MEN BORN BEFORE 1960

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NOTE: Men born from March 29, 1957, through December 31, 1959, were not required to register with Selective Service because the registration program was suspended when they would have reached age 18. The requirement to register with Selective Service was reinstated in 1980, but only for men born January 1, 1960, or later.

Men born between these dates will not have a Selective Service number; however these men are still eligible for all the benefits and programs linked to the registration requirement.

Status Information Letters Not Required

FAFSA applicants born before 1960: Students applying for financial aid who were born before 1960 are NOT required to obtain a Status Information Letter from the Selective Service System. Under federal law [34 CFR 668.37(a)(2)(i)], a male student does not have to register with Selective Service to be eligible to receive title IV, HEA program funds if he was born before January 1, 1960. Therefore, a letter from Selective Service is not required for students born before 1960 because federal law clearly exempts them from the registration requirement.

In addition, note that the Student Financial Aid Handbook, Chapter 5, p. 1-68, states, “Unless you can document that the student meets one of the allowable exemptions regarding registration …, the student must write Selective Service to get a Status Information Letter addressing his failure to register.” For the student born before 1960, the required documentation is provided in 34 CFR 668.37(a)(2)(i), and in the Financial Aid Handbook. Both the Code of Federal Regulations and the handbook document the fact that students born before 1960 are exempted from the registration requirement. Hence, no additional documentation from Selective Service is needed.

The handbook also states, “If the student isn’t clearly exempt from the requirement to register you should ask the student to document the exemption by providing the school with a Status Information Letter from Selective Service (p.1-66). Since students born before 1960 are clearly exempted by federal law, and the Financial Aid Handbook clearly provides for the exemption, there is no requirement to ask a student to document the exemption with a letter from Selective Service. Moreover, students born before 1960 cannot be required to provide a Status Information Letter to be eligible for financial aid because 34 CFR 668.37(a) states they do not have to be registered to be eligible to receive financial aid.

Refer to your Student Financial Aid Handbook, Chapter 5, on Selective Service: http://ifap.ed.gov/sfahandbooks/attachments/0304Vol1Ch5.pdf

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA), formerly called the Job Training Partnership Act – JTPA, offers programs that can train young men for jobs in auto mechanics and other skills. This program is only open to those men who register with Selective Service. Only men born after December 31, 1959, are required to show proof of registration.

A man must be registered to be eligible for jobs in the Executive Branch of the Federal government and the U.S. Postal Service. Proof of registration is required only for men born after December 31, 1959.

KEEP YOUR ORIGINAL STATUS INFORMATION LETTER IN A SAFE PLACE FOR FUTURE USE - Once a man receives a Status Information Letter, it is good for life. There are no regulations requiring an institution, WIA program, or federal employment to re-evaluate waivers every year. Men should keep their original Status Information Letter in a safe place for future reference and supply a copy of this letter when applying for student loans, job training, or a federal job.