Selective Service

The Selective Service System is an independent U.S. government agency. It keeps a list of people who could be contacted if Congress and the President ever authorize a military draft. There has not been a draft since 1973.

Being on the list is called registration. It is a record-keeping step, not a job or a service commitment.

Registering with Selective Service does not mean you are joining the military. Enlistment is a separate, voluntary process handled by the armed forces.

Registering does not send you to training, and it does not make you a member of any military branch.

Whether the registration requirement applied to someone depends on their situation during ages 18 through 25 — including their immigration status at that time. For example, the official requirements describe how lawful permanent residents and some other immigrants are treated differently from people who were in the U.S. on certain temporary visas.

Requirements are also connected to sex as defined by Selective Service. Because these details are personal and sensitive, we do not ask about them. The official requirements table is the right place to review them.

The registration window is tied to your age, not to the date you became a citizen. Naturalizing does not create a new registration period.

If the requirement applied to you before you became a citizen, it may already have applied during those years. If you became a citizen after age 26, you cannot register now — but you can review the official guidance for people 26 and older.

Selective Service offers an official lookup on sss.gov. It asks for personal details, so only enter them on the official sss.gov website — type the address yourself.

Some people were registered automatically, for example through certain state driver's license applications or immigration paperwork, and did not know it.

Selective Service publishes a table that lists which groups are required to register and which are not. Read it carefully — the categories are specific.

If your situation does not clearly fit the table, contact Selective Service directly. Do not rely on a friend, a website like this one, or someone charging a fee to decide for you.

Selective Service does not accept registrations after a person's 26th birthday. If you were required to register and did not, the official "men 26 and older" page explains your options, including requesting a Status Information Letter.

Not having registered does not automatically mean you can never work for the federal government. Federal law looks at whether a person knowingly and willfully failed to register, and decisions are made through an official review process. Review the official guidance and keep copies of any letters you receive.

A Status Information Letter is a letter from Selective Service describing whether, based on the information you provide, you were required to register. People often request one when an employer, school, or agency asks about registration.

The letter is information, not a decision about your eligibility. It does not by itself make you eligible or ineligible for a federal job or benefit. The hiring agency or program that asked for it makes its own decision.