• Identifying which Census Bureau survey
• How to verify a mailing is from the Census Bureau
• How to verify an email or text message is from the Census Bureau
• How to identify a Census Bureau field representative
• How to identify a phone call from the Census Bureau

In addition to conducting the decennial census count, 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 field representative.

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.

Every year, 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.

If you are visited by someone from the Census Bureau, they may be a field representative working on a Census Bureau survey. The Census Bureau conducts over 100 surveys throughout the country every year.

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

• The 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.
• Field representatives conduct their work between the hours of 9am and 9pm, local time.

For Census Bureau surveys, 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 representative conducting a household survey you can enter their name in the Census Bureau’s staff directory search website, or contact the Regional Office for your state.