# 2026-23044: Federal Job Applicants Keep Using the Familiar Security Questionnaire

2026-23044, Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Questionnaire for National Security Positions, is a Federal Register notice from Personnel Management Office published 2026-11-12, effective Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until December 14, 2026.; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-23044
- As of: 2026-11-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-23044
- Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Questionnaire for National Security Positions
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: Personnel Management Office
- Citation: 91 FR 72927
- Published: 2026-11-12
- Effective: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until December 14, 2026.
- Comments close: 2026-12-14
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-11-12

## In one line

Federal Job Applicants Keep Using the Familiar Security Questionnaire

## Summary

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is keeping the current security questionnaire (SF 86) for national security jobs just as it is, while working on a newer, cooler version called the Personnel Vetting Questionnaire (PVQ). This means anyone applying for these jobs will keep using the old form until the new system is ready. You can share your thoughts on this by December 14, 2026, but no changes or extra costs are happening right now.

## Abstract

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) requests that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) renew a previously approved information collection request (ICR), Questionnaire for National Security Positions, Standard Form 86 (SF 86), without change.

## Effects PRIA read

- SF‑86 Renewed; No Changes Now: benefit, low. OPM is renewing the current Questionnaire for National Security Positions (Standard Form 86, SF 86) without any changes and applicants will continue using the SF 86 until the new Personnel Vetting Questionnaire (PVQ) is developed and implemented in the National Background Investigation Services (NB…
- Time Burden to Complete SF‑86: cost, medium. If you must complete the SF 86, OPM estimates 150 minutes (2.5 hours) per respondent. The agency estimates 495,924 respondents and a total burden of 1,239,810 hours for this collection.
- No Need to Lift Credit Freeze: benefit, low. Under the stated policy, security freezes do not block access to credit reports for employment, tenant, or background screening purposes, so individuals are no longer required to lift a credit freeze during a background investigation; the SF 86 instructions were updated to reflect this change.
- Electronic NBIS eApp Reduces Questions: benefit, low. The National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) electronic application (eApp) is the primary system used to collect SF 86 data and uses branching logic to tailor questions to each individual's responses, which reduces the number of irrelevant questions and varies the estimated burden based on…

## Related documents

- [2026-22093](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22093): Personnel Management in Agencies: Strategic Human Capital Management, 2026-10-29
- [2026-21316](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-21316): Managing Senior Professional Performance, 2026-10-19
- [2026-19222](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-19222): Employment in the Excepted Service, 2026-09-18
- [2026-18800](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-18800): Reduction in Force; Correction, 2026-09-15
- [2026-18828](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-18828): Shared Certificates and Pooled Hiring Actions, 2026-09-15
- [2026-16687](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16687): Differential Pay for Prescribed Wildland Fire Activities, 2026-08-14

## Sources
- [2026-23044 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/11/12/2026-23044/agency-information-collection-activities-proposals-submissions-and-approvals-questionnaire-for)
- [2026-23044 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-11-12/pdf/2026-23044.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2026-23043, Notice of Receipt of Complaint; Solicitation of Comments Relating to the Public…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-23043)
- [Next: 2026-23045, Wooden Cabinets and Vanities and Components Thereof From the People's Republic…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-23045)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-23044 (as of 2026-11-12).