Does a security clearance renew automatically?

Clearance eligibility *always* expires and has to be renewed, no matter who did the investigation or who adjudicated the result. By default, eligibility of Public Trust (basically, to grant you access to internal, protected data at the unclassified level) will expire after 15 years, Secret after 10, TS/SCI after 5, and most SAPs use the TS/SCI standard (plus usually polygraph) but then add on annual re-adjudication as part of a continuous evaluation program.

Getting it renewed is based on either *need to know* or position requirements. Simply put, if you aren't in a job that requires you to have access, or otherwise in a position that is required to maintain a baseline eligibility, then you won't be investigated or re-investigated. Additionally, large gaps in service can justify administrative (non-punitive) de-activation of your eligibility, which then requires re-investigation (or if the investigation is still fairly current, sometimes merely re-adjudication) to get back.

What can cause you to *lose* eligibility earlier than that -- excepting the administrative downgrade or de-activation -- is the same thing that could block an adjudication otherwise; if you violate the 13 adjudicative guidelines, and cannot sufficiently mitigate the circumstances of the violation. The 13 guidelines are available <a href="http://www.state.gov/m/ds/clearances/60321.htm">[here]</a>, and each has a series of potential factors that can indicate a concern and factors that could mitigate the concern. The applicability of these is done by the adjudicator, *not* the investigator, which for all DoD personnel will be the DoD Consolidated Adjudications Facility (CAF) at Ft. Meade, MD. The investigator's job is merely to gather and organize the facts relevant to your case, *never* to make an overall recommendation or determination.

Source: I've been a Security Manager at virtually every echelon in the Army over a period of more than a decade. Also, I have worked directly for DoD CAF on the civilian side.

Piece of advice. Always keep your e-quip paperwork when you apply or renew your clearances. Going back ten years in the military with all the moving around can be a pain in the butt. Having the previous copy is a big help in getting the renewal done quickly. As far as losing your clearance. Depending on the level of clearance you have you can lose your clearance for such things as DUI's, bankruptcies, or almost any kind of UCMJ action. Your S2 should notify you when the time is coming to renew or if you were to lose it for any reason.

You have to renew it yourself. It is easier the second time. Most positions require at at least secret.