What is the current Selective Service registration law?
The last men drafted in the United States were inducted in 1973, and in April of 1975, registration for the Selective Service was abolished. Registration was reinstated by President Carter in July 1980 as a response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Who is required to register?
Men living in the United States who are ages 18 through 25 are required to register with the Selective Service within 30 days of their 18th birthday, and are required to keep their registrations up to date with current contact information until their 26th birthday. This includes citizens of the United States, legal permanent residents, undocumented immigrants, those asking for or who have received asylum, and refugees. Dual nationals of the United States and another country are required to register, as are U. S. citizens residing outside of the United States. Residents of Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands are U. S. citizens. Men living in other U. S. territories and protectorates, including but not limited to the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau, may also be required to register.
Men who are hospitalized or incarcerated are not required to register while institutionalized, but they must register within 30 days after their release if they have not yet reached their 26th birthday. Being mentally or physically handicapped is not automatically an exception: if you are able to function in public with or without assistance, you must register if you are otherwise required to register.
Even if you identify as a conscientious objector, you are still legally required to register.
The legal obligation to register is based on the sex assigned at birth. Individuals who are assigned male at birth are required to register whether or not they later transition; likewise, individuals who are assigned female at birth are not required to register even if they later transition.
Current laws describing who must register with the Selective Service can be found at https://www.sss.gov/register/who-needs-to-register/.
Who is not required to register?
Non-citizens who are in the U. S. on valid student or visitor visas, men who are part of a diplomatic or trade mission, and their immediate families, are exempt and are not required to register with the Selective Service. Men already in the U. S. Armed Forces are not required while they are enlisted, but must register after leaving the service if they are younger than 26 years old.
What are the penalties for not registering?
Failure to register can result in a fine of up to $250,000, incarceration in a federal prison for up to five years in prison, or both. Proof of registration is required to obtain federal student aid, job training benefits, and most federal employment. (Current information is available at https://www.sss.gov/register/benefits-and-penalties/.) Many states have laws making registration with the Selective Service a requirement for similar state programs and jobs. Non-citizen men arriving in the U. S. before their 26th birthday who wish to become a citizen must register: failure to register in time may permanently close the chance of becoming a citizen. These penalties are persistent: if you never register before your 26th birthday, you may become permanently cut off from federal and state programs.
Draft? What draft?
Although there has not been an active draft in the United States since 1973, Congress will occasionally consider bills to reactivate mandatory national service. With the current state of world affairs, and the U. S. history of committing itself to foreign military action, the current lack of a draft does not mean there will not be a draft next month.
I was assigned female at birth, so I have nothing to worry about, right?
When draft registration restarted in 1980, women were excluded because of the “Combat Exclusion Policy” (CEP.) This policy, in place since 1948, greatly restricted where women could serve in the U. S. military. In 1993, some of these restrictions were removed, and in 2013 the policy itself was eliminated.
Since 1980, several lawsuits have been filed to require that women also register for the draft and face the same penalties if they failed to comply. These suits were rejected by the courts because of the CEP. After the policy was removed, another lawsuit was filed and National Coalition for Men v. Selective Service System was eventually heard by the Federal District Court of Southern Texas. In February 2019 the court ruled in National Coalition for Men, et al. v. Selective Service System, et al. that without the CEP, male-only registration amounted to illegal discrimination. The case was appealed to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, who reversed the lower court&srquo;s opinion. The case was referred to the U. S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case and let the 5th Circuit’s opinion stand. The Court stated that such a reversal was up to Congress to enact, not the courts.
I am gay. Should I be concerned about a possible draft?
Yes. The regulation prohibiting gay and bisexual people from serving in the U. S. Armed Forces was repealed on September 20, 2011. LGB people may now serve openly, and it is unlikely that same-sex attraction will be a disqualification in a future draft. Same-sex attraction has never been an excuse for failing to register with the Selective Service.
I am transgendered. Should I be concerned about a possible draft?
Yes. The regulation prohibiting trans people from serving in the U. S. Armed Forces was repealed on June 30, 2016. Trans individuals may now serve openly, and it is unlikely that a trans identity will be a disqualification in a future draft. Identifying as a gender other than the one assigned at birth has never been an excuse for failing to register with the Selective Service. Under current law, registration is still mandatory for all persons assigned male at birth, regardless of their current gender identity. Also, persons assigned female at birth are not required to register, regardless of their current gender identity.
I am older than draft age, so I am safe, right?
