Selective Service System

Selective Service System

Agency overview
Formed	May 18, 1917 (1917-05-18)
Headquarters	Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Employees	(2008): 136 full-time civilians, 57 part-time civilian directors, 200 part-time reserve force officers (in peacetime), up to 10,830 part-time volunteers[1]
Annual budget	$24 million (FY 2012)[1]
Agency executive	Donald M. Benton, Director
Website	www.sss.gov

The Selective Service System is an independent agency of the United States government that maintains information on those potentially subject to military conscription. Virtually all male U.S. citizens and male immigrant non-citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 are required by law to have registered within 30 days of their 18th birthdays^[2][3] and must notify Selective Service within ten days of any changes to any of the information they provided on their registration cards, like a change of address.^[4] A 2010 GAO report estimated the registration rate at 92% with the names and addresses of over 16.2 million men on file.^[1][5] However, the only audit of the addresses of registrants on file with the Selective Service System, in 1982, found that 20–40% of the addresses on file with the Selective Service System for registrants in the age groups that would be drafted first were already outdated, and up to 75% for those registrants in their last year of potential eligibility to be drafted would be invalid.^[6]

Registration with Selective Service is also required for various federal programs and benefits, including Federal Assistance for Financial Student Aid (FAFSA), such as student loans and Pell Grants, job training, federal employment, and naturalization.^[7]

The Selective Service System provides the names of all registrants to the Joint Advertising Marketing Research & Studies (JAMRS) program for inclusion in the JAMRS Consolidated Recruitment Database. The names are distributed to the Services for recruiting purposes on a quarterly basis.^[8]

Regulations are codified at Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter XVI.^[9]

History

1917 to 1920

Owing to very slow enlistment following the U.S. declaration of war against Germany on April 6, the Selective Service Act of 1917 (40 Stat. 76) was passed by the 65th United States Congress on May 18, 1917, creating the Selective Service System to raise an army to fight in Europe.^[10] The Act gave the President the power to conscript men for military service. All men aged 21 to 30 were required to register for military service for a service period of 12 months. As of mid-November 1917, all registrants were placed in one of five new classifications. Men in Class I were the first to be drafted, and men in lower classifications were deferred. Dependency deferments for registrants who were fathers or husbands were especially widespread.^[11] The age limit was later raised in August 1918 to a maximum age of 45. The military draft was discontinued in 1920.

1940 to 1947

War	Years Active	Number of Wartime Draftees[12]
World War I	Sept 1917 – Nov 1918	2,810,296
World War II	Nov 1940 – Oct 1946	10,110,104
Korea	June 1950 – June 1953	1,529,539
Vietnam	Aug 1964 – Feb 1973	1,857,304

The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 was passed by the 76th United States Congress on September 16, 1940, establishing the first peacetime conscription in United States history.^[13] It required all men between the ages of 18 to 64 to register with 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. In 1942, following the early December 1941 declarations of war by the U.S. against Japan and then against Germany, the service period was subsequently extended to last the duration of the war plus a six-month service in the Organized Reserves.

The Selective Service System created by the 1940 Act was terminated by the Act of March 31, 1947.^[14][15]

1948 to 1969

The Selective Service Act of 1948, enacted in June of that year, created a new and separate system, the basis for the modern system.^[15] All men 18 years and older had to register with Selective Service. All men between the ages of 19 to 26 were eligible to be drafted for a service requirement of 21 months. This was followed by a commitment for either 12 consecutive months of active service or 36 consecutive months of service in the reserves, with a statutory term of military service set at a minimum of five years total. Conscripts could volunteer for military service in the Regular Army for a term of four years or the Organized Reserves for a term of six years. Due to deep postwar budget cuts, only 100,000 conscripts were chosen in 1948. In 1950, the number of conscripts was greatly increased to meet the demands of the Korean War.

The outbreak of the Korean War fostered the creation of the Universal Military Training and Service Act of 1951 (Selective Service Act of 1948). This lowered the draft age from 19 to  18 ¹⁄₂, increased active-duty service time from 21 to 24 months, and set the statutory term of military service at a minimum of eight years. Students attending a college or training program full-time could request an exemption, which was extended as long as they were students. A Universal Military Training clause was inserted that would have made all men obligated to perform 12 months of military service and training if the Act was amended by later legislation. Despite successive attempts over the next several years, however, such legislation was never passed.

