LUCA Forms, Letters, User Guides, and other Items

Yearly Boundary and Annexation Survey Schedule:
• September—the BAS contact is sent a prenotification letter (by fax/e-mail/mail) for the upcoming survey,
asking if he or she will have changes to report as of January 1.
• January—BAS package mailed out.
• March–April—State Data Center staff conducts telephone follow-up.
• BAS packages received by April 1 will be included in the Population Estimates Program for estimates released
the following calendar year.
• June 30—packages received will be included in the next BAS year materials.

Population Estimates Program
The Population Estimates Program publishes total resident population estimates and demographic components of
change (births, deaths, and migration) each year. It also publishes the estimates by demographic characteristics
(age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin) for the nation, states, and counties. In addition to the resident population
universe, it also produces population estimates for these universes: resident plus armed forces overseas; civilian,
and civilian noninstitutional at the national level; and civilian at the state level. The reference date for estimates
is July 1 of each year.

American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a new nationwide survey designed to provide communities a fresh
look at how they are changing. The ACS is conducted instead of administering the long form in future censuses
and is a critical element in the Census Bureau’s reengineered 2010 Decennial Census plan. The ACS will enhance
your ability to serve your constituents by providing you with more timely information about your community.
Data from this survey is released every year. Armed with more accurate and timely data, you will be able to
make better informed decisions by having up-to-date information regarding your community, its people, and its
resources. The Census Bureau selects a random sample from its file of housing unit addresses. An address has
about 1 chance in 480 of being selected in any month. No address will be selected more often than once every
five years.
Both the Population Estimates Program and the American Community Survey use the legal boundaries in
existence for each jurisdiction on January 1 of each year. These boundaries are collected through the BAS,
and all addresses geographically coded to the streets and roads within your jurisdiction become part of the
sampling frame for the American Community Survey as well as part of the base used to calculate your population
estimates. Therefore, participation in the LUCA Program and the BAS helps to ensure your community has good
coverage—which contributes to good population estimates.

Will Your Community Be Ready for the 2010 Census
Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) Program?
2010 Census LUCA Program

Reissued
June 2007

The Local Update of Census Addresses Program, also known as LUCA, is
a decennial census geographic partnership program that will allow the
U.S. Census Bureau to benefit from local knowledge in developing its
Master Address File for the 2010 Decennial Census and as subsequent
use for yearly ongoing household surveys. Tribal, state, and local
governments can contribute to a complete enumeration of their
communities by reviewing and updating the list of housing units and
group quarters addresses that the Census Bureau will use to deliver
2010 Decennial Census questionnaires within their communities.

Why is the LUCA Program important to your community?
An accurate population count starts with an up-to-date and accurate address list.
Having a housing unit or group quarters address listed on the Master Address File
ensures that the people residing at the address will be enumerated. A February 2003
Government Accountability Office report indicated that in fiscal year 2000, about
$283 billion in federal grant money was distributed to state and local governments
by formula; states received their share of this money based in part on factors such
as annual population estimates derived from the 1990 decennial census. When the
population estimates were updated to reflect the 2000 census results, an additional
$388 million in federal grant funding went predominately to the 23 states that had
above-average estimate revisions. Clearly the stakes are high and a complete count is
vital to cities and towns nationwide.

How is the LUCA Program administered?
The LUCA Program is made possible by the Census Address List Improvement
Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-430) which provides an opportunity for designated
representatives of tribal, state, and local governments to review the addresses
contained on the census address list. The program operates as follows:

How do I find out more about LUCA and the other programs discussed?
Visit us at to reach the Census Bureau’s home page.

• Each invited government designates a LUCA liaison to review the portion of the
census address list covering the area under its jurisdiction. The LUCA liaison will be
subject to the same confidentiality requirements as census workers, which prohibits
the disclosure of census information. The address list is confidential under Title 13
of the U. S. Code and participants must review a set of security guidelines and sign a
confidentiality agreement promising to protect the confidentiality of the addresses.

