Record guide

World War II draft registration cards

World War II draft cards, filled out from 1940 on, give a man's birth date and place, address, employer and a contact person; the 1942 old man's draft covers men born 1877 to 1897.

In 1940 Congress passed the Selective Training and Service Act, the country's first peacetime draft. Over the next years the Selective Service System held six registrations, and the National Archives says nearly 38 million World War II era cards have now been scanned and transcribed. If a man was born between 1877 and 1927 and lived in the United States during the war, his card is worth looking for.

For family historians the most surprising group is the fourth registration of April 27, 1942, nicknamed the old man's draft. It covered men born from April 28, 1877 to February 16, 1897, so it gives a birth date and birthplace for men born as early as the 1870s, written down in a twentieth-century record.

The registrations

The first registration was held on Wednesday, October 16, 1940. President Roosevelt's proclamation required every man, citizen or resident alien, apart from exceptions such as men already in the armed forces, who had reached his 21st birthday but not his 36th to register where he had his permanent home or wherever he happened to be that day. Later registrations widened the net. The third, on February 16, 1942, after the United States had entered the war, covered men born from February 17, 1897 to December 31, 1921. The fifth, on June 30, 1942, covered men born from January 1, 1922 to June 30, 1924.

The National Archives at St. Louis keeps the records in two groups: the fourth registration, and everyone else, meaning men born from February 17, 1897 to July 31, 1927. Knowing a man's birth date tells you which group to search.

The old man's draft of 1942

The fourth registration was not meant to put older men into uniform. A University of Central Florida history project describes it as a way to gather information on the skills of men considered too old for active duty but potentially useful to the war effort. The men were required to fill out detailed questionnaires as well; those questionnaires have been lost, but many of the registration cards survive.

Because the birth years 1877 to 1900 overlap with the World War I registrations, the National Archives notes that some men registered in both wars and have both a World War I and a World War II card. Comparing the two cards, made about 25 years apart, can show a move, a new job, or a change in how a man gave his birthplace.

What the card asks

The National Archives transcription of the fourth registration card shows the questions. The front gives the man's name, place of residence with county and state, mailing address, telephone, age, date of birth, and place of birth by town or county and by state or country. It also asks for the name and address of a person who will always know your address, and for the employer's name and address and the place of employment. The man signed it, affirming that the answers were true.

The National Archives describes the draft registration card for the other registrations in similar terms: name, registration number, age, date and place of birth, ethnicity, residence at the time of registration and a basic physical description. Read every line, including the mailing address, which may differ from the residence.

The registrar's report

The back of the card is the registrar's report. On the fourth registration card it records race, approximate height and weight, complexion, eye and hair color, and other obvious physical characteristics that will aid in identification. The race choices printed on that card are White, Negro, Oriental, Indian and Filipino; they are the registrar's entry in the government's categories of the time, not a description the man wrote himself.

The registrar signed the report and gave the date of registration, and the stamp of the local board having jurisdiction was placed on it. The board number and place tell you which board handled the man's file.

The person who will always know your address

This line is often the richest clue on the card. A man might name his wife, a grown child, a sibling, a landlord or an employer, with a street address. For a man whose wife had died, or who lived alone, it can point to a child or other relative you did not know about.

Do not assume the relationship. Unless the card states it, the name tells you only that this person was expected to know where the man could be found. Check the name against the 1940 census, city directories and later death records before you add a relationship to your tree.

Records beyond the card

For men who registered before 1976, the National Archives says only two Selective Service items survive for each man: the draft registration card, SSS Form 1, and the classification history, SSS Form 102. All other individual draftee files from that period were destroyed by the Selective Service System in 1978, including physical examination results and medical papers.

The classification history can give the man's classification and the date of notice, any appeal, the date and result of an armed forces physical, entry into active duty or civilian work instead of induction, and the date of separation. Like World War I cards, World War II registration cards are not proof of service. A man could register and never serve.

On the page, look for

Work out from the birth date whether the man belongs to the fourth registration or to the other registrations.
Copy the full name, serial number and order number.
Record the residence, the mailing address and any telephone number.
Copy the date and place of birth exactly as written, town and state or country.
Note the person who will always know his address, with that person's address.
Write down the employer's name and address and the place of employment.
Turn the card over and record the physical description and any identifying marks.
Note the local board, the registrar and the date of registration.
For a man born 1877 to 1900, look for his World War I card and compare the two.
If you need to know whether he was called up, order the classification history.

Where to see them for free

The National Archives at St. Louis, which holds the World War II Selective Service records for men born from April 28, 1877 to March 28, 1957. Copies are requested with its Selective Service Request Form; it lists fees of $7 for the registration card and $27 for the classification history, which includes the card.
Ancestry, by subscription, which the National Archives says has the full set of scanned and transcribed World War II era cards.
FamilySearch, free with an account, which indexes the 1942 fourth registration and many state collections of World War II cards.

Sources

How to cite this page

Daily Ancestor. "World War II draft registration cards." Record guides. https://dailyancestor.com/records/wwii-draft-cards. Last checked 2026-10-10.