How can an individual get SC, DV or BPSS clearance??

[Freakuk]

Is there a way someone can pay to have all of the checks completed and attain the required clearance??

Lots of contract roles popping up that require some level of clearance, but as far as I can see it's usually down to the client to put the person through the checks.

Anyone know if you can just pay for it??

[Autopilot]

I found myself in a similar position once and couldn't find a way to get myself SC'd. The way I got mine was like you say, the end client put me through it as to the best of my knowledge needs you to be sponsored by an organisation.

[triggerhappy21]

As above SC requires a sponsor, eg the client.

I also believe they are also client specific & non-transferable. I work with someone who went through full SC process for one contract, then decided to go for a different contract/client, and had to begin the SC all over again. Apparently the second was much faster than the first though.

If you are applying for positions that require clearance, you may find clients put you through BPSS (around 1 week), then get you to work on lower risk projects and run SC process concurrently.

Alternatively, factor in around 3 months to get through application and SC.

DV I have no experience of, but there won't be many positions requiring that for a new start.

[Tankrizzo]

SC is (or was) definitely transferable, I did this when I moved jobs last time.

[danpalmer1993]

My understanding was that SC is transferable and in very rare cases DV is transferable, but normally isn't.

[HRL]

I only got my SC last week, valid for 7 years. I’ve been told it’s transferable by our HR team.

Got a very suspicious look when I asked though!

[StanleyT]

Most employers won't give you your SC "reference number" to make it just that bit harder to move from job to job in the same field.

However, at a gatehouse to a nuclear power plant when the security guy asked me to confirm my vetting number I looked at him blankly. On handover of my driving licence and passport and employers Pxx card he then said "Your HR are sts, they never tell you this is your vetting number, just so as they can try and slow down you leaving".

Thanks Y Mon power station....made going into contracting a lot easier ten years ago. Didn't need to do the new Disc Scot forms, could give a new employers sec dept the number and they would check the validity. Did have to redo the whole lot six years ago but did it in the middle of a secure pedestrian bench job where I knew no matter what progress the project made (if it did) that I'd see he renewal thro'.

DV I have been led to believe is role specific though. Though don't ask me how I know as I can't say!

[ChocolateFrog]

I was told that DV is a bit of a ballache of a process, and fairly expensive I'm led to believe. I was told it was worth 20k to an organisation if you've been through the DV process but then if it's not transferable with you I'm not sure that's true.

Be prepared to be interviewed on your sexual preferences and porn habits

[xx99xx]

I was under the impression DV is transferrable. Mainly because the huge DV application form is the same regardless of role. Also, job adverts that require DV often state 'applicants should hold, or be prepared to obtain, DV clearance'.

[Autopilot]

DV is transferable and can also be down graded to SC if no longer required in your role.

[Chuffedmonkey]

SC is transferable but if you don't work in an SC required role it expires after 12 months as your employer wont have a need to renew it.

[Greenmantle]

Whats the cost to the end sponsor for SC and DV?
Why are all new adverts stating SC and DV needed already?
First time I got mine was in 2012 (year of the Olympics) what a farce. Could not do what I was employed to do for many weeks. Surely this needs to be changed especially now with additional pressures on the Treasury from Brexit, Covid 19 etc.

[bucksmanuk]

SC can only be obtained via a sponsor, your employer/client.
It continues “as is” for 5 years while in your current role/organisation. Then you reapply.
It also continues for 365 days after you leave that role/organisation, and not one day longer. Guess how I know…
SC is transferable from one organisation to another, within the timescale mentioned above. There is usually someone in the company who is a nominated person who looks after these things. In previous places, he/she was called the Nominated Security Officer. It is a VERY good policy to NOT have anything related to this SC/DV stuff done by HR.
The cost is approximately £1500.
The time taken to get SC varies from organisation to organisation, and also the demand to get the person SC’d so they can crack on with the work. It depends upon the workload for the people doing the assessment. I think it’s done at Abbey Wood (Bristol). It normally takes between 13 and 16 weeks depending upon what comes out of the basic search, and their general workload associated thereon. It is possible to get people working on projects without clearance but it is EXTREMELY rare, it would probably be when the country is at war (or close to it) and you would have some “special skills”…

Why you might not get it...
Substantial time spent out of the country. An ex work colleague was in South Africa for 3 years. His never came through.
Ardent left wing student politics doesn’t help your case.
A history of personal financial mismanagement CCJs, bankruptcy etc.…
You have been “on a register” at some time in your life.
Prison time
Parents, partners and /or siblings with the same issues as those listed above.
Being a bit of a throbber on Facebook/social media and sharing personal details readily doesn’t help your case either.

