The first matter that must be understood is that no one can directly request that the Government conduct an evaluation that might lead to the granting or obtaining of a security clearance.  There are only two ways that processing can be initiated that potentially would lead to the granting of a required security clearance.  The easiest way is to apply for U.S. Government employment (i.e., Federal employment) regarding a position that requires anyone filling it to possess, as a minimum, a specific level security clearance.  If the person is found to be possessing the required knowledge, skills and ability, the involved governmental agency, bureau, organization or service will also start the processing that would end in adjudicating the person regarding the required security clearance status.  In other words, one can apply for a Federal job that requires security clearance for anyone hired.  In such a situation, the Government organization is the one requesting that security clearance processing be started.

     The second way that security clearance processing be initiated is to be accepted for employment by a private contractor organization that has been given contract, by the U.S. Government to provide specified services.  Employees of the contractor organization may be required, by the contract itself, to have employees who have been granted access to classified information (i.e., have the required security clearances).  In such a situation, a contractor organization usually attempts to hire, as employees, only those who already possess the required security clearance status.  If this is not possible, then the contractor organization must hire appropriate knowledge, skilled, and able persons who do not possess the requisite clearance status and therefore must be processed for such.  This processing can take considerable time and it is not overly unusual for some persons that the processing can involved over one year or more.  Also, the contractor organization will be charged by the Government to pay all or some of the processing costs - even if the processing leads to a refusal to grant the involved employee the required security clearance status.

     If one has carefully read the two above paragraphs, then it should be obvious that it is not possible for one to personally request that he/she be  processed for any specific security clearance status.   Initiating the process that can potentially lead to the granting of a security clearance can only be done by the U.S. Government itself (when the subject person is being considered by the Government for federal employment) or by a private company or corporation that is involved in a contract with the U.S. Government to provide a service/product and which requires that its employees who are involved in the project must 'hold' the required security clearances.

    However, with this understood, there actually is a question that should be asked prior to asking how one can be processed for possible eventual granting of a hoped-for security clearance status.  That question is, if I were to be processed for a security clearance, would I be successful or not to be eventually granted the involved clearance status?  This is the very first and most important question that should be asked.  If the answer is that the person would most likely be non-successful, then the whole question pertaining to starting the Governmental evaluation process, for possible clearance granting, is really a moot point or one that really needs not even be asked in the first place.

     Well then, how can one learn if he/she most likely would be successful or not were he/she to be Governmentally processed for a possible granting of a security clearance?  Is there any objective scientific way that one can come to understand his/her chances  were he/she to be processed for security clearance status?  YES, there is!!!!  Over a decade ago, Dr. LeRoy A. Stone, who retired from Federal Service in 1997, when he was the Chief Research Psychologist of one of our Country's largest intelligence/security agencies, developed a psychological assessment instrument, which he named as the Personnel Security Standards Psychological Questionnaire (PSSPQ).  Note - Dr. Stone's Web Site can be found at:
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~lastone2/home.html.

     The PSSPQ was especially designed to used to accurately predict, even before the security clearance evaluation/adjudication process was started or at any time during the process, whether a person would eventually be successful or not were he/she to be processed for a high-level security clearance.  Actually, if one were interested in being granted a Governmental security clearance, it would be in his/her best interests to know beforehand that were he/she to be ever processed for such security clearance status, it would be most wise to know beforehand that the evaluation process would lead to successfully being granted the hoped-for clearance status.  Too much is at stake when one is processed for possible security clearance granting unless one has some real confidence that the process will lead to eventual success.

     Therefore, prior to ever applying for any job, with the 'Federal Government or with an organization that has a contract with the Federal Government, that requires the job-holder to have been granted a required level security clearance, it would be a very wise move for the involved individual to 'take' the PSSPQ and to learn the prediction results from same.  The PSSPQ has provided predictions, in well-thought-out scientific research studies, that have proven to be accurate better than 95% of the time.   There is no other instrument, method, or test, that has been produced, that does what the PSSPQ accurately does!

     Anyone interested in learning more about the PSSPQ or being interested in 'taking' the PSSPQ, they are advised to inspect the following selected Web Site pages, whose address is:
 
 

Thanks for your interest and good luck!