In Between Jobs? Why You Shouldn’t Lose Your Clearance If You Quit Your Company

Security Clearance Unemployment
Everyone in the cleared community understands how important it is to maintain a clearance after leaving a cleared employer. But in most cases the general public doesn’t have an understanding of how things really work (shocking, I know). A recent Twitter thread provided a clear example. You could argue they are the exception to the rule, but I’ve seen enough on Twitter to know better.
Here’s what the Tweet said:
“Everyone not currently employed by US government should have security clearance removed. HELLO. How complicated is that?”
It’s a confusing statement, and the reality is – your security clearance access is removed if you’re not currently employed by the federal government. Security clearance access is always tied to a position – leave the position, and you leave the clearance. Eligibility to access classified information is another term entirely (and the only one that matters from a policy perspective, if we’re being nuanced). Being irate about someone outside of cleared work still being able to use their clearance is a moot point – unless the government wants them to have the clearance, and they’re in a position requiring eligibility, they can’t just walk into any SCIF and start reading whatever they want. When you leave the government, your access is lost – but your eligibility is maintained.

Active and Current Clearances

The only way to have an active security clearance is to be in a job that actively requires it. Whether you quit or got laid off, you still have clearance eligibility, but it switches to ‘current’ status in a security clearance system of record. Of course, flags against your record will put a hiccup in your ability to maintain your security clearance. Leave a job with an unresolved security violation, and it will haunt you going forward. And while Continuous Vetting (CV) has made it a little murky for some, most clearance holders can still count on keeping a current clearance for two years after leaving their last cleared position. This is not just helpful for clearance holders. It saves the federal government time and money on re-doing the whole process. There are exceptions to the rule of course, but the system is increasingly changing to keep up with those outliers.

Maintaining a current security clearance when you’re in between jobs doesn’t mean you can just walk into any cleared facility and read classified information. Revoking clearance eligibility is a specific action tied to specific adjudicative guidelines. Removing eligibility always happens when someone leaves the government.

It’s About the Mission and the Career

The idea of removing an individual’s clearance when they leave the federal government (contractor or civilian position) is not a matter of complication. It’s a matter of doing what’s smart. The process is already slow enough. If candidates had to start at ground zero every time they applied for a new job, it would be a major drain to the federal government’s budget. That’s why we have both active and current security clearances.
While the cleared community often jokes about the slow process or the challenges with the system, there are a lot of people who have labored to find the balance in building and retaining a trusted workforce. There’s no way the system could get candidates cleared in a timely manner if they lost their eligibility every time they changed jobs. Not only would that be bad for national security, but it would also drain the cleared workforce. It’s hard enough to find the right cleared talent – just imagine if employers had to start at ground zero with every new hire.
The nuance of the security clearance eligibility process is so complex – there are even individuals in government who don’t understand it. But don’t use misunderstanding as an excuse to espouse criticism about the process. The difference between access and eligibility matters. And it’s a process that keeps the government both safe – and in business.

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Jillian Hamilton has worked in a variety of Program Management roles for multiple Federal Government contractors. She has helped manage projects in training and IT. She received her Bachelors degree in Business with an emphasis in Marketing from Penn State University and her MBA from the University of Phoenix.