Selective Service exceptions

SECURITY CLEARANCE Q&A
#1

How often does it happen that an exception is made to those who’ve not registered at SSS.gov to get a clearance? Does it happen at all?

I’m in my 40s now and worked in the private sector my whole life. In the last three months I was hired as a contractor at a DOE facility. Dream job, love it, good money. Last week they said they wanted to sponsor me for Q clearance. Good news . . . I thought.

I get to the SS part on the app and knew I was screwed. I’d gone to a small, private high school and did not know about this until long after I was 26. No one ever pushed it on me. I even saw an Air Force recruiter right after graduation and don’t remember him mentioning it (I never joined). I did not intentionally dodge this, I simply missed the whole boat.

Everything else about my rather boring life is squeaky clean - no drugs, no arrests, no financial problems, no contact with foreign nationals / terrorists, no travel to sensitive countries, no restraining orders, married to one great woman.

Is there even a small chance an exception can be made? (Do I have any hope at all?)

#2

If you are no longer eligible for SS, then would it even make sense for the applications to require it if you cannot be legally drafted anyways?

#3

If you did not register for selective service when you were required to then you are not eligible for certain government benefits (go to their site to see which ones). I have run across many instances with the same scenario as yours. The Selective Service Administration has delegated the authority to individual agencies on how to handle this and agencies are able to grant waivers, so if you have a plausible explanation that you did not knowingly and willfully fail to register then the issue can be overcome.

#4

Thx. Thousands have and are asking this same Q. Its something many have said has stuck to them for life in some ways. Life is full of consequences for what you do, but for what you just don’t?

#5

Thx. I appreciate you giving me that little spark of light at the end of the tunnel. I was fishing around their site last week and the tone is that if you missed the window, you’re punished in certain ways for life. I’ve never applied for federal aid,for example, that’s one. And the other, verified by various people out there, is that you can’t work certain federal jobs, especially in the executive branches which the DOE is obviously in.

Since you’ve heard of ‘many instances’ of this situation, is there something I can say besides “Sorry, I just didn’t know” that might work? I’m not a liar, I’m prepared to be honest. I’ve been a good, tax paying citizen my whole life; hope that counts for something.

#6

You should seek advice from someone at the SSA since they have to provide you the letter that would be needed to submit to an agency hiring you to consider a waiver.