OCT. 15, 2020—As a reminder, people who have already responded to the 2020 Census may get multiple visits or phone calls from U.S. Census Bureau employees to verify that they responded, or to check addresses and other information. This is normal operating procedure. The 2020 Census operation is designed to be comprehensive and thorough. In many cases, we complete multiple checks to be sure we have collected accurate information and are counting people in the right place.

The Census Bureau creates a master address file that is used to reach out to every household in the country. This file is compiled and verified by multiple sources including state and local governments. Because we are so careful in how we compile this file, sometimes slight variations in the format of an address can create duplicates.

If we find duplicate addresses, we may send out a census taker to check it. If one address needs to be deleted, we may send another census taker to confirm its status before deleting it from our files. This is one of the many quality checks in our procedures that help make our count more accurate. 

Other reasons a housing unit may get multiple visits include:

• Verifying the response of someone who didn’t use a census ID when they responded.
• Conducting quality checks on self-response answers.
• Re-interviewing someone who was previously contacted by a census taker to check the quality of the census taker’s work.

These important quality checks help the Census Bureau ensure that the population count is as complete as it can be. We encourage everyone to please cooperate with census takers, even if you have already responded. You will be helping us to count you in the right place and ensure the quality and completeness of the 2020 Census count.

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