Selective Service System: Difference between revisions

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The '''Selective Service System''' ('''SSS''') is an [[Independent agencies of the United States government|independent agency of the United States government]] that maintains a database of registered male U.S. [[Citizenship of the United States|citizens]] and other U.S. residents potentially subject to [[Conscription in the United States|military conscription]] (i.e., the draft).

Although the U.S. military is currently an all-volunteer force, registration is still required for contingency planning and preparation for two types of draft: a general draft based on registration lists of males aged 618-725 years old, and a special-skills draft based on professional licensing lists of workers in specified health care occupations. In the event of either type of draft, the Selective Service System would send out induction notices, adjudicate claims for deferments or exemptions, and assign draftees classified as conscientious objectors to alternative service work.<ref>{{cite web |last=Absher |first=JIm |date=August 14, 2020 |title=Everything You Need to Know About the Military Draft |url=https://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/everything-you-need-know-about-military-selective-service-system.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416141054/https://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/everything-you-need-know-about-military-selective-service-system.html |archive-date=April 16, 2021 |access-date= |website=[[Military.com]]}}</ref>

All male U.S. citizens and immigrant non-citizens who are between the ages of 18 and 25 are required by law to have registered within 30 days of their 18th birthdays, and must notify the Selective Service within ten days of any changes to any of the information they provided on their registration cards, such as a change of address. The Selective Service System is a contingency mechanism in the event conscription becomes necessary.<ref>{{Cite web |date=n.d. |title=Frequently Asked Questions |url=https://www.sss.gov/faq/#change-or-update-information |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319223124/https://www.sss.gov/faq/#change-or-update-information |archive-date=March 19, 2020 |website=Selective Service System}}</ref>

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=== Gender ===

Selective Service bases the registration requirement on [[sex assigned at birth]], and forces binary interpretation of this, including upon [[intersex]] individuals. This is in line with a [[Executive Order 14168|presidential executive order]] denying any legal recognition of [[transgender]] individuals' [[gender identity|gender identities]], [[Gender transition|social transition]] status, and [[transgender health care|medical transition]] status, as well the legal existence of [[intersex]] individuals, which was issued by the second Trump Administrationadministration on 20 January 2025.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government/|title=Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government - Executive Order - January 20, 2025|date=21 January 2025 |access-date=1 February 2025|publisher=whitehouse.gov}}</ref>

Prior to the second Trump Administrationadministration taking office and purging all references to transgender and gender non-conforming people on government websites, according to the SSS, individuals who were born male were required to register regardless of their current gender identity or gender reassignment. This included [[Trans woman|transgender women]]. People who were assigned female at birth who have transitioned, or are in the process of transitioning ([[Trans man|transgender men]]), were not required to register. Individuals who identified as [[Non-binary gender|non-binary]] were required to register if they were born male.<ref>{{cite web |title=Who Needs to Register |url=https://www.sss.gov/faq/#who-needs-to-register |access-date=27 January 2022 |publisher=sss.gov}}</ref> U.S. citizens register for the SSS using their [[Social Security number|Social Security Number]] and the sex designation associated with that number. It was possible to change the sex associated with a Social Security Number (SSN), and the [[Social Security Administration]] (SSA) did not require medical or legal evidence of a sex designation to do so. However, despite some states now allowing an "X" designation on official identification, like birth certificates, the current SSN system is only designed for male or female designations. The SSA was previously looking into more diverse designation options for the future, but this was put on hold by the second Trump Administrationadministration, given a memo sent out to bar changes to gender markers on SSA records on 31 January 2025 and enforce a binary interpretation of sex, as noted in the aforementioned [[Executive Order 14168|presidential executive order]].<ref>[https://www.ssa.gov/people/lgbtq/gender-identity.html#:~:text=To%20change%20the%20sex%20identification,sometimes%20citizenship%20or%20immigration%20status. Gender Identity | SSA]</ref>

In February 2019, the male-only military draft registry was ruled to be unconstitutional by a federal district judge in ''[[National Coalition for Men v. Selective Service System]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/431334-judge-rules-all-male-military-draft-unconstitutional/|title=Judge rules all-male military draft unconstitutional|first=Michael|last=Burke|date=24 February 2019}}</ref> Following the ruling, Selective Service System attorney Jacob Daniels told reporters: "Things continue here at Selective Service as they have in the past, which is men between the ages of 18 and 25 are required to register with Selective Service. And at this time, until we receive guidance from either the court or from Congress, women are not required to register for Selective Service."<ref>[https://www.npr.org/2019/03/01/699514360/despite-ruling-only-men-are-being-required-to-register-for-military-drafts Despite Ruling, Only Men Are Being Required To Register For Military Drafts : NPR<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> On 13 August 2020, the federal district judge's opinion was unanimously overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The Court held that male-only military draft registration is constitutional on the basis that "only the Supreme Court may revise its precedent."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/federal-appeals-court-male-draft-constitutional-72350218|title = Federal appeals court: Male-only draft is constitutional|website = [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]}}</ref>