Editing Selective Service System (section)

==Failure to register==
In 1980, men who knew they were required to register and did not do so could face up to five years in prison, fines of up to $50,000 or both if convicted. The potential fine was later increased to $250,000. Despite these possible penalties, government records indicate that from 1980 through 1986 there were only twenty indictments, of which nineteen were instigated in part by self-publicized and self-reported non-registration.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.resisters.info/prosecutions.html |title = Prosecutions of Draft Registration Resisters }}</ref>

A principal element for conviction under the act is proving a violation of the act was intentional, i.e. knowing and willful. In the opinion of legal experts, this is almost impossible to prove unless there is evidence of a prospective defendant knowing about his obligation to register and intentionally choosing not to do so. Or, for example, when there is evidence the government at any time provided notice to the prospective defendant to register or report for induction, he was given an opportunity to comply, and the prospective defendant chose not to do so.

The last prosecution for non-registration was in January 1986. In interviews published in ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' in May 2016, current and former Selective Service System officials said that in 1988, the Department of Justice and Selective Service agreed to suspend any further prosecutions of non-registrants.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1 = Nelson |first1 = Steven |title = Gender-Neutral Draft Registration Would Create Millions of Female Felons: It's unlikely any would face prison, but jailed draft resisters and former officials urge caution. |url = https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-05-03/gender-neutral-draft-registration-would-create-millions-of-female-felons |access-date = 15 May 2016 |magazine = U.S. News & World Report |date = 3 May 2016 }}</ref> No law since 1980 has required anyone to possess, carry, or show a draft card, and routine checks requiring identification virtually never include a request for a draft card.

As an alternative method of encouraging or coercing registration, [[Solomon Amendment]] laws were passed requiring that in order to receive financial aid, federal grants and loans, certain government benefits, eligibility for most federal employment, and (if the person is an immigrant) eligibility for citizenship, a young man had to be registered (or had to have been registered, if they are over 26 but were required to register between 18 and 26) with the Selective Service. Those who were required to register, but failed to do so before they turned 26, are no longer allowed to register, and thus may be permanently barred from federal jobs and other benefits, unless they can show to the Selective Service that their failure was not knowing and willful.<ref name="cannot"/> There is a procedure to provide an "information letter" to the Selective Service for those in these situations, for example recent citizens who entered the U.S. after their 26th birthday.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.sss.gov/Status.html |title = SSS Information Letter procedure |publisher = Sss.gov |access-date = 8 April 2011 |archive-date = 1 June 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150601050401/https://www.sss.gov/Status.html |url-status = dead }}</ref> The federal law requiring Selective Service registration as a condition of federal financial aid for higher education was overridden in December 2020, and the questions about Selective Service registration status on the FAFSA form were eliminated on 1 July 2023.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hasbrouck |first1=Edward |title=Good News and Bad News for the Military Draft in 2021 |url=https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2020/12/29/good-news-and-bad-news-for-the-military-draft-in-2021/ |website=Antiwar.com |access-date=1 January 2021 |date=29 December 2020}}</ref>

Most states, as well as the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]], [[Guam]], [[Northern Mariana Islands]], and [[United States Virgin Islands|Virgin Islands]], have passed laws requiring registration for men 18–25 to be eligible for programs that vary on a per-jurisdiction basis but typically include driver's licenses, state-funded higher education benefits, and state government jobs.<ref name="states">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sss.gov/Registration/State-Commonwealth-Legislation|title=State / Commonwealth and Territory Legislation}}</ref> Alaska also requires registration to receive an [[Alaska Permanent Fund]] dividend.<ref name="states"/> Eleven states (California, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming) have no such requirements, though Indiana and Washington do give men 18–25 the option of registering with Selective Service when obtaining a driver's license or an identification card.<ref name="states"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=WA State Licensing (DOL) Official Site: Driver guide |url=https://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/guide.html |access-date=6 July 2022 |website=www.dol.wa.gov |language=en}}</ref> The [[Department of motor vehicles|Department of Motor Vehicles]] of 27 states and 2 territories automatically register young men 18–25 with the Selective Service whenever they apply for driver licenses, learner permits, or non-driver identification cards.<ref name="states"/><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.dmv.ny.gov/forms.htm#mv44 |title = Applications for Driver License or Non-Driver ID Card |publisher = New York State Department of Motor Vehicles }}</ref>

There are some third-party organized efforts to compensate financial aid for those students losing benefits, including the ''Fund for Education and Training '' (FEAT) and ''Student Aid Fund for Non-registrants''.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.centeronconscience.org/event-schedule/fund-for-education-and-training.html |title = Fund for Education and Training |publisher = CenteronConscience.org }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://peace.mennolink.org/safnr.html |title = Student Aid Fund for Nonregistrants |publisher = mennolink.org |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060405005624/http://peace.mennolink.org/safnr.html |archive-date = 5 April 2006 }}</ref>