United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942

What is in This Collection?

This article describes multiple collections of the fourth World War II draft registration of men age 45-64 (born 1877-1897). The draft was conducted on April 27, 1942. This collection is part of National Archives Record Group 147, Records of the Selective Service System, 1940-. The collection United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 (Index) contains an index & images of the registration cards. The collection United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 (Image Browse) contains only images of the registration cards. The images are arranged by state, surname letter and the first name in the browse string. Index and images for Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington are courtesy of Ancestry.com.

After the United States entered World War II, a new Selective Service Act required that all men between the ages of 18 and 64 register for the draft. The fourth draft registration covered males ages 45 to 64. The local draft board of the Selective Service System conducted the registration. The original registration cards were later sent to the regional branch of the National Archives responsible for receiving records from that state. Draft registration cards exist for 40 states and for Puerto Rico. For New York, cards exist only for the boroughs of New York City. The draft registration cards are preprinted forms with information recorded on the front and back. Cards for the states of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia were filmed with the front of one card on the same image as the back of the next card in the sequence. The cards for the following eight states were destroyed:

• Alabama
• Florida
• Georgia
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Tennessee

The draft registration, called the Fourth Registration, or Old Man’s Registration, was held on April 27, 1942. The purpose of this registration was to collect information on industrial capacity and skills of men who were born between April 27, 1877 and February 16, 1897 (ages 45 to 64). This draft registration was not intended to be used for military service but to provide a complete inventory of manpower resources in the United States that could be utilized for national service during World War II.

Information on the cards was supplied by the individual but recorded by a registrar. While there was a chance of a recording error, each individual signed his card to attest that the information was correct. While the cards were created on April 27, 1942, they pertain to men born on or between April 27, 1877, and February 16, 1897. Image browse in this collection include the following states: Alaska; Delaware; Idaho; Illinois; Indiana; Maryland; Massachusetts; New Hampshire; New York, Bronx; New York, Brooklyn; New York, Manhattan; New York, Queens; New York, Staten Island; Ohio; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Puerto Rico; Rhode Island; Vermont; Virginia; Washington; West Virginia; Wisconsin.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

To Browse This Collection

You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Collection Content

Sample Image

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  Registration Card Part 1

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  Registration Card Part 2

Coverage Table

Links in the Locality field are to entries in the National Archives Catalog.

Locality	Index: Search Results	Image Browse: Digital Folder Number List
Alaska	33,213	X
Arizona	74,098
Arkansas	217,746	X
California	951,259	X
Colorado	156,677
Connecticut	254,734	X
Delaware	54,207	X
District of Columbia	105,219
Hawaii	56,285	X
Idaho	84,876	X
Illinois	1,119,270	X
Indiana	450,666	X
Louisiana	244,017	X
Maryland	233,359	X
Massachusetts	536,623	X
Michigan	679,165	X
Minnesota	388,443
Missouri	535,964
Montana	104,160
Nevada	64,826
New Hampshire	80,515	X
New Jersey	549,844	X
New York, Bronx		X
New York, Brooklyn		X
New York, Kings
New York, Manhattan		X
New York, Queens		X
New York, Staten Island		X
North Dakota	99,292
Ohio	889,409	X
Oklahoma	243,146	X
Oregon	179,648	X
Pennsylvania	1,195,421	X
Rhode Island	105,315	X
South Dakota	122,778
Texas	361,471	X
Utah	86,658
Vermont	64,033	X
Virginia	297,519	X
Washington	354,934	X
West Virginia	205,340	X
Wisconsin	419,742	X
Wyoming	55,379
Puerto Rico	181,686	X

Digital Folder Number List

This collection was published as a DGS browse collection. The list does not contain any description of the DGS folder's content. A table listing each DGS number and its contents can be found at United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 Digital Folder Number List.