Prescreening is the process of collecting preliminary information such as fingerprints, background information and forms to determine if a candidate is eligible to receive an NIH badge or to occupy their position at NIH. Before issuing an NIH badge to a candidate and before 'clearing' the candidate for employment at NIH, DPSAC conducts Prescreening. 
         

DPSAC's goal is to ensure, from a preliminary sense, that individuals are not going to pose a risk to the life, safety or health of NIH staff or assets. Prescreening ensures all candidates are properly vetted and “cleared" prior to being issued a final employment offer and/or before being granted physical & logical access to NIH.                                   

DPSAC prescreening begins once Administrator Sponsorship and NIH Division of International Services (DIS) Validation (for Foreign Nationals) are completed in NED (must include receipt of SSN). Prescreening must be completed by the candidate to be considered for their badge or to be authorized for Entry on Duty (EOD). As noted, DPSAC does not receive non-immigrant FNs’ cases until DIS validates employment eligibility.          

DPSAC allots 7 days for applicants to complete the prescreening requirements; which is well above the public burden estimation. ​​         

The average timeframe for the DPSAC prescreening process is about 30 days from the date the badge is sponsored in the NED system, to the date the badge is authorized. This timeframe is mutually dependent the applicant and DPSACs prompt completion of actionable items. This timeframe does not include:
         

• Additional time required for DIS to complete employment authorization after badge sponsorship 
• Corrections required on applicant-submitted information 
• Applicant delay in completing requirements or providing requested corrections to documents 
• Applicants who are not able to travel to an NIH or Field Print location to complete their fingerprinting 
• Issues that arise on the applicants paperwork that require mitigation  

Estimated Public Burden Information         

The amount of time it takes applicants to complete the prescreening forms depends on the investigation type they are completing and the applicants personal background (such as employment, residential and educational history, etc.). Here, DCSA provides the estimated public burden information within the instructions for each of the investigation standard forms: 
         

• Standard Form 85, 85P and 86:
• Public Burden reporting for this collection of information is estimated to average 155 minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. 
• DPSAC finds that most applicants are able to complete the eApp background investigation questionnaire and forms in under 24 hours; usually between 30 minutes and 3 hours. If additional time is needed to collect information needed for the questionnaire, this can add to the total. 
• OF-306 Declaration for Federal Employment: Public burden reporting for this collection of information is estimated to vary from 5 to 30 minutes with an average of 15 minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.   
• Fingerprinting/Enrollment Service: around 20 minutes

The DPSAC prescreening requirements must be completed by the candidate within 7 days of notice, to the greatest extent possible, to avoid delays. If not, the case can be delayed beyond normal processing times. 
        

• eApp (if required): The eApp questionnaire is an extensive questionnaire that often requires back and forth correction requests from our office. Delays to submit the initial eApp within 7 days of notice is one of the largest contributors to significant Prescreening delays. Encourage the candidate to read each question and all instructions carefully and provide exactly what is requested. Encourage them to visit our All About eApp page for more information on how to fill this out correctly. 
• Resume: If the candidate does not provide resume within 7 days, and if DPSAC detects a break in federal service of 24 months or more since the candidate’s last completed investigation (if applicable), then a new investigation will be required, which will add an additional 7-14 days of processing time before their badge can be authorized. 
• OF-306: If the candidate does not submit OF-306 within 7 days of notice, the case can be delayed beyond normal processing times, especially if corrections are required. 
• Crossmatch/Prescreening Fingerprints: If the Prescreening fingerprint appointment is not scheduled within 7 days of notice, at a minimum, the case can be delayed beyond normal processing time, as DPSAC cannot decide without the candidate’s fingerprints. For more information, please visit our Fingerprint Services page. 
  

Note: If suitability issues are disclosed/developed on prescreening paperwork, these will take additional time to mitigate.         

1. A check of federal investigation databases to determine if the individual has a suitable investigation that meets/exceeds NIH requirement.
• If no, DPSAC will initiate eApp for new Background Investigation & Prescreen. 
• If yes, DPSAC will Prescreen & apply reciprocal acceptance criteria.
• While investigation/reciprocal acceptance requirements are being determined, NED status will remain at “Waiting for DPSAC to determine investigation requirements”.
2. Collection and review of the following:
• Electronic Questionnaires for Investigation Process (eApp) - If required (which it is in most cases), candidates must fill out this background investigation questionnaire. Please have candidates visit our All About eApp page for more information on how to fill this out correctly. 
• Resume/Employment history - This is needed as DPSAC checks for any break in service. Failure to provide this can result in significant delays as any missing information are immediate red flags. 
• OF-306 Declaration for Federal Employment - New federal applicants must have an OF-306 completed in USA Staffing Onboarding system for DPSAC to complete Prescreening. Additionally, the Selective Service Registration must be completed. If the candidate was required to register for Selective Service but the candidate answered "no" to registering, their case will be sent back to HR.
• Crossmatch/Prescreening Fingerprints - DPSAC has the Crossmatch fingerprinting capability at our Main Office, located in Bethesda, Maryland. DPSAC can also collect Crossmatch fingerprints remotely using a Third-Party service called Fieldprint. Please note that Crossmatch fingerprints should not be confused with fingerprints collected for “Badge Enrollment," which is an entirely separate process. For more information, please visit our Fingerprint Services​ page. 
• Other sources of suitability information if required - If applicable, this may include court documentation for criminal history, additional employment history information, federal debt delinquency paperwork, ink fingerprint cards and state forms for childcare law checks, etc. 
3. As the individual submits the above documentation, DPSAC will review documents for completeness. If corrections are required, DPSAC staff will contact the individual through email.

Applicants can expect to receive the following emails from DPSAC once their badge is sponsored. As stated in the earlier steps, non-immigrant foreign nationals will need to be validated by the NIH Division of International Services (DIS) after Badge Sponsorship, prior to DPSAC processing.
        

The requirements outlined in these emails must be competed in order for applicants to receive/retain their PIV Badge:​

Once all Prescreening documentation are collected from the candidate, DPSAC will review and conduct issue mitigation (if applicable) and make a prescreening determination on the candidate's eligibility for NIH employment and/or NIH PIV/RLA badge:                

• If DPSAC's prescreening and suitability determination is found to be favorable, DPSAC will authorize PIV Badge and Prescreening Clearance for Entry on Duty (EOD). 
• If DPSAC's prescreening and suitability determination is found to be unfavorable, DPSAC will alert the candidate and notify the program office that the candidate was not eligible for a PIV/RLA badge. The program office will be recommended to withdraw the candidate's employment offer due to ineligibility for a position at NIH and for issuance of a PIV/RLA badge. The badge will be revoked in conjunction with the unsuitable determination and associated action. 

In cases where a new background investigation is required, DPSAC makes what is called an "interim" PIV/RLA badge issuance determination (utilizing HSPD-12 credentialing standards) based on the preliminary documents received during Prescreening.                

• This means that the candidate’s badge is issued on an "interim" basis, pending the results of the background investigation and suitability adjudication. 
• A final determination on the candidate’s badge eligibility and/or suitability for NIH employment will be made based on the results of the background investigation completed by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). This final determination can take several months to be completed. 
• Non-Responsive Applicants: If a candidate does not respond or fails to complete the requested prescreening items in the allotted time, DPSAC will find the individual ineligible for issuance of a PIV/RLA badge due to failure to complete federally mandated prescreening requirements. DPSAC provides ample reminders and warnings, and will also escalate to the Administrative Officer, Supervisor and/or Project Officer if the candidate is not responsive.