Q & A Session: Timeframe for a Security Clearance

Q:

I’ve been waiting three weeks for a Department of Defense (“DoD”) DOS Security Clearance/Secret. Is this a normal amount of time?

A:

Three weeks is not an unusual length of time for a Department of Defense (“DoD”) security clearance adjudication.

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (“IRTPA”) of 2004 required the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (“ODNI”) to annually report on the processing times for security clearances through February 2011. As part of its IRTPA Annual Report for 2010, the final and most recent ODNI issued under IRTPA, ODNI reported the average initiation, investigation, and adjudication processing times for the fastest 90% of DoD security clearance cases.

Within DoD generally, with the goal of a 20-day average, the average adjudication time for the fastest 90% of initial clearance cases was 9 days in FY 2010 Q4. And, 36 days for industrial initial clearances in that same period. Overall, the average DoD processing time for the fastest 90% of initial clearances was 59 days in FY 2010 Q4, and 91 days for industrial initial clearances in that same period.

For reinvestigation clearance cases, with the goal of a 30-day average, the average adjudication time for the fastest 90% of cases was 30 days in FY 2010 Q4 within DoD generally, and 64 days for industrial clearance reinvestigation clearance cases in that same period. Overall, the average DoD processing time for the fastest 90% of reinvestigation clearances was 148 days in FY 2010 Q4, and 173 days for industrial initial clearances in that same period.

So, although the most recent, publicly-available DoD data is now four years old, it seems that your three week adjudication time is within the normal range of processing times.

This response is written by James P. Garay Heelan, associate attorney of Shaw Bransford & Roth P.C., a federal employment law firm.

Disclaimer: Ask a Lawyer publishes information on this website for informational purposes only. Information on this website is intended – but not promised, guaranteed, or warranted – to reflect correct, complete and current developments. In addition, the contents of the website do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the attorney. Information from this website is not intended to be used as a substitute for specific legal advice, nor should you consider it as such. You should not act, or refrain from acting, based on information on this website without seeking specific legal advice about your particular circumstances. No attorney-client relationship between you and Ask a Lawyer’s author is created by the transmission of information to or from this site.