Maintaining a clearance.

[Ramblin Rat]

OK I understand that if you are not working then after two years your clearance becomes inactive. My question is this. Say you have a TS and you leave the job requiring a TS this starts the two year clock. If you then get a job requiring a SECRET is the clock still running on your TS or does it start over when you leave the position requiring a SECRET because you were using your clearance, just not at the same level?

Not looking for opinions here. Just answers from people who know the facts please.

[guitartexan]

If you hold a TS clearance, then work on a project that only requires secret clearance level, they are using your TS. The TS is interchangeable with secret, the difference being the level of investigation and how many years back they go for the TS. Obviously, Secret will not interchange with TS.
If your company has facilites clearance, And they send you on a non-class project, they will keep your secret or TS or whatever clearance current under that umbrella.
If you have a Secret or TS and work on non-class projects for 5 years, your clearance will lapse. Then if you get hired to work a classified project, you will recieve a notice from DoS to reactivate and fill out a form.
If you work classified projects for 5 years,around 2 months before the 5 year mark to do the periodic update. This is all done online now and you just email it. This will renew your clearance for the next 5 years.
If you DON'T get the notice a couple of months before your 5 year mark, you need to contact them through your company before it lapses, otherwise you will find yourself without a clearance, and they will find you and remove you from the project.
DO NOT put down different information on the update than you gave initially. It will not match and they will start asking questions.

I got this information directly from the RSO and SSM here. This is how I understand it to be.
:cheers
GT

[Ramblin Rat]

Thanks...GT