Who Gets Secret Service Protection and for How Long?

Secret Service protection is set by statute, not by presidential preference, and the people who get Secret Service protection are listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3056: the sitting President, Vice President, President-elect, and Vice President-elect and their immediate families; former Presidents, their spouses, and their children under 16; former Vice Presidents and their immediate families for a limited window; visiting foreign heads of state and their spouses; major presidential and vice-presidential candidates and their spouses; and U.S. representatives on special missions abroad when the President directs it.¹

The Statutory List, Category by Category

The inner circle is straightforward. The President, the Vice President (or whoever is next in the line of succession), the President-elect, and the Vice President-elect are all covered, along with their immediate families, for the full time they hold that status.

Beyond that circle, the statute names several more groups:

Former Presidents and their spouses, with the spouse’s coverage ending if they remarry.
Children of former Presidents, until age 16.
Former Vice Presidents, their spouses, and children under 16, for up to six months after leaving office, with possible extensions if the Secretary of Homeland Security determines threats warrant it.²
Visiting foreign heads of state and their spouses.
Major presidential and vice-presidential candidates and their spouses, within 120 days of a general election.³
U.S. representatives on special missions abroad, when the President directs it.

How Long Each Category Is Protected

Duration varies sharply. Sitting Presidents and Vice Presidents are covered for their entire time in office. Former Presidents now receive protection for life, but that wasn’t always the rule. A 1994 law limited former Presidents who took office after January 1, 1997 to ten years of post-presidency protection. Congress reversed that in 2012 with the Former Presidents Protection Act, which struck the ten-year cap and restored lifetime coverage.⁴

Spouses of former Presidents also receive lifetime protection, but that coverage terminates immediately upon remarriage. Children of former Presidents lose coverage at 16.¹

Former Vice Presidents get a much shorter window: up to six months after leaving office. The Secretary of Homeland Security can extend that if threat conditions justify it, but there is no automatic lifetime benefit for former Vice Presidents.²

For candidates, the window opens no earlier than 120 days before the general election and closes after the vote. Protection ends for losing candidates once the election is over.³

Felony Conviction or Impeachment

Current law does not address whether a former President convicted of a felony or removed through impeachment would lose Secret Service protection. The statute authorizes protection for “former Presidents” without carving out exceptions for criminal conduct. Legislative proposals to strip protection from former officials sentenced for felonies have been introduced but have not become law as of 2026.

How “Major” Candidates Are Designated

Candidates do not apply for Secret Service protection, and there are no polling thresholds written into the statute. The Secret Service itself plays no role in deciding who counts as a “major” candidate. That determination belongs to the Secretary of Homeland Security, who makes it after consulting a congressional advisory committee.⁵

The advisory committee is composed of the Speaker of the House, the House Minority Leader, the Senate Majority Leader, the Senate Minority Leader, and one additional member selected by the other four.¹ No specific fundraising totals or delegate counts are set by statute. The decision is a judgment call, which is why it can spark controversy during competitive primaries. Once the Secretary designates a candidate, protection is provided unless the candidate declines it. Spouses are eligible during the same window.

Who Can Decline Protection

The statute draws a clear line. Protection for the President, Vice President, President-elect, and Vice President-elect cannot be declined. Everyone else on the list, from former Presidents down to candidate spouses, has the legal right to turn it down. The text says: “The protection authorized in paragraphs (2) through (8) may be declined.”¹

This is not just theoretical. In 1985, Richard Nixon became the first former President to voluntarily give up his Secret Service detail, notifying the Treasury Secretary by hand-delivered note that he would arrange his own private security. Once someone waives protection, the government is no longer responsible for their physical security.

Officials Not on the Statutory List

Cabinet members, senior White House staff, and other high-ranking federal officials do not appear in the statute’s core protection categories. They are not entirely shut out. Starting in fiscal year 2008, the Director of the Secret Service has had the authority to enter agreements providing protection to federal officials not covered by § 3056(a), as long as the protection is performed on a fully reimbursable basis.¹ The requesting agency pays the Secret Service for the detail rather than having the cost come out of the Secret Service’s own budget.

The President can also direct Secret Service protection for U.S. representatives performing special missions abroad, which sometimes extends temporary coverage to officials who wouldn’t otherwise receive it.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3056 – Powers, Authorities, and Duties of United States Secret Service
2
Congress.gov. Former Vice President Protection Act
3
Congressional Research Service. Secret Service Protection – Eligibility and Protection Rules
4
GovInfo. Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012
5
United States Secret Service. Frequently Asked Questions About Us – Section: Which Candidates for President Does the Secret Service Protect?