The five stages of the security clearance process are: pre-investigation, investigation, adjudication, appeal, and reinvestigation. Most of us a familiar with the last and fifth stage: reinvestigation. Anyone who has a clearance goes through a periodic reinvestigation to maintain their clearance.

What are the stages of security clearance?

There are three basic levels of security clearance: Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret. Each clearance level is granted based on the sensitivity of the position and the need-to-know.

What do they do for security clearance?

For confidential and secret clearances, they will do a National Agency Check (NAC), which is a search of records held by federal agencies including the FBI and OPM, a Local Agency Check and a review of criminal history records, and a financial check of your credit record.

What would disqualify me from getting a security clearance?

Conditions that could raise a security concern and may be disqualifying include: A history of not meeting financial obligations; Financial problems that are linked to gambling, drug abuse, alcoholism, or other issues of security concern.

What happens if you are denied a security clearance?

The federal government may need up to six months to approve your application for security clearance. If youre denied, you will be issued a notice (a “Statement of Reasons” or SOR) that describes the specific reasons, disqualifiers, or areas of concern that determined the decision.

Is security clearance hard to get?

Obtaining a security clearance is no easy task, and not everyone who applies will be granted access. Stringent suitability requirements, particularly in the intelligence community, weed out many unqualified applicants before they ever reach security clearance processing.