NSC New Constuction Program Invitation, Review and Closeout Phases

New Construction NSC August 2019.pdf

2020 Census New Construction Program

NSC New Constuction Program Invitation, Review and Closeout Phases

OMB: 0607-1007

Document [pdf]
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Request for Non-Substantive Change to the
2020 Census New Construction Program
OMB Control No. 0607-1007
U.S. Department of Commerce
U.S. Census Bureau
Purpose
The U.S. Census Bureau offers the 2020 Census New Construction Program as a decennial
opportunity for tribal, state, and local governments to submit addresses of new housing units
(HUs), group quarters (GQs), and transitory locations (TLs) for which construction is in progress
during or after March 1, 2018 and completion is expected by Census Day, April 1, 2020. The
Census Bureau collects city-style addresses for the newly built HUs, GQs, and TLs in census
blocks where the Census Bureau plans to mail the 2020 Census questionnaires.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the New Construction Program on
December 29, 2018 for three years with an expiration date of December 31, 2021. This nonsubstantive change (NSC) request is submitted to:
1. Update participants’ materials that OMB previously approved and to add new materials
for OMB approval.
2. Request authorization to communicate, when necessary, with participants during the New
Construction Program.
Background
With this NSC request, the Census Bureau is submitting 19 materials in their final forms for the
New Construction Program Invitation, Review, and Closeout Phases. The Census Bureau made
cosmetic and formatting updates to the registration form used during the Invitation Phase. The
four guides listed in Table 1, which contains instructions and guidance for participants to
review, add, and submit new construction addresses, are now finalized. The Census Bureau also
made cosmetic and formatting updates to the remaining materials for the Review and Closeout
Phases and added a new webinar email to invite registered participants to an online training in
September 2019.
Lastly, the Census Bureau may need to contact groups of partners through the New Construction
Program Address Updates Phase to notify them of issues and clarifications related to the
materials and software that may affect their review. As time to conduct the New Construction
Program Address Updates Phase is limited, the Census Bureau requests the authorization to
send emails and/or letters to groups of participants to document issues and provide additional
instruction. At the end of the New Construction Program Address Updates Phase, the Census
Bureau will supply documentation of all correspondences sent to participants/groups of
participants related to these possible issues.
There are no substantive changes to the program resulting from this change.
Burden
The burden of the New Construction Program is unchanged by this update.

Attachments
Table 1: New Construction Program Materials

New Construction Program Materials
Changes as part of
this NSC
Re-delivering an
updated document –
(cosmetic changes)

Material
identification
NC-F-100

Description or content
Registration Form used by participants to register during
the Invitation Phase. Updates include the revision of the
sentences in section A1 and the removal of a repetitive
and unnecessary field “Delivery Address” in section C.
Previous:

Current:

New Construction Program Materials
Changes as part of
this NSC

Material
identification

Description or content

Re-delivering an
updated document

NC-T-102

“Digital Address List Template” or “Sample Header
Template”. This updated template (Now) only displays
the fields necessary for the participants to add their new
construction addresses. Changes include the removal of
the first two rows and spaces in the name fields (Before).
Previous:

Current:

Adding a new
document
Adding a finalized
document (Final
guide to replace the
Table of Contents or
TOC)

NC-W-250

Webinar Invitation Email.

NC-G-100

Digital Respondent Guide.
Previous – Table of Contents (a four-page document):

Adding an updated
and finalized
document
Adding a finalized
document (Final
guide to replace the
TOC))

NC-G-120

Digital Quick Start Guide.

NC-G-110

GUPS Respondent Guide.
Previous – Table of Contents (a four-page document):

New Construction Program Materials
Changes as part of
this NSC
Adding an updated
and finalized
document (cosmetic
changes)
Adding an updated
material (cosmetic
changes)
Adding an updated
material (cosmetic
changes)
Adding an updated
material (cosmetic
changes)
Adding an updated
material (cosmetic
changes)
Adding an updated
material (cosmetic
changes)
Adding an updated
material (cosmetic
changes)
Adding an updated
material (cosmetic
changes)
Adding an updated
material (cosmetic
changes)
Adding an updated
material (cosmetic
changes)
Adding an updated
material (cosmetic
changes)
Adding an updated
material (cosmetic
changes)
Adding an updated
material (cosmetic
changes)

Material
identification
NC-G-130

Description or content

NC-E-200

Materials Available Online.

NC-L-200

Materials Enclosure Letter for Digital Participants.

NC-E-230

SWIM Account Email.

NC-E-240

SWIM Token Email.

NC-E-210

Follow-Up 20 Day Notice Email.

NC-L-210

Follow-Up 20 Day Notice Letter.

NC-R-150

ReadMe.txt file for Digital participants.

NC-R-140

ReadMe.txt file GUPS participants.

NC-E-300

Thank You Email to Participants (to be submitted via
email).

NC-E-310

Closeout Email to Non-Participants (to be submitted via
email).

NC-L-300

Thank You Letter to Participants (to be submitted via
mail).

NC-L-310

Closeout Letter to Non-Participants (to be submitted via
mail).

GUPS Quick Start Guide.

FORM

NC-F-100

OMB No. 0607-1007. Expiration date: 12/31/2021

(3-27-2019)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Economics and Statistics Administration

Entity ID

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

REGISTRATION FORM
2020 Census New Construction Program

Entity Name

Please complete this form and return it to the U.S. Census Bureau by email at
[email protected] or by using the provided prepaid envelope.
A. PARTICIPATION INFORMATION (Please select option 1 or option 2)
1.

YES, our government would like to participate in the New Construction Program
(Select one method of participation for reference only and complete Sections B and C.)
We will download the Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS) or Partnership Shapefiles
(for use with our own Geographic Information System (GIS) from the website.)
We will use Partnership Shapefiles provided by the Census Bureau (including GUPS program disc
for users without GIS software on CD/DVD.)
We will use Reference PDF Maps on CD/DVD.

2.

NO, our government is not participating. (Check the box below if another government is
responding on your behalf and complete Section B.)
Another government is participating on our behalf.
(Please print government name)
B. OFFICIAL RESPONDING TO THE NEW CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM INVITATION (Please print)

Name of Official – (First, Middle initial, Last)

Signature of Official

Position/Title – (e.g., Commissioner, Mayor, Supervisor, etc.)

Telephone
Area code/Number

Email address

Date
Month

Extension

Day

Year

–
C. LIAISON INFORMATION
Please designate your official New Construction Program liaison
(work contact) by providing the following information. (Please print)
Name (First, Middle initial, Last)

Position/Title – (e.g., Director, Assessor, Planner, etc.)

Telephone
Area code/Number

Email address

Fax Number
Extension

Area code/Number

–
Department, Organization, or Agency name – (e.g., Planning and Zoning, Regional Planning Agency; please do not abbreviate)

Shipping Address (House number and Street name; the Census Bureau will ship all materials via FedEx. FedEx will not deliver to
P.O. Box numbers or P.O. ZIP Codes.)