President Kennedy set up Executive Order 11119 (signed on September 10, 1963), granting an exemption from conscription for married men between the ages of 19 and 26. President Johnson later rescinded the exemption for married men without children by Executive Order 11241 (signed on August 26, 1965 and going into effect on midnight of that date). However, married men with children or other dependents and men married before the Executive Order went into effect were still exempt. President Reagan revoked both of them with Executive Order 12553 (signed on February 25, 1986).

The Military Selective Service Act of 1967 (Selective Service Act of 1948) expanded the ages of conscription to the ages of 18 to 35. It still granted student deferments, but ended them upon either the student's completion of a four-year degree or his 24th birthday, whichever came first.

1969 to 1975

On November 26, 1969, President Nixon signed an amendment to the Military Selective Service Act of 1967 (Selective Service Act of 1948) that established conscription based on random selection (lottery).^[16] The first draft lottery was held on December 1, 1969; it determined the order of call for induction during calendar year 1970, for registrants born between January 1, 1944, and December 31, 1950.^[17] The second lottery, on July 1, 1970, pertained to men born in 1951. The highest lottery number called for possible induction was 125.^[18] The third was on August 5, 1971, pertaining to men born in 1952; the highest lottery number called was 95.^[19]

In 1971, the Military Selective Service Act (Selective Service Act of 1948) was further amended to make registration compulsory; all men had to register within a period 30 days before and 29 days after their 18th birthday. Registrants were classified 1-A (eligible for military service), 1-AO (Conscientious Objector available for non-combatant military service), and 1-O (Conscientious Objector available for alternate community service). Student deferments were ended, except for divinity students, who received a 2-D Selective Service classification. Men which were not classifiable as eligible for service due to a disqualification were classified 1-N. Men who are incapable of serving for medical or psychological unfitness are classified 4-F. Also, draft board membership requirements were reformed: minimum age of board members was dropped from 30 to 18, members over 65 or who had served on the board for 20 or more years had to retire, and membership had to proportionally reflect the ethnic and cultural makeup of the local community.

The fourth and final lottery drawing was held on February 2, 1972, pertaining to men born in 1953, who would have been called to report for induction in 1973. But no new draft orders were issued after 1972.^[20] On January 27, 1973, Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird announced the creation of an all-volunteer armed forces, negating the need for the military draft.^[21]

On March 29, 1975, President Ford, whose own son, Steven Ford, failed to register for the draft as required,^[22] signed Proclamation 4360 (Terminating Registration Procedures Under Military Selective Service Act), eliminating the registration requirement for all 18- to 25-year-old male citizens.^[23]

1980 to present

On July 2, 1980, President Carter signed Proclamation 4771 (Registration Under the Military Selective Service Act) in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan,^[24] retroactively re-establishing the Selective Service registration requirement for all 18- to 26-year-old male citizens born on or after January 1, 1960.^[25] As a result, only men born between March 29, 1957, and December 31, 1959, were completely exempt from Selective Service registration.^[26]

The first registrations after Proclamation 4771 took place at U.S. Post Offices on Monday, July 21, 1980, for men born in calendar year 1960. Pursuant to the Presidential proclamation, all those men born in 1960 were required to register that week. Men born in 1961 were required to register the following week. Men born in 1962 were required to register during the week beginning January 5, 1981. Men born in 1963 and after were required to register within 30 days after their 18th birthday.^[25]

In 2014, due to a clerical error at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, information about 14,250 men born in the years 1893–97 (in addition to 1993–97) was provided to the Selective Service System. Draft registration notices were then sent to the men.^[27]

A bill to abolish the Selective Service System was introduced in the House of Representatives on February 10, 2016.^[28] H.R. 4523 would (a) end draft registration and eliminate the authority of the President to order anyone to register for the draft, (b) abolish the Selective Service System (which has existed continuously since 1917, although it was in "deep standby" status from 1975 to 1980), and (c) effectively repeal the Federal "Solomon Amendments" making registration for the draft a condition of Federal student aid, jobs, job training, etc. by prohibiting the denial of any "right, privilege, benefit, or employment position under Federal law on the grounds that the person failed to present himself for and submit to registration". This would leave in place, however, laws in some states making registration for the draft a condition of some state benefits.^[29] On June 9, 2016, a similar bill was introduced to the senate, called the "Muhammad Ali Voluntary Service Act".^[30]