6 months is not unheard of, but fast tracking it down to 6 weeks is possible if the timescales (usually it’s the MOD) demand it.
If you have been SC’d in the last 10 years, and require it again, it reduces it to 9-10 weeks.
If it has just lapsed (see above) it can still take 5-6 weeks for it to start again.
I think it’s about 80% of those that apply get it. Failure is usually caused by a dodgy past or by lying on your application form. Spending time in prison may not be an issue, depending upon what you were there for, and you were honest about it.
If you get on well with the security officer, it is possible (maybe not ethical) that if your work is no longer has a SC requirement; they just add your name to those individuals requiring SC to work there. This happens a LOT. A company can then bid for SC work knowing they have 10 people with SC ready to go; otherwise the project may not start in earnest for 2-3 months. This could mean the difference between winning the project and not winning it.

It’s not unheard of for a project team to have a room full of contractors, all previously SC’d elsewhere and the vast majority of the staff who work there don’t know what they are doing and aren’t allowed to find out.

Some places have serious demarcation between SC work and non-SC work, some don’t. If they don’t have the demarcation between SC and DV, and the MOD turn up for a visit to check everything is OK - That will be the end of their DV work.


DV
Cost is about £15K to the organisation- that figure is a bit old now (3 years) so I can believe £20K.
I’ve never heard of people getting DV clearance if they don’t have SC first.
I’ve never heard of people getting fast tracked for DV- I’m sure it must have happened though.
DV has to be renewed every 3 years, and your work MUST require it.
It is transferable to another organisation. If you do go to another organisation, make sure they know what the difference is between SC and DV, and the various requirements. If you have stopped doing DV work in an organisation but are still doing SC, your DV is rescinded.
It’s said that the person on the opposite side of the DV interview desk knows more about you than you do.
About 45% of those who go for DV get it, the rest fail. I don’t know what these reasons might be, but I suspect it’s not being truthful about one’s browsing habits. They want to know if you have ever used a VPN and why, have you ever used the dark web or The Onion- that sort of thing.
There is far more digging around into your partners/parents/sibling’s past then for SC.

[Tankrizzo]

SC is ten years' duration isn't it? Mine certainly transferred over and then renewed after a few years but the total duration was almost certainly ten years.

[wombleh]

Think the duration depends if you're an employee of the sponsor company or a contractor/partner/etc, the latter dropping down to 5 years.

[Russ T Bolt]

Tankrizzo said:

SC is ten years' duration isn't it? Mine certainly transferred over and then renewed after a few years but the total duration was almost certainly ten years.

Yep, mine was issued for 10 years and has been transferred twice since. I will hold it until expiry regardless of whether it is needed in a particular role.

To answer Op I don't think an individual can apply for DV or SC, not sure about BPSS.
Something in the back of my mind says that it has to be sponsored by a Gov Department, but I might be imagining that.

[Russ T Bolt]

bucksmanuk said:

It continues “as is” for 5 years while in your current role/organisation. Then you reapply.
It also continues for 365 days after you leave that role/organisation, and not one day longer. Guess how I know…

Mine was issued for 10 years and doesn't need to be reapplied for within that period.

Your next sentence is also incorrect, I have moved organisations twice since the last time it was awarded and still hold it. Edited to add that it does need to be transferred to remain valid to a suitable organisation.

Edited by Russ T Bolt on Monday 9th March 16:09

[Autopilot]

Russ T Bolt said:

bucksmanuk said:

It continues “as is” for 5 years while in your current role/organisation. Then you reapply.
It also continues for 365 days after you leave that role/organisation, and not one day longer. Guess how I know…

Mine was issued for 10 years and doesn't need to be reapplied for within that period.

Your next sentence is also incorrect, I have moved organisations twice since the last time it was awarded and still hold it. Edited to add that it does need to be transferred to remain valid to a suitable organisation.

Edited by Russ T Bolt on Monday 9th March 16:09

That's bucksmanuk's point. If you hold valid SC and move organisation, you need to transfer it with you or it will lapse after a year.

I had SC and left for a different organisation. I requested at the new organisation that my SC was transferred over but they refused as they said my role didn't require SC. They eventually conceded and agreed that I did need SC. 12 months had passed so had now lapsed and had to reapply rather than just transfer it so didn't bother.

My next role required SC, so was sponsored to go though the process again. A waiver was made so I could go on site providing I'd started the process off with NSV. I think it only took 2 or 3 weeks to get clearance again.