Security Adjudication
Whether or not an individual's security adjudication is favorable or not will determine whether the individual will be granted security clearance by the Department of Defense (DoD). The security adjudication is based on the information submitted by the individual on the security clearance application along with the information uncovered through investigative processes. The primary purpose of security adjudication is to ensure that the individual applying for security clearance does not pose a threat to the national security of the US.
Individuals applying for security clearance will be working with sensitive information, such as confidential, secret, and top secret information. Security adjudication is a process by which the trustworthiness of the individual is determined as well as the individual's ability to handle sensitive information in a responsible manner. The DoD, through security adjudication, will either deny or approve the individuals request for security clearance. If the request is denied, the individual will receive a Statement of Reasons (SOR) detailing the reasons (allegations) why the individual was denied security clearance.
When security adjudication leads to the denial of an individual's request for security clearance, an attorney should be contact for legal guidance. An individual will have the opportunity to appeal the decision and answer the allegations in the SOR. Having an attorney with experience in security clearance will be invaluable to individuals appealing SOR allegations.