How Truthful Should I be exactly

SECURITY CLEARANCE Q&A
1

Hi there,

I know it’s been said a thousand times but I am applying for security clearance and it’s asking me about drug use. How in depth should I go? Should I offer up information that may never be uncovered? obviously anything that there is a record of sure but the things that there is no record of? I am afraid that it may bring unnecessary scrutiny to something that was never an issue. However, I do not want to withhold anything that I may be asked about later and try to keep lies in order. So I guess my question is what is the depth in which they will look into past drug use if there is no evidence that it will happen in the future or that it has happened recently?

2

The problem with not providing full disclosure now is this: Do you know what you will be doing 10 years form now? Maybe a will apply for a job that requires a polygraph. If so, then any falsehoods perpetrated now may come back to bite you later in life. Always best to disclose up front what is required and show that it is no longer an issue.

3

You should “offer up” the truth. Anything less is a felony.