What Fails a Federal Background Check?

You want a federal job, but one thing in your past keeps you from applying. Maybe you were fired, you owe money, you used drugs years ago, or you have a record. You picture the background check finding it and the job being gone, so you never send the application.

Most of the time, that past will not stop you. The federal background check is built to weigh your past, not to hunt for one bad line. The form even says so: in most cases you can still be considered. This page covers what the check looks at, what each question really asks, and how to answer so an old problem stays a small one. So don't rule yourself out. Apply.

The check comes later, after you get an offer. For that stage, see what happens after a tentative job offer.

The short answer

Most pasts will not stop you from getting a federal job, so don't rule yourself out before you apply. Very little fails a federal background check on its own. A firing, bad credit, old drug use, or an arrest gets weighed, not counted against you by default. They look at how bad it was, how long ago, how old you were, and what has changed since. What sinks the most cases is a question answered wrong on purpose.

What "suitability" means. Suitability is the government's word for whether you are fit to be a federal employee. It is the test behind every federal hire. It is not a security clearance. A clearance is about seeing classified information, and most federal jobs never need one.

A few hard lines. Most jobs need U.S. citizens. Men born after 1959 need to have signed up for Selective Service. And in a job set up for drug testing, a failed test stops the offer. Each one is covered below. Almost all the rest is weighed.

The one thing that makes it worse. A false answer is its own problem, and it is on the list of things they weigh. I have watched a left-off item sink more cases than the item itself ever would have. If you are not sure whether something counts, list it.

When does the federal background check happen?

After the tentative offer and before the final one. The tentative offer means you were picked. The check is what the offer hangs on. That gap can run weeks to months, which is why the rule I teach here is simple: do not quit your day job on a tentative offer.

The check comes in a few parts:

• The OF-306. The Declaration for Federal Employment, a short form with yes or no questions. It asks about citizenship, Selective Service, your military discharge, convictions in the last 7 years, charges you face now, firings in the last 5 years, and federal debt. You sign it now, then update it and sign again before your first day.
• Fingerprints. Every federal job needs them for the FBI record check. You get told where to book.
• A background form. The SF-85 for low-risk jobs, where most questions look back 5 years. The SF-85P for jobs marked public trust, where most look back 7. You fill it out online in a system called eApp.
• A drug test, in a job set up for one. Not every job is.

What "public trust" means here. Each federal job gets a risk level. Jobs with more at stake, such as law enforcement or control of money records, are rated moderate or high risk and called public trust jobs. They get the longer SF-85P and a deeper look. Public trust is a level of background check, not a clearance.

If the job needs a clearance, the form is the SF-86 instead. That one has its own walk-through in how to fill out the SF-86.

What does suitability look at?

Ten things, and the list is public. In plain words:

• Misconduct or carelessness at a job.
• Crime.
• A false answer or fraud when you apply.
• Dishonest conduct.
• Not meeting money duties, such as filing taxes on time.
• Heavy drinking, with no recovery, that would keep you from the work or put people at risk.
• Illegal drug use with no recovery.
• Working to overthrow the government by force.
• Violence.
• A legal bar to the job, such as the citizenship rule.

Then they weigh it. The same rule tells them what to weigh it against. The kind of job. How serious it was. What was going on at the time. How recent it was. How old you were. Outside conditions that played a part. And whether you have turned it around. That second list is the part that works for you. "It was 6 years ago, I was 20, and here is what changed" is the answer the system was built to hear.

It is the same idea I teach for clearances. Your whole record gets read, not one bad chapter. People with records, debt, and past drug use get through it.

The two that are not weighed. Citizenship first. Most federal jobs can only go to U.S. citizens and nationals, with rare exceptions. A dual citizen is a U.S. citizen, and the SF-85 simply asks about the other country. Then Selective Service. Men born after December 31, 1959 had to register. If you did not, the OF-306 asks why. The law only blocks the hire when the miss was knowing and willful, and you get the chance to show it was not.

If the job needs a clearance, a separate and longer list applies. It is covered in what disqualifies you from a security clearance.

Can I get a federal job if I was fired?

Yes. A firing is a question on the form, not a bar. The OF-306 asks if, in the last 5 years, you were fired for any reason, quit after being told you would be fired, or left by mutual agreement over specific problems. If any of that happened, the answer is yes, plus a short note on what happened.

What they are weighing. The concern is misconduct or carelessness on the job, and the examples the rule names are theft and misuse of government property. A firing over a bad fit or missed numbers is a different story. Your note is where you tell it.

The SF-85 asks again. It wants every job in the last 5 years and, for each one, whether you were fired, quit before being fired, or left after charges. The SF-85P asks the same over 7 years, and adds written warnings and discipline. Keep the dates and the reason the same on every form.

Your resume is a different document. The resume is a two-page case that you qualify, built on your most relevant and recent work. It does not need every job you have ever held. The background form does. A job you left off the resume still goes on the SF-85. For the resume itself, see how to write a federal resume.

How to write the note. Three or four plain sentences. What happened, when, and what you do differently now. No blame and no long story. If you have proof of the turnaround, such as a good review from the next job, keep it ready to send.

Will bad credit fail a federal background check?

