I’ve gotten my secret clearance approved in November but never had the opportunity to use it since the project that I was supposed to join had a budget cut by the time I got my clearance. I heard somewhere that after the first 6 months after you get your clearance if you don’t utilize it, then it becomes inactive. Is this true?
Once clearance has been granted you are eligible to have an activated clearance for 5 years or until you no longer need the clearance. You may require a clearance to have access to a physical location or to work on a project. If you no longer need one or the other (project end for example) and there is no expectation the need for clearance will return within a period of time (different for different agencies and clearance levels) your clearance will likely be deactivated - though you are still eligible to be reactivated within the 5 years. Often, if you are in year 4 they will likely just update your investigation since you are close to the 5-year mark etc.
Hope that was helpful.
1 Like
Are you still employed by the same contractor/agency? i know that if you leave your employment your clearance can go inactive, but I’m not sure about use. I have heard of people going quite awhile betwwen accessing classified
1 Like