Attachment B to Subpart B of Part 147 – Standard B – Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI)

Quick Answer: What This Section Does

Standard B—known as the Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI)—defines how the government investigates individuals applying for:

• Top Secret clearances
• Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access
• “Q” access authorizations

It establishes:

• the deepest level of background investigation
• the scope of records reviewed
• the number of interviews conducted
• how personal, financial, and professional history is verified

👉 In practice, this section answers a critical question:

“What does the government actually check for Top Secret or TS/SCI clearance?”

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What This Means in Practice

Most applicants assume that a Top Secret investigation is just a more detailed version of a Secret clearance.

That is not accurate.

An SSBI is fundamentally different.

It involves:

• direct interviews with people in your life
• deeper record checks across multiple systems
• cross-verification of your entire background
• expansion wherever inconsistencies appear

Adjudicators and investigators are not asking:

👉 “Did you fill out your form correctly?”

They are asking:

👉 “Does every part of this person’s life hold up under scrutiny?”

That distinction matters.

Because:

👉 this is where most clearance issues are discovered

To understand how this process unfolds step-by-step, see how security clearance investigations actually work and how cases are built before adjudication.

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How This Standard Is Actually Used

Standard B applies to:

• initial Top Secret investigations
• TS/SCI eligibility
• high-risk or highly sensitive positions

Compared to lower-level investigations:

• more people are interviewed
• more records are reviewed
• more inconsistencies are identified
• more issues are developed

👉 and more cases are escalated

This is why many applicants first encounter problems at higher clearance levels, as explained in switching from Secret to Top Secret clearance and what changes in the investigation process.

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Full Text of Standard B (SSBI)

Attachment B to Subpart B of Part 147 – Standard B – Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI)

(a) Applicability. Standard B applies to initial investigations for;

1. Access to TOP SECRET (including TOP SECRET Special Access Programs) and Sensitive Compartment Information;
2. “Q” access authorizations.

(b) Investigative Requirements. Investigative requirements are as follows:

1. Completion of Forms: Completion of Standard Form 86, including applicable releases and supporting documentation.
2. National Agency Check: Completion of a National Agency Check.
3. National Agency Check for the Spouse or Cohabitant (if applicable): Completion of a National Agency Check, without fingerprint cards, for the spouse or cohabitant.
4. Date and Place of Birth: Corroboration of date and place of birth through a check of appropriate documentation; a check of Bureau of Vital Statistics records when any discrepancy is found to exist.
5. Citizenship: For individuals born outside the United States, verification of US citizenship directly from the appropriate registration authority; verification of US citizenship or legal status of foreign-born immediate family members (spouse, cohabitant, father, mother, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters).
6. Education: Corroboration of most recent or most significant claimed attendance, degree, or diploma. Interviews of appropriate educational sources if education is a primary activity of the subject during the most recent three years.
7. Employment: Verification of all employments for the past seven years; personal interviews of sources (supervisors, coworkers, or both) for each employment of six months or more; corroboration through records or sources of all periods of unemployment exceeding sixty days; verification of all prior federal and military service, including discharge type. For military members, all service within one branch of the armed forces will be considered as one employment, regardless of assignments.
8. References: Four references, of whom at least two are developed; to the extent practicable, all should have social knowledge of the subject and collectively span at least the last seven years.
9. Former Spouse: An interview of any former spouse divorced within the last ten years.
10. Neighborhoods: Confirmation of all residences for the last three years through appropriate interviews with neighbors and through records reviews.
11. Financial Review: Verification of the subject’s financial status, including credit bureau checks covering all locations where subject has resided, been employed, and/or attended school for six months or more for the last seven years.
12. Local Agency Checks: A check of appropriate criminal history records covering all locations where, for the last ten years, the subject has resided, been employed, and/or attended school for six months or more, including current residence regardless of duration

      13. Public Records: Verification of divorces, bankruptcies, and other court actions, whether civil or criminal, involving the subject.

14. Subject Interview: A subject interview, conducted by trained security, investigative, or counterintelligence personnel. During the investigation, additional subject interviews may be conducted to collect relevant information, to resolve significant inconsistencies, or both. Sworn statements and unsworn declarations may be taken whenever appropriate.

15. Polygraph (only in agencies with approved personnel security polygraph programs): In departments or agencies with policies sanctioning the use of the polygraph for personnel security purposes, the investigation may include a polygraph examination, conducted by a qualified polygraph examiner.

(c) Expanding the Investigation. The investigation may be expanded as necessary. As appropriate, interviews with anyone able to provide information or to resolve issues, including but not limited to cohabitants, relatives, psychiatrists, psychologists, other medical professionals, and law enforcement professionals may be conducted.

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Why This Matters for Your Case

This standard reflects one of the most important principles in clearance law:

👉 Top Secret investigations are designed to test your record under pressure

Two applicants may submit similar forms:

• one passes
• one is flagged

Because:

👉 one record holds up under scrutiny—and one does not

This is why issues often emerge during SSBI investigations, as explained in how investigators discover omissions and inconsistencies in security clearance cases.

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Where SSBI Cases Often Go Wrong

Most problems arise when:

• disclosures are incomplete or inconsistent
• prior issues were never fully addressed
• references contradict the applicant’s account
• financial or personal issues surface during interviews
• the applicant underestimates the depth of review

From the applicant’s perspective:

👉 “That shouldn’t matter”

From the system’s perspective:

👉 “This needs to be investigated further”

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How This Standard Fits Into the Clearance Process

Standard B operates within the broader framework of the security clearance statutes and regulations governing investigation and adjudication standards.

It directly affects:

• what is investigated
• what is documented
• what reaches adjudicators

Those findings are then evaluated under the security clearance adjudication process and how decisions are made based on risk and credibility.

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Related Statutes and Guidance

Return to the full statute list in the Security Clearance Statutes and Regulations resource page, or explore how these rules are applied in practice in the Security Clearance Lawyers Resource Center.

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Why Insight Into the System Matters

Security clearance decisions are not made in a vacuum.

They are made by:

• adjudicators
• administrative judges
• agency decision-makers
• reviewers who rely on the written record

Understanding how these individuals evaluate risk, credibility, and mitigation is not theoretical—it is structural.

At National Security Law Firm, our security clearance lawyers include attorneys who have worked:

• as administrative judges and adjudicators responsible for deciding clearance cases
• inside federal agencies evaluating whether individuals should be approved or denied
• within military legal systems handling sensitive national security matters
• in roles directly applying the adjudicative guidelines to real-world cases

Our cases are not handled by a single attorney working in isolation.

They are reviewed through our internal Attorney Review Board, where multiple experienced attorneys analyze the record, test arguments, and refine strategy before submission.

This mirrors how the government evaluates cases—through layered review and institutional scrutiny.

Clients often come to us after receiving advice that focuses only on:

• legal arguments
• explanations of past conduct

But security clearance cases are not decided that way.

They are decided based on:

👉 how the record will be read, reused, and defended by decision-makers

That is the difference between a response that explains—and a record that supports approval.

You can read what clients say about their experience working with our team in our 4.9-star Google reviews, which reflect both outcomes and the level of strategic guidance we provide throughout the process.

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Speak With a Security Clearance Lawyer Before the Investigation Defines Your Record

The most important question is not:

👉 “What will they check?”

It is:

👉 “What will they find—and how will it be interpreted?”

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The Record Controls the Case.