Failure to register with Selective Service is a violation of the Military Selective Service Act. Conviction for such a violation may result in imprisonment for up to five years and/or a fine of not more than $250,000.
Selective Service accepts late registrations up until a man reaches his 26th birthday. Failure to register is a felony and non-registrants may be denied the following benefits for life: State-based student loans and grant programs in 31 states. Federal (and many state and local) jobs.
The Selective Service Training and Service Act expired in 1947. Only a year later, at President Truman's request, new peacetime draft legislation was passed to supplement voluntary recruiting.
The last man inducted entered the U.S. Army on June 30, 1973 during the last draft conducted.
A status information letter from the Selective Service System states the facts: Whether or not a man is registered; whether or not the man should have registered; or if he is exempt from registering.
If you do not receive a registration acknowledgment letter and card within 90 days of registering, please call us at 847-688-6888. Your call will be answered by an automated voice system. Listen carefully to the directions, and select the option for receiving your own Selective Service number.
As of January 2016, there has been no decision to require females to register with Selective Service, or be subject to a future military draft. Selective Service continues to register only men, ages 18 through 25.
Go to and click on Check Registration. Click on Verify Now. Enter your information in the Online Registration Search grid.
You no longer need to register for the Selective Service to submit the FAFSA. If you want to access federal financial aid for college, you no longer need to register for the Selective Service, which registers men and is responsible for running a military draft.
On paper, it's a crime to "knowingly fail or neglect or refuse" to register for the draft. The penalty is up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Last year, Selective Service referred 112,051 names and addresses of suspected violators to the Justice Department for possible prosecution.
Federal law prohibits men aged 26 or over who did not register with the Selective Service from getting a job in the civil service, unless they can prove that they did not knowingly and willfully avoid signing up for the draft. (Women do not have to register with the Selective Service).
The Selective Service System, otherwise known as the draft or conscription, requires almost all male U.S. citizens and immigrants, ages 18 through 25, to register with the government.
It required all men between the ages of 18 to 64 to register with the Selective Service. It originally conscripted all men aged 21 to 35 for a service period of 12 months. In 1941 the military service period was extended to 18 months; later that year the age bracket was increased to include men aged 18 to 37.
To that end, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which Wilson signed into law on May 18, 1917. The act required all men in the U.S. between the ages of 21 and 30 to register for military service. Within a few months, some 10 million men across the country had registered in response to the military draft.
Though the United States at present has no draft, young men are required by law to register with the Selective Service when they reach the age of eighteen.
Here are 11 ways people beat the draft in the 1970s.
- Be a Conscientious Objector.
- 2. Make up a health condition.
- Have children who need you.
- Be a homosexual.
- Run away to Canada.
- Go to college.
- Have a high lottery number.
- Hold an "essential" civilian job.
The Selective Service System is a direct result of the Selective Service Act of 1917. Although the draft doesn't exist in 2020, all men, whether U.S. citizens or immigrants, between the ages of 18 to 26 are required to register with the Selective Service System.
Registration with the Selective Service is not only important for the safety of our country, but it ensures that your son has every opportunity to succeed in life by getting the benefits linked to registration. This includes: State-based student aid in 31 states. All federal jobs.
Fairness and Equity. By registering all eligible men, Selective Service ensures a fair and equitable draft, if ever required. Exemptions and deferments apply only in the event of a draft.
At what age can you no longer be drafted? Once you're 26, you're exempt from being drafted "After someone is drafted, they can claim conscientious objector status, which is basically they say they have religious or moral convictions that do not allow them to serve in war," Winkie says.
On May 18, 1917, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which authorized the Federal Government to temporarily expand the military through conscription. The act eventually required all men between the ages of 21 to 45 to register for military service.
