# SF-86 Preparation Worksheet

Builds a structured worksheet to help you gather the facts the SF-86 (Questionnaire for National Security Positions) will ask for before you open e-QIP. Use it when you have received a conditional offer requiring a security clearance investigation and need to organize your history without missing anything.

## Prompt

## Context
You are helping [APPLICANT NAME], a [BRANCH OF SERVICE] veteran separating after [YEARS OF SERVICE] years of service, prepare to complete the SF-86 for a [CLEARANCE LEVEL] clearance investigation. The position is [JOB TITLE] at [AGENCY]. The applicant has not yet opened e-QIP and wants to gather all required information before data entry.

## Task
Produce a preparation worksheet the applicant can fill out on paper or in a document before opening e-QIP. Cover every major section of the SF-86: identifying information and citizenship; addresses for the past ten years; education history; employment history for the past ten years; military service; foreign contacts and foreign activities; foreign travel; financial record; legal record including civil court actions, drug use, alcohol treatment, and criminal history; psychological and emotional health; and personal references and developed contacts. For each section, list the specific facts to gather and note common items veterans overlook.

## Standards
- Every field on the worksheet reflects what the actual SF-86 asks. Do not invent categories.
- The worksheet prompts the applicant to gather facts, not to interpret them. Interpretation of what to disclose is the applicant's responsibility, ideally with guidance from a security officer or cleared attorney.
- Common veteran oversights to flag explicitly: orders and deployment dates, overseas duty station addresses, foreign nationals met during deployments who are still in contact, civilian employment during terminal leave, and contractor stints between or after enlistments.
- Do not advise the applicant to omit anything. The SF-86 asks for full disclosure; omissions and falsifications are the most common cause of clearance denial and revocation.
- Do not invent GS grades, clearance levels, dates, service records, or qualifications the applicant has not provided.
- Format the worksheet in numbered sections matching the SF-86 structure. Plain language throughout.
- If a required input is missing or ambiguous, ask before drafting.

## Variables

- APPLICANT NAME
- BRANCH OF SERVICE
- YEARS OF SERVICE
- CLEARANCE LEVEL
- JOB TITLE
- AGENCY

## Input checklist

- [ ] Have your DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) in front of you. You will need exact service dates, character of discharge, and duty station locations. Remove your Social Security number and personal data before pasting any DD-214 or service record, and never paste classified or operationally sensitive details.
- [ ] Pull your orders for every duty station going back ten years. Overseas duty station addresses and unit designations are required.
- [ ] Gather the full text of the USAJOBS announcement for the position. The clearance level listed there is what you are preparing for.
- [ ] Know your foreign contact history honestly, including nationals you met during deployments who are still in contact, before you start.
- [ ] Have names and contact information for three to five personal references who have known you for at least seven years and can speak to your character.

## Verification checklist

- [ ] Confirm the clearance level in the worksheet matches what the job announcement actually requires. Do not upgrade or downgrade it.
- [ ] Verify all service dates against your DD-214. An inconsistency between your worksheet and official records can trigger a discrepancy flag.
- [ ] Check that the foreign contacts section covers nationals you met during deployments, not only peacetime social contacts. Both count.
- [ ] Confirm financial entries cover the full ten-year window. Gaps in employment or address history are a common source of investigator questions.
- [ ] Verify that no item in the worksheet advises the applicant to omit or downplay a derogatory fact. Whole-person adjudication rewards honest disclosure, not concealment.
- [ ] Confirm you have not invented any date, duty station, or credential the applicant has not provided.
- [ ] Do not submit e-QIP data until a security officer or personnel security specialist has reviewed your completed worksheet.

## Sample output

Sample output. Generated by AI from sample inputs:

SF-86 Preparation Worksheet
Applicant: Marcus Hale | Branch: Army | Service: 10 years | Target clearance: Secret | Position: GS-0343-9 Management and Program Analyst, Department of Veterans Affairs

Section 1: Identifying Information
- Full legal name (exactly as on birth certificate):
- All other names ever used (maiden, nicknames on official documents):
- Date and place of birth (city, state, country):
- Citizenship: U.S. citizen by: birth / naturalization (attach certificate number if naturalized)
- Social Security number: [gather separately, do not paste into AI tools]

Section 3: Addresses (past 10 years)
List every address where you lived for 90 or more days:
- Address, city, state, ZIP:
- Dates from/to:
- Name and contact of someone who can verify you lived there:
Veteran note: Include your barracks or on-post housing address and your Family Housing address if applicable. Overseas: include the full APO/FPO address and the corresponding duty station city and country.

Section 6: Employment History (past 10 years)
For every employer, including military units:
- Employer or unit name and address:
- Your supervisor name and contact:
- Dates of employment:
- Reason for leaving:
Veteran note: Each PCS (permanent change of station) assignment counts as a separate entry. Terminal leave is a gap; account for it. Contractor or part-time work during the transition counts.

Section 12: Foreign Contacts
List any foreign national with whom you have or have had close and continuing contact:
- Full name:
- Country of citizenship:
- Your relationship and how long you have known them:
- How and how often you are in contact:
Veteran note: Nationals you met during deployments and still communicate with belong here, even if the contact is infrequent. When in doubt, disclose and let the adjudicator decide.

## Customization notes

Adjust the service branch framing and common oversights to match the applicant's branch. Sailors and Marines in overseas billets may have more foreign contact history than Army applicants who served only stateside. For Top Secret or TS/SCI investigations, the lookback windows and depth of questioning are greater; note the clearance level and tailor accordingly. If the applicant has prior civilian federal employment, add a section for that employment history separately from contractor work.

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From The Federal & GS Job Search Library at vetslearn.com/libraries/federal