Why This Matters
Federal agencies must vet individuals who will need security clearances to access classified information. In 2018, we put this process on our High-Risk List partly due to delays and IT systems issues. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) oversees the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. ODNI has stated that consistent data are vital to meeting these responsibilities.
GAO Key Takeaways
In 2019, ODNI began requiring over 100 agencies that vet cleared personnel to submit data on timeliness, the number of investigations completed, and other key aspects of the personnel security clearance process. But more than 60 percent of the data we reviewed were not reliable across eight reporting requirements and seven agencies.
ODNI officials look closely at data measuring the time for agencies to complete the process. Of the timeliness data we analyzed, 86 percent were inaccurate—a third by 20 percent or more. Most of these inaccuracies were due to a calculation method inconsistent with ODNI guidance. This affected the timeliness measurement of 95 percent of the clearances completed across the government. Agency officials stated they revised their method to align with ODNI’s guidance for data collected starting in fiscal year (FY) 2025. However, much of the data reported to Congress and the public from 2020–2024 has underestimated the time to complete the clearance process.
ODNI reviews data it collects from agencies, but not in a way that aligns with data reliability principles. It also has not issued adequate guidance to agencies for assessing their data. Addressing these gaps will ensure ODNI and Congress have more reliable data to enable better oversight.
Recommendations
We make four recommendations, including that ODNI implement a process to assess the reliability of agencies’ security clearance data and issue guidance to agencies on assessing data. ODNI did not explicitly agree or disagree with these but raised concerns, which we addressed.
