U.S. Men Will Soon Be Automatically Registered for the Draft: Here’s What You Need to Know

(SeaPRwire) –   Starting in December, eligible men across the U.S. will be automatically signed up for the military draft, according to the federal agency that oversees draft registration.

The Selective Service System (SSS)—the agency maintaining a database of men eligible for the draft—states on its website that under the new “streamlined” registration process, responsibility for signing up will shift “from individual men to SSS through integration with federal data sources.”

On March 30, the SSS submitted a proposed rule to implement automatic registration to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which is currently reviewing the proposal.

Congress previously approved the switch to automatic registration in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), signed into law by President Donald Trump last December.

The U.S. has not had a draft since 1973, during the Vietnam War. To reinstate it, Congress would need “to amend the Military Selective Service Act to authorize the President to induct personnel into the Armed Forces,” per the SSS.

Here’s key information about SSS registration, who must sign up for the draft, and the new process launching at the end of this year.

Who Needs to Register for the Draft, and How Does the Current Process Work?

Nearly all male citizens and male immigrants aged 18 to 25 are required by federal law to register with the SSS within 30 days of turning 18 or entering the U.S.

Men who fail to register may lose eligibility for state financial aid, state and federal jobs, and—for male immigrants—U.S. citizenship. The SSS notes that not registering, or aiding someone to skip the requirement, is a felony punishable by up to a $250,000 fine and five years in prison.

Certain groups are exempt: men hospitalized or incarcerated from 18 to 25; those who lived in the U.S. during that period but maintained full lawful nonimmigrant status; and men who served continuously in the military between those ages. Men born between March 29, 1957, and December 31, 1959, are also exempt.

Disabled men who wouldn’t qualify for military service still must register with the SSS.

In the event of a draft, a man can apply for exemption as a “conscientious objector” if he has religious or moral objections to war.

The SSS outlines: “A man’s reasons for not wanting to participate in a war must not be based on politics, expediency, or self-interest. In general, the man’s lifestyle prior to making his claim must reflect his current claims.”

Women aren’t required to register, though they can voluntarily enlist in the military.

Eligible men currently can register online or by mail.

If Congress and the President authorize a draft, the SSS will hold a random lottery of registrants’ birthdays and numbers to determine “the order in which individuals receive orders to report for induction.” Men who turned 20 in the lottery year will be first to get orders. Additional lotteries (if needed) will cover ages 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 19, and finally 18.6.

The Department of Defense (DOD) requires the SSS to “deliver the first inductees to the military” within 193 days of a draft being authorized, per the agency.

How Will the Proposed Rule Alter the Process?

The 2026 NDAA amends the Military Selective Service Act to state that men aged 18 to 26 “shall be automatically registered under this Act by the Director of the Selective Service System.”

Under the new policy, men will be automatically registered within 30 days of their 18th birthday—the same timeframe as current self-registration requirements.

Per the NDAA, they will receive written notice of their registration and information on contesting it if they’re in an exempt group.

The proposed rule won’t change who is required to register.

Democratic Rep. Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, who sponsored the amendment’s language, said automatic registration will save money and agency resources.

She added: “This will also allow us to rededicate resources—basically that means money—towards [readiness] and towards mobilization … rather than towards education and advertising campaigns driven to register people.”