The Census Bureau has offered three ways to fill out the 2020 Census: on paper, online and over the phone.
Paper (Mail) Response:
The Census Bureau has been sending out mailings starting on March 12. If you do not fill out the Census online or over the phone, they will include a physical paper copy of the Census. Depending on your community bilingual (English/Spanish) versions of the survey may be sent to you. The paper version looks like this (included below) -
All you have to complete the survey is check the correct boxes and fill in the necessary information with blue or black ink for everybody in the household. The following pages of the survey include the same questions for each member of the household. The survey asks the person’s name, age, birthday, sex, relation to the owner of the household and race. The person filling out the Census should include every person in the household on April 1, 2020. After completing the survey you should return it in the questionnaire in the provided envelope. If you lost the envelope then please mail the questionnaire to:
U.S. Census Bureau
National Processing Center
1201 E 10th Street
Jeffersonville, IN 47132
Online Response:
The online version of the census looks very similar to the paper version. Though on the online version you can fill out the survey in 59 non-English languages including: Spanish, Chinese (simplified), Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Tagalog, Polish, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese and Japanese. In the original mailings from March 12-20, there is a card that includes detailed instructions of how to fill out the Census and a Census ID. To respond online, you should go to this website: https://my2020census.gov/login . That website will lead you to a page that looks like this -
Once you get to this page you can choose your preferred language at the bottom of the page. Then you input your Census ID, the Census will know your address. You can then complete the survey by checking off the boxes online.
What if you misplaced your Census Card?
If you misplaced your card or do not have access to your Census ID, you can click on the link at the bottom of the page saying, “if you do not have a Census ID, click here”:
If you click this button, the website will bring you to a page where you put in your information. For example:
After you enter your address into the website, it will take you to the questions just as if you entered your Census ID!
Phone Response:
To start your phone response, you have to call the number 844-330-2020
The number listed above is the in English. Each different language has a different number. If you go to https://2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond/responding-by-phone.html, they offer 12 different languages. The phone lines are open every day from 7 AM to 2 AM Eastern Time.
When you call the number, you will speak to a person, not a robot. They follow a script and ask you the exact questions you would see on the online or paper survey.
Due to COVID-19, Census centers have fewer volunteers who fill out the survey over the phone. There is usually a longer wait time to speak to a representative.