The Defense Information System Agency’s National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) program office recently deputed eAPP, the updated, more intuitive replacement to the old eQIP security clearance application for Secret (Tier 3) and Top Secret (Tier 5) investigations. (eQIP will still be used for public trust clearances until a new system is developed, or eAPP is adapted). Once eAPP is implemented for all levels of applications eQIP will go away and be fully replaced by the new systems.

The new application is currently being piloted by 1,000 Army users. The plan is to begin a broader implementation in the final quarter of Fiscal Year 2018. The form is designed to be intuitive and responsive, making the form easier to fill out and update.

Auto-fill features make it easier to complete information including education addresses. There has also been discussion about pre-populating reinvestigation forms with previous information, but representatives say that update is still in the works.

NBIS hopes the new form will help to improve both investigation and adjudication timelines. DISA has been at work in eAPP since 2016, when Congress charged the agency with taking over the IT systems behind the background investigation process, in collaboration with the Office of Personnel Management, Defense Contract Management Agency, and other Department of Defense agencies.

The congressional charter spawned the creation of NBIS. NBIS has seven functional requirements, including: designating position sensitivity, managing investigations, providing fingerprint and biometric processing, improving automated record checking, facilitating adjudication, and performing continuous evaluation.

Watch a video with screen grabs of the new site created by DISA: