“…it shall be the duty of every male citizen of the United States, and every other male person residing in the United States, who … is between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six, to present himself for and submit to registration...”
Section 453(a), Military Selective Service Act
July 2, 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed Proclamation 4771 which resumed registration under the Military Selective Service Act. It states men born on or after January 1, 1960, must register with the Selective Service System within 30 days of their 18th birthday. Late registrations are accepted, but not once a man reaches his 26th birthday.
REGISTRATION CONTINUES TODAY. As President Clinton informed Congress in 1994, “Maintaining the Selective Service System and the draft registration provides a hedge against unforeseen threats and a relatively low-cost ‘insurance policy’ against our underestimating the maximum level of threat we expect our Armed Forces to face.”