Expunged Records

I work for the government currently with an unclassified security level. I just transferred to another area which requires a “Q” clearance. I have an expunged record from a little over 7 years ago from a previous incident with an employer, which I didn’t contest, (went through pti and no trial, etc). That was a one time incident and I have had no further doings of wrong or anything illegal.
I contacted my solicitors office and explained what i was having to fill out (e-QIP) and security clearance trying to get and asked if my expunged record would show up on my background check (there’s a section on eqip that asks you about your arrest history, etc). I was told that it would NOT show up at all and that by law I didn’t have to disclose that information and that I was to just check “no”. Well following what I was told by the court/legal system, that’s what I did and I have already submitted my EQIP. I have not had my interview yet but I feel like I have screwed myself by listening to the court system and checking “no”. Please advise.

You used the term “solicitor” are you in the UK? You are required to list expunged items. The form says so. Bring forward whatever documentation you have and speak to it right up front with the BI person. Explain your legal counsel gave bad advice, you are rectifying it.

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No I’m not in the UK, I’m in SC.

Why use term “solicitor”? Not familiar with US verbiage?

The solicitors office is where I had to go through for my expungement process.

I believe in SC a district attorney is referred to as a solicitor. A legacy from the colonial days?

Clearly states on the SF86 to list expunged arrests.

What part of that is confusing?

People, this is just not that hard.

This question comes up a lot - review the info found in this post:

Normally, yes they would.

The court can seal/expunge their records. They can not impose the Federal gov’t, Federal LE agencies, etc, to seal/expunge the Federal records.

Also, the court that seals the record can also unseal the record.

Not listing information because you think we won’t find the information, or a snippet of the information, is one of the 13 adjudication area “not good” things to do.

If we can find it, so can the bad people. If you try to hide past behavior, you are vulnerable to coercion.

The BI process is normally pretty simple. If you don’t normally need to worry about one time bad decisions that happened awhile ago, you don’t have to worry if you sought/are undergoing treatment (and following the treatment plan) for drugs/alcohol/gambling/sex addiction/mental health, and you answer the questions on the security questionnaire as they are asked.

In general, if your family, employer, and background investigator are aware of an issue because you told them - you can’t be blackmailed and will do well during the BI process.

Thank you so much for this information. I have notified the solicitors office again requesting any paperwork they have on my expunged case showing that I had completed all requirements and it was in fact expunged (I shredded all of my paperwork from this a while back) so I can bring with me to my BI (whenever that is). I do plan on being outright forthcoming with all of this in my interview right up front. When you are someone who only got in trouble with the law one time in her life and this happens, some of the questions can be confusing because you rely on and trust what the legal court system tells you because you want to do and answer right and because they are supposed to know. Lesson learned for me. I’m praying this all goes well for me.

Is there someone I can notify about my indiscretion on the form and explain everything to before my BI so it’s out there and known about before BI?

you can try the security rep that started your BI process or wait until contacted by an investigator — then quickly volunteer the information.

I believe there is an addendum form that might be possible to use. The best way to approach that is to contact the security official who sent you the emailed invite to complete the SF form. That person’s contact information should be listed in the signature block of the email.

If it’s been a while since you completed the form, it may be too late for the addendum.

Either way, you will need to discuss the matter with your investigator if an interview is triggered.