(1) The Clearance Approval Authority (CAA) is responsible for tailoring the documentation needs, briefing requirements, and review processes to fit each action subject to clearance approval. Guidelines to inform the CAA’s decisions regarding procedures are presented below. The contracting officer shall consult with the CAA early in the acquisition process to determine the documentation, briefing, and review expectations.

(a) Documentation and Briefing. The magnitude, complexity, and risk of the proposed action should govern the documentation and briefing requirements. The contract file must document the Clearance approval and identify the information relied upon in making the Clearance decision.

(b) Review. The magnitude, complexity, and risk of the proposed action should also inform review procedures (e.g., timing and duration of review, review team members, documentation to be reviewed, expected output from the review team). Clearance review provides an independent examination of the proposed action and may be conducted by the CAA or an independent advisor to the CAA. Clearance review at the SCO level is typically performed by SSC/PKV with support from SSC/PKF and SSC/JAQ. In some circumstances, inclusion of representatives from other functional organizations (e.g., SSC/FM, SSC/SB) may be beneficial.

(c) When a DoD Peer Review is required, Clearance should ordinarily be conducted prior to the Peer Review and Clearance approval should be made contingent on Peer Review results unless the Clearance Approval Authority directs otherwise