How Much Does a Security Clearance Cost? FY27 Rates
DCSA bills agencies $455 for a Tier 3 (Secret) and $5,890 for a Tier 5 (Top Secret) in FY27. You pay $0. Full rate table, continuous vetting and FY28 changes.
A security clearance costs the applicant nothing. The price is the background investigation, and the government pays it: for FY 2027 (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027), DCSA bills federal agencies outside DoD $455 for a Tier 3 (Secret) and $5,890 for a Tier 5 (Top Secret and SCI), the same rates as FY 2026.
This is general, factual information about how background investigations are priced and paid for. It is not legal, security, career or financial advice. Eligibility and policy are decided by the government and its adjudicators, and processing and access decisions by the hiring organization's security office. Rates change by fiscal year, so confirm current figures with your FSO, security office or the DCSA notices linked below.
DoD components pay more for the same investigation because DCSA bundles adjudication into every DoD product: $735 for a Tier 3 and $6,240 for a Tier 5. In FIN 25-03, dated August 31, 2025, DCSA says it "initially anticipated a 10% rate increase in FY 2027" and held FY 2026 rates instead after a Tiger Team review found process improvements. FIN 25-03 sets those rates for FY 2027, which runs through September 30, 2027, and DCSA has already published preliminary FY 2028 rates built around three Trusted Workforce 2.0 tiers.
What does DCSA charge for each investigation tier?
DCSA funds its vetting work "through reimbursable customer orders via its Working Capital Fund," in the words of FIN 24-01. The customer agency orders a case and DCSA invoices it monthly. The FY 2027 catalog keeps the legacy five-tier products at their FY 2026 prices. The FY 2022/23 column is from FIN 21-02, the schedule many older cost pages still quote.
Row sources: FY26 figures from FIN 24-01 Tables 1.1 and 1.2 (FY26 section); FY27 figures from FIN 25-03 Tables 1.1 and 1.2, which match line for line; FY27 CV rates from FIN 25-03; FY22/23 figures from FIN 21-02.
Four details in that table matter for budgeting:
- Tier 2 and Tier 3 cost the same $455, but they are different products. T2 is a Public Trust investigation run on the SF 85P; T3 is a national security investigation run on the SF-86. A $455 Public Trust case grants no access to classified information. The Public Trust explainer covers the difference.
- There is no priority option for a Tier 3. Priority service exists for T2, T4 and T5 and runs about 8% over standard ($6,361 against $5,890 for a non-DoD Tier 5).
- Expanded coverage is billed on top when a case needs it. In FY 2027 that means $990 for International Coverage on any case type and $1,056 for a Triggered Enhanced Subject Interview on T1 through T3 cases. A Secret case that triggers both runs $455 + $1,056 + $990 = $2,501 before adjudication.
- Smaller products exist too: a National Agency Check is $140 and an electronic FBI fingerprint check is $20 (FIN 24-01, FY26 Table 1.5). A fingerprint check that merges with another investigation within 120 days isn't billed separately.
For what each tier actually examines, see investigation tiers vs. clearance levels.
How much does continuous vetting cost?
Continuous vetting (CV) is billed as a subscription per enrolled person per month. In FY 2027, DCSA's TW 2.0 Phase 1 CV service for non-DoD national security positions is $6.95 a month ($83.40 a year). The DoD version, which adds adjudication services, incident reports and CV alert adjudication, is $7.90 a month ($94.80 a year). The non-sensitive Public Trust versions carry the same two prices.
Two billing rules from FIN 25-03 matter to anyone budgeting a cleared workforce. Customers are "billed the monthly subscription fee per each enrollee that was active at any point in the prior month," and "no refunds or adjustments will be provided for a partial month's enrollment." The annual figure assumes the person is enrolled all year, and it covers the subscription only, not any investigation a case still needs.
DCSA still sells legacy reinvestigations in FY 2027, such as the $3,230 non-DoD T5R, but the notice says it expects that "per TW policy virtually all customers will subscribe to the appropriate CV services." The CV price has more than doubled since FY 2022/23, when Trusted Workforce 1.25 enrollment cost $3.00 a month, or $36 a year. DCSA ties the FY 2027 pricing to scope: the Phase 1 service covers automated record checks across all TW 2.0 data categories, FBI Rapback and actionable alert resolution, and the notice says its rates "reflect these improvements."
The clearance duration explainer covers how CV enrollment relates to the old fixed reinvestigation cycles.
Who pays for a security clearance: the agency, the contractor or you?
