Public Trust Clearance-Credit question

Hello,

I have to get a PT clearance for a position that I’m being considered for with HHS in DC and I am wondering if I have a shot…I only have one negative report that is showing on my credit report (a repo of my old car, b/c I had lost my job and wasn’t able to make the note) and it’s charged off. Other than that I have no other issues that I can think of that may cause me any concern. I have spoken with several people who have secret clearances and they say that I should be fine. This is my 1st time trying to get a clearance of any kind and I really want it so that I can get this position bc it would definitely help me out now and in the long term. Any answers? Please respond if you can help or was in a similar situation and got your PT Clearance. Thank you.

1 Like

You should be fine but you have to understand that you will be questioned about an account that is “charged off”. Charged off debt isn’t forgiven. You still actually owe the creditor money and they may expect you to make an effort to settle the account.

1 Like

Thank you much…I actually setup pymt arrangements with the creditors earlier today…hopefully this will show them that I’m trying to tackle this problem.

1 Like

Any delinquencies or charge offs in your financial history should have evidence of creditor arrangement and payoff (or creditor approved payment schedule to pay off). That is usually the mitigating factor that will help the investigator paint a clear picture for the adjudicator.

1 Like

Thank you very much…I have setup pymt arrangements to have this paid off but I’m still waiting on my email confirmation of the pymt arrangements.

1 Like

If you have already made a payment plan and can bring the documentation if you have an interview, you are already light years ahead of your peers.

1 Like

Ok, great! Thank you for responding…really appreciate it!

1 Like

This is only if there is an outstanding balance owed. Any charge offs with a zero balance are not a concern.

I just found out that my Public Trust will be low/moderate risk, so my next question is…what will be checked for this type of clearance? My manager at HHS is saying that it should take about 2months to get an interim, but that the completion of the clearance will probably be a year from now…so I’m being hopeful that all goes well.

Low/ moderate risk is not a category. There is Low Risk , Moderate Risk, and High Risk public trust.

If yours is low risk, all that is checked is police records, public records. They wont even pull credit. The form you will fill out is the SF-85. Google the form.

Ok, so I guess I’ll go with moderate risk b/c he said that they will check my credit. I have seen the SF-85…I guess my real question is what all is checked for the Moderate risk? Is it just a NACI or is there more to it? Will it go back 5years or 7years? Not that I have anything to be worried about, I’m just curious. Some places I check online say 5years and some places say 7years. So I’m just trying to get all the information, I want to make sure that I do all I can to be prepared.

Any information is appreciated, thank you.

OK so you will fill out the sf-85p and an additional form. they will do the NACI and credit check. There will not be an interview unless it is triggered by anything needing explanation.

Please fill out the information properly and if needed get some professional help. Most of these are delayed due to not filling out the form correctly. they will go back 7 years.

1 Like

Does this mean if I filled out the SF 86 that it was for High Risk Public Trust?

SF 86 is for SECRET and above.

Thank you for the info…appreciate that!

So…I’ve submitted my OF-306 and another form (HHS-828) on Sept. 18th and now I’m just waiting. I was told by the person at HHS who sent me these forms to fill out that they were processed and that I should receive another email asking for my fingerprints and photo from HSPD-12 Services but haven’t received anything yet and it’s now been 8 business days ago. So just wondering if anyone knows if this is normal or not? What is the time frame that of things to happen after submitting those forms and things starting to happen? Just looking for some info to put my mind at ease, lol. Thank you for any info you can provide.

So I have been fingerprinted and I filled out my e-qip…I was wondering if anyone knew how long it takes before the PIV Card will be available? I’m waiting on my interim so that I can start working and I’ll get my start date whenever I hear back with an email for me to come get my PIV Card. Any info you can provide would be wonderful. Thank you.

So here is my timeline…

09/07/18 - Interview
09/17/18 - Accepted Job Offer
10/19/18 - Fingerprints and Background Check
10/25/18 - E-qip Completed and Submitted
11/27/18 - Submitted pymt info on charged off car repo
12/12/18 - Received Interim Public Trust
12/13/18 - Informed of start date of 01/07/19

95 days in total…not too bad of a wait…hope that this will help someone if you are waiting on your interim PT. I know it was hectic for me at times b/c of the timeframe that I was given at the beginning of the process, but I stayed in touch with my Security Officer (she was very understanding and patient and explained as much to me as she could) and now the only way to go…is UP!

2 Likes

Hi @PubTrust1981, Your car repo? that didn’t cause you any problems? I voluntarily handed my house back to the bank, they sold it, and I’m happy to pay the small deficit , do you think this will hinder me?

Congratulations…!!!