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The Selective Service System (SSS) is a federal agency that has been a distinguished part of America’s history for over a century, spanning eras of conflict and peacetime.
We are part of America’s National Defense Strategy, fostering deterrence through innovation and supporting the Department of War’s priority to maintain a formidable end-strength that provides America’s all-volunteer force with the overmatch necessary to deter, compete and win in the future.
Vision: To be a trusted, actively engaged national defense partner, and the sole source of conscripted talent for national security in the event of a national emergency.
Mission: To register men and maintain a system that, when authorized by the President and Congress, rapidly provides manpower in a fair and just manner while managing an alternative service program for conscientious objectors.
Three significant initiatives will shape SSS over the next five years:
Automatic Registration: On December 18, 2025, the President signed the FY 2026 NDAA into law, mandating automatic Selective Service registration. The Agency engaged with Congress throughout the NDAA process regarding the automated legislative proposal. This statutory change transfers responsibility for registration from individual men to SSS through integration with federal data sources. SSS will implement the change by December 2026, resulting in a streamlined registration process and corresponding workforce realignment.
Technology Modernization: The Agency will modernize legacy conscription applications to ensure secure, reliable systems are ready in the event of a national emergency. SSS was awarded $6 million by the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) at the end of FY 2025 for use in FY 2026-28 to facilitate this goal.
Workforce Optimization: SSS achieved its Agency RIF and Reorganization Plan (ARRP) headcount target twelve months early through active workforce shaping, position consolidation, and controlled hiring. The Agency will adjust this optimized posture while implementing automatic registration.
Agency Budget (FY 2026)
$31,300,000 enacted
The legislation under which this agency operates is the Military Selective Service Act, 50 U.S.C. 3801 et seq. (formerly 50 U.S.C. App 451 et seq.).
Director
Craig T. Brown, Acting