City

State

ZIP Code

We estimate that completing this program will take a total of 48 hours on average. Send comments regarding this
burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to
[email protected]. This collection has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The
eight digit OMB approval number that appears at the upper right of the form confirms this approval. If this number
were not displayed, we could not conduct this survey. The Census Bureau conducts this program under the legal
authority of the Title 13 U.S. Code, Section 141 (a). The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your
responses in a way that could identify your business, organization, or institution. Per the Federal Cybersecurity
Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that
transmit your data.

FORM NC-F-100 (3-27-2019)

LINE_NUMBER

ENTITY_ID

STATE COUNTY

CENSUS_TRACT

CENSUS_BLOCK

GQ_TL_FLAG

COMPLETE_ADDRESS_NUMBER

COMPLETE_STREET_NAME

APTUNIT_NUMBER

MAILING_ZIP_CODE

GQ_TL_NAME

FACILITY_NAME

LOCATION_DESCRIPTION

LATITUDE

LONGITUDE

NC-W-250
Webinar Email
Subject: Announcement: 2020 Census New Construction Program Webinar
The 2020 Census New Construction Program (New Construction Program) provides tribal, state, and
local governments an opportunity to submit a list of city-style addresses for housing units, group
quarters (GQs), and transitory locations for which construction is in progress during or after March 1,
2018 and completion is expected by the Census Day, April 1, 2020. Participation in the New Construction
Program helps to ensure that the Census Bureau’s address list is as complete and accurate as possible
for the 2020 Census.
The Census Bureau is conducting New Construction Program webinars beginning in September 2019.
The webinars provide an overview of the New Construction Program and demonstrate the method of
participation and submission. As the New Construction Program liaison for a registered government, you
are encouraged to attend a webinar. Please have your materials available, as there will be opportunity
to ask Census Bureau staff questions about the New Construction Program and materials.
Please visit the New Construction Program website to see webinar dates and times. You may RSVP by
emailing your name, phone number, Entity ID (see below), government name, and date/time of webinar
to  with a subject of “RSVP to 2020 Census New Construction Program
Webinar, Entity ID”. An agenda and other webinar specific information will be emailed to registered
attendees prior to the webinar.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Additional information about the New Construction Program, including participation materials, can be
found on the New Construction Program website.
If you have any questions, please contact the Census Bureau via the information below.
Email: 
Phone: 1-844-242-1765
Website: 
Thank you for your participation in the New Construction Program.
Entity ID: 

2020 Census New Construction Program
Respondent Guide
Instructions for Participants Using Materials Provided Digitally on CD/DVD

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

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2020 Census New Construction Program Digital Respondent Guide

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ............................................................................................................................ v
A.
B.
C.
D.

Background ................................................................................................................................... v
Defining the Qualifications of New Construction ........................................................................ vi
Training and Technical Support ................................................................................................... vi
Respondent Guide Organization ................................................................................................ vii

Chapter 1. The Reference PDF Maps ...................................................................................... 8
1.1
1.2

Getting Started ............................................................................................................................. 9
Viewing the Reference PDF Map File ........................................................................................... 9
1.2.1 Map Types ..........................................................................................................................................10

1.3

Understanding the Elements of a Reference PDF Map .............................................................. 13
1.3.1 Understanding the Contents of the Data Frame ................................................................................14

1.4

Geocoding Addresses Using the Reference PDF Maps ............................................................... 15

Chapter 2. The Partnership Shapefiles .................................................................................. 17
2.1
2.2
2.3

Getting Started ........................................................................................................................... 18
Extracting the Partnership Shapefiles ........................................................................................ 18
Geocoding Addresses Using the Partnership Shapefiles ............................................................ 19

Chapter 3. The Address List Template File ............................................................................ 21
3.1
3.2

Opening and Saving the Address List Template File ................................................................... 21
Understanding the Address List Template File ........................................................................... 21
3.2.1 Adding Address Records to the Address List Template File................................................................27

3.3

Preparing a File for Submission .................................................................................................. 30

Chapter 4. Using the Secure Web Incoming Module (SWIM) for the New Construction
Program .............................................................................................................. 31
Chapter 5. Next Steps for the New Construction Program .................................................... 39
Appendix A
Reference PDF Map Legend .......................................................................... A-1
Appendix B
Partnership Shapefile Names and Layouts .................................................... B-1
Appendix C
Partnership Shapefile Coordinate System and Projection ............................. C-1
Appendix D
MAF/TIGER Feature Classification Codes ...................................................... D-1
Appendix E
Unit Designation Abbreviation Examples...................................................... E-1
Appendix F
Physical Location Description and Street Type Abbreviation Examples......... F-1
Appendix G
Creating a .ZIP File with Windows 10 ............................................................ G-1
Appendix H
Glossary ....................................................................................................... H-1

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Entity Identification Codes .................................................................................................v
Table 2: Entity Types and Entity Codes on Map Materials .............................................................vi
Table 3: Census Tabulation Block Shapefile (PVS_19_v1_tabblock) ............................................ 19
Table 4: Address List Template Fields, Descriptions, and Valid Entries ....................................... 24
Table 5: Adding Records to the Address List Template File ......................................................... 28
Table 6: SWIM Submission............................................................................................................ 32
Table 7: State Shapefiles Names .................................................................................................. B-1
Table 8: County Shapefiles Names............................................................................................... B-2
Table 9: Edges Shapefile (PVS_19_v1_edges) ............................................................................. B-4
Table 10: Census Tract Shapefile (PVS_19_v1_curtracts) ........................................................... B-5
Table 11: American Indian Areas Shapefile (PVS_19_v1_aial) .................................................... B-6
Table 12: County Shapefile (PVS_19_v1_county) ........................................................................ B-7
Table 13: County Subdivisions Shapefile (PVS_19_v1_mcd) ....................................................... B-8
Table 14: Incorporated Place Shapefile (PVS_19_v1_place) ....................................................... B-9
Table 15: MAF/TIGER Feature Classification Codes (MTFCCs) ....................................................D-1
Table 16: Unit Designation Abbreviations ................................................................................... E-1
Table 17: Physical Location Descriptions and Street Type Abbreviations ................................... F-1
Table 18: Using Windows 10 to Create a .ZIP File .......................................................................G-1