No. None of the forms asks for a credit score. The questions are about money owed to the government and about taxes. The OF-306 asks if you are behind on any federal debt. That means back taxes, a benefit overpayment, or a default on a loan the government backs, like a student loan or a home loan.

The SF-85 adds taxes you failed to file or pay in the last 5 years. The SF-85P goes further over 7 years: bankruptcy, court judgments, liens, and late child support. For that form, the check pulls your credit report too.

What counts is what you are doing about it. The OF-306 asks for the steps you are taking to repay. That is the real question. A payment plan you started and are still paying on reads very differently from a debt nobody has touched. You do not need a zero balance. You need a plan that is moving.

The fix I teach. It is the same five steps I give people heading into a clearance:

• Go to AnnualCreditReport.com.
• Pull your report from all three bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
• Look for every account not in good standing: late payments, charge-offs, and collections.
• Call the creditors and set up payment plans or settlements.
• Write down every call and every payment. Even partial payments show you are handling it.

Start this before the form opens. A plan set up today lets you answer the federal debt question with steps you are already taking, and that is the answer the form asks for.

Does past drug use show up on a federal background check?

It is a question on the form, and the answer gets weighed. The SF-85 asks about illegal drug use in the last year. The SF-85P asks about the last 7 years. Both go by federal law, so marijuana counts even where your state allows it. The SF-85 also says your answers to the drug questions will not be used against you in a criminal case.

What they weigh. The concern is drug use with no sign of recovery. Use that stopped, with time behind it, is the case the weighing was written for. Dates are what help you, so work them out before the form opens. A fuzzy answer is the one that brings follow-up questions.

The drug test. Some jobs are set up for drug testing. In those, you test before the final offer, and a confirmed positive or a refusal to test stops the offer.

For a job that needs a clearance, marijuana has its own rules, laid out in can you get a clearance if you smoked weed.

Can you get a federal job with a criminal record?

Yes, in most cases. Crime is one of the things weighed, and the weighing is where your case lives. How serious it was, how long ago, how old you were, and what changed since.

What the OF-306 asks. Convictions, jail, probation, or parole in the last 7 years, felonies and misdemeanors both. A court-martial in the last 7 years. Any charges you face right now. You leave off traffic fines of $300 or less, anything before age 16, juvenile court cases before 18, and convictions that were expunged.

What the SF-85 asks. More. Arrests, charges, and tickets to appear in criminal court in the last 5 years, or 7 on the SF-85P. And it says to report them even if the record was sealed or expunged, or the charge was dropped. So an expunged record you rightly left off the OF-306 still goes on the SF-85. That is not a conflict. Each form has its own rule, and you follow each one.

A DUI. It counts as a crime, and heavy drinking is its own item on the list. One DUI years back, with a clean record since, is the kind of case that "how recent" and "what changed" exist to weigh.

Military discipline. The OF-306 asks only about court-martial convictions. The SF-85 also asks about lesser discipline, such as an Article 15 or captain's mast, in the last 5 years. That one goes on the SF-85.

A felony. No rule says a felony ends a federal job search. It goes into the same weighing, and the OF-306 itself says that in most cases you can still be considered.

The people you list. Investigators talk to the people you name, and sometimes to people you did not. Pick people who know who you are now and who will pick up the phone.

What happens if the background check finds something?

They ask you about it, and you explain. The SF-85 itself says you will have a fair chance to explain anything on it and to put your comments on the record.

Before any final no. If an agency moves to find you unsuitable, it has to tell you in writing, with the specific reasons. You can ask to see what it relied on. You get 30 days to answer in writing, with papers to back you up and a representative if you want one. A final no can be appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board.

How to answer. Take each item one at a time. Send proof with it: payment records, court papers, a letter from a boss, proof of treatment. Point to the time that has passed, what changed, and what you did about it. That is how I teach people to answer a clearance denial notice, and it works the same way here.

While you wait. No news is good news. Keep your current job, keep applying, and answer any request for more detail fast. How long each stage runs is in how long it takes to get a federal job.

How to fill out the forms so a past problem stays small

Gather first, then type. The people who struggle with these forms are the ones who start typing before they have their history in front of them. Pull this together before the form opens:

• Every address, with dates.
• Every job, with dates, bosses, and contact details, plus a reason for any gap.
• Schools, with dates.
• People who have known you lately and can be reached.
• Any police contact, arrest, or charge, whatever came of it.
• Any past drug use, with dates.
• Money: late accounts, collections, back taxes, and any federal debt.

Then work through it in this order:

• Answer every question in full. If you are not sure something counts, list it.
• Write a short note for each issue. What happened, when, and what is different now. Write it once and use the same facts everywhere.
• Match your dates across forms. The OF-306, the SF-85, and any follow-up should tell the same story.
• Keep paying on any debt. A plan that is still running is your best answer to the money questions.
• Keep a copy of everything you send. Getting asked about a detail months later is normal, and a copy lets you answer the same way twice.
• Update before day one. You will review the OF-306 and sign it again before you start. Anything new since then goes on it.

Where to go from here

If you came here with one thing in mind, the next step is small. Write down the dates, write the three or four sentences, and gather the paper. A past you have laid out plainly is one the system knows how to weigh. The bigger work comes earlier: getting referred and getting the offer in the first place.