President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the Selective Training and Service Act on September 16, 1940. It required all men aged 21 to 36 to register with local draft boards and hence be made liable for one year of peacetime military service. Men were registered on October 16, 1940, and the lottery took place on the 29th; men began to report for induction in November 1940. The bill stipulated that not more than 900,000 men would be in training at any one time. On July 1, 1941, the bill was modified so that those registrants who were 28 and older would be deferred (they would still be liable for service should a war occur) The one-year term of the October 1940 draftees was extended for 18 more months on August 18, 1941, and when the US entered WWII, for the duration of the war plus six months. Due to the war, the Act was modified again to make it compulsory for all men aged 18 to 65 to register for the draft, and to make all men aged 18 to 45 liable for military service. On December 5, 1942, with the signing of Executive Order 9279, the draft age was adjusted from 21-36 to 18-37, and voluntary enlistments were eliminated except for those men who were aged 17 and 38 to 45 who could prove that they could meet the military's requirements. This was to prevent pressure on critical war industries and farm labor and to control the amount of men the military received at a time. Initially, fathers were deferred from being drafted, but this caused a Selective Service shortage. On October 1, 1943, the deferment for fathers whose children were born before December 7, 1941 was eliminated, and they began to be drafted.

The registration you are talking about would be the fourth one, or "Old Man's Registration". It was conducted from April 25-27, 1942 and consisted of registering all men who were born between April 27, 1877 and February 16, 1897. Since men over the age of 45 were not liable for military service, the purpose of this registration was to collect an inventory of the nation's manpower. The fourth registration's card, along with physical information, also listed the man's job and skills, or, how he could be of use in war industry.

If you are looking for a copy of your family member's card, they are held by each state's Regional Branch of the National Archives and Records Administration. They are also available from the Family History Library (FHL) and NARA itself. The following states' records were accidentally destroyed before they were microfilmed, and are not available:

• Alabama

• Florida

• Georgia

• Kentucky

• Mississippi

• North Carolina

• South Carolina

• Tennessee

WWII Draft Registrations:

Registration	Date	Criteria
1	October 16, 1940	Men who were 21-36 years old
2	July 1, 1941	Men who had turned 21 since October 16, 1940
3	February 14-16, 1942	Men who were 20 before December 7, 1941 and younger than 45 by February 16, 1942
4	April 25-27, 1942	Men who were at least 45 on or before February 16, 1942 and not older than 65 on or before April 27, 1942
5	June 30, 1942	Men born after January 1, 1922 and before June 30, 1924
6	December 10-31, 1942	Men who were 18 by December 31, 1942
7 (extra)	November 16-December 31, 1943	Men living abroad aged 18-45

After the 6th registration, it was required by law for all future draftees to register with their local draft boards upon reaching their 18th birthday.