Published on 3 March 2026
Procedure and outcome of a personnel security screening
Once a personnel security screening (PSS) has been initiated, with all necessary information provided about the person and their function, the process can be roughly divided into the following sections:
To carry out a PSS, security-relevant data on the candidate's lifestyle is collected. The screening is conducted in several stages, depending on the security sensitivity of the position: the more security-sensitive the position, the more extensive and in-depth the screening.
1. During the basic personnel security screening, various registers and databases maintained by security authorities are consulted, such as the Swiss criminal register.
2. During the extended personnel security screening, additional data are collected, for example, from tax authorities.
At both levels of screening, a personal interview may be conducted. This may be necessary, for example, if unresolved questions arise from a register entry or if insufficient data are available for an assessment, e.g., due to a stay abroad.
Further information on data collection: Art. 34 ISGThe collected data and information are analysed and form the basis for the assessment. The Personnel Security Screening Unit concludes its investigations with one of the following decisions:
- Security Declaration (lit.*): the person under review is considered by the PSS Unit to be fit to perform the assigned security-sensitive duties.
- Security Declaration with Conditions (lit.*): the person under review is considered by the PSS Unit to be fit to perform the assigned security-sensitive duties, provided certain accompanying measures are implemented.
- Risk Declaration (lit.*): The PSS Unit recommends that the person not be employed in the assigned security-sensitive duties.
- Declaration of Findings (lit.*): The PSS Unit lacks crucial information to complete the assessment to one of the above three options above. The Declaration of Findings provides the decision-making authority with information on what could and could not be clarified by the PSS Unit, allowing a more informed assessment of the risk in hiring or continuing to employ the person despite the absence of a granted security declaration.
*Please note that the terms for the decision of the PSS Unit and their corre-sponding definitions are determined in Article 39 of the Federal Act on Information Security (Bundesgesetz über die Informationssicherheit, ISG; SR 128). Since English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation, the terms and definitions given above are literal translations in correspondence with the ISG.
Premature termination of the screening: a screening may be terminated if the person under review withdraws the consent required for the assessment, or if the initiating authority withdraws the screening request. In such cases, the person is considered not to have been screened.
These outcomes constitute recommendations to the relevant decision-making authority. This authority is not bound by these recommendations and makes a final and independent decision regarding which access rights should be granted or denied to the person concerned.
The procedure is governed by the Federal Act on Administrative Procedure (Bundesgesetz über das Verwaltungsverfahren, VwVG; SR 172.021). To find out who is the initiating or deciding authority in your specific case, see Who requires a Personnel Security Screening?A basic personnel security screening is repeated no earlier than five years, and not later than ten years after the previous screening.
An extended personnel security screening is repeated no earlier than three years, and no later than five years after the previous screening.
If the initiating or deciding authority has reason to believe that new risks have arisen or that previously identified risks are no longer relevant, it may request a repetition of the PSS from the Personnel Security Screening Unit, providing a written justification.
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