Standard Form 85 at a glance
What it is: Standard Form 85, Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions, is a form of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Who signs: Follow instructions fully or your form cannot be processed. Be sure to sign and date the certification statement on Page 5 and the release on Page 6. If you have any questions, call the office that gave you the form.
Complete this form only after a conditional offer of employment has been made. The U.S. Government conducts background investigations to establish that applicants or incumbents are suitable for the job, and information from this form is used primarily as the basis for this investigation.
A filled-in Standard Form 85 example: a federal job applicant answers the first questions
How to fill out Standard Form 85, box by box
Full name, date of birth and place of birth
In 1 FULL NAME, if you have only initials in your name, use them and state (IO). If you have no middle name, enter "NMN". If you are a "Jr.," "Sr.," "II," etc., enter this in the box after your middle name.
Enter DATE OF BIRTH in the Month, Day and Year boxes.
For 3 PLACE OF BIRTH, enter the City, County and State; use the two letter code for the State, and the Country if not in the United States.
Enter your Social Security Number before going to the next page.
Other names used
Under 5 OTHER NAMES USED, give other names you used and the period of time you used them (for example: your maiden name, name(s) by a former marriage, former name(s), alias(es), or nickname(s)). If the other name is your maiden name, put "nee" in front of it.
Sex and citizenship
Under SEX, mark one box: Female or Male.
Mark the box that reflects your current citizenship status, and follow its instructions.
If you are a U.S. citizen or national by birth in the U.S. or U.S. territory/possession, answer items b and d.
Under b, enter Your Mother's Maiden Name.
More rules for Standard Form 85
Type or legibly print your answers in black ink (if your form is not legible, it will not be accepted).
All questions on this form must be answered. If no response is necessary or applicable, enter "None" or "N/A". If you find that you cannot report an exact date, approximate or estimate the date to the best of your ability and indicate this by marking "APPROX." or "EST."
All dates provided on this form must be in Month/Day/Year or Month/Year format. Use numbers (1-12) to indicate months. For example, June 10, 1978, should be shown as 6/10/78.
You must use the State codes (abbreviations) listed on the back of the first page when you fill out this form. Do not abbreviate the names of cities or foreign countries.
Where you have lived, school, employment and signing
Where you have lived
Under WHERE YOU HAVE LIVED, list the places where you have lived, beginning with the most recent (#1) and working back 5 years. All periods must be accounted for in your list.
For any address in the last 3 years, list a person who knew you at that address, and who preferably still lives in that area (do not list people for residences completely outside this 3-year period, and do not list your spouse, former spouses, or other relatives).
Where you went to school
Under 9 WHERE YOU WENT TO SCHOOL, list the schools you have attended, beyond Junior High School, beginning with the most recent (#1) and working back 5 years. List all College or University degrees and the dates they were received.
If all of your education occurred more than 5 years ago, list your most recent education beyond high school, no matter when that education occurred.
Your employment activities
Under YOUR EMPLOYMENT ACTIVITIES, list your employment activities, beginning with the present (#1) and working back 5 years. You should list all full-time work, part-time work, military service, temporary military duty locations over 90 days, self-employment, other paid work, and all periods of unemployment.
The entire 5-year period must be accounted for without breaks, but you need not list employments before your 16th birthday.
People who know you well
Under 11 PEOPLE WHO KNOW YOU WELL, list three people who know you well and live in the United States. They should be good friends, peers, colleagues, college roommates, etc., whose combined association with you covers as well as possible the last 5 years. Do not list your spouse, former spouses, or other relatives, and try not to list anyone who is listed elsewhere on this form.
Your selective service record
Under 12 YOUR SELECTIVE SERVICE RECORD, a Are you a male born after December 31, 1959? If "No," go to 13. If "Yes," go to b.
b Have you registered with the Selective Service System? If "Yes," provide your registration number. If "No," show the reason for your legal exemption.
Your military history
Under 13 YOUR MILITARY HISTORY, a Have you served in the United States military? b Have you served in the United States Merchant Marine? List all of your military service, including service in Reserve, National Guard, and U.S. Merchant Marine. Start with the most recent period of service (#1) and work backward. If you had a break in service, each separate period should be listed.
Illegal drugs
Under 14 ILLEGAL DRUGS: In the last year, have you used, possessed, supplied, or manufactured illegal drugs? If you answered "Yes," provide information relating to the types of substance(s), the nature of the activity, and any other details relating to your involvement with illegal drugs. Include any treatment or counseling received.
Neither your truthful response nor information derived from your response will be used as evidence against you in any subsequent criminal proceeding.
Signing the certification and the release
After completing this form you should review your answers to all questions to make sure the form is complete and accurate, and then sign and date the certification. Sign in ink.
Carefully read the authorization to release information about you, then sign and date it in ink, with your Full name (Type or print legibly) and the Date signed (mm/dd/yyyy).
You are a U.S. citizen, but were not born in the U.S
If you are a U.S. citizen, but were NOT born in the U.S., answer items b, c and d.
If you are a U.S. citizen, but were not born in the U.S., provide information about one or more proofs of your citizenship: Naturalization Certificate, Citizenship Certificate, State Department Form 240 - Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States, or U.S. Passport.
You are or were a dual citizen
If you are (or were) a dual citizen of the United States and another country, provide the name of that country in the space to the right.
You are not a U.S. citizen
If you are not a U.S. citizen, answer items b and e.
If you are an alien, provide the Place You Entered the United States, the Alien Registration Number and the Country(ies) of Citizenship.
Common questions about Standard Form 85
What does SF85 check for?
Background investigations are conducted using your responses on this form and on your Declaration for Federal Employment (OF 306) to develop information to show whether you are reliable, trustworthy, and of good conduct and character. Your current employer must be contacted as part of the investigation, even if you have previously indicated on applications or other forms that you do not want this.
Is there a penalty?
The information on this form, and information collected during an investigation may be disclosed without your consent as permitted by the Privacy Act (5 USC 552a(b)); Penalties for Inaccurate or False Statements: The U.S. Criminal Code (title 18, section 1001) provides that knowingly falsifying or concealing a material fact is a felony which may result in fines of up to $10,000, and/or 5 years imprisonment, or both (checked November 14, 2026).
Sources
[1] Standard Form 85 (Revised December 2013), Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions, U.S. Office of Personnel Management (the Official source link on this page).
