What is the highest classified clearance?
Asked by: Kari Doyle II | Last update: September 16, 2025Score: 4.3/5 (71 votes)
How many types or levels of security clearance are there? There are three levels of security clearance, with the highest level being Top Secret. Secret is the next level of clearance and Confidential is the final.
What is level 5 security clearance?
Tier 5 (Former SSBI or Level 3) – critical sensitive national security position. This investigation makes the staff member eligible for a top-secret clearance. Tier 5+ (Formerly level 4) – a select designation for staff needing TS/SCI security clearances. Only a very select few positions are within this scope.
What is the highest secret clearance?
Top secret clearance is the highest security clearance level anyone can get. A candidate's responsibilities determine the level of clearance granted.
What is the hardest security clearance to get?
Top secret clearance: This type of security clearance is the most restrictive and provides access to information that can cause grave damage to national security if disclosed without authorization. Must be reinvestigated for continued eligibility every five years.
Is SCI higher than Top Secret?
Information "above Top Secret," a phrase used by the media, means either Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) or Special Access Program (SAP). It is not truly "above" Top Secret, since there is no clearance higher than Top Secret.
CIA Spy - What Security Levels Are Above Top Secret?
How much is a TS SCI clearance worth?
As of Jan 20, 2025, the average annual pay for a Ts Sci Clearance in the United States is $131,907 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $63.42 an hour.
What is the Yankee White clearance?
Yankee White is an administrative nickname for a background check undertaken in the United States of America for Department of Defense personnel and contractor employees working with the president and vice president.
What disqualifies you from Top Secret clearance?
- You are not a U.S. citizen.
- You were dishonorably discharged from the military.
- You are currently involved in illegal drug use.
- You have been judged as mentally incompetent or mentally incapacitated by a mental health professional.
- You have had a clearance revoked for security reasons.
What is the top tier security clearance?
A Top Secret clearance may be granted to those persons who have a "need-to-know" national security information, classified up to the Top Secret level, and who need unescorted access to FBI facilities, when necessary.
What is cosmic Top Secret clearance?
COSMIC TOP SECRET (CTS) - This security classification is applied to information the unauthorized disclosure of which would cause exceptionally grave damage to NATO. (NOTE: The marking "COSMIC" is applied to TOP SECRET material to signify that it is the property of NATO.
How rare is a Top Secret clearance?
The 1.3 million individuals with Top Secret clearances are supporting a wide variety of missions, from the CIA to the Department of Commerce. Just because you have a Top Secret clearance doesn't mean you have access to any information out there that's classified Top Secret.
Does SCI require a polygraph?
All potential employees must: Obtain a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) security clearance. Successfully complete a drug test to screen for illegal drug use. Complete a required counterintelligence-scope polygraph examination.
Do FBI agents have Top Secret clearance?
All FBI employees require a Top Secret security clearance; and, like other Intelligence Community components, the FBI marches to its own drummer on the issue of reciprocity.
What is the Top Secret clearance in the CIA?
Top Secret is the highest level of security clearance that one can have, although it has sub sections., depending on the type of information for which access is required.
How do I know my clearance level?
- Joint Personnel Adjudication System (JPAS)
- Security Investigations Index (SII)
- Call DoD at 1-888-282-7682.
What's higher than Top Secret?
There's no formal clearance level higher than TS/SCI, although there are different distinctions within the government or military for people who handle highly sensitive information or work on classified projects and actively hold a clearance.
How hard is it to get a Top Secret clearance?
Obtaining a top secret clearance requires passing a Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI) and can take 6 to 18 months. Maintaining a top secret clearance requires an SSBI Period Reinvestigation (SSBI-PR) every five years.
What is the highest security rating?
The Z+ level of security is now provided by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) commandos or other Central Armed Police Forces such as the ITBP, CISF, or the respective State Police.
How far back does a Top Secret clearance look?
Form must be completed going back 10 years.
The SF-86 form requests information back 7 years for employment and residence; however, to comply with the investigative standards, 10 years is required. Citizenship of yourself and “immediate” family members (spouse, children, mother, father, brothers and sisters).
What is a yankee white clearance?
A yankee white clearance isn't as much a separate background investigation as it is an administrative nickname for security clearances issued for specific offices serving the president and vice president. Think of it as a special suitability designation, rather than a separate security clearance.
How much debt is too much for a Top Secret clearance?
As with credit scores, there is no set amount of debt that can disqualify you from being granted a security clearance. None of the major branches of the military looks only at how much you owe in making a decision on your candidacy. The reviewer of your case tries to put that amount in context.
What is the red flag for security clearance?
The most common security clearance disqualifiers include: Not a U.S. Citizen. Not loyal to the U.S. / foreign influence. Illegal drug use/involvement.
What is a Level 5 Top Secret clearance?
Tier 5 – Top Secret Security Clearance
In addition to the background check required by the previous levels, top-secret applicants are subject to more stringent self-reporting requirements and a deeper dive into their background, which can include a polygraph and a single scope background investigation (SSBI).
Is a secret clearance valuable?
A candidate with a security clearance certainly enjoys a level of hiring preference with government-sector employers—both civilian contractors and governmental agencies—because it saves the employer thousands of dollars in application fees and related hiring costs.