You have a cleared role to fill. The veteran in front of you does not hold a clearance right now. The question is not "do they have one." The real question is: can this person get cleared if you sponsor them?

That is a different question. And most hiring teams get it wrong. They pass on strong veterans who would clear easily. Or they bet on someone who never had a shot.

This guide walks you through how to screen for clearability before you sponsor. You will learn what makes a veteran a strong bet, what you can and cannot ask in an interview, and why a recent military background is often the safest call you can make.

This is about assessing an uncleared candidate. If you want the steps to actually sponsor someone, read whether you can sponsor a clearance for an uncleared hire. If your candidate already lists a clearance, see how to read a security clearance on a resume. This piece is the step before both.

What Does "Clearable" Actually Mean?

Three terms get mixed up all the time. They are not the same. Getting them straight saves you weeks.

Has a clearance. The person holds active eligibility and is read into a program right now. They can start cleared work on day one.

Is eligible. The government granted eligibility, but the person is not currently read in. Their access was turned off when they left a job. The eligibility may still be good for a window of time.

Is clearable. The person does not hold a clearance and is not eligible today. But their background suggests they would pass an investigation if you sponsor them. This is a bet, not a fact.

You screen for the third one. The final call always belongs to the government. You are only judging the odds.

Why Is a Veteran Often the Safest Clearable Bet?

A veteran with a recent military background carries a big advantage. Most of them already went through a background check to serve.

Many held a clearance on active duty. Even an entry-level role can require one. If they cleared before, the government already vetted their history once. That track record matters.

A recent investigation is the strongest signal of all. If a veteran was investigated in the last few years, much of the work is fresh. Their finances, contacts, and conduct were already reviewed. The newer that review, the lower your risk.

This is why uncleared veterans are not a blind bet. You are often looking at someone the government has studied before. Compare that to a civilian with no record either way.

What Makes a Veteran a Strong Clearability Bet?

You cannot run an investigation yourself. But you can read the signals that predict one will go well. Here is what to look for.

A lapsed clearance is worth a closer look, not a pass. The eligibility may still be alive. Read the 24-month rule on lapsed clearances before you write someone off. A clearance that lapsed last year is very different from one that ended a decade ago.

What Are the Adjudicative Guidelines, in Plain Terms?

The government does not judge clearability on a hunch. It uses a set standard. There are 13 areas a case officer weighs. These are the National Security Adjudicative Guidelines. The current set comes from Security Executive Agent Directive 4 (SEAD 4), effective June 8, 2017. An earlier version sits in federal regulation at 32 CFR Part 147.

You do not adjudicate anyone. But knowing the areas helps you spot risk early. Here they are in general terms.

• Allegiance to the United States: loyalty to the country
• Foreign influence: close ties to people or money abroad
• Foreign preference: acting for another country over the US
• Sexual behavior: conduct that could expose the person to pressure
• Personal conduct: honesty and willingness to follow rules
• Financial considerations: debt, unpaid taxes, money trouble
• Alcohol consumption: a pattern that affects judgment
• Drug involvement and substance misuse: use or sale of illegal substances
• Psychological conditions: conditions that affect reliability
• Criminal conduct: a history of breaking the law
• Handling protected information: care with sensitive data
• Outside activities: work that could create a conflict
• Use of information technology: misuse of systems or data

One flag does not sink a case. Adjudicators weigh the whole person. Age of the issue, how often, and whether it was disclosed all count. A single old mistake, owned up to honestly, is rarely a dealbreaker.

Why Are Finances the Number One Flag to Watch?

Money is the most common reason a case stalls. It is not about being rich. It is about control and honesty.

The concern is leverage. Heavy debt or unpaid taxes can make a person open to pressure. A foreign power or bad actor could exploit that. The government wants to know nobody can buy your access.

So what helps a clearability case? A person who handles money like an adult. Bills paid. Taxes filed. A debt they are actively paying down beats a debt they hid.

