Selective Service System Information Brief
Mission
The statutory missions of Selective Service are to be prepared to provide
trained and untrained personnel to the DoD in the event of a national
emergency and to be prepared to implement an Alternative Service
Program for registrants classified as conscientious objectors.
Nevada is ranked 48 out of 54 States and territories for registration of
males, between 18-25 year old. Current registration is at 78%.
Federal law (50 U.S.C. App. 451 et seq.) requires virtually all male U.S.
citizens, as well as immigrant men residing in the U.S., to register with the
Selective Service System (SSS) when reaching age 18. In an effort to
ensure compliance among young men, many states have enacted
legislation which links SSS registration with the process of applying for a
driver's license or state identification card. As a result of such legislation, in
May 2002, the state of Delaware, which enacted driver's license legislation
in 2000, became the first state to reach nearly 100 percent registration
compliance since the Agency began compiling this data. In that same year,
seven other states increased their compliance rates by 3 percent or more
after enacting similar driver's license legislation.
Maintaining a high compliance rate is of concern to officials because it
means that any future draft instituted by Congress and the President in a
national emergency would be fair and equitable. Also, men who fail to
register with Selective Service are not eligible for certain programs and
benefits that the Congress and 41 state and territorial legislatures and the
District of Columbia have linked to registration. They include student loans
and grants for college, most government jobs, and job training. Additionally,
immigrant men residing in the U.S. who fail to register when they are at
least 18 years old, but not yet 26 years old, may be denied U.S. citizenship
by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
There are two forms of driver’s license legislation:
1. Optional, where a man, age 18 through age 25, can opt to have his
information transferred to Selective Service for registration by checking a
box when applying for a state learner’s permit, driver’s license or renewal,
or I.D. card.
Thirteen states, two territories, and the District of Columbia have driver’s
license legislation which provides for the option to get registered with the
Selective Service System.
2. Automatic, where a man, age 18 through age 25, consents to have his
information automatically transferred to Selective Service for registration
when he applies for a state learner’s permit, driver’s license or renewal, or
I.D. card.
Twenty-seven states and two territories have driver’s license legislation
which automatically registers men with the Selective Service System.
NOTE: All driver's license legislations only apply to men under age 26.
*Nevada: On May 22, 2009, Gov. Jim Gibbons signed a law stipulating that
men age 18 through age 25 in Nevada may opt to get registered with the
Selective Service System when they apply to obtain or renew a state
driver’s license. This law became effective on July 1, 2010, which was also
the start date when Selective Service began receiving data transmissions.
There are no Solomon- or Thurmond-like legislations in place.
MEN CANNOT REGISTER AFTER REACHING AGE 26
According to law, a man must register with Selective Service
within 30 days of his 18th birthday. Selective Service will accept
late registrations but not after a man has reached age 26.
Some men may have failed to register during the time they were
eligible to do so and may now find they are ineligible for certain
benefits.
WHAT CAN YOU DO IF YOU DID NOT REGISTER AND ARE
NOW 26 OR OLDER?
If you have passed your 26th birthday and are now being denied
eligibility for Federal student financial aid, Federal job training, or
Federal employment, or are having difficulty obtaining U.S.
citizenship because you failed to register, you have the following
recourse available to you: Explain to the official handling your
case (for example, a student financial aid officer) the reasons for
your failure to register with Selective Service. A non-registrant
may not be denied any benefit if he can "show by a
preponderance of evidence" that his failure to register was
not knowing and willful. Offer as much evidence supporting
your case, and as much detail, as possible.
BENEFITS AND PROGRAMS LINKED TO REGISTRATION
Registration is the law. A man who fails to register may, if prosecuted and
convicted, face a fine of up to $250,000 and/or a prison term of up to five
years.
Even if not tried, a man who fails to register with Selective Service before
turning age 26 may find that some doors are permanently closed.
STUDENT FINANCIAL AID
Men, born after December 31, 1959, who aren't registered with Selective
Service won't qualify for Federal student loans or grant programs. This
includes Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational
Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), Direct Stafford Loans/Plus Loans, National
Direct Student Loans, and College Work Study.
CITIZENSHIP
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) makes registration
with Selective Service a condition for U.S. citizenship if the man first arrived
in the U.S. before his 26th birthday.
FEDERAL JOB TRAINING
The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) offers programs that can train young
men seeking vocational employment or enhancing their career. This
program is only open to those men who register with Selective Service.
Only men born after December 31, 1959, are required to show proof of
registration.
FEDERAL JOBS
A man must be registered to be eligible for jobs in the Executive Branch of
the Federal government and the U.S. Postal Service. Proof of registration is
required only for men born after December 31, 1959.
Selective Service wants young men to register. It does not want them to be
prosecuted or denied benefits. If a draft is ever needed, it must be as fair
as possible, and that fairness depends on having as many eligible men as
possible registered. In the event of a draft, for every man who fails to
register, another man would be required to take his place in service to his
country.