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Registration Form with Reference PDF Maps on CD/DVD .............................................. 8
Figure 2: Example of Data Disc Contents for a Digital Participant with Reference PDF Maps ....... 8
Figure 3: Example of the “maps” Folder Contents ......................................................................... 9
Figure 4: Example of a Block to Map Sheet Relationship List Text File ........................................ 10
Figure 5: Example of an Index Map Sheet Margin ........................................................................ 11
Figure 6: Example of a Parent Map Sheet Margin ........................................................................ 12
Figure 7: Example of a Parent Map Sheet with an Inset Map Denoted ....................................... 12
Figure 8: Example of an Inset Map Sheet Margin......................................................................... 13
Figure 9: Example of a Parent Map Sheet for a Reference PDF Map ........................................... 14
Figure 10: Example of a Reference PDF Map with Eligible and Ineligible Blocks ......................... 15
Figure 11: Example of Census Blocks with Alpha Suffixes ............................................................ 15
Figure 12: Example of State and County Geocodes within the Border of a Reference PDF Map 16
Figure 13: Registration Form with Partnership Shapefiles on CD/DVD ........................................ 17
Figure 14: Example of Data Disc Contents for a Digital Participant with Partnership Shapefiles 18
Figure 15: Example of an Address List Template with Header Row ............................................. 22
Figure 16: Example of an Address List Template with Fictitious Address Information
(No Title 13 U.S.C. Information) .................................................................................. 30
Figure 17: Example of a Legend for the Reference PDF Maps .................................................... A-1

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INTRODUCTION
A.

Background

The 2020 Census New Construction Program (New Construction Program) provides tribal, state,
and local governments an opportunity to update the U.S. Census Bureau’s address list with
living quarters for which construction is in progress during or after March 1, 2018 and
completion is expected by Census Day, April 1, 2020. The participants supplement the address
list for enumeration during the 2020 Census and ensure that the Census Bureau’s address list is
as complete as possible to produce an accurate population count.
IMPORTANT:

All examples within this document are for training purposes and include fictitious
information. They do not reflect Title 13 protected data.

All local government entity codes, also known as the “EntityID,” appearing in the review
materials have a two-letter code identifying the type of entity. County, place, and minor civil
division (MCD) codes include the state two-digit Federal Information Processing Standards
(FIPS) numeric code. MCD codes also include the county three-digit FIPS numeric code. See
Table 1 and Table 2 for information regarding the coding on New Construction Program
materials.
Table 1: Entity Identification Codes

Entity

Entity Identification Code (EntityID)

Total Characters

State
County
Place
Minor Civil
Division

ST (2 alpha) + (2 FIPS numeric)
CO (2 alpha) + State (2 FIPS numeric) + County (3 FIPS numeric)
PL (2 alpha) + State (2 FIPS numeric) + FIPS Place (5 FIPS numeric)
MC (2 alpha) + State (2 FIPS numeric) + County (3 FIPS numeric) +
FIPS MCD (5 FIPS numeric)

4
7
9
12

Below are examples showing the “Entity ID” for local government entities:





State: ST01 (state of Alabama.)
County: CO42085 (Mercer County, Pennsylvania.)
Place: PL5127200 (Falls Church city, VA.)
Minor Civil Division: MC1703716483 (Cortland Township, DeKalb County, Illinois.)

Tribal government entity codes contain a unique 12-character alphanumeric identification code
assigned by the Census Bureau that identifies the tribe and its associated geographic area. An
example of a 12-character tribal identification code, TR0013TA0185, where TR0013 is the 6character tribal code that represents the Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe of the Benton Paiute
Reservation and TA0185 is the 6-character tribal geographic area code that represents Bento
Paiute Reservation, the geographic area associated with the Utu Utu Gwaitu Pauite Tribe.
All map related materials include in digital format on the participant CD/DVD have special codes
that differ from the “EntityID.” The abbreviation for the special map related coding is
“.” See Table 2 for an explanation of this unique coding.
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Table 2: Entity Types and Entity Codes on Map Materials

 is Entity Type

 is Entity Code

C = County
M = Minor civil division (MCD)
P = Incorporated Place
R = American Indian
Reservation (AIR)

County = SSCCC
MCD = SSCCCMMMMM
Place = SSPPPPP
AIR = RRRR
Where, SS= State FIPS code; CCC = county FIPS code;
MMMMM = MCD FIPS code; RRRR = AIR Census code.

B.

Defining the Qualifications of New Construction

To be eligible, federally recognized tribes, states, counties, cities (incorporated places), and
townships (minor civil divisions) must have city-style residential addresses in blocks where the
Census Bureau plans for self-enumeration during the 2020 Census. The New Construction
Program does not accept non-city style addresses. The structure of the living quarters must
have basic construction (windows, doors, roof that close the structure from the elements)
completed by Census Day.
The Census Bureau will not accept structure types that do not meet the criteria explained
above. Acceptable structure types include housing units, group quarters, including transitory
locations. Unacceptable structure types include condemned or scheduled for demolition, any
housing under renovation or remodeling for conversion to a non-residential purpose. See
Appendix H for the definition of housing units and group quarters that includes a list of
acceptable addresses within each of those structure types.
This program does not allow for changes to street features, legal, or statistical boundaries. The
Census Bureau updates the legal or statistical boundaries through its annual Boundary and
Annexation Survey (BAS), the Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP), and other geographic
programs.
Unlike the Local Update of Census Addresses Operation (LUCA), the Census Bureau does not
provide its address list as part of the New Construction Program. Participants are not required
to sign confidentiality and security agreements that applied to LUCA. When participants submit
address data for new housing to be included in the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau will protect
the submitted data from subsequent disclosure under Title 13, U.S.C. Section 9, which provides
for the confidential treatment of census-related information, including individual address and
structure coordinates.

C.

Training and Technical Support

The Census Bureau plans to conduct training webinars to provide instruction on participating in
the New Construction Program. The webinar schedule is available at
.
For any technical support, please contact the Census Bureau by e-mail at:
 or by phone at (844) 242-1765.

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D.

Respondent Guide Organization

This respondent guide contains detailed instructions for participants that registered to receive
their New Construction Program materials on CD/DVD. Participants that selected reference
maps in portable document format® (.pdf) on CD/DVD refer to Chapter 1 and skip Chapter 2.
Participants that selected partnership shapefiles skip Chapter 1 and refer to Chapter 2.
Participants that intend to use Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS) in conjunction
with the partnership shapefiles must refer to the 2020 Census New Construction Program
Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS) Respondent Guide
(e.g., NC_GUPS_Respondent_Guide.pdf) and the 2020 Census New Construction GUPS Quick
Start Guide (e.g., NC_GUPS_Respondent_Guide.pdf) for detailed instructions on using GUPS for
the New Construction Program.
Note:

In all the Action/Result tables throughout the respondent guide, the action is usually a
command or action performed and the Result(s) of the action will be shown in italics. For
example: double-click on the folder named “maps”, a list of files appears. The window closes
upon completion of the files extraction.

