What disqualifies you from a top secret clearance?
Top secret clearance holders must have no significant financial concerns. If the background check reveals a considerable amount of debt, missed payments, tax evasion, collection judgments, check fraud, foreclosures, embezzlement or bankruptcies, your application might be rejected.
Does credit score matter for security clearance?
The focus on your credit during the security clearance process isn’t your credit score. It is on whether or not you meet your financial obligations and/or are proactive in resolving issues. If you aren’t able to meet your financial commitments, your ability to meet other commitments could come into question too.
Can you have debt and get a security clearance?
No branch of the military has a set amount of debt that is the breaking point for security clearance. You could owe $5,000 or $50,000 and be granted or denied clearance. It’s all a matter of how you deal with the debt. Responsible behavior in tackling your debt problems is considered a positive.
Can my spouse credit affect my security clearance?
Your spouse being behind on debt payments does not have to kill your chances of obtaining a security clearance. If none of the accounts in your own name show a poor credit history or delinquency, then your spouse’s poor credit will not likely affect your security clearance application.
Will bad credit disqualify me from the military?
U.S. Military Enlistment Credit Checks A bad credit history can affect your plans to enlist and advance in the military. If you have unpaid loans which are significantly overdue and/or in collections, you can expect to be denied enlistment until you resolve the problem.
How far back does a Top Secret background check go?
ten years
Security Clearance Adjudicative Process The clearance process for Secret level access uses an investigation called the National Agency Check with Law and Credit that goes back five years, while the clearance process for Top Secret uses a Single Scope Background Investigation that goes back ten years.
What is considered bad credit?
On the FICO® Score☉ 8 scale of 300 to 850, one of the credit scores lenders most frequently use, a bad credit score is one below 670. More specifically, a score between 580 and 669 is considered fair, and one between 300 and 579 is poor. The table below offers more detail on where scores fall.
Do they interview spouse for secret clearance?
It depends. If your spouse is the only person who can verify certain periods (overseas coverage, social coverage, etc), then your spouse will be interviewed. Interviewing spouses is not preferable but it is sometimes necessary, depending on the circumstances. They interviewed my husband for my “public trust” clearance.
How long does a security clearance reinvestigation take?
In the past DoD has had a significant backlog of security clearances and reinvestigations pending, most especially for TOP SECRET level access. In general, expect a CONFIDENTIAL or SECRET clearance to take between 1 and 3 months. A TOP SECRET will probably take between 4 and 8 months.