Daily AncestorSelective Training and Service Act
The Selective Training and Service Act was the law of September 16, 1940, that began the first U.S. peacetime draft and set up the World War II draft system.
Signed in September 1940, the act required men aged 21 to 35 to register with local draft boards, and a national lottery set the order of call. The first registration was held on October 16, 1940. The National Archives describes it as the country's first peacetime draft and the official start of the Selective Service System.
After Pearl Harbor, amendments made men 20 to 44 liable for service and required men 18 to 64 to register; the fourth registration, in April 1942, was the so-called Old Man's Draft. Over 10 million men were inducted before the act expired in March 1947. The registration cards and classification histories are held by the National Archives at St. Louis.
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Daily Ancestor. "Selective Training and Service Act." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/military/selective-training-and-service-act. Last checked 2026-10-12.