The Deadline to Mail Your Census Form is April 16th

If you miss the deadline for mailing in your census form, you will still be counted, but the United States Postal Service is the most cost-effective method.

There are only a few more days to fill out and mail your 2010 Census form. If you return your form on or before April 16, Census Bureau officials say you’ll most likely avoid a visit from a census taker during their follow-up operations. Dr. Robert Groves, the director of the 2010 Census, says mailing back your form also means big savings to taxpayers.

“Every one percent of the US households that return a completed questionnaire will save $85 million in taxpayer money, “says Groves. Groves explains the cost of obtaining a mailed-back census form is only 42 cents, compared with the estimated fifty-seven dollars of obtaining a household’s census responses in person.

The Census Bureau explained some of the reasons people may not have received a 2010 Census form. Among the most common are households who receive mail in a post office box or on a rural delivery route. In that case a census worker will visit those houses between May 1 and July 10. If a person lives in group quarters, such as college dormitories, hotels and work camps, then residents are counted during a separate operation where census workers distribute and then collect completed forms. In many remote areas such as American Indian reservations, census workers will do the enumerating in person through the end of May.

If you have not received a form by April 12, you can call 1‐866‐872‐6868 until April 21 and request a replacement form be sent to you by mail, or complete the information over the phone. You can also obtain a form from a Be Counted or Questionnaire Assistance Center site from now through April 19. Locations of these sites can be found on the 2010 Census website at www.2010census.gov.


ABOUT THE 2010 CENSUS

The 2010 Census is a count of everyone living in the United States and is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. Census data are used to apportion congressional seats to states, to distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds to tribal, state and local governments each year and to make decisions about what community services to provide. The 2010 Census form is one of the shortest in U.S. history, consisting of 10 questions, taking about 10 minutes to complete. Strict confidentiality laws protect the respondents and the information they provide.