what is the draft age

The typical draft age in the United States is for men between 18 and 25 years old. Men in this age group are required to register with the Selective Service System, which is the agency responsible for providing personnel if a military draft is ever authorized by Congress and the President. While men between 18 and 25 must register, the legal liability for being drafted—according to U.S. Code—extends from age 17 up to age 44, though the Selective Service System only collects data on those 18 to 25. If a draft occurs, men turning 20 during the calendar year of the lottery would be the first to be drafted, followed by those turning 21, 22, and so on up to 25. Men older than 25 generally are not drafted.