Facility Security Clearance

Facility Security Clearance is an authentic instrument - template certificate - here

Validity the Facility Security Clearance

  • for the level Confidential 10 years,
  • for the level Secret 10 years,
  • for the level Top Secret 5 years,

from the date of issue.

The validity of the Facility Security Clearance expires

  1. the expiry of the validity of the Facility Security Clearance, the cancellation or termination of the entrepreneur,
  2. the revocation of its validity (the date of enforcement of the decision of the Office revoking its validity),
  3. reporting its theft or loss,
  4. reporting of damage (resulting in illegibility of data, breach of integrity),
  5. return by the holder to the person who issued it,
  6. the date of delivery of the new Facility Security Clearance for the same form of access of the entrepreneur to classified information (for any degree).

 

If the holder of an Facility Security Clearance is requested to issue a new clearance pursuant to Section 96(3) of the Act and the procedure for such an application is affected by the declaration of a state of crisis for the entire territory of the Czech Republic, he or she may have access to classified information even after the expiry of the clearance in his or her possession due to its expiry (point 1), until the Office decides on his or her new application, but no longer than 12 months after its expiry. In this case, the Office shall not issue a Facility Security Clearance replacing the original or any other attestation. An up-to-date overview of the Facility Security Clearance that fulfil these conditions and can therefore continue to give access to classified information is available - here

Rights and obligations of the entrepreneur in case of expiration of the validity of the Facility Security Clearance

  • In the event of the expiry of the Facility Security Clearance referred to in points 1, 2 or 5, the entrepreneur shall be obliged to surrender the classified information provided to him/her to the person who provided it or to whose material scope he/she falls; if it is not possible to do so, it is obliged to hand it over to the Office. Classified information generated by the entrepreneur is obliged to hand over the classified information to the authority of the State to whose material competence the classified information belongs, if it is not, to the Office (Section 56(2) of the Act).

Please note:

By breaching this obligation, the entrepreneur commits an offence for which a fine of up to CZK 1 000 000 may be imposed (Section 154 of the Act).

  • In cases of expiration of the validity of the Facility Security Clearance under point 2, 4 or 6, the entrepreneur is obliged to return the Facility Security Clearance within 15 days the Office (Section 68(a) of the Act).
  • In case of theft or loss of the Facility Security Clearance (point 3) or in case of damage to the Facility Security Clearance (point 4), the entrepreneur is obliged to immediately report this fact to the Office (Section 68(b) of the Act).

     

Please note:

By breaching these obligations, the entrepreneur commits an offence for which it is possible to impose a fine of up to CZK 50,000 (Section 155 of the Act).In the event of termination of the validity of the entrepreneur's certificate under point 3 or 4, the Office shall issue a new entrepreneur's certificate on the basis of a written request submitted by the entrepreneur within 15 days from the date of termination of the validity of the entrepreneur's certificate within 5 days from its delivery (Section 56(4) of the Act)

Please note:

If no application is submitted within the prescribed period, the entrepreneur's access to classified information will cease and the entrepreneur will have to apply for a new Facility Security Clearance of the appropriate level and the appropriate form of access if future access to classified information of the Confidential, Secret or Top Secret classification is necessary, i.e. it will be his duty to submit a new complete basic application for the issue of a Facility Security Clearance according to the law, including payment of the administrative fee pursuant to Act No 634/2004 on administrative fees, as amended.

In the event of a change in some of the information contained in the Facility Security Clearance, the Office shall issue a new Facility Security Clearance without delay. Access to classified information is not affected until the delivery of the new clearance (Section 54(4) of the Act).

Facility Security Clearance for Foreign Power (so-called certificate)

The certificate (Facility Security Clearance for Foreign Power) confirms to the foreign power that its holder has been subjected to a security procedure in accordance with the relevant legislation of the Czech Republic and that it holds a valid Facility Security Clearance of the given classification level and relevant forms of access to classified information.

The certificate can be issued only on the basis of a written reasoned request of the entrepreneur - a specimen of the request - here.

The deadline for processing the application for the issuance of a certificate by the Office is not laid down by law.

Types of certificates issued by the Office of Entrepreneurs:

NATO CONFIDENTIAL
NATO SECRET
COSMIC TOP SECRET

 

The certificate is a public document.

For the purposes of the institutions of the European Union, the certificate is not issued, it is fully replaced by a ‘national’ clearance issued by the entrepreneur in accordance with the law.

Restricted certificates shall not be issued. The Office shall not issue a certificate or other similar document for access to NATO RESTRICTED classified information, as under NATO Security Policy that certificate or similar document is not required for access to or creation of NATO RESTRICTED classified information [C-M(2002)49-REV1, Security within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Annex G, paragraph 5]. At the same time, employees of an entrepreneur who will have access to NATO RESTRICTED classified information must be instructed before accessing it and must meet the need-to-know condition (Annex 1, paragraph 5 of NATO Directive AC/35-D/2000-REV8).

Thus, the conditions for access to NATO RESTRICTED classified information are fulfilled by an entrepreneur holding a declaration of an entrepreneur or a Facility Security Clearance, and by a natural person holding a notification of the fulfilment of the conditions for access to classified information classified at the level of a Restricted or a Personal Security Clearance, who has at the same time been made aware of NATO regulations as part of the instruction.

When does the Office issue a certificate

  • If so requested by NATO and if the entrepreneur is to have access to NATO classified information, if he meets the conditions under Section 15(b) of the Act
  • if it is in accordance with the security and economic interests of the Czech Republic and with the obligations arising for the Czech Republic from an international treaty,
  • if the entrepreneur is not in the process of revoking the validity of the Facility Security Clearance.

Period of validity of the Certificate (Section 57(7) of the Act)

may be no longer than the validity of the Facility Security Clearance, but in principle the certificate is issued for the period necessary (it is an item that the applicant for the certificate must fill in in the application for its issue).

Validity of the Certificate lapses

  • 1. the expiration of its period of validity,
  • 2. by announcing his theft or his loss,
  • 3. by reporting damage (resulting in illegibility of data, breach of integrity),
  • 4. return by its holder to the Office,
  •  
  • the expiration of the validity of the Facility Security Clearance further lapses

  • 5. by reporting its theft, loss or damage (resulting in illegibility of data, breach of integrity), if the entrepreneur does not request the issuance of a new one within 15 days,
  • 6. the cancellation or dissolution of the entrepreneur,
  • 7. revocation of its validity (the date of enforcement of the decision of the Office revoking its validity),
  • 8. the day of delivery of the new Facility Security Clearance for the same form of access of the entrepreneur to classified information (for any degree),
  • 9. return by its holder to the Office.
  • Rights and obligations of the entrepreneur in case of expiration of the certificate

  • In cases of lapse of validity the certificate referred to in point 3, 5, 7 to 9and in case of delivery of a new certificate issued by the Office in case of theft, loss, damage or change of some of the data contained in the certificate, the entrepreneur is obliged to return the certificate to the Office within 15 days (Section 57(11) of the Act).
  • In case of theft or loss of the certificate (point 2) or in case of damage to the certificate (point 3) the entrepreneur is obliged to immediately report this fact to the Office (Section 68(b) of the Act)

Please note:

By breaching these obligations, the entrepreneur commits an offence for which it is possible to impose a fine of up to CZK 50,000 (Section 155 of the Act).