On April 27, 2016, the House Armed Services Committee voted to add an amendment^[31] to the pending "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017"^[32] to extend the authority for draft registration to women. On May 12, 2016, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted to add a similar provision to its version of the bill.^[33] If the bill including this provision is enacted into law, it would authorize (but not require) the President to order young women as well as young men to register with the Selective Service System.^[34]

Who must register

Under current law, all male U.S. citizens between 18–25 years are required to register with Selective Service within 30 days of their 18th birthday. In addition, non-U.S.-citizen men between the ages of 18 and 25 (inclusive) living in the United States must register. This includes permanent residents (holders of Green Cards), refugees, asylees, and undocumented immigrants.^[2] Foreign men lawfully present in the United States who are non-immigrants, such as international students, visitors, and diplomats, are not required to register.^[2] Aliens on lawful non-immigrant status are not required to register for selective service so long as they are in status. If an alien's non-immigrant status lapses while he is in the United States, he will be required to register.^[35] Failure to register as required is grounds for denying a petition for U.S. citizenship. Currently, citizens who are 17 and 3 months old can pre-register so when they turn 18 their information will automatically be added into the system.

In the current registration system, a man cannot indicate that he is a conscientious objector (CO) to war when registering, but he can make such a claim when being drafted. Some men choose to write on the registration card "I am a conscientious objector to war" to document their conviction, even though the government will not have such a classification until there is a draft.^[36] A number of private organizations have programs for conscientious objectors to file a written record stating their beliefs.^{[37][38][39][40][41]}

In 1987, Congress ordered the Selective Service System to put in place a system capable of drafting "persons qualified for practice or employment in a health care occupation" in case such a special-skills draft should be ordered by Congress. In response, Selective Service published plans for the "Health Care Personnel Delivery System" (HCPDS) in 1989, and has had them ready ever since. The concept underwent a preliminary field exercise in Fiscal Year 1998, followed by a more extensive nationwide readiness exercise in Fiscal Year 1999.^[42] The HCPDS plans include women and men age 20–54 in 57 job categories.^[43]

Women as well as female-to-male transgender individuals who identify as male or have had sexual reassignment surgery are not required to register.^[44] Failure to register can cause problems such as denial of Pell Grants, even when registration is not allowed.^[45]

Until their 26th birthday, registered men must notify Selective Service within 10 days of any changes to information regarding his status, such as name, current mailing address, permanent residence address, and "all information concerning his status ... which the classifying authority mails him a request therefor."^[4][46]

Failure to register

In 1980, men who knew they were required to register and did not do so could face up to five years in prison and/or a fine up to $50,000 if convicted. The potential fine was later increased to $250,000. Despite these possible penalties, government records indicate that from 1980 through 1986 there were only 20 indictments, of which 19 were instigated in part by self-publicized and self-reported non-registration.^[47]

A principal element for conviction under the Act is proving a violation of the Act was intentional (knowing and willful). In the opinion of legal experts, this is almost impossible to prove unless there is evidence of a prospective defendant knowing about his obligation to register and intentionally chose not to do so. Or, for example, there's evidence the government at any time provided notice to the prospective defendant to register or report for induction, he was given an opportunity to comply, and the prospective defendant chose not to do so.

The last prosecution for non-registration was in January 1986. In interviews published in U.S. News & World Report in May 2016, current and former Selective Service System officials said that in 1988, the Department of Justice and Selective Service agreed to suspend any further prosecutions of nonregistrants.^[48] No law since 1980 has required anyone to possess, carry, or show a draft card, and routine checks requiring identification virtually never include a request for a draft card.

Year	Total draftees[12]
1917	516,212
1918	2,294,084
1940	18,633
1941	923,842
1942	3,033,361
1943	3,323,970
1944	1,591,942
1945	945,862
1946	183,383
1947	0
1948	20,348
1949	9,781
1950	219,771
1951	551,806
1952	438,479
1953	473,806
1954	253,230
1955	152,777
1956	137,940
1957	138,504
1958	142,246
1959	96,143
1960	86,602
1961	118,586
1962	82,060
1963	119,265
1964	112,386
1965	230,991
1966	382,010
1967	228,263
1968	296,406
1969	283,586
1970	162,746
1971	94,092
1972	49,514
1973	646

