The SF-86 foreign contacts question is not the only place a foreign-connected person may matter. The form routes spouses and cohabitants to Section 17, specified relatives to Section 18, and other qualifying foreign contacts to Section 19. Separate foreign-activity questions can require related information about assets, business, or government contacts.

How do you answer the SF-86 foreign contacts question?

Identify the person, classify the relationship, then test every applicable question as written. Placing every non-U.S. citizen in Section 19 skips the form’s structure. The form first separates marital and cohabitant relationships, listed relatives, and other contacts; later sections ask about specific foreign activities.

Use the version presented in your authorized questionnaire, not an old checklist or a coworker’s memory. The official SF-86 form is the source for the categories and exact question text.

Who goes in Section 17?

Section 17 covers marital and legally recognized relationship status, former relationships specified by the form, and a present cohabitant who meets the form’s relationship test. Your spouse is reported there. Section 19 expressly excludes only relatives previously listed in Section 18, so the form does not say whether a foreign-national spouse should also appear in Section 19; ask your security officer or FSO before certifying.

The cohabitant question asks whether you presently reside with someone, other than a spouse or legally recognized partner, with whom you share bonds of affection, obligation, or other commitment rather than living together for convenience. A roommate is not automatically a cohabitant.

DCSA’s SF-86 applicant guide reinforces those boundaries. It says not to list convenience roommates, relatives, a spouse, or a legally recognized partner as a cohabitant. It also directs spouses and cohabitants away from Section 18.

For a closer treatment of the term, review the difference between close and continuing contact on the SF-86. Keep Section 19’s wording separate from the distinct Section 17 cohabitant definition.

Which relatives belong in Section 18?

Use the categories printed on the form, regardless of whether the listed relative is living or deceased. They include specified parents and stepparents, foster parent, children and stepchildren, siblings and step- or half-siblings, parents-in-law, and guardian.

Section 18 then branches based on facts such as citizenship, place of birth, address, living status, and relative type. It asks for different supporting information under those branches. Read the prompts generated for that person rather than relying on a single family worksheet.

Foreign citizenship does not move a listed Section 18 relative to Section 19. The form says Section 19 includes associates and relatives not previously listed in Section 18, so a listed parent is not duplicated there merely because the parent is a foreign national.

Aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents are not among the relative types printed in Section 18. The SF-86 sends relatives not previously listed in Section 18 to Section 19 when the contact test is met, while DCSA’s November 2025 guide says extended family meeting the same relationship test should be listed under Section 18. Ask your security officer or FSO which route the authorized system expects.

The detailed data burden can be easier to manage with a relative-by-relative file. For the actual fields, use the preparation approach for SF-86 Section 18 relatives, then verify each answer against the live questionnaire before certification.

Who belongs in Section 19?

Section 19 covers a foreign national with whom you had close or continuing contact during the stated lookback and to whom you, your spouse, legally recognized partner, or cohabitant are bound by affection, influence, common interests, or obligation. Every element of the question matters.

The form defines a foreign national as someone who is not a U.S. citizen or national. It uses a seven-year lookback for the contact question. Citizenship, contact, time, and the listed bond are separate facts to test; nationality by itself is insufficient. DCSA’s guide says to list contacts who met the test during that period even if they later became U.S. citizens, including infrequent contact that is close or continuing.

A spouse’s close friend may belong if your own contact with that person meets the form’s wording. For applicants other than service members, a professional contact counts when it was close or continuing; the form lists “Professional or Business” as a relationship type. Map the actual frequency, duration, methods, and nature of the relationship without inventing a universal contact count.

Service members have a stated exception in DCSA’s guide: foreign associations strictly professional and limited to military-related duties need not be listed, but contact that was also social must be listed. The guide also says to include a spouse’s, partner’s, or cohabitant’s close foreign associations when you had close or continuing contact with them during the lookback.

Missing details do not justify dropping an otherwise qualifying person. DCSA says not to omit a foreign contact because some information is unknown. Use “I don’t know” or an explanation where the authorized form provides it.

