Clearance Level

Phil Coulson's clearance card

"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s whole infrastructure is based on the hierarchy and compartmentalization of intelligence."
"Every agent can't have the intel on every mission. Makes the entire organization vulnerable."

―Jemma Simmons and Grant Ward^[src]

Clearance Levels were used by S.H.I.E.L.D. to keep order in their system and protect classified information.

History

Numeric System

"You're Director now, not some Level 1 field agent."
"There are no levels anymore. I got rid of those."

―Melinda May and Phil Coulson^[src]

There were 10 levels of clearance, as well as Level Alpha, Omega, and Tango Clearance. As agents moved up from Level 1, they gained access to more information, and frequently, more power, though rank and clearance level is not necessarily correlated. For example, for agents to know all of the information surrounding the Battle of New York, they had to have been Level 7. An agent's clearance level was not based on how long they have been a part of the agency, but primarily on their performance.

Case File: 092074 was classed under Security Clearance: Tango, it was a S.H.I.E.L.D. satellite feed that showcased Tony Stark around the time he was first using the Mark III suit . When Phil Coulson became Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he eliminated the clearance level system.

Color System

"Why do I, Level Red, have to go through you, Level Orange, to request hardware? Shouldn't Red be higher than Orange?"
"Well, Orange encompasses both Red and Yellow, so... It's hard to explain, but the Director didn't want to use numbers because he didn't want any team member to feel less than."

―Melinda May and Jemma Simmons^[src]

Following the re-legitimization of S.H.I.E.L.D., a new security clearance system, dubbed the "Spectrum of Security" was established. Unlike the original one, which was numeric, the new one was based on colors. Colors such as orange would generally be higher clearance than red and yellow as both are encompassed by orange, but in some cases, the lower colors would have higher clearance in select areas.

List of Agents by Confirmed Level

Hidden Levels

• Alpha Level
  • Nick Fury
  • Alexander Pierce †
• Omega Level
  • Nick Fury

Numeric System

• Level 10 (Director)
  • Nick Fury
  • R. Keller
• Level 9 (Deputy Director)
  • Maria Hill †
• Level 8
  • Phil Coulson †
  • Victoria Hand †
• Level 7
  • Clint Barton
  • Melinda May
  • Felix Blake
  • James Davis †
  • John Garrett (HYDRA) †
  • Jasper Sitwell (HYDRA) †
  • Grant Ward (HYDRA) †
• Level 6
  • Natasha Romanoff †
  • Steve Rogers
  • Bobbi Morse
  • Antoine Triplett †
  • Rebecca Stevens †
  • Eric Koenig †
  • Billy Koenig
  • Sam Koenig
  • Hank Thompson
  • Rivera
  • Hauer
  • Alphonso Mackenzie
• Level 5
  • Leo Fitz
  • Jemma Simmons
• Level 4
  • Katherine Shane
  • Akela Amador
• Level 1
  • Hendricks
  • Skye

Color System

Clearance Level Red

• Level Platinum (Director)
  • Jeffrey Mace †
• Level Orange (Field Support)
  • Jemma Simmons
• Level Red (Operations)
  • Melinda May
  • Piper
• Level Blue (Field Agents)
  • Phil Coulson †
  • Daisy Johnson
  • Alphonso Mackenzie
  • Anderson
  • Cecilio
  • Harlan
  • James Davis †
  • Sam Koenig
  • Fisher †
• Level Green (Research)
  • Leo Fitz
  • Holden Radcliffe †
  • Nathan B. Nathanson †
• Level White (Public Relations)
  • Burrows †
• Level Black (Enhanced Individuals)
  • Elena Rodriguez

Notes

• Clearance Level 1 had the least access in S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Some Clearance Level 4 agents worked as field agents.
• Many Level 5 agents worked as foot soldiers wearing body armor.
• Known Level 6 agents specialized in espionage and combat.
• Clearance Level 7 agents had full access to details on the Battle of New York.
• Clearance Level 8 gave agents more access to information that could risk the lives of agents in lower clearance levels. Some agents work as mission controllers.
• Level 9 is the access level held by the Deputy Director. As such, they have access to all S.H.I.E.L.D. files, including high ranking projects, secrets and missions. The only known person that had Level 9 Clearance was Maria Hill.
• Level 10 is the access level held by the Director. As Director, they have access not only to all S.H.I.E.L.D. files, but to the world's most important files and secrets. The only known person that had Level 10 Clearance was Nick Fury.
  • Alpha Level was an additional clearance level that was given to the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Secretary of the World Security Council, as those were the two highest ranking positions that oversaw S.H.I.E.L.D. Two simultaneous Alpha Level Clearance inputs were needed in order to disable all encryption on S.H.I.E.L.D. files. The only known people that had Alpha Level Clearance were Nick Fury and Alexander Pierce.
  • Omega Level was an additional Clearance Level that was needed to access special files, such as the full details of Project Rebirth, or Camilla Reyes' hijacking of the Bus. The only known person that had Omega Level Clearance was Nick Fury.
• In a conversation with agents Phil Coulson and Grant Ward on Coulson's resurrection, Maria Hill states that the Avengers were not Level 7. However, Clint Barton had Level 7 clearance.
• Clearance Level Orange has a higher clearance than Clearance Level Red in most cases, since it encompasses both Level Red and Yellow.

• Clearance Level Platinum has the highest clearance and security access to all levels.