The Governments Master Address File (GMAF) is updated continuously to add newly established units that meet Census Bureau criteria for independent governments, and to delete dissolved or inactive units.  A governmental unit is considered inactive if it has no activity, receives no revenue, and has no officers currently.  The final count of governments planned for release in Summer 2023 provides statistics on local governments (counties, municipalities, townships, special districts, and school districts) in the United States.

The Government Units Survey (GUS) obtained information from units reflecting an active government status on the GMAF as of February 2021. GUS Survey Worksheets (questionnaires) are available for reference at Survey Worksheets. Information collected in the survey includes operating status, activities and functions of the government, and operational characteristics to yield an estimate of the size of the government unit. Governments receiving the GUS survey are asked to report via the convenient web instrument. Respondents may contact the Census Bureau via telephone to speak with an analyst for assistance. 

Census Bureau analysts verify data obtained from the GUS and supplement incomplete information with in-depth research they perform on each state.  Specifically, analysts looked for newly created units that would not have received the GUS survey.

Analysts reviewed publicly available information on the Internet and contacted state government officials, who monitor the creation of new governments, to find these new units.  Analysts added new government units to the final counts when appropriate.  The final counts reflect the number of governments in-scope, i.e., active on June 30, 2022, for the final collected component of the 2022 Census of Governments, which is the Finance component.

The GMAF universe of county, municipal, and township governments is continuously updated as these units of governments become established, dissolved, or reorganized. Decisions to add or delete county, municipal, or township governments to the GMAF are made on the basis of information obtained through the annual Boundary and Annexation Survey, which the Census Bureau's Geography Division conducts.

The process of updating the GMAF’s universe list of special district governments involves several steps as follows:

1. Review of state legislation creating or authorizing various types of special district governments
2. Review of published Federal, state, and private sources that list special district governments
3. Determination as to the independent status of special districts.  Many entities that carry the designation "district" or "authority" are, by law, so closely related to county, municipal, town or township, or state governments that they are classified as subordinate agencies of those governments in Census Bureau statistics on governments. 
4.  Frequent contact with state and local officials
5.  Review of state and local taxation materials as they relate to special districts with the power to levy taxes
6.  Review of election results as they relate to the universe of special districts

Select special districts identified in the frame by December 2020 are asked to complete the GUS survey.  Extensive research to locate new units was conducted to determine units that are active on June 30, 2022.  The resulting counts are the official final counts of the 2022 Census of Governments.

The universe of public school systems, including both independent school district governments and dependent school systems, is primarily updated using directory files of local education agencies that the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics maintains.  Census Bureau analysts examine discrepancies between the various files and update the GMAF as necessary according to Census Bureau classification criteria.  Independent school districts and Educational Service Agencies (ESAs) were canvased in the 2021 Government Units Survey.

In addition, the GMAF is updated based on information obtained directly from various state education agencies.  These units are included in the final Census counts.  Dependent public school systems are part of county, municipal, township, or state governments, and are not counted as school district governments.  The only charter schools included in Census Bureau statistics are those established and administratively controlled by another government entity (e.g. universities, cities, counties, or public school systems).

Data collection for the GUS followed this schedule:

The GMAF is further refined on the basis of information obtained through various annual surveys and censuses, as well as via directory research to obtain listings from state agencies of special purpose governments, names of associations, and contact information for state offices that oversee the activity of special districts.