military secret clearance

[2011]

my employer has several government contracts that require secret clearance( I assume mostly because one will be working on a military base) ....How does filing BK affect the possibility of passing the clearance?

[HHM]

Short answer, it really doesn't.

It is a "factor" in the overall review, but it is NEVER the deciding factor. Also, for plain vanilla secret clearance, that is not a very high standard.

[Flamingo]

My husband had high security clearance as he did very high level contract work at at a major military base prior to our filing. We filed Chapter 13 prior to the expiration of his clearance and they would not renew his clearance due to the bankruptcy - he was told that specifically. This was in 2002. It may or may not be a factor to others as this is just one example but filing bankruptcy is just one of their reasons for non-renewal (i.e., felony arrest, etc.).

[RetiredArmy]

When completing your security clearance there is a spot on the form that will ASK the applicant if there had been a previous or current Bankruptcy. I just finished doing my wife's updated application and put down all of the FACTS, CIRCUMSTANCES and STATUS in the dialogue box. She got her application reviewed and upgraded to a higher level clearance. It is all about INTEGRITY and SINCERITY.

[DebtMan2020]

I realize this is an old post but stumbled upon it and wanted to post my personal anecdote with this topic. I attempted to have my clearance upgraded earlier this year from Secret to Top Secret and it was rejected because of my Chapter 13 BK not yet being confirmed. I can't say whether or not it would have went through ONCE the plan was confirmed as I was unable to take that job.

[justbroke]

I realize this is an old post but stumbled upon it and wanted to post my personal anecdote with this topic. I attempted to have my clearance upgraded earlier this year from Secret to Top Secret and it was rejected because of my Chapter 13 BK not yet being confirmed. I can't say whether or not it would have went through ONCE the plan was confirmed as I was unable to take that job.

I have read (reviewed) a lot of the appeals from these. I have found that an unconfirmed Chapter 13 is not a good thing. You may want to appeal the decision and hopefully your Chapter 13 is confirmed at the time of the hearing.

From what I gather from reading several hundred appeals related to bankruptcy, debt, and character, is that just filing for bankruptcy is not enough. In the Chapter 13 area, they want to see a confirmed plan because many Chapter 13s don't make it to confirmation.

[Macc404]

I recently got a go on my TS PR. I had nothing negative in my past history, besides the recent CH13, and did not seem to have any issues. I know when I spoke to investigator and told her my financial issues were due to job loss (due to no fault of my own) and then finally getting a job were I was netting about $20k less annually, this after 8 months of being out of work, she told me she was confident I should be alright. According to her, the details on how you got the point of bankruptcy play a big factor, as well as your financial history prior to when you started having problems.

I made sure all my paperwork was annotated correctly, and even added a statement on the end of it where I said "look back at my credit report and financial history and it can plainly be seen that I am a fiscally responsible individual" or something along those lines lol. I think its like someone said above, just make sure honest about everything, keep all your paperwork up-to-date with any changes, and don't try to lie or omit anything. I have heard and read from others that it is also easier for someone who already has a clearance versus others who are going through it for the first time, but I don't have any facts to support that other than other people experiences and talking to security professionals.

[justbroke]

Honesty is the biggest factor, of course, in public trust and national security clearances. Never attempt to hide anything and be up front. My review required an in-person interview and it went well. They asked about every single negative item on my credit report! (Well, the supermajority of the negative items were actually due to the bankruptcy and had never been paid late.)

In general, they want to see that you manage your debts and obligations. The biggest thing they found on mine was some IRS debt, but I was nearly paid off by the time of my review. Two bankruptcies within 8 years will kill just about any file. They don't like multi-bankruptcy filings over a short period of time.

[shipo]

Interesting conversation; today I was just contacted by a recruiter for a major defense contractor for a job with the AI space where I have been working for over three years now, and one of the requirements would be to get a "Security Clearance" (the recruiter didn't specify the grade or level of said clearance). Given my Chapter 13 was discharged and closed in March and June of this this year, based upon what I've read here it seems safe to assume I shouldn't have too much difficulty in getting the clearance. Thoughts?

[justbroke]

shipo it should be safe so long as you don't owe the IRS money. If you do owe the IRS money, you must be on some sort of payment agreement to show that you are willing to pay. As I mentioned earlier, they don't like to see multiple bankruptcies within an 8 year period. They actually do like Chapter 13s because they show a willingness or ability to pay back some of the debt and that a Chapter 13 will clean up the IRS debt.

As you mentioned, there are different levels of security clearances. A general "classified" clearance is easy and is usually doesn't have a public trust component. The difficult ones are the Top Secret/SCI which usually also require public trust. Public trust is the one that will usually kill your file when it comes to debt and any malfeasance during the "scope" of the inquiry. I just mentioned scope, and scope is important too. There are different scopes depending how far up the security clearance chain you go. From "single" scope to full scope.

I have a public trust clearance and have held TS/SCI.

[shipo]

Thanks justbroke, the good news is the IRS debt stemming from my wife's failed business, which was effectively transferred into my lap when my wife and I separated, was paid off in 2015 (I think). I remember only two or three payments from my Chapter 13 going to the IRS before the debt was paid off. Since that time the only debt I've incurred is post-discharge Credit Card debt, which has been paid off in full every month.

Basically I don't owe any money to any entity at this point.