View all text of Chapter 49 [§ 3801 - § 3820]
§ 3806. Deferments and exemptions from training and service
(a) In general
(1) Commissioned officers, warrant officers, pay clerks, enlisted men, and aviation cadets of the Regular Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and the Environmental Science Services Administration; 1
1 See Transfer of Functions note below.
cadets, United States Military Academy; midshipmen, United States Naval Academy; cadets, United States Air Force Academy; cadets, United States Coast Guard Academy; midshipmen, Merchant Marine Reserve, members of the United States Navy Reserve; students enrolled in an officer procurement program at military colleges the curriculum of which is approved by the Secretary of Defense; members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces and the Coast Guard, while on active duty; and foreign diplomatic representatives, technical attachés of foreign embassies and legations, consuls general, consuls, vice consuls and other consular agents of foreign countries who are not citizens of the United States, and members of their families, and persons in other categories to be specified by the President who are not citizens of the United States, shall not be required to be registered under section 3802 of this title and shall be relieved from liability for training and service under section 3803 of this title, except that aliens admitted for permanent residence in the United States shall not be so exempted: Provided, That any alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence as defined in paragraph (20) of section 1101(a) of title 8 and who by reason of occupational status is subject to adjustment to nonimmigrant status under paragraph (15)(A), (15)(E), or (15)(G) of such section 1101(a) but who executes a waiver in accordance with section 1257(b) of title 8 of all rights, privileges, exemptions, and immunities which would otherwise accrue to him as a result of that occupational status, shall be subject to registration under section 3802 of this title, but shall be deferred from induction for training and service for so long as such occupational status continues. Any person who subsequent to June 24, 1948, serves on active duty for a period of not less than twelve months in the armed forces of a nation with which the United States is associated in mutual defense activities as defined by the President, may be exempted from training and service, but not from registration, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the President, except that no such exemption shall be granted to any person who is a national of a country which does not grant reciprocal privileges to citizens of the United States: Provided, That any active duty performed prior to June 24, 1948, by a person in the armed forces of a country allied with the United States during World War II and with which the United States is associated in such mutual defense activities, shall be credited in the computation of such twelve-month period: Provided further, That any person who is in a medical, dental, or allied specialist category not otherwise deferred or exempted under this subsection shall be liable for registration and training and service until the thirty-fifth anniversary of the date of his birth.(2) Commissioned officers of the Public Health Service and members of the Reserve of the Public Health Service while on active duty and assigned to staff the various offices and bureaus of the Public Health Service, including the National Institutes of Health, or assigned to the Coast Guard, the Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, or the Environmental Science Services Administration 1 or who are assigned to assist Indian tribes, groups, bands, or communities pursuant to the Act of August 5, 1954 (68 Stat. 674), as amended [42 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.], shall not be required to be registered under section 3802 of this title and shall be relieved from liability for training and service under section 3803 of this title. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, commissioned officers of the Public Health Service and members of the Reserve of the Public Health Service who, prior to June 30, 1967, had been detailed or assigned to duty other than that specified in the preceding sentence shall not be required to be registered under section 3802 of this title and shall be relieved from liability for training and service under section 3803 of this title.
(b) Persons who served during World War II
(1) No person who served honorably on active duty between September 16, 1940, and June 24, 1948, for a period of twelve months or more, or between December 7, 1941, and September 2, 1945, for a period in excess of ninety days, in the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, the Public Health Service, or the armed forces of any country allied with the United States in World War II prior to September 2, 1945, shall be liable for induction for training and service under this chapter, except after a declaration of war or national emergency made by the Congress subsequent to June 24, 1948.
