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Security Clearance Reciprocity

Security clearance reciprocity is a federal government policy that allows security clearance holders to move between government agencies without undergoing a new security clearance investigation. By speeding up the process of obtaining a new security clearance at a new agency, reciprocity enhances national security without requiring a new security clearance investigation. It also saves the government significant time, money and delays.  However, the process does not always work as intended. Reciprocity often involves unpredictable decisions and may often not work as it was intended. The government would benefit from improving the transition process because it would be an asset to national security.

Primary Goal of Security Clearance Reciprocity

The primary goal of security clearance reciprocity is to make it easier to enable a federal employee, military personnel y or government contractors to transfer a security clearance from one agency to another, provided that certain conditions are met. Reciprocity, when it works, avoids unnecessary delays in national security work and helps conserve government resources. Furthermore, it makes life a lot easier for security clearance holders who do not have undergo a whole new investigation before beginning work when they already have one. Reciprocity, when it works, is a benefit from everyone.

What Rules Govern Security Clearance Reciprocity?

Security clearance reciprocity is governed by a number of government laws, rules and regulations. These start with Executive Order 13467, which provides that government agencies should use reciprocity for security clearances. Security Agent Executive Directive 7 (SEAD 7) implements EO 13467 reciprocity rules and provides specific criteria for accepting prior investigations and adjudications. Additionally, Section 3001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act requires timely processing of security clearances and encourages reciprocity unless disqualifying information exists.

Reasons Why Reciprocity May Not Be Possible

In many cases, reciprocity isn’t available for security clearance holders. Below are some examples when an individual’s existing security clearance may not be eligible for reciprocity and where gaining agencies may need to conduct additional security clearance processing.

• You are seeking to move to a higher-level security clearance;
• Your existing security clearance was granted on an interim, limited or one-term basis;
• The date of your last investigation, upon which your existing clearance is based, is older than seven years for Top Secret, 10 years for Secret, and 15 years for Confidential;
• The position for which you are being considered requires a polygraph (which was not the case previously) or a different type of polygraph exam than you have taken in the past;
• Your existing clearance was based on exception to standards (Appendix C, SEAD 4);
• You are currently cleared at the Confidential or Secret level, and the position for which you are being considered requires a Top-Secret level clearance; or
• The position for which you are being considered has Special Access Program (SAP) requirements (SAP access is treated very differently by each agency);

How Does the Security Clearance Reciprocity Process Work?

Reciprocity comes into play when the cleared individual seeks to move to a different agency. The individual will seek reciprocity for their existing security clearance. The gaining agency’s security office will check your eligibility in databases such as the Defense Information System for Security (DISS) or Scattered Castles (Intelligence Community clearances).

The gaining agency will then conduct a review of the adjudicative decision made by the original agency. If no flag or disqualifying information is present they will likely honor the prior adjudication. However, if  issues are discovered, the gaining agency may request additional information or simply deny reciprocity. If there are no issues, the individual’s clearance will then transfer and you will be given reciprocity.

The Limitations of Security Clearance Reciprocity

Security clearance reciprocity faces several issues. These include agency-specific requirements, the non-transferability of certain access levels, such as Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) or Special Access Programs (SAP), which often require separate adjudication, and challenges related to incompatible clearance databases across agencies. There is sometimes also a lack of trust between some federal agencies about the clearance investigations that they conduct.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a 2024 report, mentioned this serious issue regarding reciprocity due to lack of trust among different agencies:

“According to ODNI officials, during their assessments of agencies’ national security background investigation and adjudication programs, they found that some agencies are not granting reciprocity. These agencies, according to ODNI, believe that other agencies accept levels of risk in their security clearance processes that are too high, resulting in a lack of trust in those agencies’ processes.”

The GAO Report also noted that another significant issue with reciprocity occurs in regards to communication by the government. Basically, the GAO found that government agencies need to do a better job communicating with government contractors when problems arise. A vast majority of contractors indicated that when problems arise, the government rarely communicates with them. This is a major area for improvement.

Examples of Clearance Reciprocity

A few  examples of how reciprocity can work:

1. Jim is a federal employee with a Secret level security clearance changing jobs within the Department of Defense (DOD) for a position requiring a Secret level clearance. In this example, the Secret clearance should transfer easily unless there are other issues that come up.
2. Samatha is retiring from the Army after a long career where she held a Secret security clearance and is going to work for a DOD government contractor where a Secret level clearance is required. In this example, Samantha’s reciprocity should be granted unless other issues arise.
3. Joan holds a Secret level security clearance with a DOD government contractor and seeks to go to another DOD government contractor which requires a Top-Secret security clearance. Reciprocity would not likely apply given that she would be going to a position with a higher-level security clearance in this example.
4. Jason has a Top-Secret level clearance with the Department of State (DOS) but is seeking a new position with the National Reconnaissance Office which requires a polygraph examination. Reciprocity would not likely be granted here given the lack of a polygraph examination in his previous position.
5. Kelly has an interim Secret clearance with the DOD and finds a new position with the DOS requiring a Secret clearance. It is unlikely that the interim clearance would transfer because it was not finalized. I say unlikely because reciprocity always seems to have possible exceptions.

Contact Us

Security clearance reciprocity is intended to improve efficiency while upholding strict security standards. Under EO 13467, IRTPA, SEAD 7, and related government rules, there is a framework for the mutual recognition of adjudicative security clearance decisions across federal agencies. However, the effectiveness of reciprocity remains challenged by inconsistent implementation, and agency-specific requirements. Reciprocity often works smoothly and other times there are major issues. Many reciprocity issues cannot be predicted accurately. Please reach out to us if you wish to discuss your security clearance reciprocity issue at (703) 668-0070. or here.