What To Look For in the Mail
You may receive multiple mailings for the 2020 Census this year, including an invitation to respond to the 2020 Census and follow-up postcards and letters.
In mid-April, the Census Bureau began mailing the paper questionnaire to homes that have not yet responded online or by phone.
If you receive mail after you have already responded, you should disregard it; it was sent before we received your response.
Note: The Census Bureau will be conducting other surveys at the same time as the 2020 Census, so you may also receive other correspondence. If you have questions about another piece of mail you receive, visit Are You in a Survey?
Finding Your Census ID
When responding online to the 2020 Census, you will be prompted to enter your unique Census ID. This ID number can be found on the Census Bureau invitation to respond and additional reminder letters that you will receive in the mail. However, you can still respond online if you do not have this ID.
All 2020 Census IDs have 12 characters (letters and numbers).
What households will receive in the mail:
On or between March 12-20
Letter Invitation Group (English)
Letter Invitation Group (Bilingual English/ Spanish)
Invitation Letter
[<1.0 MB]
Language Assistance Sheet
[1.8 MB]
FAQ Insert
[<1.0 MB]
Outgoing Package Envelope
[<1.0 MB]
Letter Invitation and Paper Questionnaire Group (English)
Invitation Letter
[<1.0 MB]
Language Assistance Sheet
[1.8 MB]
2020 Census Questionnaire
[<1.0 MB]
Business Reply Envelope — East
[<1.0 MB]
Business Reply Envelope — West
[<1.0 MB]
Outgoing Envelope
[<1.0 MB]
Letter Invitation & Paper Questionnaire Group (Bilingual Eng/ Spanish)
Invitation Letter
[<1.0 MB]
Language Assistance Sheet
[1.8 MB]
2020 Census Bilingual Questionnaire
[<1.0 MB]
FAQ Insert
[<1.0 MB]
Outgoing Envelope
[<1.0 MB]
Business Reply Envelope — East
[<1.0 MB]
On or between March 16-24
Letter Invitation Group (English)
Reminder Letter
[<1.0 MB]
Outgoing Letter Envelope
[<1.0 MB]
Letter Invitation Group (Bilingual English/ Spanish)
Reminder Letter
[<1.0 MB]
Outgoing Letter Envelope
[<1.0 MB]
Letter Invitation and Paper Questionnaire Group (English)
Reminder Letter
[<1.0 MB]
Outgoing Letter Envelope
[<1.0 MB]
Letter Invitation & Paper Questionnaire Group (Bilingual Eng/ Spanish)
Reminder Letter
[<1.0 MB]
Outgoing Letter Envelope
[<1.0 MB]
Every household that hasn’t already responded will receive additional reminders and will eventually receive a paper questionnaire.
What households that haven’t responded yet will receive in the mail:
On or between March 26-April 3
Letter Invitation Group (English)
Reminder Postcard
[<1.0 MB]
Letter Invitation Group (Bilingual English/ Spanish)
Reminder Postcard
[<1.0 MB]
Letter Invitation and Paper Questionnaire Group (English)
Reminder Postcard
[<1.0 MB]
Letter Invitation & Paper Questionnaire Group (Bilingual Eng/ Spanish)
Reminder Postcard
[<1.0 MB]
On or between April 8-30*
*Extended from April 8-16 to allow more time for addressing the mail packages in the midst of social distancing.
Letter Invitation Group (English)
Reminder Letter
[<1.0 MB]
Language Assistance Sheet
[1.8 MB]
2020 Census Questionnaire
[<1.0 MB]
Business Reply Envelope — East
[<1.0 MB]
Business Reply Envelope — West
[<1.0 MB]
Outgoing Envelope
[<1.0 MB]
Letter Invitation Group (Bilingual English/ Spanish)
Reminder Letter
[<1.0 MB]
Language Assistance Sheet
[1.8 MB]
2020 Census Bilingual Questionnaire
[<1.0 MB]
Business Reply Envelope — East
[<1.0 MB]
Outgoing Envelope
[<1.0 MB]
FAQ Insert
[<1.0 MB]
Letter Invitation and Paper Questionnaire Group (English)
Reminder Letter
[<1.0 MB]
Language Assistance Sheet
[1.8 MB]
2020 Census Questionnaire
[<1.0 MB]
Business Reply Envelope — East
[<1.0 MB]
Business Reply Envelope — West
[<1.0 MB]
Outgoing Envelope
[<1.0 MB]
Letter Invitation & Paper Questionnaire Group (Bilingual Eng/ Spanish)
Reminder Letter
[<1.0 MB]
Language Assistance Sheet
[1.8 MB]
2020 Census Bilingual Questionnaire
[<1.0 MB]
Business Reply Envelope — East
[<1.0 MB]
Outgoing Envelope
[<1.0 MB]
FAQ Insert
[<1.0 MB]
On or between April 27-May 9*
*Pushed back from April 20-27 to allow the paper questionnaire package to arrive several days ahead of the final postcard.