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CHAPTER 1. THE REFERENCE PDF MAPS
The Census Bureau provides large format (i.e., 36” x 32”) reference maps in PDF format
exclusively to participants who selected to receive the “Reference PDF Maps on CD/DVD”
during registration, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Registration Form with Reference PDF Maps on CD/DVD

Participants receive one Data Disc that contains the PDF maps in the “maps” folder. The root
directory of the Data Disc contains other files necessary to complete the program. The maps
differentiate between census blocks in which addresses are eligible for submission through the
New Construction Program and those that are not.
IMPORTANT:

Participants use the Reference PDF Maps as a reference for geocoding (i.e., locating the
state, county, census tract, and census block codes) individual addresses into the proper
location. The New Construction Program does not allow for updates to these materials.

Participants use the Address List Template .xls file included in the root directory to create their
digital address file of new address records for submission to the Census Bureau. Included within
the template are fields for the geocode information that participants locate on the Reference
PDF Maps. Chapter 3 includes instructions regarding the use of the template.

Figure 2: Example of Data Disc Contents for a Digital Participant with Reference PDF Maps

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1.1

Getting Started

If a participant has not used the instructions from the Digital Quick Start Guide to setup their
local computer for receipt of the New Construction Program materials, follow the steps below
to copy and paste the New Construction Program materials into a folder or new directory
created on a local computer.
1. Create a new folder (or new directory) on a local computer to copy the contents from the Data
Disc DVD. Consider using “NC2020” or “NewConstruction”.
2. Insert the Data Disc into the CD/DVD drive of the local computer with the newly created folder.
3. When the window opens that shows the Data Disc contents, as shown in Figure 2, select all of
the materials and right-click the mouse to Copy the selected materials.
4. Navigate to the newly created folder and right-click to Paste the copied materials.
5. Ensure everything is in the new folder that was included on the Data Disc and then remove the
Data Disc from the CD/DVD drive.
Note:

1.2

Adobe Acrobat Reader® is required to view the Reference PDF Map file effectively. Other
software that open PDF files may distort this product. If the local computer does not contain
the software, download it free from the following URL:
.

Viewing the Reference PDF Map File

Once the materials are successfully copied to the local computer, follow the instructions in this
section to view the Reference PDF Map file. Remember, participants do not update these
materials. They use them to obtain the geocodes necessary to add addresses.
From the local computer, double-click the “maps” folder shown in Figure 2 to reveal a list of
four files shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Example of the “maps” Folder Contents

The About_the_maps.pdf is a portable document file that contains tips for using the .pdf maps.
The NC20P5127200.pdf is the bundled .pdf file of the large format maps that participants use
as reference to geocode their addresses. The bundled .pdf file uses the naming convention
outlined in the Background section of the Introduction, e.g., NC20.pdf,
where EntType is the entity type and EntCode is the entity identification code.

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The NC20P5127200_BLK2MS.txt is a semicolon delimited text file that shows the relationship
between census block and large format map sheet(s). It contains the list of all blocks within a
given entity that are eligible for the New Construction Program and the large format map
sheet(s) on which they fall. Open the file with a simple text editor such as WordPad® or import
the file with a spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel®. When the file opens, it contains
the block’s GEOID, suffix (if applicable), and the map sheet information as displayed in Figure 4.
In that example, census block 3008 is located on map sheet 2, while census block 3005B is on
map sheet 1.

Figure 4: Example of a Block to Map Sheet Relationship List Text File

The Readme.txt contains a statement regarding the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader or Acrobat
Professional® to properly open and view the .pdf maps. Given that other software that open
PDF files may distort the Reference PDF Map file, observe the recommendation in the
ReadMe.txt and launch Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Professional. Choose File-Open and
navigate to the “maps” folder. Select the large format map bundle and click Open. For the
example in Figure 3, the file is NC20P5127200.pdf.
If there is more than one large format map sheet in the bundled .pdf, participants must scroll
through each sheet to see the entire extent of their entity. Adjust the zoom level within Adobe
as necessary to view the census tract and census block numbers needed for geocoding
addresses to include in the New Construction Program submission. Harvest the state and
county geocode information from the margin of the map sheet(s) and the census tract and
census block information from the individual map sheets. The next two sections explain the
map elements and their use in geocoding.

1.2.1 Map Types
There are three types of large format maps; Index, Parent, and Inset. All map sheet types are
identified along the lower right margin and within the barcode of the map. The lower right
margin is also the place to locate the state and county FIPS codes necessary for geocoding.
Index map sheets cover the entire extent of the entity. They are divided into numbered grids
that correspond to the parent sheets. They are provided to entities with more than one parent
sheet and are for reference purposes only. Index map sheets are noted for summarizing the
total number of sheets for the entity. See Figure 5 for a visual that shows six total sheets
(1 index, 4 parent, and 1 inset) for this particular example.
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Figure 5: Example of an Index Map Sheet Margin

Parent map sheets provide a detailed view of a section of the entity. They correspond to the
numbered grid on the index sheet. They show detail for features and geographic areas and are
used to identify the census tracts and census blocks within an entity and can also be easily
identified in the lower right margin. See Figure 6 for a visual of the lower right margin of parent
sheet 3 for this example. Also notice the key to adjacent sheets and sheet location graphics that
provide an overview of the map layout for the entity. See Figure 7 for a zoomed section of the
same parent sheet that shows the presence of an inset sheet.

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Figure 6: Example of a Parent Map Sheet Margin

Figure 7: Example of a Parent Map Sheet with an Inset Map Denoted

Inset map sheets, if they exist for an entity, may not exist on every parent sheet. They show
detail for congested areas on parent sheets and are highlighted on the parent sheet with a fill
pattern. They are denoted by an alpha character (e.g, A) and may be multi-sheeted (e.g. A1,
A2). They, like parent sheets, show detail for features and geographic areas and are used to
identify census tracts and census blocks for a specific area within an entity. See Figure 8 for a
visual of the lower right margin of inset sheet A for this example.
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Figure 8: Example of an Inset Map Sheet Margin

The area of a entity dictates the type of maps generated for the New Construction Program. For
example, participants with an entity that has a small land area may only receive a single, large
format parent map sheet while those with large area may receive an index map, a series of
parent maps, and a number of inset maps.

1.3

Understanding the Elements of a Reference PDF Map

The large format map contains the Data Frame and the Map Border. See Figure 9 for an
example of a large format map example.
The map border includes the map title, corner sheet coordinates, disclaimer information, data
source information, projection information, number of total sheets, entity type information,
key to adjacent areas (if there are multiple map sheets), a barcode, a scale, a north arrow, and
the legend.
The title is located at the top of each map sheet within the map border. It provides the program
name and product (e.g., 2020 Census New Construction Program (NC) Map) and entity
information (e.g., Cortland Township, IL).
The legend includes some of the same information found on a typical road map, such as streets
and roads, water features, and legal boundaries. However, the large format maps used for the
New Construction Program display information with symbols unique to the Census Bureau.
Refer to Appendix A for an example of the map legend.

