PRIA Logo™
Title 50, War and National DefenseRelease 119-102

§3814 Definitions

Title 50 › CHAPTER 49 — MILITARY SELECTIVE SERVICE › § 3814

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Defines common words used in this chapter. "Between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six" means men who have reached their 18th birthday but not their 26th; other age phrases work the same way. "United States" in a place sense means the States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. "Armed forces" includes the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard. "District court of the United States" includes the federal courts for U.S. territories and possessions. "Local board" includes an intercounty local board when a registrant falls under its jurisdiction. "Director" means the Director of the Selective Service System. "Duly ordained minister of religion" is someone ordained by their church who regularly preaches and leads public worship as their job. "Regular minister of religion" is someone who regularly preaches and is recognized by their church even if not formally ordained. The term "regular or duly ordained minister of religion" does not cover people who preach only sometimes or who are ordained but do not serve regularly as ministers. "Organized unit" for a reserve means a unit whose members must take part in scheduled drills and training set by the Secretary of Defense. "Reserve components of the armed forces" includes the federally recognized National Guard and Air National Guard, Officers’ Reserve Corps, Regular Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Enlisted Reserve Corps, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Coast Guard Reserve, and the Public Health Service Reserve when serving with the armed forces.

Full Legal Text

Title 50, §3814

War and National Defense, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

When used in this chapter—
(a)The term “between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six” shall refer to men who have attained the eighteenth anniversary of the day of their birth and who have not attained the twenty-sixth anniversary of the day of their birth; and other terms designating different age groups shall be construed in a similar manner.
(b)The term “United States”, when used in a geographical sense, shall be deemed to mean the several States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam.
(c)The term “armed forces” shall be deemed to include the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard.
(d)The term “district court of the United States” shall be deemed to include the courts of the United States for the Territories and possessions of the United States.
(e)The term “local board” shall be deemed to include an intercounty local board in the case of any registrant who is subject to the jurisdiction of an intercounty local board.
(f)The term “Director” shall be deemed to mean the Director of the Selective Service System.
(g)(1)The term “duly ordained minister of religion” means a person who has been ordained, in accordance with the ceremonial, ritual, or discipline of a church, religious sect, or organization established on the basis of a community of faith and belief, doctrines and practices of a religious character, to preach and to teach the doctrines of such church, sect, or organization and to administer the rites and ceremonies thereof in public worship, and who as his regular and customary vocation preaches and teaches the principles of religion and administers the ordinances of public worship as embodied in the creed or principles of such church, sect, or organization.
(2)The term “regular minister of religion” means one who as his customary vocation preaches and teaches the principles of religion of a church, a religious sect, or organization of which he is a member, without having been formally ordained as a minister of religion, and who is recognized by such church, sect, or organization as a regular minister.
(3)The term “regular or duly ordained minister of religion” does not include a person who irregularly or incidentally preaches and teaches the principles of religion of a church, religious sect, or organization and does not include any person who may have been duly ordained a minister in accordance with the ceremonial, rite, or discipline of a church, religious sect or organization, but who does not regularly, as a bona fide vocation, teach and preach the principles of religion and administer the ordinances of public worship as embodied in the creed or principles of his church, sect, or organization.
(h)The term “organized unit”, when used with respect to a reserve component, shall be deemed to mean a unit in which the members thereof are required satisfactorily to participate in scheduled drills and training periods as prescribed by the Secretary of Defense.
(i)The term “reserve components of the armed forces” shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be deemed to include the federally recognized National Guard of the United States, the federally recognized Air National Guard of the United States, the Officers’ Reserve Corps, the Regular Army Reserve, the Air Force Reserve, the Enlisted Reserve Corps, the Navy Reserve, the Marine Corps Reserve, and the Coast Guard Reserve, and shall include, in addition to the foregoing, the Public Health Service Reserve when serving with the armed forces.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in introductory provisions, was in the original “this title”, meaning title I of act June 24, 1948, ch. 625, 62 Stat. 604, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of title I to the Code, see Tables. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 466 of the former Appendix to this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Amendments

2006—Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 109–163 substituted “Navy Reserve” for “Naval Reserve”. 1971—Subsec. (g)(3). Pub. L. 92–129 inserted “bona fide” before “vocation”. 1960—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 86–624 struck out “Hawaii,” before “Puerto Rico”. 1959—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 86–70 struck out “Alaska,” after “District of Columbia,”. 1951—Subsec. (b). Act June 19, 1951, brought “Guam” within definition of “United States”. 1950—Subsec. (c). Act Sept. 27, 1950, § 1(12), struck out “and” after “Corps” and inserted “, and the Coast Guard” before the period. Subsec. (i). Act Sept. 27, 1950, § 1(13), struck out “and” after “Naval Reserve” and “, the Coast Guard Reserve” after “foregoing” and inserted “and the Coast Guard Reserve” after “Marine Corps Reserve”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Transfer of Functions

For transfer of authorities, functions, personnel, and assets of the Coast Guard, including the authorities and functions of the Secretary of Transportation relating thereto, to the Department of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see section 468(b), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6. Coast Guard transferred to Department of Transportation, and functions, powers, and duties relating to Coast Guard of Secretary of the Treasury and of all other officers and offices of Department of the Treasury transferred to Secretary of Transportation by Pub. L. 89–670, § 6(b)(1), Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 938. section 6(b)(2) of Pub. L. 89–670, however, provided that notwithstanding such

Transfer of Functions

, Coast Guard shall operate as part of Navy in time of war or when President directs as provided in former section 3 (now 103) of Title 14, Coast Guard.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

For

Transfer of Functions

of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Treasury, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Treasury with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 26 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff.
July 31, 1950, 15 F.R. 4935, 64 Stat. 1280, 1281, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. Functions of Coast Guard, and Commandant of Coast Guard, excepted from transfer when Coast Guard is operating as part of Navy under former section 1 and 3 (now 101 and 103) of Title 14, Coast Guard. Functions of Public Health Service, Surgeon General of Public Health Service, and all other officers and employees of Public Health Service, and functions of all agencies of or in Public Health Service transferred to Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare by Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1966, eff.
June 25, 1966, 31 F.R. 8855, 80 Stat. 1610, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare redesignated Secretary of Health and Human Services by section 3508(b) of Title 20, Education.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

50 U.S.C. § 3814

Title 50, War and National Defense

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102