Selective Service System Classification & Registration Records for 1940 – 1975
General Information and Descriptions
All Selective Service System Classification and Registration Records: 1940 – 1975 have been consolidated from state holdings to the National Archives. These dates cover men born 4/28/1877 – 3/29/1957. Men born between 3/29/1957 – 12/31/1959 were exempt from registering. It is important to note that not all men who registered for the draft served in the military.
Registration Cards (SSS Form 101) were created to account for all men required to register for the draft. Information found in these cards generally includes name, address, employer/educational institution, date and location of birth, and a person to contact for address updates. For cards of men with dates of birth after 1922, additional information may include military service or the registrant’s alien registration number.
Classification Ledgers (SSS Form 102) chronicle the status of each man’s eligibility, exemptions, tests, entry, and final disposition from service. The codes for these classification ledgers can be found on the Selective Service System’s website. Supplementary information provided by registrants (medical records, school enrollment forms, or other documents supporting reasons for classifications) was not considered permanent record material and as such was not retained by the Selective Service Commission. For example, the National Archives cannot provide documentation or a reason for why someone was classified as “4F”.
Date of Birth Ranges of Draft Cards in NARA holdings:
WWII
- 4/28/1877 – 2/16/1897 (Known as 4th Registration or Old Man’s Draft)
- 2/17/1897 – 3/31/1929 (1st – 6th Registrations, except 4th)
Post War
- 8/30/1922 – 1940
- 1941 – 3/28/1957
Washington D.C. is considered a state in this series. NARA has Draft Registration Cards for men born between 4/28/1877 – 3/28/1957.
In addition to holding the draft cards for states, NARA also has draft cards for the following territories:
Guam 8/30/1922 – 3/28/1957
Canal Zone 4/28/1877 – 3/28/1957
Puerto Rico 4/28/1877 – 3/28/1957
Virgin Islands 2/17/1897 – 3/28/1957
The 4th Registration draft (Old Man’s Draft) cards were scheduled for destruction prior to the 1973 Fire. The following states had already destroyed their collection of this date range before the National Archives took custody of the records:
North Carolina Mississippi Maine
Alabama Florida
Georgia South Carolina
Tennessee New Mexico
How to access these records
To access draft registration cards or classification ledgers for 1940 – 1975, please fill out the ‘Selective Service System Records Request’ form and send it to:
National Archives & Records Administration
National Archives - St. Louis
ATTN: RL-SL
P.O. Box 38757
St. Louis, MO 63138-0757
For information on WWI draft cards, please visit our website, ‘World War I Draft Registration Cards’ where you will find a history on this series as well as how to access them.
You may find more information on this topic on the webpage ‘Selective Service Records’.
Draft Cards Online
As of February 2020 the WWII Draft Registration Cards from all states and territories held at the National Archives at St. Louis have been scanned and uploaded to Fold3 and Ancestry.com for a fee. National Archives locations have public use computers where researchers may access both Fold3 and Ancestry for free.