(2) No person who served honorably on active duty between September 16, 1940, and June 24, 1948, for a period of ninety days or more but less than twelve months in the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, the Public Health Service, or the armed forces of any country allied with the United States in World War II prior to September 2, 1945, shall be liable for induction for training and service under this chapter, except after a declaration of war or national emergency made by the Congress subsequent to June 24, 1948, if—
(A) the local board determines that he is regularly enlisted or commissioned in any organized unit of a reserve component of the armed force in which he served, provided such unit is reasonably accessible to such person without unduly interrupting his normal pursuits and activities (including attendance at a college or university in which he is regularly enrolled), or in a reserve component (other than in an organized unit) of such armed force in any case in which enlistment or commission in an organized unit of a reserve component of such armed force is not available to him; or
(B) the local board determines that enlistment or commission in a reserve component of such armed force is not available to him or that he has voluntarily enlisted or accepted appointment in an organized unit of a reserve component of an armed force other than the armed force in which he served.
Nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to be applicable to any person to whom paragraph (1) of this subsection is applicable.
(3) Except as provided in section 3805(a) of this title, and notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, no person who (A) has served honorably on active duty after September 16, 1940, for a period of not less than one year in the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps, or the Coast Guard, or (B) subsequent to September 16, 1940, was discharged for the convenience of the Government after having served honorably on active duty for a period of not less than six months in the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps, or the Coast Guard, or (C) has served for a period of not less than twenty-four months (i) as a commissioned officer in the Public Health Service or (ii) as a commissioned officer in the Coast and Geodetic Survey, shall be liable for induction for training and service under this Act, except after a declaration of war or national emergency made by the Congress subsequent to June 24, 1948.
(4) No person who is honorably discharged upon the completion of an enlistment pursuant to section 3803(c) of this title shall be liable for induction for training and service under this chapter, except after a declaration of war or national emergency made by the Congress subsequent to June 24, 1948.
(5) For the purposes of computation of the periods of active duty referred to in paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection, no credit shall be allowed for—
(A) periods of active duty training performed as a member of a reserve component pursuant to an order or call to active duty solely for training purposes;
(B) periods of active duty in which the service consisted solely of training under the Army specialized training program, the Army Air Force college training program, or any similar program under the jurisdiction of the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard;
(C) periods of active duty as a cadet at the United States Military Academy or United States Coast Guard Academy, or as a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy, or in a preparatory school after nomination as a principal, alternate, or candidate for admission to any of such academies; or
(D) periods of active duty in any of the armed forces while being processed for entry into or separation from any educational program or institution referred to in paragraphs (B) or (C);
(c) Persons who were members of Ready Reserve of any Reserve component of the Armed Forces, Army National Guard, or Air National Guard on February 1, 1951, and persons who enlist in Ready Reserve of any Reserve component of the Armed Forces, Army National Guard, or Air National Guard
(1) Persons who, on February 1, 1951, were members of organized units of the federally recognized National Guard, the federally recognized Air National Guard, the Officers’ Reserve Corps, the Regular Army Reserve, the Air Force Reserve, the Enlisted Reserve Corps, the Naval Reserve, the Marine Corps Reserve, the Coast Guard Reserve, or the Public Health Service Reserve, shall, so long as they continue to be such members and satisfactorily participate in scheduled drills and training periods as prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, be exempt from training and service by induction under the provisions of this chapter, but shall not be exempt from registration unless on active duty.