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Figure 9: Example of a Parent Map Sheet for a Reference PDF Map

1.3.1 Understanding the Contents of the Data Frame
For the purpose of the New Construction Program, the Reference PDF Map(s) depict the census
tract and the census blocks within the entity, their boundaries, and the numbers that identify
them. Within the entity, there may be census blocks that are not eligible for the New
Construction Program; those census blocks are shaded with a gray “X” pattern. Eligible census
blocks use both yellow and pink colors as their boundaries as depicted in the example in Figure
10 and are not “X’d” out.

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Figure 10: Example of a Reference PDF Map with Eligible and Ineligible Blocks

Some participants may have blocks with an alpha suffix such as the two displayed in Figure 11.
Participants must include the suffix with the block code in the CENSUS_BLOCK field when
completing the Address List Template.

Figure 11: Example of Census Blocks with Alpha Suffixes

1.4

Geocoding Addresses Using the Reference PDF Maps

After using their own address source(s) to identify new addresses to add as part of the New
Construction Program, participants must use the Reference PDF Maps in order to provide
geographic information (known as geocodes) for each address they intend to submit.
Participants include the geocode information on the Address List Template, or on their own
spreadsheet that follows the content of the Address List Template, when providing addresses
for the New Construction Program. Do not add a map spot or include the address locations on
the Reference PDF Map(s) as the map materials are for reference purposes only.
The geocodes are numeric codes that uniquely identify all administrative/legal and statistical
geographic areas for which the Census Bureau tabulated data. For the purpose of adding a new
address record where the new address exists, the geocodes required are the State FIPS Code,
the County FIPS Code, the complete census tract number (including leading or trailing zeros as
well as the decimal between the fourth and fifth digits), and the complete census block number
(including suffix).
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For example, in Figure 10 a new address for a housing unit falls on the east side of S First West
St in block 2342. The location of the state and county FIPS information is found along the lower
right section of the map border, as highlighted below in Figure 12. Following the example in
Figure 10, the geocodes to enter into the Address List Template are as follows: 17 (state FIPS),
037 (county FIPS), 9701.00 (census tract number), and 2342 (census block number).

Figure 12: Example of State and County Geocodes within the Border of a Reference PDF Map

Refer to Chapter 3 for detailed instructions on how to use the Address List Template to add
addresses for housing unit, group quarters, and transitory locations in the blocks eligible for the
New Construction Program.

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CHAPTER 2. THE PARTNERSHIP SHAPEFILES
The Census Bureau provides partnership shapefiles on CD/DVD exclusively to participants who
requested to receive their materials digitally rather than by downloading them from the Census
Bureau website during the registration process. See Figure 13 for a visual of the registration
form.

Figure 13: Registration Form with Partnership Shapefiles on CD/DVD

Partnership shapefiles are digital representations of geographic features, such as roads and
boundaries used to create maps. A partnership shapefile stores non-topological geometry
attribute information for the spatial feature in a dataset. For example, partnership shapefiles
include state shapefiles, county shapefiles, American Indian Areas shapefiles, census block
shapefiles, and edges shapefiles to assist in geocoding addresses for submission in the New
Construction Program.
IMPORTANT:

Participants use the partnership shapefiles as a reference for geocoding (i.e., locating
the state, county, census tract, and census block codes) individual addresses into the
proper location. The New Construction Program does not allow for updates to these
materials.

The Census Bureau provides two discs to the participants who requested partnership shapefiles
on CD/DVD. One of the discs is a Data Disc that contains the partnership shapefiles within a
“shape” folder and the various other materials needed to participate in the program within the
root folder. A sample of Data Disc structure is depicted in Figure 14. The second is the
installation software disc for the Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS1 ).
Participants choose between using their own geographic information system (GIS) and GUPS to
1

If a participant intends to use GUPS, please use the 2020 New Construction Program Geographic Update Partnership Software
(GUPS) Respondent Guide included on the root directory of the data disc or available for download from the New Construction
Program website instead of this respondent guide.
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prepare their New Construction Program submission. For digital participants, the GUPS
installation software disc is provided in case someone using their own GIS wants to switch to
GUPS. Participants must use the Census Bureau’s tabblock partnership shapefile to geocode
addresses for the New Construction Program.

Figure 14: Example of Data Disc Contents for a Digital Participant with Partnership Shapefiles

2.1

Getting Started

If a participant has not used the instructions from the Digital Quick Start Guide to setup their
local computer for receipt of the New Construction Program materials, follow the steps below
to copy and paste the New Construction Program materials into a folder or new directory
created on a local computer:
1. Create a new folder (or new directory) on a local computer to copy the contents from the Data
Disc DVD. Consider using “NC2020” or “NewConstruction”.
2. Insert the Data Disc into the CD/DVD drive of the local computer with the newly created folder.
3. When the window opens that shows the Data Disc contents, as shown in Figure 14, select all of
the materials and right-click the mouse to Copy the selected materials.
4. Navigate to the newly created folder and right-click to Paste the copied materials.
5. Ensure everything is in the new folder that was included on the Data Disc and then remove the
Data Disc from the CD/DVD drive.

2.2

Extracting the Partnership Shapefiles

Once the materials are successfully copied to the local computer, follow the instructions in this
section to extract the partnership shapefiles. Remember, participants do not use these
materials for update, just for viewing in order to obtain the current census geocode information
necessary to add addresses.
From the local computer, double-click the “shape” folder shown in Figure 14. Within the
“shape” folder, double-click on the file name 2020NC_.exe. In this instance, since the
example is for participant PL5127200, the .exe file name would be 2020NC_PL5127200.exe.
A command prompt appears on screen to show the progress of the file extraction and closes
automatically upon completion. Numerous files extract as part of this process. They extract
within the “shape” folder into individual folders for the state and each county in which the
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participant’s entity is located. For example, if a place participant’s entity spans three counties,
as with Austin, Texas, look for a state folder (shown as the state FIPS number, e.g., Texas is 48)
and three county folders (shown as the state FIPS and county FIPS number, Hays (48209), Travis
(48453) and Williamson (48491) counties).
Once extracted, open the shapefiles with a GIS. Concentrate on the files needed for geocoding,
specifically the tabblock partnership shapefile. Consult Appendix B for information regarding
file names and file layout to assist with determining which shapefiles are most relevant to the
New Construction Program.

