
- Other federal files or indices as the circumstances require.
These are records-based checks. The NAC by itself does not include interviews, calls to former employers, or credit pulls. Anything beyond database searches comes from the larger investigation package built on top of it.1Department of the Army. Investigation Types
How the NAC Fits Into a Full Federal Investigation
The NAC is never run in isolation. For most federal job applicants, the relevant investigation used to be called a National Agency Check with Inquiries, or NACI. The NACI added written inquiries to employers, schools, references, and local law enforcement covering the previous five years.1Department of the Army. Investigation Types
Since fiscal year 2015, the federal government has been replacing legacy investigation names with a tiered system. The NACI was redesignated as a Tier 1 investigation, which covers low-risk, non-sensitive positions and remains the minimum investigation required for new federal civilian employees.2Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. Implementation of Federal Investigative Standards for Tier 1 You’ll still see “NAC” and “NACI” in hiring paperwork, but the underlying investigation now runs under the Tier 1 framework. Higher-sensitivity positions use Tier 2 (public trust), Tier 3 (Secret), or Tier 5 (Top Secret), and each of those still includes the NAC database searches at its foundation.
Suitability Is Not the Same as a Security Clearance
A suitability investigation and a security clearance investigation are different processes, even though both rest on the NAC. Suitability asks whether your character and conduct are consistent with the integrity and efficiency of federal service. A security clearance goes further, examining your loyalty, trustworthiness, and reliability specifically for access to classified national security information.3Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Security vs Suitability If you’re going through a NAC for the first time for a non-sensitive federal job, you’re in the suitability process, not a clearance process.
Who Has to Go Through One
Essentially everyone entering federal service. Tier 1 is the minimum investigation for all new federal employees regardless of whether the position is permanent, temporary, or seasonal.4E-Verify. Is a National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI) Sufficient to Exempt My Employee from E-Verify That includes interns, volunteers, and contractors who need access to federal facilities or systems. Military personnel undergo NAC-based investigations as part of enlistment or commissioning.
What Happens After You Accept the Job Offer
The investigation begins only after an agency extends a conditional job offer. You do not go through it while merely applying. Your hiring agency (or its personnel security office) initiates the process, and the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) conducts the investigation.5Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. Background Investigations for Applicants
Forms
You’ll complete a Standard Form matched to your position’s risk level. Low-risk, non-sensitive positions use Standard Form 85 (SF-85), which authorizes the investigation and asks about residence, employment, education, and references.6U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Standard Form 85 – Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions Public trust positions require the longer SF-85P, which also covers financial delinquencies, alcohol and drug use, and mental health counseling.7U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Standard Form 85P – Questionnaire for Public Trust Positions
Forms are submitted electronically through NBIS eApp, which became the primary system for initiating background investigations on October 1, 2023, replacing the older e-QIP system.8Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. DCSA Announces Full Transition to NBIS eApp for Background Investigation Initiation Your hiring agency will send you a link. You don’t set the account up on your own.
Fingerprints
Fingerprints from all ten fingers are required for every federal background investigation, submitted either digitally through a LiveScan machine or on ink cards. Your agency tells you where to go and which format to use. Digital prints move faster than mailed cards, so LiveScan is now the norm where it’s available. The government pays for the investigation, including fingerprint processing, and you should not be asked to cover these costs.
What the Investigation Looks For
The NAC and its accompanying inquiries are designed to surface issues that could affect your suitability. Under 5 CFR 731.202, agencies base suitability decisions on specific factors:
- Criminal conduct, including arrests, convictions, or pending charges.
- Dishonest conduct such as fraud or theft.
- False statements or material omissions on your application or investigation forms. This one catches people out. Applicants sometimes try to hide old arrests or job terminations, and the database searches almost always surface them.
- Misconduct or negligence in prior employment, including firings for cause and disciplinary actions.
- Excessive alcohol use without evidence of rehabilitation, where the drinking would interfere with job duties or threaten safety.