(2)
(A) Any person, other than a person referred to in subsection (d) of this section, who—
(i) prior to the issuance of orders for him to report for induction; or
(ii) prior to the date scheduled for his induction and pursuant to a proclamation by the Governor of a State to the effect that the authorized strength of any organized unit of the National Guard of that State cannot be maintained by the enlistment or appointment of persons who have not been issued orders to report for induction under this chapter; or
(iii) prior to the date scheduled for his induction and pursuant to a determination by the President that the strength of the Ready Reserve of the Army Reserve, Naval Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve, or Coast Guard Reserve cannot be maintained by the enlistment or appointment of persons who have not been issued orders to report for induction under this chapter;
enlists or accepts appointment, before attaining the age of 26 years, in the Ready Reserve of any Reserve component of the Armed Forces, the Army National Guard, or the Air National Guard, shall be deferred from training and service under this chapter so long as he serves satisfactorily as a member of an organized unit of such Reserve or National Guard in accordance with section 10147 of title 10 or section 502 of title 32, as the case may be, or satisfactorily performs such other Ready Reserve service as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. Enlistments or appointments under subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of this clause may be accepted notwithstanding the provisions of section 3813(d) of this title. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (h) of this section, no person deferred under this clause who has completed six years of such satisfactory service as a member of the Ready Reserve or National Guard, and who during such service has performed active duty for training with an armed force for not less than twelve consecutive weeks, shall be liable for induction for training and service under this Act, except after a declaration of war or national emergency made by the Congress after August 9, 1955. In no event shall the number of enlistments or appointments made under authority of this paragraph in any fiscal year in any Reserve component of the Armed Forces or in the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard cause the personnel strength of such Reserve component or the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard, as the case may be, to exceed the personnel strength for which funds have been made available by the Congress for such fiscal year.
(B) A person who, under any provision of law, is exempt or deferred from training and service under this Act by reason of membership in a reserve component, the Army National Guard, or the Air National Guard, as the case may be, shall, if he becomes a member of another reserve component, the Army National Guard, or the Air National Guard, as the case may be, continue to be exempt or deferred to the same extent as if he had not become a member of another reserve component, the Army National Guard, or the Air National Guard, as the case may be, so long as he continues to serve satisfactorily.
(C) Except as provided in subsection (b) and the provisions of this subsection, no person who becomes a member of a reserve component after February 1, 1951, shall thereby be exempt from registration or training and service by induction under the provisions of this Act.
(D) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the President, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, may provide that any person enlisted or appointed after October 4, 1961, in the Ready Reserve of any reserve component of the Armed Forces (other than under section 12103 of title 10), the Army National Guard, or the Air National Guard, prior to attaining age of twenty-six years, or any person enlisted or appointed in the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard or enlisted in the Ready Reserve of any reserve component prior to attaining the age of eighteen years and six months and deferred under the prior provisions of this paragraph as amended by the Act of October 4, 1961, Public Law 87–378 (75 Stat. 807), or under section 1013 of this title, who fails to serve satisfactorily during his obligated period of service as a member of such Ready Reserve or National Guard or the Ready Reserve of another reserve component or the National Guard of which he becomes a member, may be selected for training and service and inducted into the armed force of which such reserve component is a part, prior to the selection and induction of other persons liable therefor.
(d) Persons who enroll in Armed Forces Officers’ Candidate Schools
(1) Within such numbers as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, any person who (A) has been or may hereafter be selected for enrollment or continuance in the senior division, Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or the Air Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or the Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or the naval and Marine Corps officer candidate training program established by the Act of August 13, 1946 (60 Stat. 1057), as amended, or the Reserve officers’ candidate program of the Navy, or the platoon leaders’ class of the Marine Corps, or the officer procurement programs of the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Reserve, or appointed an ensign, United States Navy Reserve, while undergoing professional training; (B) agrees, in writing, to accept a commission, if tendered, and to serve, subject to order of the Secretary of the military department having jurisdiction over him (or the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the United States Coast Guard), not less than two years on active duty after receipt of a commission; and (C) agrees to remain a member of a regular or reserve component until the eighth anniversary of the receipt of a commission in accordance with his obligation under the first sentence of section 651 of title 10, or until the sixth anniversary of the receipt of a commission in accordance with his obligation under the second sentence of section 651 of title 10, shall be deferred from induction under this chapter until after completion or termination of the course of instruction and so long as he continues in a regular or reserve status upon being commissioned, but shall not be exempt from registration. Such persons, except those persons who have previously completed an initial period of military training or an equivalent period of active military training and service, shall be required while enrolled in such programs to complete a period of training equal (as determined under regulations approved by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the United States Coast Guard) in duration and type of training to an initial period of military training. There shall be added to the obligated active commissioned service of any person who has agreed to perform such obligatory service in return for financial assistance while attending a civilian college under any such training program a period of not to exceed one year. Except as provided in paragraph (5), upon the successful completion by any person of the required course of instruction under any program listed in clause (A) of the first sentence of this paragraph, such person shall be tendered a commission in the appropriate reserve component of the Armed Forces if he is otherwise qualified for such appointment. If, at the time of, or subsequent to, such appointment, the armed force in which such person is commissioned does not require his service on active duty in fulfillment of the obligation undertaken by him in compliance with clause (B) of the first sentence of this paragraph, such person shall be ordered to active duty for training with such armed force in the grade in which he was commissioned for a period of active duty for training of not more than six months (not including duty performed under section 10147 of title 10), as determined by the Secretary of the military department concerned to be necessary to qualify such person for a mobilization assignment. Upon being commissioned and assigned to a reserve component, such person shall be required to serve therein, or in a reserve component of any other armed force in which he is later appointed, until the eighth anniversary of the receipt of such commission pursuant to the provisions of this section. So long as such person performs satisfactory service, as determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, he shall be deferred from training and service under the provisions of this Act. If such person fails to perform satisfactory service, and such failure is not excused under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, his commission may be revoked by the Secretary of the military department concerned.