2.3

Geocoding Addresses Using the Partnership Shapefiles

As discussed in Section B, not all census blocks are eligible for the New Construction Program.
The tabblock shapefile contains an attribute field entitled NCELIGIBLE (i.e., New Construction
eligible). New Construction eligible blocks include a “Y” in the NCELIGIBLE field. Only addresses
located in census blocks where “NCELIGIBLE = ‘Y’ are accepted through the New Construction
Program. The Census Bureau will reject any address submitted in a block where “NCELIGIBLE IS
NULL”. The Census Bureau recommends symbolizing the tabblock layer based on the
NCELIGIBLE field within the local GIS in order to visualize the census blocks for which addresses
may be submitted.
When submitting address updates, participants must provide the state code, county code,
census tract, and census block numbers (geocode) OR structure coordinates (e.g., latitude and
longitude) for each address record. Participants do not need to provide a state, county, tract,
and block geocode if they provide the latitude and longitude coordinate information.
The geocode information is in the tabblock partnership shapefile. The geocode information,
along with the block eligibility information, is highlighted in purple within Table 3. For the New
Construction Program to derive the geocode, use the STATEFP, COUNTYFP, TRACTCE10, and the
BLOCK fields. Using the BLOCK field ensures the presence of the block suffix if one exists.
To provide the latitude and longitude coordinate instead of the geocode, please be sure to
include the coordinate information in decimal degrees with a minimum of six digits after the
decimal. In addition, please ensure that these coordinates are based on the unprojected,
GCS_NAD83 coordinate system.
Table 3: Census Tabulation Block Shapefile (PVS_19_v1_tabblock)

Attribute
Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

Current FIPS State code. USE for New Construction Program.

COUNTYFP

3

Char

Current FIPS County code. USE for New Construction
Program.

STATEFP10

2

Char

2010 FIPS State code.

COUNTYFP10

3

Char

2010 FIPS County code.

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Attribute
Field

Length

Type

Description

TRACTCE10

6

Char

Census Tract code. USE for New Construction Program.

BLOCKCE

4

Char

2010 Tabulation Block Number.

SUFFIX1CE

2

Char

Census Block Suffix 1 (first character).

SUFFIX2CE

2

Char

Census Block Suffix 2 (second character, if necessary).

NCELIGIBLE

1

Char

New Construction Eligible flag. USE for New Construction
Program.

BLKSZIND

1

Char

Block Size Indicator.

BLOCK

4

Char

Current Tabulation Block Number (Concatenates BLOCK,
SUFFIX1CE, and SUFFIX2CE). USE for New Construction
Program.

PARTFLG

1

Char

Flag that indicates if only part of a feature is represented.

BLOCKID

15

Char

Concatenates the 2010 geocodes from STATEFP10,
COUNTYFP10, TRACTCE10, and BLOCKCE. Do not use because
it refers to the 2010 block geocode, which may differ from the
current block geocode.

Participants may utilize other pertinent shapefiles that extracted during the setup process in
order to overlay reference layers that may assist with geocoding. For instance, using the county
boundary, place boundary, edges, and water shapefiles may be useful in providing a depiction
of the specific entity. Appendix B provides information on the file names and layouts that is
helpful in determining what shapefiles to potentially use. The Census Bureau is unable to
prepare examples for each software possibility or file combination of use during the New
Construction Program. Use local knowledge of the entity, of the local GIS, and of the local
sources to choose the files that are most helpful to proceed with geocoding new addresses for
submission in the proper format for the New Construction Program. To derive a geocode, a
participant may generate structure points from their local address source in their GIS and then
geocode the structure points to the tabblock layer. Alternatively, participants may choose to
visually geocode to the tabblock layer.
IMPORTANT:

Participants may utilize their own GIS layers to assist with their work, but must use the
tabblock partnership shapefile for assigning the geocodes to address records as part of
the New Construction Program.

Refer to Chapter 3 for instructions on how to use the Address List Template to add addresses
for housing unit, group quarters, and transitory locations for the New Construction Program.

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CHAPTER 3. THE ADDRESS LIST TEMPLATE FILE
As discussed in the previous two chapters, participants use either the Reference PDF Maps or
the Partnership Shapefiles to identify geocodes for each address record they want to include in
their New Construction Program submission. Once an address geocode is determined,
participants may use the Address_list_template.xls file to add their address records or they may
use the template as a resource to identify equivalent fields within their existing address source
and restructure it according to the Census Bureau requirements outlined in Section 3.2 and
detailed in Table 4. If participants wish to create a new file for use in the New Construction
Program, and not use the provided template, it is vital they use Table 4 as a guide for naming
and defining the fields.

3.1

Opening and Saving the Address List Template File

The Address List Template is a blank Microsoft Excel .xls spreadsheet included on the Data Disc
for use by all New Construction Program participants whether they requested Reference PDF
Maps or Partnership Shapefiles during registration. The Census Bureau provides this header file
as a reference for participants to ensure that qualifying residential, city-style addresses for
housing units, group quarters, and transitory locations are submitted in the required format.
The file contains a preset format to preserve all fields as Text. Refer to Section 3.2 and Table 4
for information on the fields, their descriptions and whether they are required as part of the
New Construction Program submission.
In order to read the file contents, the New Construction Program liaison must open the file
using Microsoft Excel or a similar processing application. Use the following steps to open and
save the Address List Template .xls file:







3.2

Open Excel.
Click File-Open.
Browse/Navigate to the folder containing the Address_list_template.xls and click the file to
open it.
Click Save As and name the file as follows: nc20__addresses_return.xls. In order to
preserve the preset format embedded within the .xls file, do not save to a newer version of
Excel.
Follow Section 3.2.1 to add address records to the template.

Understanding the Address List Template File

The Census Bureau will only accept addresses submitted in the predefined format that include
the required information. The instructions provided in the following sections will assist
participants when creating their submission for the New Construction Program. Refer to Figure
15 for an example of a blank Address List Template file showing the header row.

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Figure 15: Example of an Address List Template with Header Row

The Address List Template contains a header row that identifies the names of the sixteen fields
of information. Refer to the descriptions below and to the tabular form in Table 4 to see the
specific character length of each field, understand which fields are required, and which fields
apply to certain types of records.
First field, “LINE_NUMBER” – Field to identify the record number within the Address List
Template. Use sequential numbers when adding address records.
Second field, “ENTITY_ID” – Field to identify the unique ID assigned to an entity by the Census
Bureau. This code is located on all the New Construction materials and its structure defined in
Table 1. For example, Falls Church, VA is PL5127200.
Third field, “STATE” – Field to identify the two-digit FIPS state code for the specific record
within the Address List Template. This field is used as part of the geocode if not providing
latitude and longitude coordinates. For example, 51 is the FIPS state code for the state of
Virginia. This field is usually identical in all records for a participant, with the exception of
American Indian Areas whose entities span multiple states. This coding is located within the
materials (Reference PDF Maps or Partnership Shapefiles) received for the New Construction
Program.
Fourth field, “COUNTY” – Field to identify the three-digit FIPS county code for the specific
record within the Address List Template. This field is used as part of the geocode if not
providing latitude and longitude coordinate. For example, 087 is the FIPS county code for
Henrico County, VA. It is very important to maintain the leading zeros if they exist for a value.
This coding is located within the materials (Reference PDF Maps or Partnership Shapefiles)
received for the New Construction Program.
Fifth field, “CENSUS_TRACT” – Field to identify the six-digit census tract code with a decimal
between the fourth and fifth digit; contains a four-digit base number, including leading zeros,
and two digits after the decimal, including trailing zeros. In short, ensure that all seven
characters of this field are included in the Address List Template. Census tracts are unique
within state and county. This field is used as part of the geocode if not providing latitude and
longitude coordinate. Two examples include 1234.01 and 0003.00. This coding is located within
the materials (Reference PDF Maps or Partnership Shapefiles received for the New Construction
Program.

