Life changes happen: Report what matters

March 20, 2026 - Defence Stories

Estimated read time: 2:17

Security begins with awareness and that includes your own life circumstances.

Changes in personal, legal, or financial circumstances can directly affect your security clearance. Early reporting ensures continued trust, prevents delays, and strengthens the overall security posture in our organization.

Do you know what needs to be reported?

• Change in criminal record status
  • (criminal charge(s) or conviction, suspension of a criminal record or other judicial prohibitions)
• Involvement with law enforcement
  • (suspect in a criminal investigation or arrest)
• Association with criminals
• Significant change in your financial situation
  • (bankruptcy or unexpected wealth, civil or liability cases)
• Change in your personal status
  • (changing to single, married, divorced, widowed, common-lawor separated)
• Name change
• Change in your legal status
  • (changing from Permanent Resident to Canadian citizen, obtaining dual citizenship with another country)
• Security violations
• Exposure to circumstances that could raise security concerns

Managers and supervisors:

• You are also responsible for reporting any observable changes in an individual's behaviour that may indicate a potential security concern.

To review the behavioural indicators you must monitor, consult:

What could be impacted?

Let's explore some potential scenarios:

• Name change - Example: Warrant Officer Bloggins changes her last name after marriage but forgets to update it in her personnel record. When her posting paperwork is processed, her security clearance file doesn't match - causing a delay.
• Significant change in financial situation - Example: Lieutenant-Colonel Wyattreceives an inheritance unexpectedly, puts it in the bank and does not report to his supervisor that he has received a large sum of money. During a financial inquiry, as part of the yearly ongoing maintenance and assurance process of his Top Secret security clearance, this is uncovered. LCol Wyatt is now asked to come in for a security interview to discuss this finding.
• Association with criminals - Example: M. Smith learnsthat a close family member is regularly associating with an individual who may be linked to a criminal organization. Because M. Smith now interacts with them frequently, this could raise a security concern, affecting his ability to hold a security clearance.

How to report?

Submit a Change of Circumstance Report (DND 4151) (Accessible only on the National Defence network) whenever a situation may impact security.

To submit the form or for questions: [email protected].

Reporting is about safeguarding security, not assigning blame or causing embarrassment. Early reporting does not mean an automatic denial or revocation of your security clearance. It means proactive assurance of your privilege to hold your security clearance.

To view a variety of security topics, visit the Security Awareness Toolkit, available through the Director General Defence Security (DGDS) intranet page.