NBIS News

NBIS “Quick Link” Now Available

For Industry users that have already been granted access to the National Background Investigation Services (NBIS), a “quick link” is now available on the DCSA NBIS main page: https://www.dcsa.mil/is/nbis/ The quick link is available at the top of the page and is labeled, “NBIS Agency (for SSOs/FSOs)”. Once you click the link, it directs you to the NBIS portal in order to access the system.

In addition to the link on the NBIS main page, users are also encouraged to bookmark the NBIS portal page on their browser for fast and easy access.

For questions NBIS Industry Onboarding Process for Industry, please email the NBIS Industry Onboarding Team at the following mailbox:dcsa.meade.nbis.mbx.nbis-industry-onboarding-team@mail.mil.

Now Available: Org and User Management and Assignment Management Configurations webinar slides and recordings

For any National Background Investigation Services Industry Users that were not able to attend or would like to refresh or review, recordings and slide decks from the live Org and User Management and Assignment Management Configurations webinars that took place in December 2022/January 2023 are now available on the NBIS Training Site: https://nbistraining.countermeasures.com/.  Once logged into the site, navigate to the "Industry Onboarding Resources" section and click "View Materials" to access the aforementioned webinar resources as well as other available webinar recordings. Be aware that the recordings and slides have not yet migrated to the Security Training, Education, and Professional Portal (STEPP) and ServiceNow.  In the interim, Industry users will want to access these on the NBIS Training Site. Note: Internal DOD users may not be able to access the Industry page on the NBIS Training Site due to firewall limitations. If you have questions, please email the NBIS Industry Onboarding Team at the NBIS Industry Onboarding Team mailbox: dcsa.meade.nbis.mbx.nbis-industry-onboarding-team@mail.mil.

NBIS Industry Onboarding is now open for all organizations

As of January 9, onboarding to the National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) is now open for all organizations. The NBIS Industry Onboarding Team has supplied email notification to all Defense Information System for Security (DISS) industry Account and Hierarchy Managers that onboarding to NBIS has begun. However, if you are an Account and Hierarchy Manager, and you or your other organization team members which hold the aforementioned DISS roles have not received notification, please reach out via email to the Industry Onboarding Team at the mailbox provided below to receive the instructions and details on how to begin.

Once onboarded, users should continue to utilize DISS for Case Initiation, Investigation Status, Visit Management, Subject Management, Eligibility Determinations, Incident Reporting, Access Management, and Foreign Travel, etc., until these functionalities are available in NBIS. Subject data has not yet migrated from DISS to NBIS. Notification will be provided when subject data has migrated and when case initiations can be started in NBIS. Do not create a subject’s profile or initiate cases until notification is received.

For questions regarding the NBIS Onboarding Process email the NBIS Industry Onboarding Team at the NBIS Industry Onboarding Team mailbox: dcsa.meade.nbis.mbx.nbis-industry-onboarding-team@mail.mil

Register Now: NBIS Industry Onboarding Live Webinars

The DCSA NBIS Industry Onboarding Team invites Industry users to register for two upcoming Live Virtual Webinars on the following NBIS topics:

  • Org and User Management (Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at 1300 - 1500 Eastern)
    • Purpose: Basic navigation steps within NBIS, organization management basics, applying minimum configurations needed for investigation requests, describing and demonstrating form routing, and managing users within your organization.
  • Assignment Management Configurations (Tuesday, January 17, 2023 at 1300 - 1500 Eastern)
    • Purpose: How to create and apply optional configurations in NBIS to meet organizational needs, identifying optional configurations based on organizational functionality, understanding and applying assignment rules, and comprehending the use of both user assignment and order form templates.

Registration is now open now through January 5th. For additional information and to register, please use the following link: https://dcsa.acms.com/nbiswebinarregistration/event/registration.html. All participants MUST register to receive an invite and further instructions.

Capacity for both sessions is limited. For those unable to attend, recorded sessions will be made available at: https://nbistraining.countermeasures.com.