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Sixth field, “CENSUS_BLOCK“ – Field to identify the four-digit current census tabulation block
number, and suffixes if present, for the specific record within the Address List Template.
Maximum field length is six, with four digits and a potential of a two-character suffix. Census
blocks are numbered uniquely within a census tract from 1000 to 9999. The first digit of the
census block number identifies the block group. Suffixes are one or two letters depending on
the number of times a block has split. Suffixes do not exist for all tabulation blocks. This field is
used as part of the geocode if not providing latitude and longitude coordinate. This coding is
located within the materials (Reference PDF Maps or Partnership Shapefiles) received for the
New Construction Program.
Seventh field, “GQ_TL_FLAG” (i.e., Group Quarters_Transitory Location Flag) – Field to identify
the record as a group quarters or transitory location. Add a “G” for addresses that are group
quarters (e.g., nursing homes or dormitories) and a “T” for addresses that are transitory
locations (e.g., camping sites). Include only the main GQ or TL address not the individual rooms
or pad sites. Refer to Appendix H for definitions and examples of group quarters and transitory
locations.
Eighth field, “COMPLETE_ADDRESS_NUMBER” – Field to identify the complete address number
of a housing unit, group quarters, or transitory location, alone or with an address number prefix
and/or address number suffix that identifies a location along a thoroughfare or within a
community. Do not use any special character such as comma, period, etc.
Ninth field, “COMPLETE_STREET_NAME” – Field to identify the full street or road name that is
the official name of thoroughfare as assigned by a governing authority, or a used and
recognized alternate (alias) name. Do not use any special character such as comma, period, etc.
Tenth field, “APTUNIT_NUMBER” – Field to identify the apartment or unit number, if
applicable, for the specific record within the Address List Template. This field may contain
apartment unit numbers (e.g., Apt 101 or Unit 101A), location (e.g., rear, basement), or lot
numbers (e.g., 1, 2, 3). Do not use any special character such as comma, period, etc.
Eleventh field, “MAILING_ZIP_CODE” – Field to identify the United States Post Office (USPS)
city-style, mail delivery, five-digit ZIP Code. It is very important to maintain the leading zeros if
they exist for a ZIP Code. Do not include an entry in this field if uncertain of the correct ZIP
Code. It is better to omit than provide inaccurate ZIP Code.
Twelfth field, “GQ_TL_NAME” – Field to identify the name of a group quarters such as Bayside
Nursing Home or Dobbs Hall, and/or a transitory location such as Motel 13 or Dolce Vita
Campground. Do not use any special character such as comma, period, etc.
Thirteenth field, “FACILITY_NAME” – Field to identify the facility name of the group quarters
record if it is part of a facility. For example, include the name of a facility name such as
University of Illinois for Dobbs Hall dormitory. Do not use any special character such as comma,
period, etc.
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Fourteenth field, “LOCATION_DESCRIPTION” – Field to include a brief physical location
description of living quarters. This field may be useful for hidden living quarters to assist where
an address is not clearly identified, is confusing, or is shared with another structure. For
example, if due to an unexpected circumstance a homeless tent is setup behind a local
hardware store, enter the required city-style address (i.e., that of the hardware store), but also
include the location description to assist with locating the tent rather than the commercial
address provided (i.e., temporary homeless tent behind hardware store) Do not use any special
character such as comma, period, etc.
Fifteenth field, “LATITUDE” – Field to include the latitude coordinate for the address record.
Must be in GCS NAD83 and in decimal degrees with six digits after the decimal to achieve
optimal accuracy. Refer to Appendix C for information on GCS NAD83.
Sixteenth field, “LONGITUDE” – Field to include the longitude coordinate for the address
record. Must be in GCS NAD83 and in decimal degrees with six digits after the decimal to
achieve optimal accuracy. Must also include the negative sign to place the coordinate in the
proper hemisphere. Refer to Appendix C for information on GCS NAD83.
Table 4: Address List Template Fields, Descriptions, and Valid Entries

Field
Number

Max
Field Name
Character
Length

Field Description

Required (Yes or No or
Recommended)

1

7

LINE_NUMBER

Recommended.

2

12

ENTITY_ID

3

2

STATE

Sequential number
for each address
record in a file.
Unique identification
number assigned by
the Census Bureau to
each entity.
Two-digit FIPS state
code.

4

3

COUNTY

Three-digit FIPS
county code.

5

7

CENSUS_TRACT

Six-digit current
census tract number,
with a decimal point
between the fourth
and fifth digit,
consisting of a 4-digit
base number,
including leading
zeros, plus 2-digit
number suffix, with
trailing zeros. For
example, 1234.01
and 0003.00.

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Yes.

Yes, if not providing
latitude and longitude
information.
Yes, if not providing
latitude and longitude
information.
Yes, if not providing
latitude and longitude
information.

24

Field
Number

Max
Field Name
Character
Length

Field Description

Required (Yes or No or
Recommended)

6

6

CENSUS_BLOCK

Yes, if not providing
latitude and longitude
information.

7

1

GQ_TL_FLAG

8

35

COMPLETE_ADDRESS_NUMBER

Current census
tabulation block
number, consisting of
4 numbers followed
by up to 2 alpha
characters that
represent block
suffixing. Though
uncommon, the
template accounts
for the potential of
six digits.
Ex. 1001, 1001D,
1001AA
Field to denote the
address record as
either a group
quarters or transitory
location. Enter ‘G’ for
group quarters or a
‘T’ for transitory
location.
Housing unit or group
quarters assigned
address number,
alone or with an
address number
prefix and/or address
number suffix that
identifies a location
along a thoroughfare
or within a
community. For 123
Main St, the “123” is
the complete address
number.

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Yes, if adding a group
quarters or transitory
location address.

Yes.

25

Field
Number

Max
Field Name
Character
Length

Field Description

Required (Yes or No or
Recommended)

9

100

COMPLETE_STREET_NAME

Yes.

