Eligible men in the United States will be automatically registered into the military draft pool by December, as part of efforts to simplify the current self-registration process and reduce costs.
The Selective Service System (SSS), which maintains a database of individuals who could be called up in a national emergency, submitted a proposed rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on March 30, according to the agency’s website.
Although most men aged 18 to 25 are already required to register with the Selective Service, automatic enrollment was mandated in December 2025 under the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.
Explaining the shift, the website noted that the change was designed to cut costs and improve efficiency, stating it “transfers responsibility for registration from individual men to SSS through integration with federal data sources.”
The proposal is currently under review and awaits final approval.
The United States has not implemented a military draft since the Vietnam War, with armed forces relying on voluntary enlistment since 1973. However, in 1980, former President Jimmy Carter reinstated the Selective Service framework in case of a “national emergency,” allowing the registry to “provide personnel to the Department of War and alternative service for conscientious objectors, if authorized by the President and Congress.”
Recent tensions, including the ongoing situation involving Iran, have sparked questions about whether a draft could be reinstated. The conflict is currently under a fragile two-week ceasefire.
Addressing such concerns, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in March that while a draft is “not part of the current plan right now,” President Donald Trump “wisely keeps his options on the table.”
However, the president cannot reinstate the draft unilaterally. Any move to resume compulsory military service would require Congress to amend the Military Selective Service Act.
Failure to comply with draft registration laws remains a criminal offense, carrying serious consequences. These include ineligibility for federal student aid, certain state benefits, and government employment opportunities, as well as possible fines of up to $250,000 and prison sentences of up to five years. Immigrants who fail to register also risk losing their U.S. citizenship.
Under the proposed rule, eligible men would be automatically enrolled within 30 days of turning 18.
Women remain excluded from the draft, despite repeated legislative attempts in recent years to include them in the system. Those efforts have consistently been removed before final approval of defense bills.
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