(2) In addition to the training programs enumerated in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and under such regulations as the Secretary of Defense (or the Secretary of the Treasury with respect to the United States Coast Guard) may approve, the Secretaries of the military departments and the Secretary of the Treasury are authorized to establish officer candidate programs leading to the commissioning of persons on active duty. Any person heretofore or hereafter enlisted in the Army Reserve, the Navy Reserve, the Marine Corps Reserve, the Air Force Reserve, or the Coast Guard Reserve who thereafter has been or may be commissioned therein upon graduation from an Officers’ Candidate School of such Armed Force shall, if not ordered to active duty as a commissioned officer, be deferred from training and service under the provisions of this Act so long as he performs satisfactory service as a commissioned officer in an appropriate unit of the Ready Reserve, as determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the department concerned. If such person fails to perform satisfactory service in such unit, and such failure is not excused under such regulations, his commission may be revoked by such Secretary.
(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to preclude the President from providing, by regulations prescribed under subsection (h) of this section, for the deferment from training and service of any category or categories of students for such periods of time as he may deem appropriate.
(4) Omitted
(5) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), upon the successful completion by any person of the required course of instruction under any Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program listed in clause (A) of the first sentence of paragraph (1) and subject to the approval of the Secretary of the military department having jurisdiction over him, such person may, without being relieved of his obligation under that sentence, be tendered, and accept, a commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration instead of a commission in the appropriate reserve component of the Armed Forces. If he does not serve on active duty as a commissioned officer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for at least six years, he shall, upon discharge therefrom, be tendered a commission in the appropriate reserve component of the Armed Forces, if he is otherwise qualified for such appointment, and, in fulfillment of his obligation under the first sentence of paragraph (1), remain a member of a reserve component until the sixth anniversary of the receipt of his commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. While a member of a reserve component he may, in addition to as otherwise provided by law, be ordered to active duty for such period that, when added to the period he served on active duty as a commissioned officer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, equals two years.
(e) Aviation cadet applicants
(f) Elected officials
(g) Ministers of religion and students preparing for ministry
(1) Regular or duly ordained ministers of religion, as defined in this chapter, shall be exempt from training and service, but not from registration, under this chapter.
(2) Students preparing for the ministry under the direction of recognized churches or religious organizations, who are satisfactorily pursuing full-time courses of instruction in recognized theological or divinity schools, or who are satisfactorily pursuing full-time courses of instruction leading to their entrance into recognized theological or divinity schools in which they have been preenrolled, shall be deferred from training and service, but not from registration, under this chapter. Persons who are or may be deferred under the provisions of this subsection shall remain liable for training and service in the Armed Forces under the provisions of section 3803(a) of this title until the thirty-fifth anniversary of the date of their birth. The foregoing sentence shall not be construed to prevent the exemption or continued deferment of such persons if otherwise exempted or deferrable under any other provision of this Act.
