About the census form

The 2010 census questionnaire, which every residential address will receive, is designed to be one of the shortest since the first census was taken in 1790. It asks just 10 questions and takes about 10 minutes to complete. You will be asked your:

• gender
• age and date of birth
• ethnicity
• race
• home ownership
• five administrative questions

Delivery

In most cases the questionnaire will arrive by mail or be delivered to your door. All you need to do is fill it out and mail it back. If you do not receive a questionnaire, you will have an opportunity to pick up a replacement form at a Be Counted site in a public location in your community. If you need assistance with filling out the form, you may visit a local Questionnaire Assistance Center where Census Bureau employees will be available to help.

Snowbirds

Those who live in Iowa the majority of the year but occupy a winter residence in another state when Census forms are mailed in March should follow these guidlines to be counted as residents in Iowa:

• On the form received at the temporary second residence, enter "zero" on the form as the number of people residing there
• Leave the rest of the form blank, but write "usual residence elsewhere" onit so the Census Bureau will know why zero was entered
• If no one is staying at your Iowa residence, wait until you return home to complete the form sent to your Iowa residence
• If you don't receive a form at your Iowa residence, pick up a replacement form at a Be Counted site or wait for a Census taker to contact you in May

Languages

Some questionnaires will be bilingual (English – Spanish) to improve response rates in areas with high concentrations of Spanish-only speakers. Questionnaires are also available on request in Spanish, Chinese (simplified), Korean, Vietnamese and Russian. Language guides, which provide instructions on how to complete the questionnaire, are available in nearly 60 languages.

Response rate

It is important for Iowans to mail their forms back as quickly as possible. When households don't respond to the questionnaires, the Census Bureau must send fieldworkers to their addresses in an effort to collect their responses, which is much more costly to taxpayers. A higher mail-back response rate is more fiscally responsible and means a more accurate count of the population. 

Confidentiality

Filling out the census form is required by law. The Census Bureau does not release or share information from the form that identifies individual respondents or their household for 72 years. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share an individual’s answers with anyone, including welfare, housing, and immigration agencies. Every Census Bureau worker takes an oath for life to protect the confidentiality of census responses. Violation would result in a jail term of up to five years and/or fine of up to $250,000.