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By Anna Commander and Kate Plummer
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The Selective Service System (SSS) moved toward automatically registering most draft-eligible men by December after submitting a proposed rule for review on March 30, a step that followed Congress authorizing the change in the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, according to the federal regulatory dashboard on Wednesday.
Eligible men ages 18 to 25 will be registered automatically into the military draft pool by December.
Why It Matters
Automatic registration aims to boost compliance with federal law requiring most males in that age bracket to register with Selective Service and addresses recent declines in registration rates
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The change will shift responsibility away from the individual to register and place it with Selective Service to identify eligible young men more efficiently, the agency says in part on its website.
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The move comes as President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday night.
What To Know
Selective Service submitted the proposed rule at the end of March to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to implement automatic registration, and the rule remained under review pending finalization, as of 11:24 p.m. Wednesday.
What Is Automatic Draft Registration?
Currently, all male U.S. citizens and immigrants aged between 18 and 25 must self-register within 30 days of their 18th birthday but the new system automizes this process.
The Selective Service website said the change came after Trump signed automatic registration into law on December 18, 2025.
"This statutory change transfers responsibility for registration from individual men to SSS through integration with federal data sources," the website said. "SSS will implement the change by December 2026, resulting in a streamlined registration process and corresponding workforce realignment.
Will there Be a Military Draft in 2026?
There is no plan for a draft and there has been no suggestion this will change any time soon, though they have also not ruled it out.
U.S. federal law allows for compulsory conscription under emergency or extraordinary security conditions outlined in Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution and 10 U.S. Code § 246. This would apply to able-bodied men between the ages of 17 and 45 who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, U.S. citizens. It would also apply to female members of the U.S. National Guard and some other women in health care occupations.
The U.S. used conscription in six conflicts: the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Active conscription ended in 1973, and the U.S. Armed Forces moved to an all-volunteer military, although conscription remains in place on a contingency basis.
In March, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said a draft was not part of Trump’s plan but that he “wisely keeps his options on the table.”
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told CBS News that “we’re willing to go as far as we need to in order to be successful.”
What Is the Military Draft Minimum Age?
The minimum age is 18 years old and applies to men. In other countries, the conscription age varies.
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