How long secret clearance last

Is it current? Just as immunizations, family care plans and personal finances are crucial to your personnel readiness, you cannot neglect your security clearance. Your unit security manager is appointed to manage your unit's security program, but did you know that obtaining and maintaining your security clearance has always been your personal responsibility? There are a few things you need to be aware of: when your last personnel security investigation was completed, what level of security clearance you've been granted and when your next periodic reinvestigation is due.

Related: Search for Security Clearance jobs. Be mindful that your USM may not submit your PR request until you are within 60 days of the anniversary your last investigation was completed, which is five years for top secret and 10 years for secret clearances.

According to Department of Defense directive While every effort should be made to ensure that PRs are conducted within the prescribed timeframe, agencies must be flexible in their administration of this aspect of the personnel security program so as not to undermine the ability of the Department of Defense to accomplish its mission.

Unless there has been a month or greater break in federal service, including federal contracted employment, your security clearance is not considered expired after the respective anniversaries. If there has been no cause to suspend access to classified information you should be allowed to continue performing daily duties that require access to classified information uninterrupted; however, you must submit a PR at the soonest possible opportunity.

For example, you deploy downrange with a current security clearance and during the deployment you pass your day window to submit your PR. With your focus on the mission, it is not feasible for you to attempt to submit a PR; you may not even have all of the required information in your possession to complete the security questionnaire. Nor should the concern of your security clearance distract you from accomplishing the mission. Related: Does your resume pass the 6-second test?

Get a FREE assessment. In this case your PSI falls slightly out-of-scope and timely submission of your PR would be upon completion of your deployment.

The investigation and background check stage for a security clearance can take anywhere from a few months all the way to over a year to be completed and can be costly to employers.

There can be hundreds of thousands of background investigations that are pending security clearance backlogged at any given time. Most employers cannot afford to wait this long. For these reasons, recruiters and hiring managers many times actively seek out qualified veterans that possess security clearance.

If a recruiter encounters a veteran seeking employment who has or has had a security clearance, it means that person has been thoroughly vetted by the Department of Defense and deemed eligible to handle and view classified information of varying degrees.

It means their character and conduct are strong; they are honest and trustworthy; and they are reliable and financially responsible. These qualities, in addition to the many leadership skills and intangible attributes veterans possess, translate to: Hire veterans! Subscribe to our newsletter for bimonthly advice and updates on the military talent industry. Military job seekers search for job opportunities here. Employer Blog. All classified information in the military is housed under these categories: Confidential : Unauthorized disclosure could cause damage to the national security.

Secret: Unauthorized disclosure could cause serious damage to the national security. Top Secret: Unauthorized disclosure could cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security.

The security clearance and investigation process is usually completed within an average of 60 days and the process consists of the following three steps: The individual is offered a new job or assignment that requires a security clearance and they fill out a questionnaire to begin the investigation.

Determining whether to grant a security clearance is based upon these guidelines: Allegiance to the U. Categories Employer Blog. If the position also requires a national security clearance, a single investigation can be completed that fulfills both suitability and security clearance requirements.

The requirements for a Fitness investigation are exactly the same as a Suitability investigation. The NISP is the industrial security program that governs the contractual security obligations of DoD contractors and contractors of 31 other federal agencies. There are over 13, contractor facilities that are cleared for access to classified information.

A company must be sponsored for an FCL by a federal agency or a cleared contractor. A company cannot sponsor itself for an FCL.

The cleared contract or federal agency requests the FCL when a definite, classified procurement need has been established. Sponsorship is in the form of a letter to the Facility Clearance Branch of the Defense Security Service, requesting that a particular company be processed. It should also provide the contract number for the classified procurement, a copy of the Contract Security Classification Specification, facility clearance level needed and the requestor point of contact and phone number.

It is an agreement between the Government and the contractor. The Government agrees to issue the FCL and inform the contractor of the security classification of information to which the contractor will have access, and the contractor agrees to abide by the security requirements set forth in the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual NISPOM. A DD Form is issued when classified work is contracted to a facility. It provides the security classification and safeguarding requirements to be applied to information.

The federal agency or cleared contractor issues the to the contracted facility and justifies the need for a FCL. The review is conducted to assist the contractor in following the requirements of the NISPOM and ensure that safeguards employed by the contractor are adequate for the protection of classified information.

