If you have any questions about the 2020 Census, please visit 2020census.gov.

Please note that the Census Bureau will never ask for your full social security number, bank account number, or passwords.

If you require immediate assistance with verifying a survey other than the 2020 Census is conducted by the Census Bureau, contact the Census Bureau Regional Office for your state or the Customer Service Center for more information.

• Identifying which Census Bureau survey
• How to verify a mailing is from the Census Bureau
• How to identify a census taker or Census Bureau field representative
• How to identify a phone call from the Census Bureau

In addition to conducting the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau conducts various surveys that study households, businesses, schools, hospitals, and more. These statistics deliver valuable information for local officials and organizations who provide resources and services to your community.

If you have been contacted to participate in a survey and want to verify that it is legitimate, you can search the Census Bureau’s list of surveys by name.

The name of the Census Bureau survey may be provided in the following ways:

• In a mailing from the Census Bureau.
• By a caller from the Census Bureau.
• By a census taker or field representative.

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If you receive a survey or a letter in the mail from the Census Bureau, the envelope contains information that will help you verify its legitimacy. For example:

• “U.S. Census Bureau” in the return address or “U.S. Department of Commerce” which is the Census Bureau’s parent agency.
• Jeffersonville, IN in the return address. The Census Bureau has a mail processing center located there.

Households will receive an invitation in the mail to complete the 2020 Census online, by phone, or by mail.  The enclosed envelope to mail back a completed paper questionnaire would be addressed to Jeffersonville, IN, or Phoenix, AZ.

In addition to the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau conducts over 100 surveys that collect statistics on households, businesses, hospitals, and more. For information on whether a survey has the option to be completed online, please visit the survey’s webpage. Information for responding to a survey online is mailed to your address, including how to register online and/or log in.  You may also receive a reminder letter from one of our regional offices or Census Bureau headquarters in the Washington, D.C. area.

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If you are visited by someone from the Census Bureau, they may be working on the 2020 Census or one of our other surveys. The Census Bureau conducts over 100 surveys throughout the country in addition to the decennial census.

Here are some ways you can verify an individual is a Census Bureau employee:

• The census taker or field representative will present an ID badge that includes:
  • their name,
  • their photograph,
  • a Department of Commerce watermark, and
  • an expiration date.
• They will have an official bag and Census Bureau-issued electronic device, such as a laptop or smartphone, bearing the Census Bureau logo.
• Census takers and field representatives will conduct their work between the hours of 9am and 9pm, local time.
• Census representatives will be at local organizations and community events with computer tablets to help individuals respond online to the 2020 Census.

To learn more about a census taker visiting on behalf of the 2020 Census, please see information about Avoiding Fraud and Scams. The best way to avoid being visited at home by a census taker, or enumerator, is to complete the 2020 Census online, by phone, or by mail. Census takers for the 2020 Census report to their local Regional Census Centers. Please contact your local Regional Census Center if you have questions about the 2020 Census or local census takers.

For Census Bureau surveys other than the 2020 Census, Census Bureau field representatives report to one of six Regional Offices across the country. If you wish to independently confirm that the person at your door is a Census Bureau field representatives conducting a household survey other than the 2020 Census you can enter their name in the Census Bureau’s staff search website, or contact the Regional Office for your state.

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The Census Bureau conducts over 100 surveys other than the 2020 Census. If your address was selected to participate in one of these surveys, we may call you to participate. Some surveys are done exclusively by phone. We might also call you if we do not find you at home or when a personal visit is not convenient. You may receive a call from one of our contact centers or from a field representative.

After you have responded to the 2020 Census, you may receive a follow-up phone call from the Census Bureau. We contact a small sample of households who have completed the census as part of our quality control process.

The purpose of these calls is to ensure that no person is left out of the census or counted in more than one place. We review your response in order to ensure that we have a complete and accurate count for the 2020 Census.

Any phone call you receive will be brief, and all responses are kept confidential. The 2020 Census caller will not ask about your financial information or Social Security number. They will only be reviewing the responses to the 2020 Census that you previously provided.

For household surveys other than the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau uses two contact centers: one in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and the other in Tucson, Arizona. The caller will identify themselves and the name of the survey. If they are unable to reach you, they will leave a message with a case ID associated with your survey.

Most Census Bureau calls asking you to participate in a survey other than the 2020 Census originate from one of the following numbers:

• (812) 218-3144, Jeffersonville Contact Center
• (520) 798-4152, Tucson Contact Center

If you receive a call and wish to independently verify that a number is from the Census Bureau, you can call one of the following numbers:

• 1-800-523-3205   Jeffersonville, IN
• 1-800-642-0469   Tucson, AZ
• 1-800-923-8282   Customer Service Center

Field representatives who do in-person interviews for surveys other than the 2020 Census may also call you. To verify that a caller is a Census Bureau field representative who is working on a survey other than the 2020 Census, you can enter their name in the Census Bureau Staff Search, a database that lists name and contact information for all Census Bureau employees. *Please note that 2020 Census takers will not be listed in the Staff Search system.

We do not publish the cell phone numbers of our field representatives on our staff search website. For Census Bureau surveys other than the 2020 Census, Census Bureau field representatives report to one of six Regional Offices across the country.

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