Automatic registration for US military draft-eligible men to begin in December

Starting in December 2026, eligible young men in the United States will be automatically registered for the military draft without any action or consent required on their part.

The Selective Service System will integrate directly with federal data sources to enroll males aged 18 through 25. This mandatory automatic registration was mandated by the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act signed into law by President Donald Trump in December 2025.

The policy ends decades of self-registration. Previously, nearly all male U.S. citizens and immigrants had to register themselves within 30 days of turning 18. Failure to comply violated the Military Selective Service Act and carried penalties including fines up to $250,000, up to five years in prison, and ineligibility for federal student aid, jobs, and other benefits.

Registration rates have already declined sharply since the option was removed from federal student loan applications in 2022.

The new system simplifies compliance, cuts costs, and redirects the agency’s roughly $30,000 annual budget away from education and advertising campaigns toward readiness and mobilization planning.

Women remain fully exempt.

The Selective Service System was created in 1917. The United States has not activated the draft since the Vietnam War ended in 1973 and has relied solely on volunteers since then.