As an alternative method of encouraging or coercing registration, federal legislators passed laws requiring that to receive financial aid, federal grants and loans, certain government benefits, eligibility for most federal employment, and (if the person is an immigrant) eligibility for citizenship, a young man had to be registered (or had to have been registered, if they are over 26 but were required to register between 18 and 26) with Selective Service. Those who were required to register, but failed to do so before they turn 26, are no longer allowed to register, and thus may be permanently barred from federal jobs and other benefits, unless they can show to the Selective Service that their failure was not knowing and willful.^[7] There is a procedure to provide an "information letter" by the SSS for those in these situations, for example recent citizens who entered the US after their 26th birthday.^[49]

Most states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and Virgin Islands, have passed laws requiring registration for men 18–25 to be eligible for programs that vary on a per-jurisdiction basis but typically include driver's licenses, state-funded higher education benefits, and state government jobs.^[50] Alaska also requires registration to receive an Alaska Permanent Fund dividend.^[50] Eight states (Connecticut, Indiana, Nebraska, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming) as well as Puerto Rico have no such requirements, though Indiana does give men 18–25 the option of registering with Selective Service when obtaining a drivers license or an identification card.^[50] The Department of Motor Vehicles of 27 states and 2 territories automatically registers young men 18–25 with the Selective Service as federally required, whenever they apply for driver licenses, learner permits, or non-driver identification cards.^[51][52]

There are some third-party organized efforts to compensate financial aid for those students losing benefits, including the Fund for Education and Training (FEAT) and Student Aid Fund for Non-registrants.^[53][54]

Alien or dual-national registrant status

Some registrants are not American citizens, or have dual nationality of the U.S. and another country; they fall instead into one of the following categories:

• Alien or Dual National: An alien is a person who is not a citizen of the United States. A dual national is a person who is a citizen of the United States and another country. They are defined in four classes.
  • A registrant who has resided in the United States for less than one year. When two or more periods of U.S. residency are involved which total one year or more, the registrant will be deemed to have resided in the United States for one year and will be ineligible for Class 4-C. In computing the length of such periods, any portion of one day shall be counted as a day. He will be eligible for this class only until he has resided in the United States for one year. To support this claim he must submit his Immigration and Naturalization Service Form 1-151 (Alien Registration Receipt Card), showing his date of entry into the United States. If he has resided in the United States for two or more periods, he must furnish documentation for each period of residence. A registrant who receives this classification will be exempt from military training and service during his first year's residence in the US, but will become liable for service following his cumulative one year residence.
  • A registrant who left the United States before his Order to Report for Induction was issued and whose order has not been canceled. He may be classified in Class 4-C only for the period he resides outside of the United States. Upon his return to the United States, he must report the date of return and his current address to the Selective Service Area Office.
  • A registrant who registered at a time required by Selective Service law and thereafter acquired status within one of its groups of persons exempt from registration. He will be eligible for this class only during the period of his exempt status. To support this claim, the registrant must submit documentation from the diplomatic agency of the country of which he is a subject verifying his exempt status.
  • A registrant, lawfully admitted for permanent residence, as defined in Paragraph (2) of Section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended (66 Stat. 163, 8 U.S.C. 1101) who, by reason of their occupational status, is subject to adjustment to non-immigrant status under paragraph (15)(A), (15)(E), or (15)(G) or section 101(a). In this case, the person must also have executed a waiver of all rights, privileges, exemptions, and immunities which would otherwise accrue to him as a result of his occupational status. To support this claim, the registrant must submit documentation from the diplomatic agency of the country of which he is a subject verifying his occupational status.
• Dual national: The person is a citizen of both the United States and another country at the same time. The country must be one that allows its citizens dual citizenship and the registrant must be able to obtain and produce the proper papers to affirm this status.^[55]
• Treaty alien: Due to a treaty or international arrangement with the alien's country of origin, the registrant can choose to be ineligible for military training and service in the armed forces of the United States. However, once this exemption is taken, he can never apply for U.S. citizenship and may become inadmissible to reenter the U.S. after leaving^[56] unless he already served in the Armed Forces of a foreign country of which the alien was a national.^[57] Nevertheless, an alien who establishes clear and convincing evidence of certain factors may still override this kind of bar to naturalization.^[58]

Legal issues

The Selective Service System is authorized by the Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution which says Congress "shall have Power To ... raise and support Armies [and] To provide and maintain a Navy;" The Selective Service Act was the law which established the Selective Service System under these provisions. The article section that authorizes the Selective Service System doesn't explicitly state "conscription" or "draft" though, and "raise" means to create, not conscript.

