Reference · Secure facilities & shielding
Security clearance levels
Confidential, Secret, Top Secret (and SCI access)
United States security clearances come in three levels — Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret — reflecting the damage unauthorized disclosure could cause. Access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) or Special Access Programs is a further approval layered on top of a Top Secret clearance.
What it is
A clearance is an eligibility determination that a person may access classified information at a level. Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret map to increasing potential damage from disclosure; SCI and SAP access require additional read-in beyond the base clearance.
Why it exists
It ensures only vetted individuals reach classified information, and only at the level their role and investigation support.
Who it applies to
Government and cleared-contractor personnel. A contractor employee's required level is driven by the classified contract they support.
Frequently asked
What are the levels of security clearance?
There are three levels of United States security clearance: Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret, ordered by the damage unauthorized disclosure could cause. Access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) or a Special Access Program is a separate approval on top of a Top Secret clearance.
Sources
Public records like this are where Longlead starts: it reads federal and state signals to infer which upcoming projects will need your specific scope — delivered as a cited evidence dossier with your confidence and a lead-time window, 12–24 months before it surfaces as a named solicitation. You make the call, from your own channels; nothing leaves the system.
Or just see what Longlead finds for your scope.
Tell us what you sell and what you don't — and see the demand Longlead is inferring for you right now.