Frequently Asked Questions Investigations

Questions about an agency’s action or whether that action is required to be reported on an investigative form should be referred to the agency that took the action.  In the context of the question on the Standard Form (SF) 86, a debarment refers to a suitability action that denies an individual  examination for, or appointment to, a covered position.  A covered position, as defined in title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, part 731 is one in the competitive service or one in the excepted service where the incumbent can be non-competitively converted to the competitive service, or a career appointment to a position in the Senior Executive Service.   

The Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Federal Investigative Services (FIS) conducts background investigations on Federal applicants, employees, and contractor personnel for suitability and security determination purposes at the request of our customer agencies.  A credit search is a routine part of many of these investigations. The subjects of background investigations are requested to sign a release form allowing a check of his or her credit history.  Searches are conducted for each name variation a person has used; therefore, there may be more than one search by OPM showing on a person’s credit report.  Credit inquiries from OPM investigations are included in the Regular Inquiries portion of a credit record, but these inquiries are “soft” hits and do not have an impact on a person’s credit score.  

The RSI is not a background or criminal investigation. RSIs are focused investigations to obtain information to resolve issues developed about an individual. An agency may request an RSI when it needs additional investigation to resolve issues that might fall outside the normal scope of another investigation (such as alcohol or drug rehabilitation or credit); to establish a history or pattern of behavior; or to obtain other information related to suitability or security which is not necessarily connected to a current background investigation. The cost of the RSI varies depending on the work to be performed; expedited service is available at an additional cost. A representative of OPM-FIS will contact the agency prior to scheduling the investigation to provide a cost estimate. To initiate an RSI, the agency needs only to submit a letter or memo to OPM-FIS Customer Interface. Customer Interface processes agency requests to reopen investigations and conduct a Reimbursable Suitability Investigation (RSI). Agencies may submit their requests via fax (724) 738-0178, or mail: OPM-FIPC Customer Interface PO BOX 618 1137 Branchton Rd. Boyers, PA 16018-0618 If you have a question about a reopen or RSI, please call the Telephone Liaisons at (724) 794-5228. Reopen or RSI requests must be typed on agency letterhead and contain the following:

• Security Office Identifier (SOI)
• Submitting Office Number (SON)
• Interagency Payment and Collection Code (IPAC)
• Subject's current location and phone number
• Clear description of the work being requested in the reopen or RSI
• Name, phone number, and email address of the individual submitting the request

For more information about RSIs, see the Federal Investigation Notices, Letter No. 97-2, dated July 29, 1997, and Letter No. 93-4, dated June 14, 1993; or, call SAST (724) 794-5612, extension 4600.

The interests of national security require that all persons privileged to be employed in the departments and agencies of the government shall be reliable, trustworthy, of good conduct and character, and of complete and unswerving loyalty to the United States. This means that the appointment of each civilian employee in any department or agency of the government is subject to investigation. The scope of the investigation will vary, depending on the nature of the position and the degree of harm that an individual in that position could cause. The requirement to be investigated applies whether or not the position requires a security clearance (in order to have access to classified national security information).

No. You may skip ahead or go back to any question number by selecting the desired section from the Navigation Bar located at the top right-hand side of the screen. This opens a drop down menu that contains all the sections of the form. Simply select the desired question and press the "Go" button to proceed to selected section.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Department of Defense, and a few other agencies share this responsibility. The FBI mostly conducts investigations on the following:  High level Presidential appointees, cabinet officers, agency heads and staff who may work at the White House directly for the President.

The time needed to complete the application process depends on a number of factors, including whether a background investigation is needed prior to appointment and the type of investigation to be conducted.  For national security positions, OPM is completing 90 percent of the initial security clearance investigations within an average of 40 days.  To determine the status of your investigation, you may call 724-794-5612, extension 7000.  For information on the status of your application, please contact the office where you applied.    

If you have not certified your responses, please use the navigation bar in the top right corner to navigate to the questions you need to change. You will be able to change your responses and provide additional information, if needed. If you have certified your responses, you cannot make any changes. Please release the form to your agency. Your sponsoring agency has the ability to return the request back to you to make amendments to your form. Please contact your sponsoring agency and ask for the form to be returned to you.