SF86 via PDF and not ppm.gov website

SECURITY CLEARANCE Q&A
1

Hello,

I currently have a TS clearance. I took a job at a new company and they are having me apply for TS SCI. As I recall, when I applied for TS I filled out an e-quip online at www.e-qip.opm.gov. My new company is having me fill out a SF-86 but via a PDF document and not through the gov website.

Is this normal? Cause I’m filling out extremely sensitive information and I’m just supposed to email it on over to them when incomplete it…

Thank you in advance for any help or comments on regards to this!!

2

A few years ago the eQIP (sp?) website was down and some agencies were requiring the PDF or an MS Word version but have not heard of that lately.

And emailing it? Yeah that’s a bad idea… if the Chinese didn’t already have all my info (from the OPM hack some years back) I would have pushed back harder when one agency asked me to do that.

It is possible that they want to do their own pre-screen, but most companies have their own streamlined form for this.

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3

I’ve found that IC agencies have the applicant fill out the SF-86 on PDFs.

2 Likes
4

It’s not for an IC, but for a small government contractor company. How should I should proceed?

Do I fill out the SF-86 via PDF ? and then how do I send it to them?

5

I meant the agency conducting the investigation, not the employer.

You should speak to the FSO about your concerns and who you are supposed to be emailing exactly.

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6

Good point. It’s a small company so the CEO told me send it straight to him… I’ll ask what agency is doing the investigation so I can send it to them

7

Emailing that much info via PDF on an open email (probably yahoo, gmail, aol, etc.) is a bad bad idea and the fact they are asking you to do so with very little thought shows something about this employers security practices. Perhaps you can encrypt the PDF document or send it via FAX or snail mail? or upload securely ?

8

Jishii,
What did you end up doing? I was just asked to do the same thing. I wouldn’t mind e-mailing over an SF-86 if I wasn’t doing it through my personal g-mail with no protection what’s so ever.