High School Graduation on Your Mind? Young Men Should also Remember To Register with Selective Service

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PRESS RELEASE

Important opportunities such as college loans, driver’s license tied to registration

As high school seniors look ahead toward graduation, there’s a lot to think about: college plans, career paths, and beginning to strike out on their own.

However, a high school diploma is just one of the starting points for a successful future in this country. To ensure access to the broadest array of opportunities available to them, young men need to register with the Selective Service System.

According to Federal law, virtually all men living in the United States must register with Selective Service when they turn 18. Failure to register is a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment, though the Justice Department is not currently actively prosecuting men for failure to register. However, the American people – through their elected representatives in Congress and at the state and local levels across the country – have deemed Selective Service registration important enough to link it to numerous important opportunities.

As young men consider enrolling in college or entering the workforce, it is important for them to know that failing to register with Selective Service could undermine their plans. Men who don’t register are unable to receive the student loans they may need to help finance their education, or get hired for one of the public sector jobs they might be seeking.

In addition, young men must be registered to take advantage of job training programs, and most states require registration before a man can receive or renew his driver’s license. Immigrant men wishing to become citizens must be registered with Selective Service if they are residents of the U.S. between the ages of 18 and 25, regardless of their immigration status. This includes men who are refugees or are undocumented.

To be in compliance with the law, men must register within 30 days of their 18th birthday, but if they miss that window it is still important to register. Beginning at age 17, men can pre-register with Selective Service. Men who do not register by the time they turn 26 are ineligible to register, and therefore potentially permanently barred from the many opportunities tied to registration.

Registration is quick and easy. It can be done online at www.SSS.gov or by filling out a registration form available at the post office. The only information that a man must provide is his name, date of birth, and current address. Selective Service registrations are not currently cross-referenced with immigration, law enforcement or similar government lists.

Registration is the law, but it is also important to the security of our nation. Although the last military draft ended in 1973 – and the unlikely event of a future draft would require the authorization of both houses of Congress and the signature of the President – the mission of the Selective Service System is to maintain a database of all American men between the ages of 18 and 25 who could be called upon in the case of a national emergency.

As a young man graduating from high school, you’ve worked hard to get this far. Don’t take chances with this next important phase of your life. Register with Selective Service .

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[Photo by Jeremy Wilburn]

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