(h) Persons employed in occupations necessary to national health, safety, or interest
(i) High school students
(1) Any person who is satisfactorily pursuing a full-time course of instruction at a high school or similar institution of learning and is issued an order for induction shall, upon the facts being presented to the local board, have his induction postponed (A) until the time of his graduation therefrom, or (B) until he attains the twentieth anniversary of his birth, or (C) until he ceases satisfactorily to pursue such course of instruction, whichever is the earliest. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, any person who attains the twentieth anniversary of his birth after beginning his last academic year of high school shall have his induction postponed until the end of that academic year if and so long as he continues to pursue satisfactorily a full-time course of instruction.
(2) Any person who while satisfactorily pursuing a full-time course of instruction at a college, university, or similar institution is ordered to report for induction under this chapter, shall, upon the appropriate facts being presented to the local board, have his induction postponed (A) until the end of the semester or term, or academic year in the case of his last academic year, or (B) until he ceases satisfactorily to pursue such course of instruction, whichever is the earlier.
(j) Persons conscientiously opposed to war
(k) Cessation of cause for exemption or deferment
(l) Absence of parental consent
(m) Conviction of a criminal offense
(n) Review of occupational deferment
(o) Person with father, mother, brother, or sister killed or in missing status while servingExcept during the period of a war or a national emergency declared by Congress, no person may be inducted for training and service under this chapter unless he volunteers for such induction—
(1) if the father or the mother or a brother or a sister of such person was killed in action or died in line of duty while serving in the Armed Forces after December 31, 1959, or died subsequent to such date as a result of injuries received or disease incurred in line of duty during such service, or
(2) during any period of time in which the father or the mother or a brother or a sister of such person is in a captured or missing status as a result of such service.
As used in this subsection, the term “brother” or “sister” means a brother of the whole blood or a sister of the whole blood, as the case may be.
(June 24, 1948, ch. 625, title I, § 6, 62 Stat. 609; Sept. 27, 1950, ch. 1059, § 1(6), 64 Stat. 1074; June 19, 1951, ch. 144, title I, § 1(l)–(q), 65 Stat. 83; June 30, 1955, ch. 250, title I, § 101, 69 Stat. 223; Aug. 9, 1955, ch. 665, § 3(b)–(d), 69 Stat. 603, 604; Pub. L. 85–62, §§ 6, 7, June 27, 1957, 71 Stat. 208; Pub. L. 85–722, Aug. 21, 1958, 72 Stat. 711; Pub. L. 87–378, § 1, Oct. 4, 1961, 75 Stat. 807; Pub. L. 87–536, July 18, 1962, 76 Stat. 167; Pub. L. 88–110, § 2, Sept. 3, 1963, 77 Stat. 134; Pub. L. 88–360, July 7, 1964, 78 Stat. 296; Pub. L. 90–40, § 1(4)–(7), June 30, 1967, 81 Stat. 100–102, 104; Pub. L. 91–604, § 15(b)(8)(B), Dec. 31, 1970, 84 Stat. 1712; Pub. L. 92–129, title I, § 101(a)(10)–(22), Sept. 28, 1971, 85 Stat. 349–351; Pub. L. 93–638, title I, § 104(c), formerly § 105(c), Jan. 4, 1975, 88 Stat. 2208, renumbered § 104(c), Pub. L. 100–472, title II, § 203(a), Oct. 5, 1988, 102 Stat. 2290; Pub. L. 94–106, title VIII, § 802(d), Oct. 7, 1975, 89 Stat. 537; Pub. L. 96–584, § 3(a), Dec. 23, 1980, 94 Stat. 3377; Pub. L. 98–525, title XV, § 1531, Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2631; Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title XVI, § 1677(f), Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 3020; Pub. L. 107–296, title XVII, § 1704(e)(11)(C), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2315; Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title V, § 515(g)(3)(A), (h), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3236, 3237.)