Still, the act has been challenged in light of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution which prohibits "involuntary servitude".^[59] These challenges, however, have not been supported by the courts; as the Supreme Court stated in Butler v. Perry (1916):

The amendment was adopted with reference to conditions existing since the foundation of our government, and the term 'involuntary servitude' was intended to cover those forms of compulsory labor akin to African slavery which, in practical operation, would tend to produce like undesirable results. It introduced no novel doctrine with respect of services always treated as exceptional, and certainly was not intended to interdict enforcement of those duties which individuals owe to the state, such as services in the army, militia, on the jury, etc.^[60]

During the First World War, the Supreme Court ruled in Arver v. United States (1918), also known as the Selective Draft Law Cases, that the draft did not violate the Constitution.^[61]

Later, during the Vietnam War, a lower appellate court also concluded that the draft was constitutional in Holmes v. United States (1968).^[62]

Since the reinstatement of draft registration in 1980, the Supreme Court has heard and decided four cases related to the Military Selective Service Act: Rostker v. Goldberg, 453 U.S. 57 (1981), upholding the Constitutionality of requiring men but not women to register for the draft; Selective Service v. Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG), 468 U.S. 841 (1984), upholding the Constitutionality of the first of the Federal "Solomon Amendment" laws, which requires applicants for Federal student aid to certify that they have complied with draft registration, either by having registered or by not being required to register; Wayte v. United States, 470 U.S. 598 (1985), upholding the policies and procedures which the Supreme Court thought the government had used to select the "most vocal" nonregistrants for prosecution, after the government refused to comply with discovery orders by the trial court to produce documents and witnesses related to the selection of nonregistrants for prosecution; and Elgin v. Department of the Treasury, 567 U.S. ____ (2012), regarding procedures for judicial review of denial of Federal employment for nonregistrants.^[63]

Exemption of women

Selective Service law as it is written now refers specifically to "male persons" in stating who must register and who would be drafted. For women to be required to register with the Selective Service, Congress would have to amend the law, which currently exempts women from registration.^[64]

The constitutionality of excluding women was decided in 1981 by the United States Supreme Court in Rostker v. Goldberg, with the Court holding that requiring only men to register did not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

The existence of the combat restrictions clearly indicates the basis for Congress' decision to exempt women from registration. The purpose of registration was to prepare for a draft of combat troops. Since women are excluded from combat, Congress concluded that they would not be needed in the event of a draft, and therefore decided not to register them.^[65]

At the request of President Bill Clinton, the Department of Defense reviewed the issue in 1994, noting that because women are excluded by policy from front-line combat positions, excluding them from the draft process remains justifiable in DoD's view. Although no conclusions were reached, DoD recognized that policies regarding women need to be reviewed periodically because the role of women in the military continues to expand. The Selective Service System takes the position that it would be able to register and draft women with its existing infrastructure, if given the mission and additional funding.^[64]

On January 23, 2013, the Pentagon decided to end its policy of excluding women from combat positions. Military and legal analysts speculate that this will open the door for Congress to begin the process to amend the law and remove the exemption from registration requirements.^[66][67] In July 2015, a 17-year-old girl in New Jersey sued the Selective Service System for the right to register for the draft.^[68]

The National Coalition for Men has filed a lawsuit that challenges the legality of requiring only men to register for the military draft.^[69][70] The lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Selective Service System in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on April 4, 2013, Case Number 2:13-cv-02391-DSF-MAN.^[71] The case was dismissed on July 29, 2013,^[72] and the NCFM filed for appeal on June 25, 2014 in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.^[73] Oral argument before a 3-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit was held on December 8, 2015.^[74] On February 19, 2016, the 9th Circuit reversed the decision of the District Court on the issue of ripeness, and remanded the case for further proceedings on standing and the other issues.^[75] Another case challenging the Constitutionality of male-only draft registration, Kyle v. Selective Service System, is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.^[76]

Bills have been introduced in Congress or announced as planned to be introduced to require women to register whenever the President orders women to register, to prohibit the President from ordering women to register, and to repeal the Military Selective Service Act and thereby eliminate the authority of the President to order anyone to register.^[77][78][79]

On June 15, 2016, the United States Senate passed a bill to include women in Selective Service registration.^[80] 2016 Democratic candidate for President Hillary Clinton announced her support for the measure.^[81]

