Security clearances for contractors: facility vs. personnel, and how they work

AV work in secure government and defense spaces (conference rooms, command centers, SCIFs, training facilities) often needs cleared people and sometimes a cleared company. The terms get mixed up, so here's how the pieces fit.

Facility clearance (FCL): the company

A facility clearance is a determination by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) that a company is eligible to access classified information at a given level (Confidential, Secret or Top Secret).

A company can't apply on its own. It must be sponsored by a government customer or a cleared prime contractor that needs it to perform classified work, typically on a contract with a DD Form 254 (the Contract Security Classification Specification), which sets out the security requirements and clearance level for the work.

Once sponsored, the company names a Facility Security Officer (FSO), and its key management personnel must be cleared to the facility's level. Foreign ownership, control or influence (FOCI) has to be reported and mitigated before a clearance is granted. A straightforward application commonly takes three to six months; FOCI mitigation can add six months to a year.

Personnel clearance (PCL): the people

A personnel clearance is an individual's eligibility for access at a given level, sponsored by a cleared employer or the government for a specific need. People don't "own" clearances: eligibility follows the person between cleared employers, but access depends on a current need and sponsorship.

Other access credentials you'll see on AV jobs

Not every secure site needs a classified clearance. Common alternatives:

• Public Trust: a background investigation for sensitive but unclassified federal positions
• DOE L and Q: Department of Energy access authorizations
• TWIC: the Transportation Worker Identification Credential for secure areas of ports and vessels
• CJIS: background screening to work around criminal justice information systems
• Site-specific badging, drug testing and background checks

What buyers should ask

1. What clearance level does the work actually require, per the DD 254 or site security office?
2. Does the contractor hold a facility clearance at that level, or only cleared individuals?
3. How many cleared staff do they have at that level, and can they staff your schedule?
4. Who is their FSO, and have they worked in accredited spaces like SCIFs before?

Finding cleared contractors

On LevelRated and AVCleared, contractors list facility clearance level and counts of cleared staff by level, plus drug testing, background check and E-Verify practices. Companies can filter search by these, for example firms with Secret-cleared staff (company account required).

Sources

• Cooley GO: Facility security clearance basics
• DCSA: Small business guide to the facility clearance process
• DD Form 254 instructions