What information does Section 19 ask for?

Prepare identity, citizenship, contact history, relationship nature, address, employer, and possible foreign-government or related affiliations. The form asks for the contact’s name if known, approximate first and last contact, methods, frequency, nature of relationship, other names, citizenship, birth details, address, and employment information.

Ask for sensitive identity documents only if the form or your security office actually requires them. Gather information lawfully from records and ordinary communication. Protect the worksheet because it contains personal data about other people.

Unknown information should be labeled honestly. Do not convert an estimate into a precise date or infer a foreign-government affiliation from occupation or nationality. Explain what you know, what you do not know, and the reasonable steps taken when the form permits comments.

Consistency is a separate check. Spell the name and citizenship the same way across entries, reconcile first and last contact dates with travel or employment records, and explain apparent conflicts rather than hoping they will be overlooked.

Which foreign facts belong beyond the people sections?

Sections 20A and 20B ask about activities, not simply relationship labels. They cover subjects such as foreign financial interests, people controlling such interests, foreign business or professional activity, and specified contact with foreign governments or their representatives.

Section 20A includes foreign interests of the applicant, spouse or legally recognized partner, cohabitant, or dependent children under its stated conditions. It can request co-owner information or the name of someone controlling a foreign interest on your behalf. Section 20B includes a question about the applicant’s or immediate family member’s contact with a foreign government within its stated period and exceptions.

A person can therefore be relevant in more than one place for different reasons. Your spouse is identified in Section 17; the spouse’s qualifying foreign financial interest is answered in Section 20A. A listed relative remains in Section 18; a separate qualifying foreign-government contact involving that relative may require an activity answer in Section 20B.

That is not unexplained duplication. Each entry answers a distinct question. Avoid copying a relationship narrative into every comment field; state the fact requested and cross-reference only when the form’s structure and your security office permit it.

How should you cross-check before certification?

Build a private person index with legal name, other names, relationship, citizenship, relevant dates, contact methods, address, employer, and the sections tested. Mark “not applicable,” “unknown,” and “estimated” as separate states. They are not synonyms.

Compare the index with relationship records, address and travel history, communications, financial records, and prior submissions you are authorized to use. Look for date gaps, mismatched citizenship, a person entered as both convenience roommate and cohabitant, or a relative duplicated in Section 19 without another reason.

Review the negative answers too. A blank worksheet can make “No” feel automatic even when a spouse, co-owner, or family member triggers a later activity question. Record why each negative answer is accurate so that a newly remembered fact can be routed deliberately instead of patched into an unrelated comment.

Keep a truthful answer even when distinct questions create repetition, and confirm why each section applies. If routing remains uncertain, DCSA’s form-help instructions direct military applicants to command security officers, federal civilians to agency security or HR, and DoD contractors to the company FSO.

Foreign-contact reporting can also continue after submission under rules that depend on your status and organization. The separate overview of foreign-contact reporting obligations should not be used to rewrite what the SF-86 asks; confirm current instructions with your security office.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does every non-U.S. citizen I know go in Section 19?

No. Apply the full Section 19 test, including contact, lookback, relationship bond, and whether the person was already listed as a Section 18 relative. Other sections may apply instead or as well.

Does my foreign spouse go in Section 19?

Your spouse is reported in Section 17. The Section 19 instruction excludes only relatives already listed in Section 18, so the form does not resolve whether a foreign-national spouse should also appear there. Ask your security officer or FSO before you certify.

Is a roommate a cohabitant?

Not merely because you share housing. Section 17 distinguishes a person sharing bonds of affection, obligation, or other commitment from someone living with you for convenience.

What if I do not know a contact’s employer or exact date?

Do not omit an otherwise qualifying person. Use the form’s unknown or estimated options and explanation fields accurately, and ask your security office how to handle a field that the system will not let you complete.

What is the best final check?

Take one person at a time and test Sections 17, 18, 19, 20A, and 20B against the exact question text. Correct inconsistent names, dates, citizenship, and routing before you certify the form.