Clearance Expiration

[rahulk]

I recently received a DOD Secret Clearance and I’m interested in a position that only requires a public trust. The recruiter I spoke with told me that they wouldn’t sponsor my secret. Anyway I was wondering how long after I leave my current job (that sponsored me) will I have before my Secret Clearance expires?

The position I’m interested in is only for 6 months with a possibility of extension. I made a lot of sacrifices to get this Secret and I just don’t want to throw it away.

[sbusquirrel]

The usual rule of thumb is two years. The background investigation for Secret is usually valid for ten years, so between two and ten years you might get lucky and be able to get back in quickly. However there was some talk of reducing that period to five years.

Anyway you usually have two years from the last time you were in an actively cleared status before you face a complete new investigation.

I stand ready to be corrected