For questions, please email: dcsa.meade.nbis.mbx.nbis-industry-onboarding-team@mail.mil

Coming in January: NBIS Onboarding for All of Industry

NBIS onboarding officially commenced in November 2022 for industry facilities in the DCSA Western Region.  Starting January 9th, all other Industry facilities in the remaining DCSA regions (Eastern, Central, Mid-Atlantic, as well as HQ) will be provided notification and instructions via email to DISS Account and Hierarchy Managers for organizations to begin the onboarding process into NBIS. 

Onboarding to NBIS is accomplished through the Industry Onboarding Portal (also known as NBIS ServiceNow).  One user (known as the ‘Initial’ user) from each organization will onboard through the portal.  Once provisioned and enrolled into NBIS, the initial user will be responsible for provisioning additional users within their organization. 

Once onboarded, users will validate their org hierarchy migrated from DISS and configure org workflow and user assignments.  Even after onboarding into NBIS, Industry organizations will continue utilizing DISS for all functions until further notice.  The Initiate, Review, and Authorize process will be the first NBIS capability to be adopted by Industry, but only once DCSA Vetting Risk Operations (VRO) provides notification when this can begin.

In order to gain access to NBIS, all users are required complete PII and Cybersecurity training within the last twelve months.  To prepare, all potential NBIS users are encouraged to complete the required training, especially if their PII and/or Cybersecurity training is nearing the twelve month mark.  Please refer to the “NBIS Industry Onboarding Readiness Checklist” available on the NBIS Industry Onboarding website for details on where to access these trainings and maintaining the certificates. 

After onboarding, users are reminded to login into NBIS at least once every 30 days to avoid account deactivation and monitor DISS and NBIS hierarchies for org changes.

For any questions, please email the NBIS Industry Onboarding Team at dcsa.meade.nbis.mbx.nbis-industry-onboarding-team@mail.mil.  For additional information and updates on NBIS Industry Onboarding, please visit the NBIS Industry Onboarding website.

Register Now: NBIS Industry Onboarding Live Webinars

The DCSA NBIS Industry Onboarding Team invites Industry users, particularly those from organizations that have been notified to start the NBIS onboarding process, to register for two Live Virtual Webinars on the following NBIS topics:

Org and User Management (Thursday, December 8, 2022 at 1300 - 1530 Eastern)
  • Purpose: Basic navigation steps within NBIS, organization management basics, applying minimum configurations needed for investigation requests, describing and demonstrating form routing, and managing users within your organization.
Assignment Management Configurations (Thursday, December 15, 2022 at 1300 - 1530 Eastern)
  • Purpose: How to create and apply optional configurations in NBIS to meet organizational needs, identifying optional configurations based on organizational functionality, understanding assignment rules, form routing, and user assignments templates, and comprehending the use of both user assignment and order form templates.

Registration is now open now through December 5th. For additional information and to register, please use the following link: https://dcsa.acms.com/nbiswebinarregistration/event/registration.html. All participants MUST register to receive an invite and further instructions.

Capacity for both sessions is limited. For those unable to attend, additional live and recorded sessions will be made available in January 2023.

For questions, please email: dcsa.meade.nbis.mbx.nbis-industry-onboarding-team@mail.mil

NBIS Onboarding Starts in the Western Region

Nov. 23, 2022 - On November 22nd, National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) onboarding officially commenced for facilities located in the DCSA Western Region. Notification and instructions were provided via email to those identified as Defense Information System for Security (DISS) Account and Hierarchy Managers in order to begin the onboarding process into NBIS.

Onboarding to NBIS is accomplished through the Industry Onboarding Portal (known as NBIS ServiceNow). One user (known as the ‘Initial’ user) from each organization will onboard through the Industry portal. Once provisioned and enrolled into NBIS, the initial user will be responsible for provisioning additional users within their organization.

Once onboarded, users will validate their org hierarchy migrated from DISS and configure org workflow and user assignments. Even after onboarding into NBIS, Industry organizations will continue utilizing DISS for all functions until further notice. The Initiate, Review, and Authorize process will be the first NBIS capability to be adopted by Industry, but only once DCSA Vetting Risk Operations (VRO) provides notification when this can begin.