Letter Invitation Group (English)
Reminder Postcard
[<1.0 MB]
Letter Invitation Group (Bilingual English/ Spanish)
Reminder Postcard
[<1.0 MB]
Letter Invitation and Paper Questionnaire Group (English)
Reminder Postcard
[<1.0 MB]
Letter Invitation & Paper Questionnaire Group (Bilingual Eng/ Spanish)
Reminder Postcard
[<1.0 MB]
On or between June 24-July 3*
*Postcards encouraging households to respond to 2020 Census sent to P.O. boxes
Letter Invitation Group (Bilingual English/ Spanish)
Reminder Postcard
[<1.0 MB]
On or between July 22-28*
*Additional mailing to serve as a final reminder to households to respond before a census taker visits to collect their response.
On or between July 22-28*
*Additional mailing to serve as a final reminder to households to respond before a census taker visits to collect their response.
Letter Invitation Group (Bilingual English/ Spanish)
Reminder Postcard
[1.5 MB]
You can choose to respond to the census online, by phone, or by mail. Click the button to respond online.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Census Bureau send mail to PO Boxes?
No, the Census Bureau cannot mail to P.O. Boxes because they cannot be matched to physical addresses. We need your physical address to count you at the place where you live. Only a complete street address will help us accurately count you in the right place. If you cannot receive mail at your home, a Census Bureau worker may deliver a questionnaire, leave information about responding, or interview you. You can respond now by phone or online at my2020census.gov.
I got two letters in the mail, how do I know which ID to use?
The Census Bureau maintains an address list, compiled from various sources including the U.S. Postal Service. Sometimes this means we have the same address listed twice. In that case, we may send multiple mailings to the same residence. Check carefully to see if there are any differences at all in the spelling of the addresses. Please look for differences such as formatting or unit numbers.
Addresses are the same: Complete the interview for one of the Census IDs. You may continue to receive reminder letters with the other Census ID, but you may disregard them. A census field worker may visit you in the future to ensure we have an accurate accounting for all addresses.
Addresses are different: Complete the Census questionnaire using the Census ID on the mailer with the address that most closely resembles the address at which you live. Do not respond using the Census ID on the mailer with the incorrect address. You may continue to receive reminder letters for the incorrect address, but you may disregard them. A census field worker may visit you in the future to ensure we have an accurate accounting for all addresses.
Do I need to keep this mail?
No, you do not need to keep the mailings after you have responded. You may also disregard reminder mailings, which may have been sent before you responded. However, the U.S. Census Bureau does conduct other annual household surveys that you may also receive mail for in the future.
I completed the census already. Why am I still receiving mail?
Thank you for responding. We send invitations and reminders through the mail. If you already responded, the reminder may have been sent before we received your response.
I did not receive anything in the mail. How do I respond?
You can still respond to the 2020 Census online even if you did not receive a letter or paper questionnaire. Go to my2020census.gov. Select the link that says, "If you do not have a Census ID, click here." It is located below the Census ID login field. Visit Responding to the Census to learn more.
Will I receive a paper form?
If you have not already responded to the 2020 Census online or by phone, you may receive a paper questionnaire. Paper questionnaires will be mailed in April.
In some remote areas, census takers may deliver paper questionnaires in person.
If you don't want to wait for a paper form, you can respond online or by phone. If you have already responded and still receive a paper questionnaire in the mail, it can be disregarded
Yes
No
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