If a person is being considered for potential retention or hiring in a position that has been defined as a national security position, they will have to undergo an intense background vetting process by the government. Background investigations are conducted on every individual being considered for any kind of national security position. The SF86 Form is used to gather a great deal of information, which the investigators will then verify as part of their investigation.
Disclosure of the information on the form is completely voluntary. No individual will be forced to disclose anything they do not wish to. However, if a person opts not to disclose all of the required information on the form, the government will not have the ability to complete the investigation. This will have negative effects on your employment opportunities. Most likely, the employment opportunities will be rescinded altogether.
When you provide information, it will be evaluated based on how recent, serious, and relevant to the potential position it is. It will also be evaluated for consistency with the other known information about you a candidate. People who falsify, misrepresent, or withhold information on the form will have their employment prospects, job status, and security clearance negatively impacted. They may even be removed and debarred from the Federal Service entirely.
This is an official government form that is considered a permanent document. If investigations are opened in the future, this document might serve as the basis for those. The same is true for any opened determinations about security clearance and employment suitability. The responses you give on the form might be compared against other answers that you’ve given on previous security-related questionnaires. For this reason, you must take care to make sure that all of the information is accurate and true to your best knowledge.
The purpose of a background investigation is to make sure that a candidate is trustworthy, reliable, and of good character and conduct. They also must be loyal to the United States. If any issues arise regarding the form, the investigation might be extended for a longer time period so that these issues can be resolved.