Selective Service System Registration for COs

Within 30 days of your 18th birthday you are required to register with the Selective Service System. If you decide to register, you may use this opportunity to document your intention of claiming status as a Conscientious Objector.

Do not register online or by phone. Pick up a Selective Service System Registration Form from the Post Office. Fill out the form in the appropriate boxes.

Write in a blank area in the middle of the form in black ink,

I am conscientiously opposed to war in any form.

Sign this handwritten note and date it separately from the boxes.

Do not write in the margins, because they are cut off when the SSS microfiches.

Get signatures on the form from one or two witnesses, such as your pastor or a friend. For example, “I (name,) pastor of (church,) witness (your name)’s CO conviction. Consider having this notarized.

Make at least 3 copies of this form.

1. Keep one for your CO file.

2. Give one to the church/religious body or the trusted individual who is keeping

a second copy of your CO file. (If you don’t have anyone to keep a second

copy safe for you, send a copy of your file to The Center on Conscience and

War, 1830 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009.)

3. Finally, (and this may be the most important part,) trifold the third copy and

send it to yourself to establish a postmarked paper trail.

Keep this letter unopened in your CO file.

Then send the form to the SSS by certified mail and request a return receipt. Staple the receipt to the copy you keep in your CO file.

When your Selective Service Registration Acknowledgment Card arrives in the mail, it will include a change-of-information form. Write on this change-of-information form,

I registered as a conscientious objector. You apparently made a mistake by not including this in your records about me. Please, correct your records.

Make 3 copies, as you did above, and send a trifolded copy to yourself.

Then send this form to SSS by certified mail, return receipt requested.

Keep copies of all transactions with the SSS. Make sure they are dated.

Please note that taking these steps does not officially register you as a conscientious objector. This is simply one more piece of documentation of your beliefs. It’s dated proof that you adopted a CO position long before you were issued a draft notice. The SSS does not pay attention to what you write between the lines; it destroys the original cards.

If you already registered with Selective Service and did not write anything about conscientious opposition to war, it’s not too late. Use the change-of-information form that came with your Registration Acknowledgment Card, or photocopy the card itself. If you can’t find your card, just use plain stationery to write a letter.

Write on this form, Please update my selective service records to show that I am conscientiously opposed to war in any form. Be sure to date your note. Get signatures on the form from one or two witnesses, such as your pastor or a friend. For example, “I (name,) pastor of (church,) witness (your name)’s CO conviction. Consider having this notarized.

Make at least 3 copies of this form.

1. Keep one for your CO file.

4. Give one to the church/religious body or the trusted individual who is keeping

a second copy of your CO file. (If you don’t have anyone to keep a second

copy safe for you, send a copy of your file to The Center on Conscience and

War, 1830 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009.)

5. Finally, (and this may be the most important part,) trifold the third copy and

send it to yourself to establish a postmarked paper trail.

Keep this letter unopened in your CO file.

Then send the form to the SSS by certified mail and request a return receipt. In case you’ve misplaced your change of information form, here’s the address:

Selective Service System

PO Box 94739

Palatine, IL 60094 - 4739

You’re not done! Your copy of what you send to SSS is just one item among many in your CO portfolio. See “Items to Include in a CO Portfolio.”

Resources:

Center on Conscience and War: www.nisbco.org

Selective Service System: www.sss.gov

G.I. Rights Hotline: 800-394-9544

http://girights.objector.org/

Wisconsin Draft Counseling Network (608) 250-9240 3/05

The above information is provided as a public service, and is not intended as legal advice.