How many years does a secret clearance go back?

Security Clearance Adjudicative Process

The clearance process for Secret level access uses an investigation called the National Agency Check with Law and Credit that goes back five years, while the clearance process for Top Secret uses a Single Scope Background Investigation that goes back ten years.

What security clearance goes back 7 years?

The SF-86 form requests information back 7 years for employment and residence; however, to comply with the investigative standards, 10 years is required.

How many years is a secret clearance good for?

An individual is normally subject to reinvestigation approximately every five years for a Secret or Top Secret clearance.

Is a secret clearance good for 10 years?

When does security clearance lapse? Confidential level clearance, the lowest security threat, is good for 15 years. Secret clearance lasts 10 years. Top Secret clearance must be reinvestigated (reauthorized) every 5 years.

What is checked in a secret security clearance?

Credit and criminal history checks will be conducted on all applicants. For a Top Secret security clearance, the background investigation includes additional record checks which can verify citizenship for the applicant and family members, verification of birth, education, employment history, and military history.

What’s Checked in a Secret Investigation?

What disqualifies you from secret clearance?

These conditions may disqualify you from access to classified information: Drug abuse. Illegal drug possession. Diagnosis of drug abuse or dependence by a medical professional.

Do security clearances check Internet history?

Although security clearance background checks can be intensely thorough, the government can't view your emails, Internet browsing history, hard drive data, and other virtual assets without a subpoena or warrant.

How much is a TS SCI clearance worth?

Taking into account the intensity of the process, you may be wondering, “How much is a top secret clearance worth?” As reported in January 2021, the average cost of a top secret security clearance was between $3,000 and $15,000, and these costs tend to be paid by the government for its own employees.

Can you lose your security clearance?

While a security clearance can be difficult to obtain, it can be surprisingly easy to lose. The federal government can revoke employees' security clearance for a variety of reasons.

Do you lose your security clearance when you leave your job?

You automatically lose your access to classified information when you leave your job, but your security clearance may remain current if no incidents or flags are placed in your file. Cleared professionals, just like anyone else, may be fired for a variety of reasons.

How long is a top secret clearance good for 6 years?

Security Clearance. Expiration: Secret Clearance expires after 10 years. Top Secret expires after 6 years.

What are the 5 levels of security clearance?

What is the difference between secret and top secret clearance?

The three levels, in ascending order of sensitivity are: Confidential (information that could cause damage to national security); Secret (information that could cause serious damage to national security), and Top Secret (information that could cause exceptionally grave damage to national security).

How far back do most companies go on background checks?

In general, background checks typically cover seven years of criminal and court records, but can go back further depending on compliance laws and what is being searched.

What causes a red flag on a background check?

Common background report red flags include application discrepancies, derogatory marks and criminal records.

How hard is it to get a secret clearance?

The National Security Agency denied the most applicants–9.2 percent. The National Reconnaissance Office and the Central Intelligence Agency had the next greatest number of denials, at 7.4 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively. These numbers might seem relatively low, but there's a reason for that.

What can ruin a security clearance?

In fact, one common area that can be troublesome on a background check is financial behavior that indicates the applicant is frequently over-extended on credit, personal debt, etc. Having too much debt and not enough income creates a potential circumstance where a security clearance application can be disqualified.

How do I get my security clearance back?

If a person previously had a clearance and the investigation has not gone out-of-date, the clearance can be reinstated by the agency that originally granted the clearance or it can be accepted and reciprocally granted by a different agency, provided there hasn't been a break-in-service of two years or more.

What percentage of people get denied security clearance?

But don't lose heart – 20-30% of all interim security clearances are denied, but that is vastly different than the figure of final clearance denials, which hovers around 1%.

What is the most top secret job?

How much money can you make with a top secret security clearance?

While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $169,000 and as low as $31,500, the majority of Top Secret Clearance salaries currently range between $72,500 (25th percentile) to $130,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $155,000 annually across the United States.

What jobs can you get with a top secret clearance?

Do security clearances look at text messages?

INTERNET HISTORY, EMAILS, TEXT MESSAGES AND iCLOUD

Security clearance background investigators do not check your browsing history, read your emails, surveil your every move, bug your telephones, or photograph you commuting to work. That's just not feasible, or allowable.

Do security clearance look at social media?

"All personnel who have a security clearance or complete a Personnel Security Background Investigation for a security clearance are giving authorization to be subject to scrutiny of their social media to look for character, trustworthiness, reliability issues and foreign contacts," said Bullard.

Do they call references for secret clearance?

References are less likely to be contacted for a Secret security clearance, but if there are issues, references may be contacted to verify issues. Likewise, if you're less likely to need a personnel subject interview for a Secret clearance determination – unless there are issues an investigator needs to clarify.