Processing Security Clearance [ How to, Purpose, Uses ]

A security clearance is a type of clearance that is used as a means of limiting the sharing of information in terms of what information is allowed to be shared, as well as who is allowed to receive or share the information. This type of practice is pretty common among organizations that aim to keep information classified in order to protect themselves from peering eyes, or to protect their methods of conducting business from their competitors to keep their competitive advantage.

Security clearance forms work in conjunction with security authorization form in terms of the fact that they both are received by the person requesting them. One is received prior to the other document, but both still being received to complete the process.

How to Process Security Clearance

The process of acquiring a security clearance is a rather straight forward but tedious task. This is due to the fact that most security clearance forms can span anywhere from a few to a few dozen pages. Each one consists of their own topics and questions that requires you to answer honestly and correctly to complete the process of requesting a security clearance.

To learn more about the process, continue reading below to get a clearer description of the security clearance process. To begin the process of requesting a security clearance you will need to:

• A quick note: if you ever are planning to request a security clearance, be sure to free up your schedule for the day, because the process will take up a lot of time to complete.

• Begin by formally requesting a security clearance form by submitting a request form for a security clearance to the security personnel. This will at least allow the security personnel to have an idea about who they should begin their background research on.

• After a brief period of processing the request, you will be receiving a blank clearance form used for the acquiring of a security clearance.

• After receiving the security clearance form from the security personnel, you can either continue to answer the form in the office of the security personnel, or answer the security clearance form anywhere else. Note that the location of answering the security clearance form will depend mostly on the preferences of the security personnel in the sense that each personnel has a different preference in the method of checking the background of the person.

• After completing the security clearance form, begin compiling the necessary requirements into an envelope that will be submitted along with your security clearance form. Note, the requirements for the security clearance is typically written somewhere within the security clearance form, typically on the front page or the last page. In the event that no such list is shown anywhere, you are required to request the list of requirements directly from the security personnel in charge.

• After the compilation of the clearance forms and the necessary requirements, submit them directly while inside an envelope and prepare yourself to be investigated by one of the representatives of the security officials. Answer each question in the investigation truthfully and as accurately as you can, because they will be comparing the information you state with the information they have about you.

• After completing the process, you will be requested to wait for the final process of completion. You will know the process is completed once you receive a security authorization form.

What is the Purpose of Having a Security Clearance?

The purpose of having a security clearance is quite simple. In today’s modern world where information is shared easily across several platforms of information sharing devices, it is of utmost importance to prevent people from knowing information that they should not know about. This is because the information they have learned might be what will cause issues and problems with the nature of your organization.

Most organizations implement the security employee clearance form process as a means of ensuring that information will never leave the minds of those who are trusted to be responsible when it comes to safeguarding or using the information for the improvement of the organization.

Another reason why it can be considered important to have a security clearance system implemented would be to identify any faults easily. This is because information is shared with others in a very specific way that not everyone will be able to know everything about the organization. This method is often termed as compartmentalization, and will often prevent large amounts of information to be leaked out of the organization and into the public, or the organization’s competitors.

Who Can Request a Security Clearance?

Creating a security clearance is a great way to limit access to information about your organization, but who are allowed to request a security clearance in an organization? This is often the unseen issue about implementing a security clearance system when it comes to your organization.

This is because this system is only useful if you can specify who can request the security clearance. If you fail to do so, then the system would be pointless. Now, most organizations today have their own preferences as to who can request a security clearance, but those who commonly request access are:

• Employees. It is only common to allow employees of your organization access to information in order to be able to function in your organization.

• Government officials and representatives. It is common to allow local law enforcement and government officials access so as to have them conduct investigations on your organization’s legitimacy.

When Do You Need to Renew Your Security Clearance?

Renewing your security clearance will depend largely on the level of security you are granted access to. There is a total of three levels of security with each having their own expiration date or date of renewal. These three levels being confidential security level, secret security level, and top secret security level.

The security level with the longest date of renewal is the confidential security level, with the date of renewal being every fifteen years. Next is the secret security level with the date of renewal being every ten years, and finally, the top secret security level, with a date of renewal of every five years.