In order to gain access to NBIS, all users are required to complete Personal Identifiable Information (PII) and Cybersecurity training within the last 12 months. To prepare, all potential NBIS users are encouraged to complete the required training. Please refer to the "NBIS Industry Onboarding Readiness Checklist" available on the NBIS Industry Onboarding website for details on where to access the training and maintaining the certificates.
After onboarding, users are reminded to login into NBIS at least once every 30 days to avoid account deactivation and monitor DISS and NBIS hierarchies for org changes.

As always, for additional information and updates on NBIS Industry Onboarding, please visit the NBIS Industry Onboarding website.

Upcoming NBIS Training Webinars

Nov. 23, 2022 - Please be aware that the NBIS Industry Onboarding Team will introduce the following training webinars to be available in December 2022/January 2023, which will include live and recorded sessions.

  • Org and User Management
  • Assignment Management Configuration
  • Optional User Management Configuration: Notifications
  • Optional User Management Configurations: Program Tags

Details about these sessions will be forthcoming. Industry users, especially those from organizations that have been notified to start the NBIS onboarding process, are highly encouraged to participate.

Should you have any questions about these upcoming webinars, please send your inquiry via email to the NBIS Industry Onboarding Team at dcsa.meade.nbis.mbx.nbis-industry-onboarding-team@mail.mil.

2022 NBIS Industry Conference Recap

Oct. 26, 2022 - A special thanks to the approximately 1,500 personnel security leaders and managers that attended the 2022 NBIS Industry Conference in-person and virtually to discuss industry’s transition into the new personnel security vetting system.

The conference, held on October 18th, comprised DCSA briefings to industry security professionals on NBIS industry onboarding, NBIS capability and training for industry, NBIS Help Desk Support, and a panel discussion that included actions taken by NBIS resulting from industry feedback. Further details about the conference can be found in the following news article (click here).

For those that may have missed the event or are interested in learning additional details, slides from the conference are now available on the event main page. Event videos and an FAQ addressing questions posed during the conference will also be made available on the main page ASAP.

As always, for additional information and updates on NBIS Industry Onboarding, please visit the NBIS Industry Onboarding website.

Introduction to NBIS eApp

Sept. 13, 2022 - The National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) system has launched the eApp program, to replace the functionality currently provided by e-QIP. In preparation for future transition from e-QIP to eApp, DCSA has created a promotional video which highlights the various aspects of eApp, and notes the differences between the two systems. Check out the intro video (60-sec.) and the complete NBIS eApp walkthru in the Resources tab at https://www.dcsa.mil/is/nbis/.

NBIS Industry Onboarding Regional Strategy

July 29, 2022 - In preparation for onboarding the initial Industry Org and User Managers into the National Background Investigation Services (NBIS), please review the below information to learn more about the onboarding strategy and how you will be notified to begin onboarding.

NBIS onboarding for Industry will be incrementally rolled-out based on a facility's regional designation as identified in National Industrial Security System (NISS). Using this incremental approach allows for an orderly flow to the onboarding process for Industry organizations. The regional order is as follows

  1. Western Region
  2. Eastern Region
  3. Central Region
  4. NAESOC & HQ Region
  5. Mid-Atlantic Region

We recognize some multi-facility organizations (MFOs) may have cleared facilities in multiple regions. If this is applicable to your organization, please refer to the Industry Onboarding Fact Sheet and Frequently Asked Questions located in the Resources tab of the NBIS Industry Onboarding website, https://www.dcsa.mil/is/nbis/onboarding/ind_onboarding/, for additional details. Industry Organizations will receive notification no later than two weeks prior to the start of their designated region onboarding to NBIS and will include resources that will provide an introduction and overview of the process. Also, on the onboarding date, initial Industry participants will receive additional specifics and resources to guide starting the process.

As always, for additional information and updates on NBIS Industry Onboarding, please visit the NBIS Industry Onboarding website, https://www.dcsa.mil/is/nbis/onboarding/ind_onboarding/.