The government pays the investigation bill, and you pay $0. DCSA's customers are agencies: FIN 25-03 requires an interagency agreement (IAA), set up through the legacy IAA process or G-Invoicing, before DCSA executes an order, and it cites the Anti-Deficiency Act as the reason it won't start work without a funding document.
Contractor clearances run through a separate government budget. The Department of War's (DoD's) FY 2027 budget justification for DCSA describes a "centrally managed PSI-I budget" used to execute initial background investigations and continuous vetting "for all contractor personnel security clearances performing classified missions or developing critical technology in support of DoW components and 35 other federal agencies participating in the NISP." Its FY 2026 baseline was $409.1 million, and the FY 2027 request adds $64.4 million to pay for an additional 24,000 Tier 3 and 39,000 Tier 5 investigations, with CV fees, for new cleared contractors. The contractor's FSO submits the request under 32 CFR 117.10, and the investigation is paid from that budget rather than by the company. If your access authorization comes through DOE or NRC instead, ask your FSO how the case is funded.
How much more does a Top Secret investigation cost than a Secret one?
At FY 2027 non-DoD rates, a Tier 5 costs about 13 times a Tier 3 ($5,890 against $455). With DoD's bundled adjudication the multiple is about 8.5 ($6,240 against $735). The big jump sits between the moderate and high tiers on both sides of the price list: the Tier 4 high-risk Public Trust case ($4,460) is far closer to Tier 5 than to Tier 2.
The rate notices price each product without itemizing the work inside it, but the add-on rules show where coverage differs. The $1,056 Triggered Enhanced Subject Interview fee is billed only on T1 through T3 cases, case by case when that expanded coverage is required. For FY 2027's Early Adopter High Tier, FIN 25-03 folds the full ESP and International coverage into the price. SCI access and polygraphs add their own processing on top of the Tier 5, which the TS/SCI explainer walks through.
What does a clearance really cost an employer beyond the DCSA bill?
The DCSA rate is the government's number. A contractor that sponsors a new hire carries a different set of costs, none of which shows up on a FIN price list:
Rules limit how far a company can get ahead of that. Under 32 CFR 117.10(a)(5), requests for eligibility "will not be used to establish a cache of cleared employees," so a contractor can't request investigations just to stock cleared people for future work. The contractor pre-employment provision, 117.10(f), allows an investigation request before the start date only when the new hire needs classified access immediately on starting, the contractor has made a written commitment for employment, the candidate has accepted in writing, and the commitment says employment will begin within 45 days of the eligibility grant.
In ClearMatch's scan of 1,245 employer career sites, October 10 to 24, 2026, 58,768 postings specified Secret or higher. By advertised clearance or access category, 31,559 named Secret (53.7%), 9,022 Top Secret (15.4%), 9,175 TS/SCI (15.6%), 4,281 TS/SCI with CI Poly (7.3%) and 4,731 TS/SCI with Full Scope Poly (8.1%). About 46% named a Top Secret-level category, the level that rests on a Tier 5 investigation. The scan counts what postings advertise; it doesn't show whether each employer requires current eligibility or will sponsor a new investigation, and it's one scan, not the whole market.
Public Trust is a separate line in the price list too. The October 10 to 24 scan counted 4,806 Public Trust postings, led by Guidehouse (266), Leidos (264) and Amentum (232). Those roles run on Tier 2 or Tier 4 investigations, priced apart from the clearance tiers.
What changes in FY28 under DCSA's preliminary three-tier rates?
DCSA published FIN 26-02 on September 25, 2026, with preliminary billing rates for FY 2028. The notice says DCSA plans "to offer a full line of Trusted Workforce (TW) 2.0 products and services, such as Low, Moderate, and High Tier investigations." The preliminary standard rates, as listed on DCSA's Billing Rates & Resources page, set against what FIN 25-03 charges in FY 2027:
The Moderate row needs context. FIN 25-03 says the Early Adopter MT price "includes ESP, TESI, International and other expanded coverage," with traditionally triggered costs folded in "based on historical triggered percentages." A legacy T3 charges those as add-ons ($1,056 TESI, $990 International) only on the cases that trigger them, so the move from $455 to $815 is smaller than it looks for a workforce where some cases trigger. Moderate Tier continuous vetting is listed at $8.50 a month ($102 a year), the same figure FIN 25-03 already used for its Early Adopter TW 2.0 CV service, against $6.95 for FY 2027's general non-DoD CV service.
