Yes, the Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES) is a legitimate U.S. Census Bureau survey. AIES is the U.S. Government’s annual measure of American businesses and the economy.

Federal Register Notices:

Notice of Consideration

60-Day Notice

30-Day Notice

Notice of Determination

Revised 30-Day Notice

Yes. Response is required by law. Title 13, United States Code, Sections, 131 and 182 authorizes the survey and requires businesses and other organizations that receive this questionnaire to answer the questions and return the report to the U.S. Census Bureau. Sections 224 and 225 of Title 13, United States Code specify penalties for firms that fail to report.

Title 13, United States Code (U.S.C.), Sections 131 and 182 authorizes this collection. Sections 224 and 225 require your response. Section 9 requires that we keep your answers STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL. Although Title 13 (Section 224) and the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 (18, U.S.C. 3559 and 3571) allow for possible prosecution of responsible officials and penalties up to $5,000 (and still require response), the U.S. Census Bureau prefers to work cooperatively with businesses like yours to ensure we gather and distribute reliable statistics about the U.S. economy. We ask for your help in meeting that goal, recognizing that we are relying on your valuable time and effort to comply with this request.

Approximately 298,000 companies were sent invitations to complete the 2024 AIES March 14, 2025.

The AIES integrates questions from previously existing annual collections. Data are collected on an annual basis covering topics including:

• Business characteristics, including employment, operating status, organizational change, and ownership information.
  
• Business classification, including business activity, type of operation, and tax status.
  
• Revenue, including sales, shipments, receipts, and revenue; class of customer; taxes; contributions, gifts, and grants; products; and e-commerce activity.
  
• Operating expenses, including purchased services, payroll, benefits, rental payments, utilities, interest, resales, equipment, materials and supplies, research and development, and other detail operating expenses
  
• Assets, including capital expenditures, inventories, and depreciable assets.
  
• Robotic equipment.
  
• Various trade or industry specific content.

AIES Content Summary

For the 2023 survey year, the U.S. Census Bureau consolidated seven surveys into one with the goals of minimizing respondent burden, streamlining operations, and offering a more holistic approach of the economy. We collect data for all company operations using a single instrument at one time. Previously, seven annual surveys required separate instruments with unique content, each with distinct mailout and completion dates.

The U.S. Census Bureau will release 2023 AIES data beginning in the summer of 2025.

No, the U.S. Census Bureau is barred from releasing any information that could identify an individual, business, organization, or institution – and tightly safeguards confidentiality using strong, ever-improving cybersecurity measures.

For more information on how we protect confidentiality, please visit the Census Bureau's How We Protect Your Information.

No, to ensure your data save properly, please DO NOT use or view multiple instances of the survey in the same browser simultaneously.

Your company was selected for multiple surveys at the same time. Census Bureau Economic Surveys are a key source for official statistics and provide important measures of the American economy.  

• Monthly and Quarterly surveys are small sample surveys that provide the TIMELIEST data available.
  
• Annual surveys have larger samples and provide the most up-to-date TREND data available. 
  
• The Annual Business Survey (ABS) provides information on selected economic and demographic characteristics for businesses and business owners.
  
• The Economic Census occurs every 5 years and measures all businesses and provides the most COMPREHENSIVE data available at the national, state, and local level. 

Click the “browser self check” link on portal.census.gov. This check will verify that all settings are correctly configured for accessing the survey. It also provides links to guide respondents through resolving any issues that do not display "Passed" in the "Results" column. The most common issues can be fixed by clearing the internet browser’s cache and cookies or enabling pop-ups.

If you are still unable to sign in, please contact the Census Bureau by calling the customer help line at 1-800-681-3012, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Please contact the Census Bureau by calling the customer help line at

1-800-681-3012, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Company - an organization that owns/operates one or more locations nationwide. This includes all entities filed under one or more Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) and located in the United States. Company-level totals are collected for Capital Expenditures and Depreciable Assets. These figures are the aggregate of industry-level and location-level data within a company.

Industry - a specific sector of the economy or business activity that represents a group of locations providing similar types of products, services, or activities.

Location - a single physical location in the United States where business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed.

The AIES is broken out into three steps:

Step 1: A spreadsheet with establishment level operating status - Each row in the spreadsheet is specific to an individual location. Additional rows may need to be added if all establishments are not accounted for on the prepopulated spreadsheet.

Step 2:  In this step, you will answer for the company overall. That includes all the locations in the list that you just verified in Step 1. 

Step 3: A spreadsheet with industry and location level data - Rows with record type equal to 20 pertain to a specific location. Rows with blue shading which indicate a record type equal to 30 represent an industry, or the aggregate of the company's activity within an industry. Companies with manufacturing activity will also be required to complete the Product Data tab in Step 3.

Please note: Most single-location companies, except those primarily engaged in manufacturing, will now complete the survey using an online form instead of a spreadsheet.

After completion of the survey, companies will see downloadable spreadsheets for Steps 1 and 3 whereas Step 2 can be seen as a downloadable PDF.

While it's not possible to modify the NAICS code for your primary business or activity, you have the option to edit the description write-in field in the adjacent column for prelisted location. This adjustment won't alter the NAICS code for the current survey year and will not be reflected in further questions. However, it will serve as a notification to us after submission that your location might require classification under a different NAICS code for future survey years. Activity codes for newly added locations will be requested in Step 1.

Respond to the questions to the best of your ability based on the current business activity at your location. Utilize the Description write-in field in Step 1 and the Remarks section to provide any additional information, if needed.

The AIES requires data to be reported for your entire company. Step 1 asks for location-level data, Step 2 asks for company-level data, and Step 3 asks for both location-level and industry-level data.  Only select companies will be required to complete Step 3 - retail, wholesale, and services companies that operate solely at one location will only be required to report Steps 1 and 2.

To view and/or download the questions without entering the survey instrument, you may use the Question Preview Tool. View this tool and other resources on the Information for Respondents page.

To view instructions to assist with gathering data for the AIES, you may use the AIES Instruction Manual.  View this tool and other resources on the Information for Respondents page.

Verify whether the cell you are attempting to input data into is editable. The cells are color-coded as follows:

• White cells denote mandatory responses.
• Gray cells signify that a response is not required, and the cell is non-editable.
• Blue cells contain the question text.
• Dark blue cells do not require a response.

Ensure that you input valid values for the fields. Avoid using decimals or commas. As we request data reported in thousands, the system will automatically add zeros and a comma to indicate the thousands place. Any values entered that are not valid for the field will vanish and will not be stored. For further clarification on what can be entered into a field, click on the "i" icon next to the question/column header in the online spreadsheet sections of the survey.