Your Census responses are safe and protected

The Census is for everyone

The Census asks nine questions. The questions are on the number of people are living in your household and their age, race, sex, and ethnicity.

Anyone can answer online, by phone, or by mail. Do the Census now.

Your responses to the 2020 Census are safe, secure, and protected by federal law. Your answers can only be used to produce anonymous statistics. They cannot be used against you in any way. 

By law, all responses to U.S. Census Bureau surveys are kept completely confidential.

Your Census responses are safe and secure

The Census Bureau is not allowed to share anyone’s private or personal information. This is the law. 

Title 13 of the U.S. Code of Law says that it is illegal for the Census Bureau to share census information with any government agency or court. 

A census worker takes a lifetime confidentiality oath. If they break this oath, they could go to prison for five years and/or have to pay a $250,000 fine.

Your Census responses cannot be used against you or your family

By law, the Census Bureau only uses your responses for statistics. Your census responses cannot be used against you by any government agency or court in any way. 

Doing the Census cannot impact your immigration status

Everyone who lives in the United States on April 1, 2020 counts in the census. You do not have to be a citizen to do the census. If you live in the U.S., you count in the census.

Doing the census helps you and your community. The Census won’t ask about your immigration status, and it has no impact on your current or future immigration status. 

Remember, the Census Bureau cannot give any information to any federal agency.  Your information cannot be used to harm you.

Landlords cannot see your census response

The government cannot share your census responses with anyone, not even your landlord. Doing the census will not affect your housing.

The City and County of San Francisco cannot see your personal census answers, either. City departments can only see anonymous statistical data.

Your online census responses are safe from hacking and other cyber-threats.

The Census Bureau takes strong precautions to keep your online responses secure. All responses you submit online are encrypted to protect personal privacy. There are strong cyber-security programs in place that protect your personal information.

Do the Census

Count yourself in today. Visit my2020census.gov or call 844-330-2020 to get started. 

Need help? Visit sfcounts.org for information in your language.