OPM Rules in Favor of Client Despite Fact That Selective Service Had No Record of Registration

On December 1, 2011, OPM issued a favorable determination on behalf of another client with a Selective Service registration issue.  Our client, who was born in the United States, specifically recalled mailing his registration form soon after he turned 18 years of age.  Unfortunately, the Selective Service System had no record of our client's registration.  We were unable to determine why Selective Service had not received our client's registration.  As noted by a GAO report prepared in the 80's, it was estimated that thousands of Selective Service records were input with incorrect social security numbers and/or names.  A copy of this report can be found here.   A similar error could certainly have accounted for the fact that Selective Service had no record of our client's registration.

Fortunately, we were able to obtain substantial corroborating evidence that our client did indeed mail his registration form through the testimony of family members, personal friends and others.  Upon reviewing that information and other supporting documentation, OPM ruled that our client's Selective Service registration status was not the result of a knowing and willful act on his part.  A copy of OPM's determination can be found here.