3/10/2004 -- You've found a job whose description fits you perfectly except for one small matter: It requires a U.S. security clearance, and you don't have one. As with many things in life, getting this particular position would be a long shot for you, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try anyway.

The fact is that security clearance is something you can't obtain for yourself. Your current or prospective employer has to set the wheels in motion to get it for you. Since the process is costly and time-consuming, organizations won't do it unless it's absolutely essential. Let's review the basics.

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You typically need a security clearance when you hold a sensitive position within the federal government or when you work for a government contractor or some other organization that has access to classified information or deal with other restricted information relating to national security. Clearances come in many different flavors, primarily confidential, secret, top secret and sensitive compartmented information (SCI).

Up until the beginning of October 2003, the Department of Defense ran its own security clearance operation. Now that's been handed over to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Once a person has been offered a position that requires a clearance, the employer opens up a request with the OPM through a federal security officer. The OPM gives the candidate undergoing the clearance check access to an online system called e-Qip, or Electronic Questionnaire for Investigations Processing, a digital version of Standard Form 86.

SF 86 is a 13-page document that asks you to list your vitals-name, social security number, place of birth, etc., and then drills down on your personal history going back at least seven years. (To see a PDF edition of the form, go here). You're expected to list where you've lived for the last seven years, where you went to school, your employment activities -- including titles, supervisor names and supervisor addresses -- people who know you well aside from spouses and relatives, relatives and associates (along with their dates of birth, country of birth and current address), your military history and foreign activities (including travel for business and pleasure), police records, medical records, financial records and delinquencies, use of illegal drugs and alcohol, and groups you associate with that espouse the violent overthrow of the government.

Sound comprehensive? The idea is to weed out those who aren't, according to SF 86, "reliable, trustworthy, of good conduct and character, and loyal to the United States." The same form also warns that your current employer will be contacted and questioned, whether you want them to be or not.

Your form and your fingerprints then go to the Federal Investigations Processing Center, which calls on investigators, both federal employees and contract, to start confirming what you've said on the form. During this phase of the process, investigators review available records (including your presence on the Internet), check with the police, run a credit check on your and talk to people who know you -- those you've listed on the form as well as people in a position to observe you, such as neighbors. Plus, you'll be interviewed yourself.

All the data that's collected ends up in a single file, called "The Report of Investigation," which is sent to the federal agency that asked for the investigation in the first place. At that point, it's up to the federal security officer at the agency of hire to determine your eligibility to have a position with access to secure information. You may get the chance to explain or refute negative or unclear information during this "adjudication phase." Then your clearance is either granted or denied.

If it's granted, the fun doesn't stop there. Depending on what level of clearance you have, you'll have to undergo reinvestigation every five, 10 or 15 years. If you leave that position, the clearance is still active, but it may not be usable by your next employer depending on what type of security clearance the new job requires. Let enough time pass and the clearance will have no merit at all. The next time around you'll have to start at the beginning again. You can't simply request a renewal of your security clearance. You have to be employed in a position in which it's required.

The whole process of obtaining a clearance can take many months -- sometimes longer than a year -- and cost several thousands (even tens of thousands) of dollars. The more sensitive the job, the deeper -- and the costlier and more time-consuming -- the investigation. You can't speed up the effort, nor can you offer to pay the cost. That's why so many jobs listing security clearance as a requirement are anxious to find candidates who already possess a clearance of the right type -- the project may be over by the time somebody new to the process obtains his or her clearance. If you've noticed the propensity of government contractors to intensely recruit ex-military people for open positions, it's because vets frequently come with the security clearance that's needed as part of their portfolio.

Recruiting firms, attorneys or other companies that promise for a fee to obtain a security clearance for you or "pre-approve" you for a security clearance are scams. Don't fall for their antics.

If you don't already have a security clearance but there's a particular organization you're determined to work for, your best approach is to obtain employment that doesn't require the clearance with the agency or firm. Then put in your time and make it clear to your manager that should the right opportunity present itself, you'd be willing to undergo the investigation. But temper your enthusiasm. Too much eagerness to undergo this in-depth exploration into your personal and professional life might be viewed as suspicious behavior.

Originally published in Dec. 2003 as part of "CertCities.com's Security Certificaiton Resource Guide," available for download (PDF format) here.