Can trans women be drafted? Everything you need to know about the new US army rules
Trans people are banned from the US military, but trans women are still expected to register for military service (Getty)
Yesterday (9 April) it was announced that all qualifying US citizens and immigrants living in the US will be automatically registered for the military draft from December 2026.
The Selective Service System (SSS), the government agency responsible for maintaining draft records, has changed the rules: previously, eligible men were required to register themselves within 30 days of turning 18. Now, eligible men will be registered automatically instead.
The news led to spikes in Google searches for the term “can trans women be drafted”, as concerns about the Iran war and military conscription continue to rise in the US.
The answer to that question is…. yes, in theory. Despite the Trump administration’s well documented animosity towards transgender people serving in the military, trans women are eligible for military service.
As reported by Ladbible, those considered eligible for military service include:
- Most men with disabilities (even if they might later be found unfit for military service)
- US citizens aged 18–25, including dual citizens
- Male immigrants aged 18–25 living in the US
- US citizens living abroad in the same age group
- People assigned male at birth, including transgender women
However, trans men assigned female at birth are not expected to register.
Eligibility for military service doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be drafted into a war, however. The draft process works much like a lottery, with eligible people assigned a number, which would then be randomly selected. If your number comes up, you’d be expected to then report for military service. This conscription process was last used during the Vietnam War.
This seems at odds with the ban on trans people signing up to serve in the US military if they have ever had a “history of gender dysphoria”, which secretary of defence and anti-woke stalwart Pete Hegseth implemented last year, whilst a Pentagon memo filed in court declared trans service members will be “identified” and separated from the US military unless they receive an exemption.
Exemptions will allegedly only be granted if evidence can be “provided there is a compelling government interest in retaining the service member that directly supports war-fighting capabilities” and they “demonstrate 36 consecutive months of stability in the service member’s gender without clinically significant distress”.
So, how would any of this work in practice? Can trans women actually be drafted? Well, it is possible that if the ban on trans people serving in the military is in place during any future draft, trans women would likely be classified as 4F (not qualified for service), and either be dismissed or denied entry during the evaluation process.
In short, the current rules create a paradox, where trans women are technically required to register for military service, but are ineligible to serve under the current policy.