Structure and operation

The Selective Service System is an independent federal agency within the Executive Branch of the federal government of the United States. The Director of the Selective Service System reports directly to the President of the United States.^[82]

During peacetime, the agency comprises a National Headquarters, three Regional Headquarters and a Data Management Center. Even during peacetime, the agency is also aided by 11,000 volunteers serving on local boards and district appeal boards.^[83] During a mobilization (draft), the agency would greatly expand by activating an additional 56 State Headquarters, 400+ Area Offices as well as 40+ Alternative Service Offices.^[84]

The agency's budget for the 2015–2016 fiscal year was about $23 million. In early 2016, the agency said that if women were required to register, its budget would need to be increased by about $9 million in the first year, and slightly less in subsequent years.^[85] This does not include any budget or expenses for enforcing or attempting to enforce the Military Selective Service Act. Costs of investigating, prosecuting, and imprisoning violators would be included in the budget of the Department of Justice.

Mobilization (draft) procedures

The description below is for a general draft under the current Selective Service regulations. Any or all of these procedures could be changed by Congress as part of the same legislation that would authorize inductions, or through separate legislation, so there is no guarantee that this is how any draft would actually work. Different procedures would be followed for a special-skills draft, such as activation of the Health Care Personnel Delivery System (HCPDS).

1. Congress and the President authorize a draft: The president claims a crisis has occurred which requires more troops than the volunteer military can supply. Congress passes and the President signs legislation which revises the Military Selective Service Act to initiate a draft for military manpower.
2. The Lottery: A lottery based on birthdays determines the order in which registered men are called up by Selective Service. The first to be called, in a sequence determined by the lottery, will be men whose 20th birthday falls during the calendar year the induction takes place, followed, if needed, by those aged 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 19 and 18 year olds (in that order).
3. All parts of the Selective Service System are activated: The Agency activates and orders its State Directors and Reserve Force Officers to report for duty.
4. Physical, mental and moral evaluation of registrants: Registrants with low lottery numbers receive examination orders and are ordered to report for a physical, mental, and moral evaluation at a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) to determine whether they are fit for military service. Once he is notified of the results of the evaluation, a registrant will be given 10 days to file a claim for exemption, postponement, or deferment.
5. Local and appeal boards activated and induction notices sent: Local and Appeal Boards will begin processing registrant claims/appeals. Those who passed the military evaluation will receive induction orders. An inductee will have 10 days to report to a local Military Entrance Processing Station for induction.
6. First draftees are inducted: According to current plans, Selective Service must deliver the first inductees to the military within 193 days from the onset of a crisis.^[86]

Lottery procedures

If the agency were to mobilize and conduct a draft, a lottery would be held in full view of the public. First, all days of the year are placed into a capsule at random. Second, the numbers 1–365 (1–366 for lotteries held with respect to a leap year) are placed into a second capsule. These two capsules are certified for procedure, sealed in a drum, and stored.

In the event of a draft, the drums are taken out of storage and inspected to make sure they have not been tampered with. The lottery then takes place, and each date is paired with a number at random. For example, if January 16 is picked from the "date" capsule and the number 59 picked from the "number" capsule, all men of age 20 born on January 16 will be the 59th group to receive induction notices. This process continues until all dates are matched with a number.

Should all dates be used, the Selective Service will first conscript men at the age of 20, then 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 19, and 18. Once all dates are paired, the dates will be sent to Selective Service System's Data Management Center.^[87]

