If you work for a company that does business with the government or for a government agency, you may need a security clearance to gain access to classified information you need to do your job. Security clearances are granted by only the federal government, and only to the extent that your need for access requires. If you have Top Secret clearance, federal law requires that your clearance authorization be reassessed and reinvestigated every five years.

Complete and submit a Security Clearance Background Investigation (SCBI) questionnaire. You can provide this information online through the Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing system (e-QIP). Your questionnaire should provide accurate information for the previous 10 years of your life.

Provide the results of a National Agency Check, a Local Agency Check and a Financial Check to the Defense Security Service. You or your company are responsible for the cost of providing these checks to the Defense Security Service.

Alert your family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, teachers and others who have known you in the previous 10 years that it is possible that investigators will contact them for information about you and your activities during that time. This is considered an integral part of the required background investigation.

Schedule an interview with a Defense Security Service investigator. The investigator will relay his findings to the security adjudicator assigned to your case, and the adjudicator will make a determination and process your clearance renewal.