Does the question "Are you currently under charges for any violation of the law?" on the OF-306 refer to civil infractions/fines?

SECURITY CLEARANCE Q&A
1

I posted about this yesterday in more detail, but I have a question about civil infractions/fines and reporting/impact on public trusts. I also am confused about whether question 11 on the OF-306 (Are you currently under charges for any violation of the law?) refers to criminal charges only or if it includes civil matters. Nothing has come up so far, so I might be overthinking it, but here’s a quick rundown:

I recently moved and attempted to update my legal firearm registration at my new address. When I contacted the local agency that handles registrations right before I moved, they told me to wait until the DMV sent me a new license. I put a pin it and ended up emailing the documentation to them a few days ago. Problem is, this was supposed to be completed within 30 days (I did not realize this), and depending on which date they consider (address change request, actual move date, license in hand), it might be considered outside of the 30-day window.

According to the statue, if it is outside of the 30-day window, I could be fined $100 (civil):

“A registrant shall be subject to a civil fine of $100 for the first violation or omission of the duties and requirements imposed by this section.”

I have no idea if it is a violation or if anything will even come of it, but if a civil fine/citation is issued, do I need to report this to my FSO? Additionally, I may be switching jobs and will need to fill out a new OF-306 if I do (at a minimum).

Question 11 asks: “Are you currently under charges for any violation of law?”

Would a civil fine/violation mean I would have to answer “yes”? Or are civil fines/citations not considered “charges”?

If I pay the fine (or contest it in court), do I need to answer yes to Question 9 (the “other offenses” part stands out)?

“During the last 7 years, have you been convicted, been imprisoned, been on probation, or been on parole?
(Includes felonies, firearms or explosives violations, misdemeanors, and all other offenses)”

I also know that eqips asks about public record civil court actions. Would this fall under that category?

@Marko , you provided some info on one of my previous questions. Perhaps you have some insight?

Thank you!

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If you have not been issued a fine/citation then the answer to all is “No”. If you have been issued a citation and it is under $300 it is not required to be listed, but since you are so worried about it go ahead and list it under #9.

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Hi @Marko,

Thank you. If it is issued and is under $300 (it might be issued by local police since they handle registrations), should it still be left off, even question 9, since it isn’t criminal? I was not sure if the under $300 threshold was only for traffic matters.

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it includes “all other violations”.

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But it would not be a “conviction, imprisonment, parole, or probation”… am I misinterpreting what it is asking?

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You are WAY overthinking this. Again, there’s nothing to report. If you get fined, then report it.

Report something that doesn’t exist and send the BI on a wild goose chase. Then sit back and watch how long an investigation can really take.