Reactivating a Q Clearance

[shdawson]

Hi,


I had a Q clearance 20 years ago.  Have an opportunity for work now, which requires the Q clearance to be reactivated.  What is the process here?  Is it start over or check out the past 20-years?  Also, how long would it take to reactivate a clearance.


Thanks....

[shdawson]

Thanks.  I did search before I posted.  Lot's of different answer to the same question.  From what I read, I guess it boils down to how bad a person needs to be in a position.

[shdawson]

Heard from DOE. Because it has been so long, the Q clearance process will need to start over.  That is pretty much what I was expecting, but there is always hope.

So, what is the length of time to do a clearance.  What is the potential of getting an interim clearance issued, so I can start work doing some other tasks?

Thanks...

[Lady Nuke]

Depending on need, your employer should provide you with the paperwork necessary to start processing your clearance.  You will need to provide all of your jobs and addresses for at least the last ten years, information on any previous arrests and your financial situation.  Also, you will need to provide contact information for people who can confirm you were at these places.  As far as an interim clearance goes, I've never heard of one.  It depends on your employer and the DOE site you are at, the areas you may enter or tasks you may do unescorted.  I can tell you that getting a Q clearance is a very laborious process.  Depending on your background, job locations and places you have lived, it usually takes anywhere from a few months to a couple of years to get one through.  The main thing to remember when completing the paperwork is to thorough and truthful to the best of your knowledge.  You and your co-workers will also be interviewed by someone from the FBI or OPM.  Good luck to you and I hope I have helped you.

[shdawson]

Thank you very much.

[XMinusOne]

For the basics, to qualify for a Q clearance, besides there being a specific need for the individual to qualify for the clearance (that is, they don't just process people for the clearance, there has to be a specific position or need for the person they'll process for the clerance; they don't process several people for the clearance and then see which of the "now cleared" people they'll give the position to. (That's because, in part, as recently as 15 years ago, running a Q clearance investigation for someone who was otherwise qualified, cost approximately $3,500 per investigation).

Q clearance require a single-scope background investigation (that is, background checks involving checks of employment, education, organization affiliations, local agencies, where the subject has lived, worked, or gone to school, and interviews with persons who know the individual. The investigation may include a NACLC on the candidate's spouse or cohabitant and any immediate family members who are U.S. citizens other than by birth or who are not U.S. citizens and generally goes back the past 10 years.

As a general rule, if you currently have a clearance with access to nuclear/atomic with another agency (such as Department of Defense Top Secret (TS) clearance + Critical Nuclear Weapon Design Information access), and are looking to work with the Department of Energy (which is where Q clearance is used) the other agency's access is not routinely adjudicated, but rather a Q clearance investigation is started from the beginning.

That help?

nusOne@gmail.com

[alexio]

Does your employer want you to be cleared? I asked because the DOE will not grant a clearance if it is not needed. I had my Q reactivated after 15 years and it took about six weeks. I suggest you speak with the security people at your place of work they will know for sure if you have to do it over.

Good luck