How do I know if my security clearance is still active?

Contact your unit security manager or your former command's security office. If you separated recently, your clearance may still be in an active status. Generally, a Secret clearance stays current for 10 years from the investigation date and a Top Secret for 5 years, but this depends on when you were last investigated and whether you are still in a cleared position. Check before you list it.

Can I list my clearance if I am no longer in a cleared position?

Yes, if your clearance is still within its adjudication period and you separated under normal circumstances. List it as 'Active' if it is still within its validity window and you have not had a break in service longer than 24 months. If it is past the validity window or you have been out longer than 24 months, list it as 'Inactive' with the date it expired.

What if I only have an interim clearance?

List it. An interim clearance means you passed the initial checks and are awaiting the full investigation. It is valid for most cleared work. List it as 'Interim Secret Clearance' or 'Interim Top Secret Clearance.' Do not drop the word 'interim.' Employers need to know the status is provisional.

Should I list my clearance on LinkedIn?

Be careful. LinkedIn is a public platform. Do not list your clearance level in your public LinkedIn headline. It can make you a target for foreign intelligence gathering, which sounds dramatic but is a real concern. List it in your private profile settings or wait until a recruiter contacts you through the platform and share it directly. ClearanceJobs is the safer platform for publicly listing your clearance status.

How to List a Security Clearance on Your Resume (And Why It Matters)

By GetVetsHired · July 2026 · 5 min read

You have a security clearance. You did the interviews. You passed the background check. The government spent thousands of dollars investigating you and decided you could be trusted with sensitive information. That piece of paper is worth real money. Employers in defense, aerospace, intelligence, and government contracting pay a premium for cleared candidates because it saves them six to twelve months and tens of thousands of dollars in clearance processing. But most veterans either bury their clearance at the bottom of their resume or list it wrong, and neither one helps. Here is exactly how to list your clearance so employers see it, understand it, and act on it.

Why your security clearance is worth more than you think

A Secret clearance costs an employer roughly $5,000 to $15,000 and takes four to eight months to process. A Top Secret clearance costs $15,000 to $50,000 and can take a year or more. When you walk in the door with an active clearance, the employer saves all of that money and time. They can put you to work on a classified contract immediately. That is worth a lot. Studies by ClearanceJobs and industry surveys consistently show that cleared professionals earn 10 to 40 percent more than their uncleared counterparts for the same role. A network administrator with a Secret clearance might earn $75,000 while the same role without a clearance pays $60,000. A project manager with a TS/SCI can command $120,000 to $150,000 where an uncleared PM might top out at $100,000. You need to list your clearance prominently so the employer sees it in the first three seconds of scanning your resume. If they have to hunt for it, they might assume you do not have one.

Where to put your clearance on your resume

The clearance goes in three places on your resume. First, in your header or contact information section at the very top. One line under your name and email that reads 'Active Secret Clearance' or 'Active Top Secret / SCI Clearance.' This is the first thing an employer sees and it immediately tells them you are a cleared candidate. Second, in your professional summary. If your summary says 'IT support specialist with 4 years of experience and CompTIA Security+ certification,' add 'and an active Secret clearance' to the end of it. Third, in a dedicated 'Clearance' or 'Security Clearance' section at the bottom of your resume. This is for the full details. Do not make the employer dig through your bullets to find your clearance status. Put it where they cannot miss it.

How to format your clearance listing (get this right)

The format matters. There is a standard way to list clearances that government contractors and federal HR people expect to see. Getting it right signals that you understand the cleared hiring ecosystem. Getting it wrong makes you look like you do not know what you have. Here is the format for each level:

Secret: 'Active Secret Clearance' or 'DoD Secret Clearance (Active).' Include the date of your last investigation or reinvestigation if you know it. Example: 'Active Secret Clearance (Last Investigation: March 2023).'
Top Secret: 'Active Top Secret Clearance' or 'DoD Top Secret Clearance (Active).' Same as above. Include the investigation date if known.
TS/SCI: 'Active Top Secret / SCI Clearance' or 'Top Secret Clearance with SCI Access (Active).' The SCI part is important. It is a separate access on top of the TS. List both. If your SCI access was granted by a specific agency, you can note that: 'TS/SCI (Active, DIA-adjudicated).'
TS/SCI with polygraph: 'Active Top Secret / SCI Clearance with Counterintelligence Polygraph' or 'Full Scope Polygraph' depending on what you actually have. Be precise. CI poly and full scope poly are different things. Do not claim a full scope if you only have a CI poly. It will get flagged.
Expired or inactive: 'Secret Clearance (Inactive, Expired June 2025).' Even an inactive clearance has value. It means you were previously investigated and cleared, which makes the reinvestigation process faster. List it and note the status honestly.

The one mistake that gets your clearance flagged

Do not put your clearance level in your job title or in every single bullet. Seeing 'Secret Clearance' listed five times on one resume looks desperate and unprofessional. The clearance is a credential, not a job duty. List it in your header, your summary, and a dedicated section. That is it. Also, do not guess at your clearance status. If you are not sure whether your clearance is still active, check with your security manager or FSO before you list it. Claiming an active clearance when it has lapsed can disqualify you from jobs that require clearance verification. And never list a clearance level higher than what you were actually granted. 'Interim Top Secret' is not the same as 'Top Secret.' Be accurate.

Other things to list alongside your clearance

Your clearance is the headline, but there are other credentials that cleared employers care about. List these in the same section as your clearance: polygraph type and date if applicable (CI poly, full scope poly, or lifestyle poly), special access programs or compartments you have been read into if they are unclassified (some are classified and should not be listed anywhere), and your most recent investigation type and date (T3, T5, SSBI, etc.) if you know it. A sample clearance section at the bottom of your resume might look like this: 'Security Clearance: Active Top Secret / SCI with Counterintelligence Polygraph. Last Investigation: SSBI, completed January 2024. SCI access granted by DIA, February 2024.' Clean. Complete. Professional. That section alone can get you an interview before the hiring manager even reads your bullets.

What if you are applying for a job that does not require a clearance?

You can still list your clearance. It signals trustworthiness and reliability to any employer, even in the private sector. A clearance means the federal government investigated your background, your finances, your associations, and your character, and decided you were reliable. That is a powerful signal. List it in your dedicated section but do not lead with it in your header for non-cleared roles. Move it lower in the resume hierarchy. The clearance becomes a supporting credential rather than the headline. For a cleared role, lead with it. For an uncleared role, let it be a pleasant surprise the employer discovers as they read deeper into your resume.

Tailor your resume for cleared roles the same way you tailor for any other job

Your clearance gets you past the first filter, but your experience still has to match the job description. A cleared employer scans for two things: clearance status and relevant skills. If you have the clearance but not the right keywords in your bullets, you still get rejected. Tailor your resume to every cleared role the same way you would for an uncleared one. Match the keywords in the job description. Translate your military experience into civilian language. Lead with the skills the employer is looking for. Your clearance opens the door. A tailored resume walks you through it. Upload your resume and the job description into a tailoring tool. It pulls in the right keywords, translates your military experience, and formats everything so the ATS can actually read it. Your clearance stays right where it belongs at the top, and the rest of your resume works just as hard.

Tailor My Resume

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