You will not see a credit report at screening. But you can listen for how someone talks about their record. Open and matter-of-fact is a good sign. Defensive or evasive is a flag worth noting.

Picture two veterans for the same role. One had medical debt, set up a payment plan, and says so plainly. The other had a tax issue and gets cagey when you mention paperwork. The first is the stronger bet. The size of the debt matters less than the plan and the honesty behind it. Adjudicators reward someone who faced a problem and handled it.

What Can and Cannot You Ask in the Interview?

This is where teams get nervous, and for good reason. You want to assess clearability without crossing a line. The fix is simple: ask about clearance facts, not protected traits.

You can ask about a person's clearance status and history. That is job-relevant for a cleared role. You cannot dig into medical conditions, disability, or other protected areas as a fishing trip. The government asks those questions in the investigation, not you.

A clean way to frame it: ask about willingness, not worthiness. "Are you willing to go through a full background investigation?" tells you a lot. A confident yes means they have nothing to hide. A long pause is worth a follow-up.

Keep your questions tied to the job. If a question would not help the government decide eligibility, it is probably not yours to ask. When in doubt, run your script past your HR or legal team first.

How Do You Read Foreign Contacts Without Overreacting?

Foreign ties get hiring teams worried fast. Slow down. A foreign contact is not an automatic problem.

The government looks at depth and risk, not just the existence of a tie. A spouse from an allied country is common and clearable. Regular contact with a foreign government official is a different weight. Context is everything.

For a veteran, many foreign contacts came from service itself. Deployments, joint training, and overseas postings build foreign relationships. The investigation accounts for that. You should not treat normal service history as a red flag.

At screening, you do not need every detail. You only need to know the candidate will disclose honestly. The investigation is built to weigh foreign contacts properly. Your job is to spot whether the person is open about them.

One useful question: "Is there anyone abroad the government would want to know about?" A veteran who answers without flinching is showing you they have nothing buried. The investigation will surface the full picture later. You are just checking that the candidate is not hiding it from the start. Honesty up front predicts a smoother case.

How Do You Actually Run a Clearability Screen?

Put it together into a repeatable process. You can run this in a single interview plus a quick record check. No special tools needed.

The official process behind your bet is run by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. You can read the DCSA background investigation and clearance process to understand what your candidate will go through after you sponsor. Knowing the steps helps you set fair expectations.

Once you decide to sponsor, the mechanics matter. Walk through how an employer sponsors a clearance step by step so you know your part. And if the role allows an early start, see when a new hire can begin on an interim clearance.

When Should You Pass on a Clearability Bet?

Most uncleared veterans are worth the bet. But some signals should slow you down. Knowing them protects your time and budget.

Recent, serious, undisclosed conduct is the clearest warning. A person who hides a problem in screening will face a harder investigation. Honesty about a past issue is far better than a hidden clean story that unravels later.

Active, unmanaged financial trouble is another. A debt under a payment plan is workable. A spiral with no plan and no disclosure is a real risk. The longer the investigation, the more it costs you to wait.

A role with a polygraph adds weight too. Some cleared jobs need a counterintelligence or full-scope poly. That raises the bar. If your role requires one, read up on polygraph requirements for cleared roles before you sponsor.

Where Do You Find Clearable Veterans?

Clearable talent is the hardest pool to find on a normal job board. Most platforms only flag people who already hold a clearance. They miss the veterans with a recent investigation and a clean record who simply need a sponsor.

That is the gap BMR fills. The pool grows by over 1,000 new veteran profiles every month, and more than 60,000 resumes have been built on the platform. A large share of those veterans served in roles that required a clearance. Many are eligible, lapsed, or strong clearability bets right now.

If you are staffing cleared and defense roles, start with people the government has likely already vetted once. Learn more about how to find cleared veteran talent for defense roles, then reach out to access the pool.

Reach out to access BMR's veteran talent pool and start screening clearable candidates today.