Currently, all participants must be U.S. citizens or have resided in the United States in the preceding 12 months.
Prior to 1954 all U.S. Badminton Championships had a "closed" format with only U.S. citizens and residents eligible to compete.
From 1954 through 1969 the tournament was open to foreign competition.
Since 1983 both a closed and an open tournament have generally been held at separate times in the season (the previous closed/open tourneys had been held contiguously).
The following table lists only the winners of the closed U.S. National Badminton Championships.