Classifications

1948–1976

Class	Categories (1948–1975)[88]
1-A	Available for unrestricted military service.
1-A-O	Conscientious objector available for noncombatant military service only.
1-C	Member of the Armed Forces of the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the Public Health Service. Enlisted (Enl.): member who volunteered for service. Inducted (Ind.): member who was conscripted into service. Discharged (Dis.): member released after completing service; later changed to Class 4-A. Separated (Sep.): member released before completing service; may be recalled to service if their status has changed.
1-D	Members of a reserve component (Reserves or National Guard), students taking military training (Service Academy, Senior Military College, or ROTC), or accepted Aviation Cadet applicants (1942–1975).
1-D-D	Deferment for certain members of a reserve component or student taking military training.
1-D-E	Exemption of certain members of a reserve component or student taking military training.
1-H	Registrant not currently subject to processing for induction or alternative service. Note: Within the cessation of registrant processing in 1976, all registrants (except for a few alleged violators of the Military Selective Service Act) were classified 1-H regardless of any previous classification.
1-O	Conscientious objector to all military service. A registrant must establish to the satisfaction of the board that his request for exemption from combatant and noncombatant military training and service in the Armed Forces is based upon moral, ethical or religious beliefs which play a significant role in his life and that his objection to participation in war is not confined to a particular war. The registrant is still required to serve in civilian alternative service.
1-O-S	Conscientious objector to all military service (Separated). A registrant separated from the Armed Forces due to objection to participation in both combatant and noncombatant training and service in the Armed Forces. The registrant is still required to serve in civilian alternative service.
1-S (H)	Student deferred by statute (High School). Induction can be deferred either until graduation or until reaching the age of 20.
1-S (C)	Student deferred by statute (College). Induction can be deferred either to the end of the student's current semester if an undergraduate or until the end of the academic year if a Senior.
1-W	Conscientious objector currently performing assigned alternative service. They must serve for a set period of time equal to their owed national service (currently 24 consecutive months).
1-W-R	(Released) Conscientious objector who satisfactorily completed their service. This was later changed to Class 4-W.
1-Y	Registrant qualified for service only in time of war or national emergency. Note: The 1-Y classification was abolished December 10, 1971. Local boards were subsequently instructed to reclassify all 1-Y registrants by administrative action.
2-A	Registrant deferred because of essential civilian non-agricultural occupation. Also includes deferments due to full-time study or training in an essential trade or profession at a trade school, community or junior college, or an approved apprenticeship program.
2-B	Registrant deferred because of occupation in a war industry or a trade or profession considered essential to national defense: (Defense contractor or reserved occupation). This exemption was discontinued in 1951.
2-C	Registrant deferred because of agricultural occupation.
2-D	Registrant is a divinity student attending an accredited theological or divinity school to be prepared for the ministry. Deferment lasted either until graduation or until the registrant reached the age of 24. Exemption was created in December 1971. Previously considered part of Class 4-D.
2-S	Registrant deferred because of collegiate study. Deferment lasted either until graduation or until the registrant reached the age of 24. Exemption was discontinued in December 1971. It previously also deferred graduate students studying medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, osteopathy and optometry, and graduate students in their fifth year of continuous study toward a doctoral degree. The exemption for graduate and doctoral students was discontinued in 1967.
3-A	Registrant deferred because of hardship to dependents.
3-A-S	Registrant deferred because of hardship to dependents (Separated). Current serving member or registrant undergoing induction separated from military service due to a change in family status. The registrant's deferment can last no longer than six months, after which they may re-file if the hardship continues to exist.
4-A	Registrant who has completed military service.
4-A-A	Registrant who has performed military service for a foreign nation.
4-B	Official deferred by law.
4-C	Alien or dual national.
4-D	Minister of religion, formally ordained by a recognized religion, and serving as a full-time minister with a church and congregation.
4-E	Conscientious objector opposed to both combatant and noncombatant training and service. Alternative service in lieu of induction may still be required. Created in 1948; changed to Class 1-O in 1951.
4-F	Registrant not acceptable for military service. To be eligible for Class 4-F, a registrant must have been found not qualified for service in the Armed Forces by a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) under the established physical, mental, or moral standards. The standards of physical fitness that would be used in a future draft would come from AR 40-501.[89]
4-G	Registrant exempted from service because of the death of a parent or sibling while serving in the Armed Forces or whose parent or sibling has Prisoner of War or Missing In Action status.
4-T	Treaty Alien.
4-W	Conscientious objector who has fully and satisfactorily completed alternative service in lieu of induction.
5-A	Registrant who is over either the age of liability if a deferment had not been taken (currently 26+ years) or (where applicable) the age of liability if a deferment with extended liability had been taken (currently 35+ years).

