U.S. Army soldiers participate in a 12-day jungle operations training course near Honolulu on Oct. 10, 2024. The government agency that keeps a list of draft-eligible men will begin automatically registering names later this year, abandoning a decades-old requirement that they register themselves.
KENNY HOLSTON
NYT
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Millions of men in the U.S. will soon be automatically registered for the military draft pool.
Under a federal law passed through the National Defense Authorization Act, which President Donald Trump signed in December, the Selective Service System will begin automatically enrolling male U.S. citizens and “every other male person” in the country between the ages of 18 and 25 using government data, removing the need to sign up on their own.
Officials say the change is aimed at improving compliance and reducing the number of people who never register for the Selective Service.
The update is expected to roll out by December 2026.
Here’s what to know.
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How does the current Selective Service process work?
Right now, U.S. men ages 18 to 25 and male immigrants are required to register online through the Selective Service System.
That process includes submitting basic information like your name, home address, date of birth and Social Security number to be added to a national database.
There are exceptions. Men in that age range who are on full-time military active duty don’t have to register, and neither do those who are continuously hospitalized or incarcerated during that time.
Registering also doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be sent into the military. There is no draft at the moment.
If a draft were ever put in place, men would be selected through a random lottery system and then evaluated before being called to serve.
What happens if someone doesn’t register for the Selective Service?
Under federal law, failing to register for the Selective Service can be considered a felony, with penalties including fines of up to $250,000 and up to five years in prison.
It can also affect access to certain opportunities. Men who don’t register may not be eligible for federal jobs, student financial aid or job training programs.
For immigrants, it can also impact the process of becoming a U.S. citizen.
According to the Selective Service System, about 81% of eligible men registered in 2024, a slight drop from the year before.
Officials say automatic registration is meant to help close that gap and reduce taxpayer burden.
Is the U.S. bringing back the military draft?
Again, there is no draft in place at this time. Federal officials say the shift to automatic registration isn’t about bringing back the draft. Instead, it’s meant to make sure the system has a more complete and accurate list of people who could be called if one were ever authorized.
However, during a recent interview on Fox News, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump “keeps his options on the table” when she was asked about the possibility of a draft returning due to the war with Iran.
The last time a military draft was in effect was in 1973 during the Vietnam War.
Later, mandatory draft registration for men ages 18-25 was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, and the system has relied on people signing up on their own ever since.
The Selective Service System is still in place in case a draft is ever needed, which is why men are still required to register in the first place.
The process to shift to an automatic registration happened before the war with Iran began.
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Tiffani is a service journalism reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She is part of a team of local journalists who answer reader questions about life in North Texas. Tiffani mainly writes about Texas laws and health news.