Not necessarily. In 1989, Congress authorized the Health Care Personnel Delivery System for conscripting “persons qualified for practice or employment in a health care and professional occupation,” which has been on stand-by ever since. It is based on a similar law that had been in effect from 1950 until 1973. If invoked by Congress, this “doctors' draft” would conscript men and women aged 20 to 50 who are already working in, or are qualified to work in, 57 different job categories including surgery, dentistry, neurology, physiology, nursing, respiratory therapy, pharmacy, and dietetics. Current information is available at https://www.sss.gov/about/return-to-draft.
It is also possible that an act of Congress will create a similar draft pool for other skills the military may need, such as translators, mechanics, and programmers. If you are 49 or younger, and work or are planning to work in a field that has potential military use, you may want to be prepared.
What is a conscientious objector?
A conscientious objector is someone whose core values include a prohibition against taking a human life and who, as a result, refuses to take up arms. In the past, two types of conscientious objectors have been recognized: those who refuse to take another human life but are still willing to serve in the military, and those who object to taking an active part in any war.
My objections are not based on religious beliefs. Can I still be a conscientious objector?
In the 1965 case United States v. Seeger, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled that the expression “religious training and belief” includes any belief which occupies the same place or role in your life as the belief of a Supreme Being does in the life of a believer. Five years latter, in Welsh v United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the religious requirement could not be limited to religious based beliefs only, as this was a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. As a result, objections based on moral or ethical beliefs had to be given equal weight as religious beliefs.
The upshot is that agnostics, atheists, secular humanists and other non-believers can apply for and be classified as conscientious objectors, so long as their objections are based on a core value. The refusal by a local draft board to grant such status because it is not religiously based is a violation of the law and can be appealed.
My objections are based on issues with this particular war. Can I still be a conscientious objector?
No. CO status is based on core values, not political beliefs.
But my objections are based on the belief that this is not a just war as defined by my core religious beliefs. Can I still be a conscientious objector?
No. In the 1971 case Gillette v United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the beliefs which shape the desire for CO status must include opposition to all wars and may not be selective.
Are there other ways to avoid military service?
In the past, the United States has permitted several ways to avoid the draft. People who are unfit for duty because of mental or physical impairment would be rejected. Often, men could claim exemption if they were the sole means of support for their parents.
There were also ways to postpone getting drafted. Full time students, for example, were allowed to defer induction until they graduated (latter in the Vietnam War, this deferment was changed to expire at the end of the current academic quarter/semester.)
I am already in the military, but my views have changed. Can I get out as a conscientious objector?
Yes, but it is very difficult and can take several months, even a year or more. While your request for a CO discharge is being processed, you will be required to comply with all lawful orders, including orders to deploy. Failure to obey will almost certainly result in very harsh penalties.
More information, including where you can find assistance in filing as a conscientious objector currently serving in the U. S. Armed Forces, can be found at the end of this FAQ.
If I seek conscientious objector status, won't everyone think I am a coward?
It is unfortunate that this attitude continues, as a great many conscientious objectors have proven themselves on the field of battle.
It has been estimated that as many as a 20 percent of all combat medics during and since World War I were conscientious objectors. Three CO medics even received the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery, Desmond Doss, Thomas Bennett, and Joseph Guy LaPointe Jr. Many other CO medics have received lesser recognitions: the Purple Heart (for being wounded in combat), the Silver Star (for gallantry in action under enemy fire) and the Bronze Star (for heroic or meritorious service in connection with military action against an enemy.)
How would a draft likely work?
When President Carter reactivated draft registration, he also ordered that local draft boards be activated. These boards have been kept staffed ever since, with around 11,000 people serving at any given time. Draft Board members are hired from the local community to administer conscription with that community. As in the past, they will hear requests for deferments and exemptions, and will decide if such requests will be granted.
Because there is no current process for a draft, let’s look at how it worked most recently, during the Vietnam War.
By the end of the war, the system for selecting draftees had become complex, designed to be as fair as possible. For each calendar year, the Selective Service assigned a random number to each date by putting 365 or 366 identical slips of paper, each with a different date, in to a jar and then taking them back out one by one. The order that the dates were pulled became the order in which men would be drafted.
The various branches of the U. S. military gave the Selective Service a quota of how many bodies they needed for the coming year. The Selective Service then applied several formulas to estimate how many voluntary recruits there would be, and how many deferments and exemptions would be granted. The result was the number of men who would be drafted.
