Selective Service Registration
Male students who fail to register with Selective Service before turning age 26 are ineligible for federal student loan and grant programs, including Pell Grants, Federal Work Study, and Stafford Loans. (Parents who want to borrow a PLUS loan do not have to satisfy the registration requirement.) Even if you disagree with the requirement, you should register. Failure to register can have a serious negative impact on your ability to obtain a driver’s license, qualify for financial aid, pursue an education, or obtain employment. For details, click on www.sss.gov
If you failed to register and don’t meet any of the exemptions below, you can appeal by completing the following:
Processing a Selective Service appeal can take up to six months.
Exemptions
TRANSGENDER PEOPLE
Individuals who are born female and changed their gender to male are not required to register. U.S. citizens or immigrants who are born male and changed their gender to female are still required to register.
NON-CITIZENS
With very few exceptions, all males between ages 18 and 25 must register with the Selective Service System (SSS) within 30 days of arriving in the United States. This includes U.S. born and naturalized citizens, parolees, undocumented immigrants, legal permanent residents, asylum seekers, refugees, and all males with visas of any kind which expired more than 30 days ago. The few individuals who are exempt from this requirement are those on current non-immigrant visas.
DUAL NATIONALS
Dual nationals of the U.S. and another country are required to register, regardless of where they live, because they are U.S. citizens
HOSPITALIZED OR INCARCERATED MEN
Young men in hospitals, mental institutions, or prisons do not have to register while they are committed. However, they must register within 30 days after being released if they have not yet reached their 26th birthday.
DISABLED MEN
Disabled men who live at home must register with Selective Service. A friend or relative may help a disabled man fill out the registration form if he can’t do it himself.
FULL-TIME MILITARY EXEMPTED FROM REQUIREMENT
Young men serving in the military on full-time active duty do not have to register, if serving continuously from age 18 to age 26. Those attending the service academies do not have to register. However, if a young man joins the military after turning 18 or leaves the military before turning 26, he must register
For more information please visit www.sss.gov.