Present

If a draft were authorized by Congress, without any other changes being made in the law, local boards would classify registrants to determine whether they were exempt from military service. According to the Code of Federal Regulations Title 32, Chapter XVI, Sec. 1630.2,^[90] men would be sorted into the following categories:

Class	Present Categories[88]
1-A	Available for unrestricted military service.
1-A-O	Conscientious objector available for noncombatant military service only.
1-C	Member of the Armed Forces of the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the Public Health Service.
1-D-D	Deferment for certain members of a reserve component or student taking military training.
1-D-E	Exemption for certain members of a reserve component or student taking military training.
1-H	Registrant Not Subject to Processing for Induction. Registrant is not subject to processing for induction until a draft is enacted. All current registrants are classified 1-H until they reach the age of exemption, when they then receive the classification of 5-A.
1-O	Conscientious objectors opposed to both combatant & noncombatant military training & service. Fulfills service obligation as a civilian alternative service worker.
1-O-S	Any registrant who has been separated from the Armed Forces (including their reserve components) by reason of conscientious objection to participation in both combatant and noncombatant training and service in the Armed Forces. Fulfills service obligation as a civilian alternative service worker.
1-W	Conscientious objector currently performing assigned alternative service. They must serve for a set period of time equal to their owed national service (currently 24 consecutive months).
2-D	Divinity student; deferred from military service.
3-A	Hardship deferment; deferred from military service because service would cause hardship upon their families
3-A-S	Hardship deferment; separated from military service because service would cause hardship upon their families
4-A	Registrant who has completed military service; may be recalled to service in time of war or national emergency.
4-B	Official deferred by law.
4-C	Alien or dual national; sometimes exempt from military service.
4-D	Ministers of religion; exempted from military service.
4-F	Registrant not acceptable for military service.
4-G	Registrant exempted from service because of the death of his parent or sibling while serving in the Armed Forces or whose parent or sibling is in a captured or missing in action status.
4-T	Treaty Alien. Registrant is alien exempt from military service under a treaty between the United States and his country, and has applied to be exempted from liability for training and service in the Armed Forces of the United States.
4-W	Conscientious objector who has satisfactorily completed their alternative service (currently a period of 24 consecutive months).
4-A-A	Registrant who has performed military service for a foreign nation.

Directors

	Director[91]	Tenure	Appointed by
1.	Clarence Addison Dykstra	1940-10-15 – 1941-04-01	Franklin D. Roosevelt
2.	Lewis Blaine Hershey	1941-07-31 – 1970-02-15	Franklin D. Roosevelt
	Dee Ingold	1970-02-15 – 1970-04-06	(Acting)
3.	Curtis W. Tarr	1970-04-06 – 1972-05-01	Richard Nixon
	Byron V. Pepitone	1972-05-01 – 1973-04-01	(Acting)
4.	Byron V. Pepitone	1973-04-02 – 1977-07-31	Richard Nixon
	Robert E. Shuck	1977-08-01 – 1979-11-25	(Acting)
5.	Bernard D. Rostker	1979-11-26 – 1981-07-31	Jimmy Carter
	James G. Bond	1981-08-01 – 1981-10-30	(Acting)
6.	Thomas K. Turnage	1981-10-30 – 1986-03-23	Ronald Reagan
	Wilfred L. Ebel	1986-03-24 – 1987-07-08	(Acting)
	Jerry D. Jennings	1987-07-09 – 1987-12-17	(Acting)
7.	Samuel K. Lessey Jr.	1987-12-18 – 1991-03-07	Ronald Reagan
8.	Robert W. Gambino	1991-03-08 – 1994-01-31	George H. W. Bush
	G. Huntington Banister	1994-02-01 – 1994-10-06	(Acting)
9.	Gil Coronado	1994-10-07 – 2001-05-23	Bill Clinton
10.	Alfred V. Rascon	2001-05-24 – 2003-01-02	George W. Bush
	Lewis C. Brodsky	2003-01-03 – 2004-04-28	(Acting)
	Jack Martin	2004-04-29 – 2004-11-28	(Acting)
11.	William A. Chatfield	2004-11-29 – 2009-05-29	George W. Bush
	Ernest E. Garcia	2009-05-29 – 2009-12-04	(Acting)
12.	Lawrence Romo	2009-12-04 – 2017-01-20	Barack Obama
	Adam J. Copp	2017-01-20 – 2017-04-13	(Acting)
13.	Donald M. Benton	2017-04-13 – present	Donald Trump

See also

• Advanced Service Rating Score, the demobilization points system employed by the US Army at the conclusion of World War II
• Civilian Public Service
• Conscription in the United States
• Draft-card burning
• Draft evasion
• Lodge-Philbin Act
• Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations
• Registering for the draft in China, a similar system in mainland China.

References

External links

• Official website
• Selective Service System in the Federal Register