US Military Draft Will Automatically Register All Eligible Men by the End of 2026 in ‘Streamlined’ System

Young men eligible for the US military soon won’t have to remember to register for the draft — it will be automatic.

On Monday, March 30, the Selective Service System (SSS), the federal agency responsible for maintaining the database of Americans who are draft-eligible, submitted the “automatic registration” rule change to the proper government office (Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs) according to the New York Post.

President Donald Trump and Congress approved the rule in 2025.

“On December 18, 2025, the President signed the FY 2026 NDAA into law, mandating automatic Selective Service registration,” per the SSS website. “The Agency engaged with Congress throughout the NDAA process regarding the automated legislative proposal.”

“This statutory change transfers responsibility for registration from individual men to SSS through integration with federal data sources,” the website further explains. “SSS will implement the change by December 2026, resulting in a streamlined registration process and corresponding workforce realignment.”

In terms of eligibility, both male US citizens and immigrants aged 18 through 25 will be registered, but “even though he is registered, a man will not automatically be inducted into the military,” per the website. 

“In a crisis requiring a draft, men would be called in a sequence determined by random lottery number and year of birth,” the website states. “Then, they would be examined for mental, physical, and moral fitness by the military before being deferred or exempted from military service or inducted into the Armed Forces.”