Frequently Asked Questions on security clearance vetting

Security clearance vetting is never conducted without a written consent by the subject. You may give consent yourself by signing and dating a security clearance form or through the electronic transaction service.

Supo handles all information disclosed in the security clearance vetting in accordance with the secrecy duty.

The matter has no relevance for the personnel security clearance vetting conducted on you. Information on acts committed under the age of 15 may not be used in the vetting. 

In principle, an offence of unlawful use of narcotics will show in the registers for three years. After that it will no longer be disclosed in the security clearance vetting. Supo will always consider the circumstances case-by-case and in relation to the position sought before deciding whether to inform the employer of a register entry disclosed in the vetting process. The impact of any findings on recruitment is up to the employer.

Yes and no. Security clearance is not an individual decision but all matters that have significance to the task in question are investigated during the vetting. The applicant of a security clearance vetting (i.e. the employer, for example) decides independently which matters are relevant for recruitment. Former bad credit records, such as debt recovery procedures, may in some cases be information to be notified in the clearance. Bad credit records are dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Supo never takes a stand on the recruitment but the decision is always made by the employer.

The time needed for processing a vetting varies. If register data is requested on the vetting subject from foreign authorities or the subject is interviewed, the time needed for the vetting may be longer. Supo's aim is that 90% of security clearance vetting investigations are completed within two months.

If no information to be notified was disclosed in the security clearance vetting, you may be informed of the outcome of the vetting orally. The applicant of a security clearance vetting, i.e. the employer, for example) is obliged to notify you of the outcome of the vetting. 

If a written statement has been issued on you, you are entitled to see it and to receive a copy of it. The employer or other party having issued the statement may show the statement to you.

Personnel security clearance vetting remains in force for a fixed period or until further notice, but for no longer than five years after the vetting is completed.

Integrity monitoring means that Supo will automatically be informed of a suspected criminal offence if you hold a security clearance that is in force. The employer is never directly notified of this development but Supo always contacts first the police investigating the criminal matter and then you. This means that you have the possibility to provide your version of the events.

After hearing you, Supo will exercise individual discretion in assessing whether to notify the employer of the suspected crime.

You may contact the National Security Authority (NSA) at the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Depending on the security level required in the duty, you have to fill in the appropriate security clearance application which will then be forwarded to Supo via the NSA. 

After the personnel security clearance vetting has been completed and the NSA has received other information it possibly asked for, it may issue you a Personnel Security Clearance (PSC) Certificate. 

Often in these situations, the background shall be inspected and an extract from police records is usually enough for doing this. The extract may be ordered directly from the website of the Legal Register Centre. 

• National Security Authority

If the security clearance vetting is part of a recruitment process, the applicant is the prospective employer. The applicant may also be an authority or an enterprise. The individual or the facility on which the vetting is applied is the subject of the vetting.

The purpose of security clearance vetting is to prevent actions that could be detrimental for example to state security, relationship of Finland with a foreign state, public security or trade secrets of private entities. Supo only performs security clearance vettings when there are statutory grounds for doing so. Your enterprise may seek to become a client of Supo vetting department. On the basis of the statement prepared by you, Supo will assess whether your enterprise is eligible for the procedure.

• Applying for security clearance vetting client status

It is not necessary but the individual must fill in a security clearance application. Supo assesses whether the new application may be appended to a previous security clearance that is still in force for the individual concerned. 

The price of the appended vetting is half of the price of a corresponding new security clearance vetting. Appended security clearance vetting is completed more rapidly than a new vetting. 

Personnel security clearance vetting may be performed on an individual already employed in the organisation in case legal preconditions are met. We recommend, however, that the vetting be applied for the first time already when the individual is selected for an employment relationship or a task.