The IS Rep determines the frequency of such formal reviews, but reviews are normally conducted annually. Ordinarily, those who have control over the company e. The facility is not eligible for a FCL. The cleared contractor or federal agency must follow the same sponsorship procedures, and personnel clearances for all KMPs must be upgraded as well. A contractor is determined as having FOCI when under such a level of foreign control or influence that it cannot be cleared without a negation method.

In such cases the Government customer who approved the facility and owns the information inspects the facility.

Security Clearance Jobs. Candidates with active clearances can search for jobs that make use of that clearance at ClearanceJobs. Candidates without clearances can search for jobs that do not require security clearances at other internet-based job boards like Dice. History of the U. Personnel Security Program. The history is fairly long and complicated. However, certain specific events give an understanding of how the security clearance process has evolved since , and the difficulties the U.

Government has faced. Federal security clearance processing does not exist within a single monolithic structure with one agency conducting investigations and one agency making clearance decisions.

There are dozens of agencies that process clearances, and all agencies use the same basic procedures and standards for granting or denying clearances. Consequently, there are differences in the time it takes to complete a security clearance.

However, security clearance adjudications continued to be performed in several thousand locations across DoD, and there were significant inconsistencies in adjudicative decisions.

In December DoD Regulation In the first formal Adjudicative Guidelines were established and incorporated into DoD Throughout most of its history DIS was severely understaffed.

Eventually DIS grew from about field investigators to 2, investigators. When periodic reinvestigations became an unfunded requirement for Secret clearance in , it immediately created a backlog of , overdue cases. DSS transferred its investigative staff to OPM, and after the transfer OPM had a combined investigative staff of 4, government and contractor personnel. OPM estimated that about 8, were needed. The average turnaround time for an SSBI hit a high of about days. In OPM investigative staff reached a high of 9, personnel, but declined somewhat since then.

Unlike DSS, which was an appropriated fund activity, OPM conducts investigations on a fee-for-service basis and has the authority to set the prices it charges other Government agencies for the investigations they request. The combination of being paid for the investigations it conducted and using contract investigators to do the majority of the work afforded OPM the flexibility to rapidly adapt to changes in the number and type of investigations it conducted.

Gradually the backlog of cases and the average turnaround time for investigations began to decline. The JSSRT issued its initial report in April outlining a general framework for near and long term goals to modernize and streamline security clearance, employment suitability, and access to federally-controlled facilities and information systems government-wide. Some of these changes were implemented on schedule, some were delayed, modified, or partially implemented, and new changes were added.

Security clearance reform became a continuous process often driven by unexpected events. This document was compiled by William H. Henderson, retired federal investigator and ClearanceJobs. We're sorry but ClearanceJobs.

General What is a security clearance? What are the security clearance levels? What is a collateral clearance? What is the Dept. What type of information is requested on a security clearance application? How long does a security clearance remain in effect? When is a security clearance terminated? Can a security clearance be reinstated after it has been terminated?

What is an interim security clearance? Getting a Security Clearance Can I obtain a security clearance on my own? Can a Naturalized Citizen get a Personnel Clearance? Can non-US citizens obtain security clearances? How are security clearance investigations carried out? How long does it take to process a security clearance? Will my clearance be granted faster because I previously held a security clearance?

Will my security clearance be granted faster if I have immediate family members who have clearances? Why does it take so long to get a security clearance? What can I do to speed up the process of getting a security clearance? Who should I list as references on my security clearance application? Will I be interviewed by an investigator? What will I be asked during a security clearance interview? Should I reveal unfavorable information about myself on my security clearance application?

What are the most common errors requiring correction before the security clearance investigation is opened? How can I find out the status of my security clearance application? How will I be informed when I am granted a security clearance? What types of things can prevent someone from receiving a security clearance? What happens when a security clearance is denied?

Can I appeal a security clearance denial or revocation? How can I get a copy of my security clearance investigation? Polygraphs What are polygraphs? How does a company get a facility clearance FCL? How does a cleared contractor sponsor a company for a FCL? Who has to be cleared in connection with a FCL? Does the FSO have to have a personnel clearance? What level? What is an Insider Threat Program? How much does it cost to get a FCL? Security Clearance Jobs Where can I search for jobs that require a security clearance?

If I don't have a security clearance, where can I find employers that might be able to sponsor me to receive one?

Personnel Security Program How can I better understand the course of events that have shaped the personnel security clearance process?

Current — a terminated clearance that is still eligible for reinstatement. Expired — a terminated clearance that is no longer eligible for reinstatement.