U.S. transitions from manual to automated draft registration

Men ages 18-26 in the United States (U.S.) will be automatically registered to the American draft list starting in Dec. due to a new change in how the enrollment system functions requested on Mar. 30. This change was requested by the Selective Service System (SSS), the U.S. government body tasked with making sure those eligible sign up for the draft list. It was first approved by Congress in the National Defense Authorization Act in late 2025. This list is not an active draft, but a directory of people who are eligible to be drafted if one were to happen. There are no official plans being discussed to make use of an actual draft, in the current war in Iran or otherwise.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt believes, however, that the idea is not entirely ruled out.

“President Trump wisely does not remove options off the table,” Leavitt said.

Previously, enrollment was done manually by the citizen within 30 days of someone’s 18th birthday, with leeway given until they turn 26. Failure to comply is and was-under the prior law–a felony, providing an incentive for those who are eligible to register. However, enrollment numbers have been on the decline, with a three percent drop in 2024. The new automatic system aims to solve this by removing the person from the equation. It will function by gathering personal information from federal systems to find those who are eligible, though it has not yet been specified which databases will be looked through. This has already been put to use in states like Arizona, where eligible men are automatically registered when they apply for a form of identification. This form of registration already accounts for over 60 percent of all enrollments.

AP Government teacher Nathaniel Acker doesn’t think a draft is likely, though.

“People on both sides of the political spectrum have been talking about [changing draft registration] for years. But I don’t think Americans will tolerate boots on the ground anywhere. If you look at it from a political perspective, [starting a drafting] is wildly unpopular,” Acker said. “It’s already shown up in the polls with Iran. We’ve already learned in Iraq insurgent wars don’t work.”