Starting with the list of registered men who turned 20 in the current calendar year, the Selective Service started with the date drawn first for that year: men born on that date were drafted. If that did not provide enough bodies, then the second date would be used, then the third, and so on until the quota was filled. These men were then notified that “their number has come up” (this is actually where the expression comes from) and were given a date about a month latter when they had to report to the military induction center. They also received an earlier date, before which they could file with their local draft board to appeal the order for induction.
If the Selective Service ran through that list without filling their quota for the current year, they started with the list of those who turn 21 (i.e. are 20-21), then 22, and so on. While the Selective Service did sometimes dip into the 21 year old pool, it was rare.
What will happen if I get classified as a conscientious objector?
There have been two types of conscientious objectors: those who refuse to train in arms but are willing to serve in non-combatant roles, and those who object to any form of military service. During the Vietnam War, those in the first category were given a classification of 1-A-O and were usually trained as medical corpsmen. Those who refused to serve in any military capacity were given a classification of 1-O and and were required to serve an equivalent two year term of service in a civilian capacity. With either classification, COs still served out a period of national service. Upon discharge, 1-A-O objectors were entitled to receive the same veteran benefits given all other conscripts. In 1974, the Supreme Court ruled in Johnson v. Robison that 1-O objectors were not entitled to receive these benefits because their personal sacrifices were not similar to the sacrifices made by those who served in the military as non-combatants.
The Selective Service Administration has a page describing their current position on conscientious objectors. At this time, it matches the historic classification and term of service, but keep in mind that this may change should a draft be called.
What will I need to claim status as a conscientious objector?
It will not be enough just to appear before your draft board and say, “War is wrong.” After all, if a person wanted to serve, he would have enlisted as a voluntary recruit; therefore there is the assumption that everyone who appears before a draft board will do whatever he can to avoid conscription. Also remember that the board is under strong pressure to fill their quota regardless of your personal beliefs.
To document your desire for CO status, you must start early. Get some pocket folders, the kind often used for holding school papers. Make duplicates of everything you do or write that might show a core value against war or the taking of human life. Keep at least two identical portfolios: it has happened in the past that a draft board would request your documentation and then misplace it, costing you your exemption. Also remember that you will have a limited amount of time to file your claim and have it granted before you are required to report for duty. Foot dragging on the part of the draft board has never been allowed as an excuse for not showing up for induction.
When I started putting my folders together in 1982, this is what I was advised:
- Fill out a draft registration form and, in the space designated for a second address, print in block letters, “I oppose war in all forms.” Get a notarized copy of this form (which will give it an official date) for each of your folders, then mail the form. Although the forms themselves are copied to a database then destroyed and not filed or filmed as they once were, this will help to document your opposition to armed service from the very start.
- Obtain dated letters (notarized, if possible) from friends, teachers and religious leaders attesting to your opposition to war.
- Write a brief essay -- two or three pages -- outlining your religious and/or philosophical opposition to war. Discuss it with teachers and religious leaders to make sure that grammar and spelling are correct and that the essay expresses your beliefs clearly and concisely. Then put it aside for a week and go over it again. When you are satisfied, get notarized copies for your folders. It used to be that you could mail a copy of such an essay to the central office of your religious congregation or denomination (and to equivalent institutions such as the American Atheist Association and the American Humanist Association) who will stamp it with the date received and file it for you. Check with the appropriate people to see if they will still do this.
- Write similar essays for school writing projects. Keep copies.
- Write letters to the editor and articles for your school or local newspaper. Keep copies of all such writings; replace the copies with newspaper clippings showing the name of the paper and date of publication if they get printed.
- Participate in peace activities. Keep any relevant fliers you might receive at these activities, and include them in your portfolios. At the very least, keep a journal of every peace march, rally, protest, etc. that you attend. Note the time, date, key events and your reflections of the event. Provide a photocopy of the entire journal, not the original, should you need to use your folder. If you can, get photos of you attending the activity and include them as well.
- Make copies of quotes, speeches and newspaper or magazine articles and include the publication’s name and date of issue. For each one, write a a paragraph or two explaining how it reflects or does not reflect your views.
With changes in technology over the last few decades, I would also recommend the following:
- Express your views on social media accounts such as Facebook or YouTube. Make sure that the posts are public and visible to everyone.
- Start a blog or a YouTube account. Comment regularly on news items, and remember to include a link to the article you are commenting on.