US suppliers entering UK defence · 3 of 8
Personnel security clearances and cleared people
UK personnel clearances run from Baseline Personnel Security Standard through Security Check to Developed Vetting. They are sponsored, they take time, and a US clearance does not transfer. For a new entrant, cleared people are frequently the binding constraint rather than capability or price.
What this involves
- Establish what clearance level your target work actually requires, which is often lower than assumed and occasionally higher than hoped.
- Plan the sponsorship route, since clearances are sponsored against a role and a need rather than held speculatively by individuals or bought off the shelf.
- Build the timeline into your capture plan, because clearance lead times are measured in months and they decide when you can realistically deliver rather than when you can bid.
- Provide cleared bid support where the requirement demands it, so that classified or sensitive material is handled by people who are permitted to see it.
The assumption that costs US entrants the most
Assuming a US clearance carries across. It does not. A cleared American engineer is, for UK classified purposes, an uncleared person until a UK clearance is sponsored and granted. Bid programmes built on the assumption that existing group personnel can simply be deployed tend to discover this at the point where it is most expensive to fix.
Why it matters
It is the constraint that most often decides whether a US entrant can deliver what it has bid. Plan it at capture stage, not at contract award.
Common questions
Does a US security clearance transfer to the UK?
No. UK clearances are granted under the UK regime and sponsored by a UK organisation against a genuine need. Reciprocity arrangements exist between allied nations in specific contexts, but you should not plan a delivery model on the assumption that US-cleared personnel can access UK classified material without UK clearance.
What are the UK clearance levels?
Baseline Personnel Security Standard is the entry-level pre-employment check rather than a formal clearance. Security Check is the common level for access to SECRET material. Developed Vetting is the highest standard, required for sustained access to the most sensitive material. Which you need is determined by the work, and over-specifying is as unhelpful as under-specifying because it lengthens timelines for no benefit.
Can we buy in cleared people rather than clear our own?
You can engage cleared contractors and advisers, and for early UK activity that is often the sensible route while your own sponsorship progresses. What you cannot do is treat clearance as a permanent attribute of an individual: it is sponsored and time-limited, and it needs to be current and correctly sponsored for the work in question. Ask any adviser claiming cleared personnel who sponsors the clearance and whether it is current.
Cleared support
Consultants cleared to Baseline Personnel Security Standard and Security Check, with Developed Vetting cleared personnel available where a requirement demands it.
Reviewed 22 August 2026 against MOD published policy. Nothing here is legal, export control or security advice, and defence policy moves: confirm the current published position before planning around anything on this page.
The rest of the entry picture
See the full UK entry overview for US defence suppliers, or our MOD bid writing service.
Testing whether the UK is worth it?
That is the right question and we will answer it straight, including when the answer is not yet. A director replies. We work US business hours by arrangement.
Personnel security clearances and cleared people
What do you supply, who buys it in the US today, and what has prompted the UK question?