The FBI is eliminating a categorical hiring ban on applicants who have paid for sex with prostitutes, and will instead evaluate at least some candidates with a history of such conduct in a more holistic way, according to people familiar with the matter.

The departure from automatic disqualification continues a broader evolution of recruitment standards in federal law enforcement and at the traditionally strict bureau, which relaxed its stance on candidates' past marijuana use several years ago and has more recently drawn concern from some current and former agents over a perceived loosening of hiring requirements as it works to rebuild its ranks.

Under guidance issued this past spring and described by a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss internal decision-making and spoke on condition of anonymity, the bureau still intends to reject applicants who, during vetting, are found to have engaged in prostitution within the last 10 years, three or more times overall, or while holding a position of trust such as public safety. For other applicants, the FBI will consider the context of the conduct rather than treating it as grounds for automatic rejection from the hiring process.

The practical effect is not immediately clear, since many applicants with a history of prostitution may still be disqualified outright or weeded out under further scrutiny from FBI polygraphers and security officials.

The FBI said the change accounts for the fact that some otherwise suitable candidates, including service members, may have engaged in the practice where it is legal — prostitution is legal in parts of Nevada and in numerous foreign countries where US troops and federal personnel are stationed — and accommodates applicants who may have done so as a young child or who were themselves victims of sexual abuse.

"It is false to suggest criminal behavior like this is no longer disqualifying at the FBI. Any applicant who has engaged in criminal sexual acts like those referenced would of course not be eligible for employment, and it is ridiculous to suggest otherwise," the FBI said in a statement, describing its background check process as "wide-ranging and extensive."

"The FBI has and always will maintain some of the highest suitability standards for its applicants and employees in the US Government," the statement added.

Even so, the shift comes as current and former officials worry that the FBI, and the Justice Department more broadly, have eased recruitment requirements while confronting a mass personnel exodus driven by retirements, voluntary resignations and firings. The bureau, for example, has taken steps to make it easier for its own professional staff to become agents and has offered a shortened training academy for applicants from other federal law enforcement agencies. Hiring pipelines at federal agencies have tightened in recent years as the agencies compete with state and local police departments and private-sector employers for qualified candidates — a challenge the bureau's staffing pressures have intensified.

"If they're moving the bar for sexual encounters to include prostitution, what is that saying about the applicant pool? They're trying to bring in more people, which to me indicates that the applicant pool is extremely shallow right now," said Daniel Brunner, a retired FBI agent who spent two decades at the bureau.

In 2015, then-Attorney General Eric Holder issued a memo reiterating that all Justice Department employees were prohibited from soliciting or accepting prostitution, including where it is legal. Both before and after that directive, however, the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies have faced periodic episodes in which agents posted abroad were accused of sexual encounters with prostitutes.

As recently as last year, for example, the Justice Department inspector general substantiated allegations that a supervisory special agent solicited and used prostitutes on multiple occasions while overseas and used a bureau-issued cellphone for the transactions.

Chris Piehota, a retired top FBI executive, said he would be more troubled if the bureau loosened its standards for current employees who must periodically renew their security clearances. But he said he could understand the FBI leaning "toward leniency" for conduct as a teenager or college student.

"I don't think you get a better or worse candidate from something you did in your college years," Piehota said. "That's why they have the screening process, that's why they have the vetting process. And the people who do the recruiting and hiring, they look at all those things."

FBI applicants go through a multistage application and vetting process that includes a background check, a detailed questionnaire, credit checks, interviews with neighbors and colleagues, and a polygraph test. The comprehensive regimen is designed to surface prior criminal conduct as well as embarrassing personal information that could leave an employee vulnerable to blackmail — the longstanding security rationale behind treating solicitation history as a red flag, since undisclosed conduct can be exploited for leverage by foreign intelligence services or criminal actors.

Felony convictions, domestic violence convictions, failure of a urinalysis, and the bureau's drug policies are among the factors still treated as automatic disqualifiers.

While the new guidance allows a broader and more contextual evaluation of applicants who disclose past prostitution experience during polygraph admissions, such an admission has historically been regarded as a "death knell" for prospective employees at agencies including the FBI, CIA and NSA, said Daniel Meyer, a Washington lawyer with the Tully Rinckey law firm who specializes in background checks and the security clearance process.

This story was originally featured in Fortune.