The complete step-by-step process from Congressional authorization to reporting for duty.
A military draft doesn't just happen overnight. Here's exactly how the process would work if it were ever activated:
Both the House and Senate must pass legislation amending the Military Selective Service Act. This would be a major national event with extensive debate — it cannot be done by executive order alone.
The President must sign the legislation, giving the Selective Service System authority to begin conscription.
The agency activates its full staff. Reserve Force Officers and military retirees begin opening Area Offices to process registrant claims across the country. Local and national draft board members report for training.
A publicly attended, nationally televised lottery draws numbers corresponding to each day of the year (1–366). If your birthday matches the first number drawn, you're called first within your age group. The lottery is transparent and random.
20-year-olds are called first, followed by 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, then 19, and finally 18. Within each age group, the lottery number determines who goes first.
Each person called reports to a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) for physical, mental, and administrative evaluation. This is where medical disqualifications and deferment claims are processed.
Each registrant is classified based on their evaluation. You may be classified as available for service, deferred, exempt, or as a conscientious objector. You have the right to appeal your classification to a local draft board.
Those classified as eligible and not deferred receive induction orders. You have 10 days to report to your assigned Military Entrance Processing Station. From there, you enter the armed forces.
According to the Selective Service System, they must be able to deliver the first inductees within 193 days from the onset of a crisis and the law being updated. That's roughly 6 months from authorization to the first draftees reporting for duty.
The lottery assigns a random number to each calendar date (January 1 through December 31, plus February 29 for leap years — 366 total numbers). These are drawn randomly in a public, televised event.
For example, if March 15 is drawn as number 1 and you were born on March 15 and are in the first priority age group (20 years old), you would be among the very first called. If your birthday is drawn as number 300, you'd be much further down the list and might not be called at all depending on how many people are needed.
The lottery only determines order within each age group. All 20-year-olds are called before any 21-year-olds, regardless of lottery numbers.
Find out where you'd fall in the draft order
Take the Draft Risk Calculator →No. The United States has not had an active draft since 1973. The all-volunteer military has been the standard for over 50 years. While the Selective Service System maintains the infrastructure for a potential draft, activating it would require an act of Congress — a significant political event that would be debated publicly.
In March 2026, White House officials declined to rule out a draft amid the Iran conflict, which has increased public interest. However, no legislation to reinstate the draft has been introduced.
Disclaimer: This page is for informational purposes only. There is no active military draft. Visit sss.gov for official information.