Young, eligible men in the United States will automatically be added to the military draft registration pool starting in December under a measure included in the annual defense policy bill signed into law late last year.
Men between the ages of 18 and 26 are already required to register for selective service in case a military draft becomes necessary.
The last time the US carried out a draft was in February 1973 during the Vietnam War.
According to the 2024 report by the Selective Service System, automatic registration is already being used in 46 states and territories.
Late last month, the agency submitted a proposal to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to expand the system nationwide.
The new nationwide plan is unrelated to the ongoing conflict involving Iran and was approved months before tensions escalated.
However, renewed attention has been placed on the policy because the Trump administration has not ruled out deploying American troops on the ground.
CNN has contacted the Selective Service for additional details about the proposed rule.
Under the National Defense Authorization Act signed into law by Donald Trump in December, automatic registration will cover male US citizens and “every other male person” living in the country between 18 and 26 years old.
The rule also applies to green-card holders, refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented men, while those in the country on nonimmigrant visas are exempt.
At present, men living in states without automatic registration are expected to sign up “within 30 days of (their) 18th birthday,” according to the Selective Service website. The agency “accepts late registrations up until” age 26.
Failure to register is considered a felony and can lead to the loss of benefits such as certain student loans and federal job opportunities.
It also violates the Military Selective Service Act, which carries a possible prison sentence of up to five years and fines of as much as $250,000.
Several places, including Arizona, Delaware and Washington, DC, already automatically register eligible men when they apply for a driver’s licence or state identification card.
In New York, driver’s licence applications include an option allowing men to sign up for selective service.
The Selective Service System’s 2023 report showed that more than 60% of registrations came through state motor vehicle departments.
Democratic Representative Chrissy Houlahan, who introduced the automatic registration proposal, told CNN in a statement, “Making registration automatic, not only saves taxpayer dollars by eliminating the need to advertise but finally ensures that young men are not unknowingly penalized.”
In the same statement, Houlahan noted that the proposal had support from both major political parties.
The NDAA was approved with bipartisan backing in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
If a draft were ever introduced, Congress would first need to authorise it. Not everyone who registers would automatically be required to serve.
Instead, a lottery system would be used, with birthdays and numbers selected at random.
Those turning 20 in the year of the draft would be called up first, followed by those aged 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 19 and men who are more than six months past their 18th birthday.
Anyone selected would still have the opportunity to request an exemption or deferment. Those remaining would then undergo “physical, mental, and moral evaluation,” and only those deemed fit for service would ultimately be chosen.
