Do you need to complete the BPSS if you already have SC ?
Yup. The SC shows that @Turbo is a safe person. The BPSS shows that you are @Turbo.
It should have been done earlier but we forgot
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Thanks for the reply. I completed the SC for work about 3 years ago, but didnât have to do the BPSS beforehand.
One element of SC clearance is the successful completion of BPSS. So, if you are SC cleared, you will already have completed BPSS successfully.
Please see here for further details.
Should have. Many (indeed, pretty much everybody in the ATC) werenât, hence this recent push.
BPSS was brought in in November 2018 if I remember correctly. Before that it was a different check. To get SC you need BPSS regardless. Basically most the Corps need to do it.
It had a different name. It wasnât really that different.
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I believe before SC you need an identity vertification, since Nov 2018 that has been BPSS, the only difference between the BPSS form and previous application is, IIRC, that BPSS has the Official Secrets Act included and some slight differences in the references.
If you have SC already, in the contracting world at least, it can be requested to update existing clearance to cover the new employer if the clearance required is the same level but whether the RAFAC would allow that is another question.
In the Covid era there are quotas in place with NSV, I know someone who submitted the form not too long before lockdown and it has only recently had the status updated and they donât know when they will find out the outcome officially
Slight side question; what are the rules about contacting references? Should all applications have their references checked or is it a percentage. I know when I did my BPSS neither of my references were contacted. I know this is the same for other staff at the squadron.
this is and can be done.
someone i know held whatever the level is above SC for their employment - when they ticked the boxed after jumping through the RAFAC hoops their security profile showed the latest record which was the RAFAC version â this then caused all manner of issues in work as effectively the SC clearance over-wrote the clearance required for work and took a few days to be corrected.
Since, our Wing have accepted employed clearances for RAFAC use
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Just printed off and gone through the BPSS form (PERS FORM 1-01) and I honestly canât see the point if you already have a valid SC. It is literally a baby version of the SC.
It even says in the notes, âWhere the BPSS is being carried out prior to a CTC, SC or DV follow the criteria belowâ. Does say what to do if it follows an SC.
Part 1 - Applicant details, Part 2 - References, Part 3 - Nationality status, Part 4 - Employment history, Part 5 - Criminal record history Part 6 - Verification cert and the Official Secrets Act tagged on the end.
All of which is covered (and more) in the SC procedure, and for me, should be on record somewhere!
The reason there is no guidance for what to do if if the BPSS follows an SC is because that situation should never happen.
An SC check goes into detail on the person named on the form. BPSS is supposed to be done first to ensure that the name is actually that of the physical person weâve got here with us.
I.e. an SC without BPSS first could go something like thisâŚ
A chap calling himself âJoe Bloggsâ completes an SC application. The checks are carried out on Joe Bloggs and all come back clear.
However⌠The guy is not âJoe Bloggsâ. Heâs actually âJohn Smithâ, potential terrorist, but he used fake details and nobody confirmed his identity before the SC check.
DVA donât know any better because despite not checking we told them âOh, yes. Heâs Joe alrightâŚâ
Thatâs why everyone must complete BPSS.
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Iâm not a terrorist! Nor am I John Smith 
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Thatâs just what that famous terrorist John Smith would sayâŚ
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An SC check goes into detail on the person named on the form. BPSS is supposed to be done first to ensure that the name is actually that of the physical person weâve got here with us.
I.e. an SC without BPSS first could go something like thisâŚ
A chap calling himself âJoe Bloggsâ completes an SC application. The checks are carried out on Joe Bloggs and all come back clear.
However⌠The guy is not âJoe Bloggsâ. Heâs actually âJohn Smithâ, potential terrorist, but he used fake details and nobody confirmed his identity before the SC check.
Still donât get it. How can somebody fake their way through the 66 page, 21 part SC form, but not the 12 page, 6 part BPSS?
Are you trying to tell me that the verification of ID, employment history, education history, spouse checks, parent checks, financial circumstances, criminal convictions, citizenship, residency checks, sponsors declaration are not looking into or followed up with a SC application?
Has anybody ever been granted SC clearance and then been exposed as a fake when they were made to fill in the BPSS?
What verification of ID? Itâs an online form.
Probably not because other organisations always did it right and did the BPSS first.
We screwed up, and the solution is that all uniformed staff have SC on renewal of MOD90 (another screw up) and must have a valid BPSS in place for this.
All new staff complete BPSS on application.
The only people âmissedâ at the moment in the next 5 years is existing CIs. Itâs not a big issue to complete, especially if done alongside your DBS renewal when you are presenting docs anyway.
Iâm planning to get our WEXO/E1 down to the unit so we can all complete.
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All those checks will be done on Joe Bloggsâ employment history, Joe Bloggsâ education history, Joe Bloggsâ spouse, Joe Bloggsâ parents etc.
Yes itâs highly likely that someone faking their way through that will fake their way through the checks to show they are in fact Joe Bloggsâ and therefore entitled to use the clearance granted to Mr Bloggsâ but we need to ensure it is done properly according to the policy. And the extra level gives us an extra chance to spot something dodgy
The part at the end where the sponsor verifies your ID and gives details of the forms of ID the applicant has provided. i.e. exactly the same as happens with the BPSS.
Yes, it is an online form, but it has to be initiated and verified by a sponsor.