1973
From 1948 until 1973, during both peacetime and periods of conflict, men were drafted to fill vacancies in the armed forces which could not be filled through voluntary means.

Registering for the draft was not an enlistment for service in the military, for many men registered but never served. Instead it was the idea that they could be called upon for service when needed. The first registration took place on October 16, 1940.

The complete series of draft registration cards for the World War II era,1940-1947, from Record Group 147, Records of the Selective Service System, has been scanned and transcribed. These nearly 38 million cards are available at Ancestry.com. See https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2238/ for details.

Locating Originals: The original draft cards are held by each state’s National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Regional Branch. All of these cards are also available on microfilm from the Family History Library (FHL) and/or NARA.

On September 16, 1940, the United States instituted the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, which required all men between the ages of 21 and 45 to register for the draft. This was the first peacetime draft in United States’ history.

The registration cards consist of approximately 24,000,000 cards of men who registered for the draft, (about 23% of the population in 1918). It is important to note that not all of the men who registered for the draft actually served in the military and not all men who served in the military registered for the draft.

The Draft and WWII Those who were selected from the draft lottery were required to serve at least one year in the armed forces.

Note: Ancestry.com has started to make World War II draft cards from the 1-3 registrations, and 5-6 registrations available online in a new database U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1898-1929. As of July 2014, the database includes registrations filled out by men in Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, and North Carolina.

The Fourth Registration, often referred to as the “old man’s registration”, was conducted on 27 April 1942 and registered men who born on or between 28 April 1877 and 16 February 1897 – men who were between 45 and 64 years old – and who were not already in the military. Information available on the draft cards includes:

Records: 35,673,073. The first draft registration under the 1940 Selective Training and Service Act required all males ages 21-36 to register on October 16, 1940, to serve in what would ultimately be WWII. Between 1941 and 1943, there were five more registrations, and the ages changed to 18-44.

WWII Draft Registration Records. This registration, known as the “Old Man’s Draft,” provides a great deal of information on the men who participated, including their full name, address, physical characteristics, and date and place of birth.