Requirements and tiers
Confirm the real classified-access need; select the personnel-vetting path and investigation tier.
Open map →Resource desk / Personnel clearance
Security clearance, from requirement to debrief.
Start with the job or contract requirement. Follow four maps through vetting, the Government decision, and access. Each map shows the responsible roles, handoffs, and official references.
First decision: Does the position or contract require classified access? If no, stop the clearance path. Suitability, fitness, sensitive-position decisions, and PIV credentials are separate processes and may still apply.
Keep the decisions separatePosition requirement, investigation, eligibility, facility eligibility, safeguarding authority, need-to-know, and specific access each have distinct owners and gates. A favorable eligibility decision alone does not open access.
The process, in order
Four maps follow one sequence. Continue to the next map when its exit condition is met.
Request and submission
Choose initial, transfer, upgrade or re-establishment; sponsor the case and submit a complete package.
Open map →Investigation and decision
Resolve coverage gaps, complete authorized investigation and receive the Government determination.
Open map →Access and lifecycle
Authorize specific access, apply SCI/SAP branches and maintain or close access.
Open map →Reference views
Companions to the sequence, not extra steps. Use them at any stage to see who decides and who acts. For a question about a case in progress, start with the DCSA support routes.
Decision owners
See which office owns each decision and review key outcome gates.
Open reference →Government and industry roles
Compare each role’s action and handoff at every stage.
Open reference →Processing time · reported by DCSA
How long it is taking, as of FY2026 Q4 · briefed October 6, 2026
DCSA measures how long cases actually took and briefs the figures to industry each quarter. These are its most recent public numbers. They describe cases that have finished; they are not a schedule for any one case.
Initial SecretTier 3
238 daysend to end, average of all industry cases
- Initiation21
- Investigation71
- Adjudication146
Initial Top SecretTier 5
276 daysend to end, average of all industry cases
- Initiation23
- Investigation95
- Adjudication158
Two different yardsticks. DCSA now reports the average of all cases; older figures reported only the fastest 90%. A 276-day average cannot be set next to an older "fastest 90%" number to measure how much worse things got.
Source: DCSA Industry Stakeholder Engagement, October 6, 2026, slides 4–5.
Phases, targets, caveats and sources →Related process
Personnel reporting requirements
After access is authorized, individuals and organizations have continuing reporting duties under different frameworks.
Related process
Continuous vetting
Once eligibility is granted, automated record checks run for as long as it lasts, in place of the periodic reinvestigation. What is checked, what an alert means, and what the cleared person must still do.