National Headquarters
Selective Service System
Registration Division
Arlington, VA 22209-2425

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is The Selective Service System?
What is Selective Service Registration?
Who Must Register?
Who is Exempt From Registration?
What Are the Benefits?
How Do You Register?
What Happens After You Complete a Registration Form?
Is Your Record Current?
What If You Move?
Will There Be a Draft?
Who Would Be Selected For Induction?
How Would You File a Claim for Postponement or Reclassification?
How to Obtain Additional Information?
"Who Must Register" Chart Inside Back Cover

What is The Selective Service System?

The Selective Service System is an independent agency within the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. The Director of Selective Service is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Selective Service is not a part of the Department of Defense.

The Federal law under which the agency operates is the Military Selective Service Act. Under this law, the mission of the Selective Service System is to provide the numbers of men needed by the Armed Forces, within the time required, should Congress and the President decide to return to a draft, in the event of a national emergency. Selective Service would also be responsible for administering a program of alternative service for conscientious objectors.

What is Selective Service Registration?

Registration is the process of providing the Selective Service System with personal information, such as name, address, date of birth, Social Security Account Number and other related information. It is a civic and legal responsibility. Even though, no one is currently being drafted, men are required to register with Selective Service as soon as they reach age 18.

Registering with Selective Service does not mean that you are joining the military.

Registration provides our country with a means to develop and maintain an accurate list of names and addresses of men who might be called upon if a return to the draft is authorized.

Failure to register or otherwise comply with the Military Selective Service Act is upon conviction, punishable by a fine of up to $250,000, imprisonment for up to five years, or both. In addition, federal and certain state laws require registration as a prerequisite for obtaining student financial aid, job training, government employment, and U.S. naturalization.

Who Must Register?

With few exceptions, all male United States citizens and male aliens residing in the United States and its territories must register within 30 days of their 18^th birthday.

Parolees, refugees, and applicants for asylum are considered to be residents of the United States and therefore must register within 30 days of their 18^th birthday.

Disabled men who are able to function in public, with or without assistance, must register. A friend or relative may help a disabled man complete the registration form if he is unable to do so himself.

Members of the National Guard and Reserve Forces, not on full-time active duty, must register.

Men cannot register after reaching age 26

For further information on who must register, refer to the "Who Must Register" chart on the inside back cover of this pamphlet.

Who Is Exempt From Registration?

The law exempts certain persons from the requirement to register:

• Females

• Lawfully admitted non-immigrant aliens (such as those men on visitor or student visas and members of diplomatic or trade missions and their families) because they are residing in this country temporarily.

• Men who are unable to register due to circumstances beyond their control, such as being hospitalized, institutionalized, or incarcerated. However, they must register within 30 days after their release.

• Members of the Armed Forces on full-time active duty. This exemption also applies to cadets and midshipmen at the United

States service academies. However, upon release from active duty,

a man must register within 30 days if he is not yet 26 years of age and has not already registered.

What Are The Benefits?

Federal and many state laws require registration-age men to be registered with Selective Service to remain eligible for applying for the following benefits: student financial aid, government employment, employment with the U.S. Postal Service, job training, and U.S. citizenship for male immigrants.

How Do You Register?

There are several ways a young man can register with the Selective Service System:

Registration On-Line

Young men can now register with Selective Service using the Internet. With access to the Internet, any young man can register by clicking on the"Register On Line Now" icon at the Selective Service home page (www.sss.gov). He then enters in some basic information and within seconds, he’ll receive his Selective Service Number. Within about two weeks, he will receive an Registration Acknowledgment Card in the mail.

Verification On-Line

Since Selective Service registration is required for student financial aid, job training, or government employment, officials administering these programs can now verify a young man’s requirement by simply clicking on the "Check a Registration" icon at Selective Service home page (www.sss.gov).

The U.S. Post Office

You can visit the nearest U.S. Post Office, pick up a Registration Form, SSS Form 1M(UPO), complete and sign it, and mail it.

Registration forms should be on the counter in the post office. If they are not, ask a postal clerk for a Selective Service Registration Form, SSS Form 1M(UPO). You are responsible for placing a stamp on the completed registration form and mail it.

You should receive a Registration Acknowledgment Card from Selective Service within 90 days.

U.S. Embassy or Consulate

If you are a U.S. citizen living or visiting overseas at the time you are required to register, go to the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consular office where personnel will assist you in registering.

You can also register On-Line at the Selective Service home page (www.sss.gov).

What Happens After You Complete a Registration Form?

You are not officially registered until your registration information is entered into the Selective Service registration file and you have been assigned a Selective Service Number.

