I’ve heard that if I didn't register with the Selective Service when I was younger, I may not be able to get financial aid for school. Is that true? What can I do?

It’s true. If you failed to register with the Selective Service between the ages of 18 and 25 (before your 26th birthday), you are not eligible for state or federal financial aid — unless you fall into an exception, or you had a really good reason for not registering, such as being incarcerated during the relevant time period.

However, even if you weren’t incarcerated and don’t have a good reason for not registering, you still may be able to get student financial aid, if you can prove that your failure to register was unintentional. In other words, you have to prove that even though you knew you were supposed to register, you weren’t avoiding it on purpose.[295]

To prove this, you will have to request a Status Information Letter from the Selective Service System (See Appendix L, on PG. 120), then send that letter to the relevant department at your school, along with a letter explaining why you didn’t register. Generally, an employee of your school will be the one who decides whether you have provided enough proof to qualify for financial aid.[296] Learn more about this topic in the EDUCATION CHAPTER, beginning on PG. 832.

HELPFUL HINTExplaining a Failure to Register with the Selective Service to your School

The school employee in charge of your case is required to consider ALL information related to your situation — not just the Letter from the Selective Serve System says happened — so provide as much detail as possible to make your case stronger. This may include information about where you were living between the ages of 18 and 25, whether you thought you were already registered, and/or why you weren’t aware of the registration requirement.[297]

  1. 295

    Time to Register, Selective Serv. Sys., https://www.sss.gov/sssyou/sssyou.htm.

  2. 296

    See U.S. Dep’t of Educ. & Fed. Student Aid, 2014-2015 Federal Student Aid Handbook 1-71.

  3. 297

    See U.S. Dep’t of Educ. & Fed. Student Aid, 2014-2015 Federal Student Aid Handbook.