To find out more about the LUCA Program, click on Geography then Geographic Programs or type in the
URL . You may also send your questions regarding the
LUCA Program to the following e-mail address: .
To find out more about the BAS, click on Geography then Geographic Programs or type in the URL
or contact us at .

• The Census Bureau will send the LUCA liaison an address list from the Master
Address File, corresponding maps, and the address count list.

To find out more about the Population Estimates Program and the American Community Survey, visit us at
and click on links to the Estimates page and the American Community Survey page
adjacent to People & Households near the top of the home page.

• In areas with city-style addresses, the LUCA liaison can update individual addresses
on the list, as well as add addresses missing from the list. The Census Bureau will
verify the updates during the Address Canvassing Operation and provide feedback to
the participants about the results.

To find the local Census Bureau Regional Office that serves your community, visit us at
and click on Regional Offices along the left side of the screen. Then click your state on the map to get to
the regional office that serves your state.
For questions on General Census Geography, contact .

USCENSUSBUREAU

U.S. Department of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Administration
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

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Helping You Make Informed Decisions
D-1701

• In areas with non-city-style addresses (e.g., rural route and box number or post office box numbers), the LUCA
liaisons can challenge the count of housing unit and group quarters addresses.
• The Census Bureau will visit each census block during the Address Canvassing Operation and update the
census address list. The Census Bureau will provide the LUCA participants with an updated address list and
maps during the feedback phase.
• Public Law 103-430 allows LUCA participants to appeal final Census Bureau decisions. All appeals must be
adjudicated prior to Census Day to ensure that the housing unit is visited during the enumeration phase. An
agency independent of the Census Bureau will review and decide on all appeals prior to Census Day, April 1,
2010.

How has the LUCA Program changed from Census 2000?
The Census Bureau is making a number of improvements to the 2010 LUCA Program:
• There will be a single review cycle for all address types.
• There will be a longer review period: 120 calendar days.
• There will be more advance notice so that participating governments can prepare.
• There will be more comprehensive program communications, as well as periodic contact to answer questions
and gauge each participating government’s progress.
• There will be three options for participation.
• Participating governments will be offered the option of using the Census Bureau supplied MAF/TIGER®
Partnership Software application that combines the census address list, address count list, and maps in a
software package.

What is the LUCA Program schedule?
Time Frame

-

Activity

January 2007 to February 2007

LUCA advance notice letters were mailed to the highest elected official
and other contacts in eligible, active, functioning governments.

August 2007

LUCA invitation letters and registration materials mailed to the highest
elected official and other contacts in eligible, active, functioning
governments.

August 2007 to January 2008

Invited governments register for LUCA and the Census Bureau ships the
LUCA review materials to each participating government.

September 2007 to March 2008

LUCA participants review and update the address list and return their
comments to the Census Bureau’s Regional Office within 120 days of
receipt of materials.

October 2007 to October 2008

Census Bureau reviews the participants’ LUCA submissions and updates
the Master Address File/TIGER® system.

November 2008 to June 2009

Census Bureau prepares for and conducts the Address Canvassing
Operation using GPS-equipped hand-held computers.

August 2009 to October 2009

Census Bureau sends feedback materials to the LUCA participants
showing how we processed each government’s LUCA submissions.

September 2009 to December 2009

LUCA participants review their LUCA feedback and have the opportunity
to appeal the results to the LUCA Appeals Office.

September 2009 to January 2010

LUCA Appeals Office reviews and adjudicates appeals.

What are the LUCA participation options?
There are three LUCA participation options for a government to choose from depending on factors such
as the type of addressing within their government, access to an address list, willingness to sign a Title 13
confidentiality agreement, as well as their level of resources for conducting the review.

Option 1—Full Address List Review (Title 13 option)
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This option requires a Title 13 confidentiality agreement and allows the participating government to update citystyle addresses on the census address list and provide any city-style addresses that are missing from the list.