You will then receive in the mail a Registration Acknowledgment Card showing the information recorded in your registration file, your Selective Service Number, and a Change of Information Form. If any of the information on your Registration Acknowledgment Card is incorrect, it is important that you correct it and mail the Change of Information Form back to Selective Service. You should keep the registration acknowledgment in a safe place as proof of your registration.

If you do not receive your Registration Acknowledgment Card within 90 days of the date you completed your registration form, it is important that you write to the following address or call (847) 688-6888.

Selective Service System
Registration Information Office
Post Office Box 94638
Palatine, IL 60064-4638

When contacting Selective Service, please provide your full name, date of birth, Social Security Account Number, and mailing address.

Is Your Record Current?

The law requires that you keep the information in your registration record up to date. It is important that you notify Selective Service within 10 days if there is any change to the information in your registration record. This applies only to men ages 18 through 25.

After you reach age 26, there is no requirement to update your registration record.

If you fail to maintain current information in your registration record, you may be found in violation of the Military Selective Service Act and subject to the penalties discussed on page 2.

To notify Selective Service, mark your change(s) on the Change Information Form attached to the Registration Acknowledgment Card and mail it to Selective Service, or complete a Change of Information Form, SSS Form 2, which you can obtain at any U.S. Post Office or U.S. Embassy or Consulate office.

You may also notify Selective Service of any change by letter, but be sure to include your full name, Social Security Account Number, Selective Service Number, and date of birth, as well as your new mailing address.

What If You Move?

The law requires that you notify Selective Service within 10 days each time you have a change of address.

To notify Selective Service, mark your change(s) on the Change Information Form attached to the Registration Acknowledgment Card and mail it to Selective Service, or complete a Change of Information Form, SSS Form 2, which you can obtain at any U.S. Post Office or U.S. Embassy or

Consulate office.

Will There Be A Draft?

The fact that a man is required to register does not mean that he will be drafted. No one has been drafted since 1973. No one can be ordered for induction by Selective Service unless Congress and the President determine that inductions are necessary. This would most likely occur only in the event of war or a national emergency.

Who Would Be Selected For Induction?

Men who will reach age 20 during the calendar year in which inductions occur would be the first group to be called. If more men are needed that year, after all men turning 20 are considered, the order of call would continue up to those who will reach age 21, then 22, and on up through age 25. The order of inductions within each age group would he determined by a lottery which matches a random sequence number with birth dates.

If you were selected for induction you would be sent an "Order to Report for Induction" along with detailed instructions explaining where to report and what actions would be required on your part to fulfill this requirement. However, if you file a claim for postponement or reclassification the induction will be delayed until a decision is made on whether the claim is accepted or denied. Some examples of the requirements to obtain a postponement or a reclassification are as follows:

Postponements:

• For full-time college students who desire to finish their current semester.

• For full-time college students in their last academic year who desire to finish that academic year.

• For high school students not yet 20 years old who desire to stay in school until they graduate.

Reclassifications:

• For men whose induction would create a hardship to their dependents.

• For students studying for the ministry.

• For ministers of religion.

• For Conscientious Objectors. Those who hold deep religious, moral, or ethical beliefs against participation in war. If the objection is to participate in combat military service only, one would be inducted to perform only non-combat military service; if the objection is to participate in all military service, in lieu of induction one would be ordered to perform civilian work contributing to the maintenance of the national health, safety, or interest as determined by the Director of Selective Service.

How Would You File a Claim For Postponement or Reclassification?

Before being selected for Induction, you will be sent for an Armed Forces Evaluation. If you are found qualified for military service you will be given the opportunity to file a claim for deferment for exemption. That claim must be filed within 10 days from the date you are found qualified, using forms that will be made available to you. You can not file a claim unless you are found qualified for military service.

How To Obtain Additional Information?

The Selective Service System’s "Information For Registrants" booklet furnishes information about Selective Service responsibilities, and registrants’ rights and obligations. It also explains the induction, claims, and appeals process that would be in effect if inductions are authorized in the future. This publication is available to you by writing: Information for Registrants, Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, CO 81009.

For additional information on Selective Service registration, you may call (847) 688-6888 or write to:

Selective Service System
Registration Information Office
P.O. Box 94638
Palatine, IL 60094-4638

WHO MUST REGISTER?

With only a few exceptions, the registration requirement applies to all male U.S. citizens and male aliens residing in the United States who are 18 through 25 years of age.

*Must register 30 days of release unless already age 26, or already registered when released, or exempt during entire period age 18 through 25.

**Residents of Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Island, and Northern Mariana Islands are U.S. Citizens. Citizens of American Samoa are nationals and must register when they are habitual residents in the United States. Habitual residence is presumed whenever a national or a citizen of the Republic of the Marshall Islands or the Federated States of Micronesia resides in the United States for more than one year in any status, except as a student or employee of the government of his homeland.