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HOW OFTEN IS A SECURITY CLEARANCE DONE AND IS IT AUTOMATICALLY INITIATED WHEN A PERSON'S CLEARANCE RE-INVESTIGATION DATE COMES DUE?

Security clearances are granted on a need to know basis when there is a need for access to classified information.  The reinvestigation requirements differ based on the type of clearance.  For Top Secret, the person will undergo a reinvestigation every five years.   For Secret and Confidential, the reinvestigation requirements are every 10 and 15 years, respectively.  The sponsoring agency is repsonsible for initiating the reinvestigation at the appropriate time.

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