SC Cleared?

[Lance]

It is, possibly on purpose. Nobody wants to make it too easy to game the system, after all. It may be 7 years, it is usually 5 or 10, it all depends on the vetting agency and the requirement of the sponsor at the time. But in reality it dies one year after you leave the last role that needed it.


You don't need to be cleared to apply for a role. You don't need to be cleared, beyond a basic ID check, to work on a role subject to certain restrictions until the clearance comes through. Agencies are using clearance as just another filter to keep the list of applicants manageable*. If you have clearance then say so, but always be aware it might not be relevant when it comes to getting it transferred.

Incidentally "Completed" means the vetting people have done their thing. It's now with the local security team to decide what to do with it. You can still fail to pass their requirements.


* Of course what this means is that the same pool of candidates keep being put forward, meaning the clients are getting out of date people because the new ones with current skills aren't working in cleared roles. Go figure why government IT is so poor...

It's 7 years now. Well it is for mine. The last two I had were 5 years.
And I have a letter from UKSV. That's the first one.

It's always different.

As for the OP. Whenever applying for a role always say you have SC. Only at later stages do you mention it's expired. As other have said, they don't always transfer anyway. It's the capability of getting it they want.