These are planning numbers, not a deadline. The notice offers the TW 2.0 tiers as products; which tier a position falls into depends on its designation under TW 2.0 policy, which the agency sets. FIN 25-03 notes that final approval of each year's rates is documented in the annual DoD-wide Working Capital Fund Rates Memorandum, and the FY 2028 figures are still labeled preliminary.
Can you pay to get a security clearance yourself?
No. There is no consumer route to a clearance at any price. An agency or cleared contractor has to sponsor you for a position that needs access, and the government runs and pays for the investigation. Priority service exists, but it's a product the customer agency orders through its IAA, not something an applicant can buy.
That makes any offer to "pre-clear" you, sponsor you for a fee, or expedite your case for cash a red flag. Watch for:
- A fee to start, sponsor or speed up an investigation
- A promise of a clearance before you have a job offer for a cleared position
- An unverified request for your SSN or SF-86 details; confirm who is asking through contact details you look up yourself, such as the hiring company's security office, rather than the phone numbers or links in the message
The legitimate path starts with an offer. The sponsorship guide covers how cleared employers sponsor uncleared hires, what interim eligibility allows, and how to find roles that process new candidates. Whether the clearance pays off for you once you hold it is a salary question, covered in what a security clearance is actually worth.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays for a security clearance?
The government pays for the background investigation, and the applicant pays nothing. Federal agencies pay DCSA through an interagency agreement, at $455 for a Tier 3 and $5,890 for a Tier 5 in FY 2027 for non-DoD agencies. For contractor clearances supporting DoW components and 35 other NISP agencies, DCSA pays from its centrally managed PSI-I budget, while the contractor carries its own staffing and waiting costs.
Can I get a security clearance on my own?
No. A clearance has to be sponsored by a government agency or a cleared contractor for a position that requires access to classified information. Under 32 CFR 117.10(f), a contractor can request a pre-employment investigation only with a written job commitment, the candidate's written acceptance and a start date within 45 days of the eligibility grant, so the path runs through a job offer.
How much does a Top Secret clearance cost compared with a Secret clearance?
In FY 2027, a Tier 5 investigation for Top Secret or SCI costs a non-DoD agency $5,890, against $455 for the Tier 3 behind a Secret clearance. For DoD, with adjudication bundled, the figures are $6,240 and $735. The rate notices don't itemize the work behind each price; triggered add-ons such as the $1,056 enhanced subject interview can raise a Secret case's cost.
Do government contractors pay for their employees' clearances?
Not for the investigation itself in the DoW-administered NISP. DoD's FY 2027 budget justification says DCSA's PSI-I budget funds initial investigations and continuous vetting for contractor clearances supporting DoW components and 35 other federal agencies. Contractors do pay for FSO and security staff, onboarding, and any salary paid while a new hire waits for eligibility. For DOE or NRC access authorizations, the FSO can confirm how a case is funded.
Is it worth it for an employer to hire someone who already has a clearance?
Often, because existing eligibility can shorten the wait before a hire can start classified work. The DCSA fee isn't the employer's to save, so the value is mostly time and security staff effort. Reciprocity checks, SCI processing and customer approval can still delay a start, so prior eligibility isn't a guarantee.
What disqualifies you from a security clearance?
Cost never does, since applicants pay nothing. Adjudicators apply the SEAD 4 national security adjudicative guidelines, weighing concerns such as foreign influence, financial considerations, drug involvement and criminal conduct against mitigating factors and the whole person. The 13 guidelines in plain English explains each one.
What this looks like inside ClearMatch
ClearMatch's agent reads cleared postings from employer career sites and tags each with the clearance it asks for, from Public Trust through TS/SCI with Full Scope Poly. You can browse cleared jobs by tier and state, or run a posting through the job fit check to see how your experience lines up before you apply.
ClearMatch doesn't sponsor clearances or touch the investigation. The DCSA rates, eligibility and processing all stay with the government and your employer's security office.
Sources: DCSA: Billing Rates & Resources, DCSA FIN 25-03: FY 2027 Billing Rates, DCSA FIN 24-01: FY 2025 and FY 2026 Billing Rates, DCSA FIN 26-02: Preliminary FY 2028 Rates, DCSA FIN 21-02: FY 2022 and FY 2023 Billing Rates, DoW FY 2027 Budget Estimates: DCSA OP-5, NISPOM final rule, 32 CFR Part 117 (Federal Register, Dec. 21, 2020). Investigation pricing and clearance policy are set by the government, so confirm current rates and your own case with your FSO, security office or the official sources above.