City-style addresses are those used for mailing or E-911 in a house number and street name format. In census
blocks within a jurisdiction that contain non-city-style addresses (P.O. Box, RR and Box) the LUCA participant
may challenge the count of addresses in each census block. After the Address Canvassing Operation validates
the address changes, the participant will receive feedback on their submission and may appeal the results to an
independent LUCA appeals office that will adjudicate the differences.

Option 2—Local Address List Submission (Title 13 option)
This option may be selected by governments that have city-style addressing (mailing or E-911) but do not wish
to update the Census Bureau’s address list. The participating government submits its list of city-style addresses
assigned to the census blocks within its jurisdiction in a Census Bureau predefined format. The Census Bureau
will provide Option 2 participants with the census address list and maps as a reference, which is why a Title
13 confidentiality agreement is required. After the Address Canvassing Operation validates the participant’s
address list submission, the participant will receive feedback on each address submitted to the Census Bureau.
If the participant does not agree with the Census Bureau’s decision, the government may appeal the results to an
independent LUCA appeals office that will adjudicate the differences.

Option 3—Local Address List Submission (Non-Title 13 option)
This option may be selected by governments that have city-style addressing (mailing or E-911) but do not wish
to update the Census Bureau’s address list and do not wish to sign a confidentiality agreement, or cannot meet
the Census Bureau’s security guidelines for protecting Title 13 information. This option allows the participating
government to help improve the census address list by submitting its city-style addresses coded to the census
blocks within its jurisdiction. The Census Bureau will provide Option 3 participants with maps and counts of
addresses for each census block within its jurisdiction. After the Address Canvassing Operation validates the
participant’s submission, the participant will receive updated maps and counts of addresses by census block.
The results under Option 3 cannot be appealed since the participant will not be able to tell the independent
appeals office which addresses are missing from the census address list.

What type of LUCA review materials will I receive?
Census Address List and Address Count List
The census address list and address count list will be offered in paper and computer-readable formats. The
paper media option will be available for governments with 6,000 or fewer addresses (approximately 1,000
printed pages). The computer-readable lists are in ASCII pipe-delimited ( | ) text file format which are easily
opened using most common spreadsheet and database software applications.

Census Maps from the MAF/TIGER® Database
The LUCA program maps will be offered in printed map sheet format or the participant may select the spatial
data from TIGER® (the Census Bureau’s Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing system) in
shapefile format that requires a Geographic Information System (GIS) software application to view and update the
file. LUCA participants using their own GIS software must use the Census Bureau provided shapefiles and return
their map feature updates in the specified shapefile format.

Census Bureau’s MAF/TIGER® Partnership Software
Participating governments may also use a Census Bureau supplied software application to update both the
census address list and maps. The MAF/TIGER® Partnership Software (MTPS) is a tailored GIS application that
combines both the census address list and digital maps into one application that participants use to do their
address and map updates. The MTPS gives LUCA participants the ability to open their local address list in a noneditable view table. All address and map updates done with the MTPS will meet the Census Bureau’s formatting
requirements. This software is appropriate for any level of government that does not already have its own GIS
software and only requires a Windows 98® or newer operating system (excluding Microsoft Windows Vista™).

How does LUCA integrate with other Census Bureau programs?
One benefit of participation in the 2010 Decennial Census LUCA program is that participating governments
will be able to use their LUCA maps to provide updates to their legal boundaries. This means that if your
government registers for the LUCA Program by October 31, 2007, the Census Bureau will not send you a
separate 2008 Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) package in January 2008. The Census Bureau conducts
the BAS annually to collect information about selected legally defined geographic areas. The BAS is used to
update information about the legal boundaries and names of all governmental units in the United States. The
Census Bureau uses the boundary information collected in the BAS to tabulate data from various programs and
surveys, such as the Population Estimates Program and the American Community Survey. The boundaries are
also provided to other federal agencies in accordance with Office of Management and Budget Circular A-16 and
Executive Order 12906.
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