None of these factors is an automatic disqualifier. Adjudicators must weigh the conduct against the nature of the position, how serious it was, when it happened, your age at the time, and whether you’ve shown rehabilitation, among other considerations.9eCFR. 5 CFR 731.202 – Criteria for Making Suitability and Fitness Determinations A 20-year-old misdemeanor does not carry the same weight as a recent felony, and documented rehabilitation counts in your favor.
Finances
For positions requiring an SF-85P, your credit history is reviewed. Adjudicators aren’t looking for a perfect score. They’re looking for patterns that suggest unreliability or vulnerability to coercion, such as large unresolved debts, accounts in collections, or bankruptcy. For IRS and similar positions, tax compliance is evaluated specifically: whether you’ve filed required returns on time and paid what you owe. A history of late filing or unresolved tax debt will be flagged.10Internal Revenue Service. Standard Tax Compliance Checks for Suitability and Monitoring There are no fixed dollar thresholds that trigger automatic denial. Context and your efforts to resolve the debt matter more than the raw number.
Drug Use
Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, and your investigation forms will ask about drug use. OPM has issued guidance clarifying that agencies cannot automatically find someone unsuitable based solely on past marijuana use. Each case is evaluated individually using the same additional considerations that apply to any suitability factor, and a commitment to not use marijuana going forward can itself qualify as evidence of rehabilitation.11U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Assessing the Suitability/Fitness of Applicants or Appointees on the Basis of Marijuana Use Ongoing use at the time of your application is a different situation and will almost certainly create problems.
How Long It Takes
A Tier 1 investigation for a low-risk, non-sensitive position typically takes one to three months from the time your forms and fingerprints are submitted. Higher-tier investigations run longer. A Top Secret clearance can take six months or more.
Delays usually come from a handful of sources. Incomplete or inaccurate information on your forms is the most avoidable one, so double-check every address, date, and employer name before submitting. Unreadable fingerprints, common for people who work with their hands, can force resubmission. Foreign travel, residence, or employment adds time because records from other countries are harder to verify. Agency backlogs during peak hiring periods also slow things down. Submitting complete, accurate forms the first time is the best thing you can do to keep your case moving.
Possible Outcomes
Once the investigation is done, an adjudicator at your hiring agency (or at OPM, depending on the case) reviews the results and makes a suitability determination. A favorable finding means you can proceed to your start date or finish onboarding.
Many agencies also grant interim approvals that let you start work while the full investigation is still pending. An interim requires a preliminary review of your forms and initial database checks with no obvious red flags, and it stays in place until the full investigation is complete.12Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. Interim Clearances If the completed investigation later turns up disqualifying information, that interim approval can be revoked even after you’ve been on the job for months.
If the Finding Is Unfavorable
A negative suitability finding doesn’t happen without warning. Federal regulations require the agency to send you a written notice of proposed action that explains the specific reasons and identifies the materials relied upon. You can review those materials on request. The notice must be served at least 30 days before the proposed action takes effect, and if you’re already on the payroll, you stay in pay status during that notice period.13GovInfo. 5 CFR Part 731 Subpart D – Agency Suitability Action Procedures
You then have 30 days from the date of the notice to submit a written answer with supporting documentation, and you can designate a representative to act on your behalf. After reviewing your response, the agency issues a final written decision. If that decision is unfavorable, you can appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) within 30 days.14U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. How to File an Appeal
Vetting Continues After You’re Hired
Getting through the initial investigation isn’t the end of the story. Federal employees have traditionally undergone periodic reinvestigations every five to ten years, essentially repeating the whole background check. That model is being phased out under a government-wide initiative called Trusted Workforce 2.0, which replaces periodic reinvestigations with continuous vetting: automated, ongoing monitoring of employee records. Many database checks now run daily rather than once a decade, and potential concerns are flagged in near-real time based on the sensitivity of the position. A new arrest, a major financial problem, or a foreign contact after your hire is much more likely to surface quickly than to sit undetected until a scheduled reinvestigation.