10

65

APTUNIT_NUMBER

11

5

MAILING_ZIP_CODE

Full street or road
name. The official
name of a
thoroughfare as
assigned by a
governing authority
or used and
recognized alternate
(alias) name. For 123
Main St, “Main St” is
the complete street
name. For 456 W
Apple St N, “W Apple
St N” is the complete
street name.
Combination of
Within Structure
Descriptor and
Identifier, e.g., "Apt
1", "Ste 22", “Unit A”,
“Bldg 2 Unit 10”, etc.
Populate with a value
other than one
already used for the
address.
The USPS city-style
mailing ZIP Code for
the address.

12

100

GQ_TL_NAME

Name of group
quarters (e.g., Dobbs
Hall or Bayside
Nursing Home) or
transitory location
(e.g., Royal RV Park
or Seabird Marina).

13

100

FACILITY_NAME

Name of group
quarters facility.
Usually a broader
name than the GQ
name (e.g.,
University of Illinois).

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Yes, if the address is a
duplicate (same
State/County/Tract/Block,
House #, Street Name, ZIP
or Lat/Long, House #,
Street Name, ZIP).

Recommended if known.
Omit if uncertain. If
included it must be fivedigit numeric characters
only. Cannot be "00000",
"11111", "33333",
"66666", "77777",
"88888", or "99999".
Yes, if adding a group
quarters or transitory
location. Cannot be "null"
if there is a value in
"GQ_TL_FLAG" or
"FACILITY NAME" field.
Cannot contain a comma
(e.g.",").
No, but recommended if
group quarters addresses
being added are
associated with a facility
(e.g., The University of
Illinois for dorms on its
campus).

26

Field
Number

Max
Field Name
Character
Length

Field Description

Required (Yes or No or
Recommended)

14

100

LOCATION_DESCRIPTION

No.

15

11

LATITUDE

16

12

LONGITUDE

A short written
description of the
location and physical
characteristics of
living quarters (e.g.,
tent city behind
hardware store) that
may assist the Census
Bureau with locating
the living quarters.
Latitude coordinate
of address in decimal
degrees with
minimum of 6 digits
following the
decimal.
Longitude coordinate
of address in decimal
degrees with
minimum of 6 digits
following the
decimal.

Yes, if not providing the
state, county, census
tract, and census block
geocode. Cannot contain
special characters, except
the decimal (e.g. ".").
Yes, if not providing the
state, county, census
tract, and census block
geocode. Cannot contain
special characters, except
the decimal (e.g. ".") and
the negative sign (e.g. "-")
for this hemisphere.

3.2.1 Adding Address Records to the Address List Template File
The Census Bureau will not accept addresses in the incorrect format or with inadequate
information. All fields of information, whether it be in the Address List Template or in a
participant’s own address material, must be in text format. This is critical for the fields that may
include numbers, leading and trailing zeros (e.g, CENSUS_TRACT, MAILING_ZIP_CODE,
LATITUDE, LONGITUDE) to ensure no information within those fields is lost. Before adding
address records for the New Construction Program, please become well versed with the
information outlined in Section 3.2 and Table 4 to determine the fields that are required or not
for use with housing unit, group quarters, and transitory locations.
IMPORTANT: Participants may enter the latitude and longitude coordinate information in addition to
OR in lieu of the STATE, COUNTY, CENSUS_TRACT, and CENSUS_BLOCK geocode information.

Participants may Copy and Paste information from an existing address source or export
information from their GIS to create their own template that follows the field layout and
instructions for the Address List Template as outlined in this chapter.

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To manually add a new residential, city-style address to the Address List Template file, follow
the steps below in Table 5:
Table 5: Adding Records to the Address List Template File

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

Navigate to the folder location of the Address List Template file,
nc20__addresses_return.xls, from Section 3.1.
Please remember to keep the fields in the given format (Text) to ensure that leading and trailing
zeros are not lost in the process of keying or copying information. Participants must not include
special characters such as commas or periods when annotating information about their addresses.

Step 2

Update the LINE_NUMBER to create a new record by inserting a new row for each address to add.
Use sequential order as adding new address records such as 1, 2, and 3.

Step 3

Enter the participant’s entity ID code in the ENTITY_ID field, for instance PL5127200. The Entity ID
is located on all New Construction Program materials (letters, emails, DVD, Reference PDF Maps).

Step 4

Enter the two-digit FIPS state code in the STATE field, for instance 51 for Virginia. The FIPS state
code information is located within the map or shapefile materials.

Step 5

Enter the three-digit FIPS county code in the COUNTY field, for instance 610 for Falls Church. The
FIPS county code information is located within the map or shapefile materials. Participants with an
entity that crosses county boundaries must pay close attention to this coding. Incorrect FIPS
county codes invalidate geocoding.

Step 6

Enter the six-digit census tract code in the CENSUS_TRACT field. Census tracts consist of a six-digit
code, with a decimal between the fourth and fifth digit, containing a four-digit base number,
including leading zeros, plus a two-digit number suffix, including trailing zeros. Census tract codes
are located within the map or shapefile materials. When keying the census tract information,
ensure that the leading zeros and suffixes annotate as text format to avoid address invalidation

Step 7

Enter the four-digit census block code in the CENSUS_BLOCK field and any suffix information if
applicable. Census block codes are located within the map or shapefile materials.
Some census blocks include an alpha suffix (e.g., 1085A). If a suffix exists, include it with the census
block code in the CENSUS_BLOCK field.

Step 8

If the address record is a housing unit, leave the GQ_TL_FLAG field blank.
If the address record is a group quarters or transitory location, enter ‘G’ for a group quarter or ‘T’
for a transitory location in GQ_TL_FLAG field.
Refer to the Glossary in Appendix H for a complete list of definitions and examples for housing
unit, group quarters, and transitory locations.

Step 9

Enter the complete city-style address number in the COMPLETE_ADDRESS_NUMBER field.

Step 10

Enter the entire street name in the COMPLETE_STREET_NAME field, for instance N Apple St or
Cherry St W.

Step 11

If the address is a multi-unit record, enter the within unit number in the APTUNIT_NUMBER field.
Participants adding multi-unit addresses must provide unit identifiers (e.g., Apt 1, Apt 2, Unit A,
Unit B) to make the records unique. The Census Bureau is not collecting addresses for individual
rooms inside a GQ/TL, so this field is unnecessary for GQ/TL records.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 12

Enter the city-style MAILING_ZIP_CODE, if known. This field is optional for all three type of living
quarters. Leave it blank if uncertainty surrounds the information.

Step 13

If the address record is a housing unit. Leave the GQ_TL_NAME field blank.
If the address record is a group quarter or a transitory location, enter the Group Quarters or
Transitory Location Name in the GQ_TL_NAME field. This information is required for all GQ or TL
records. The Census Bureau will not process a group quarters address record without a group
quarters name or a transitory location address record without a transitory location name.

Step 14

Enter the facility name in the FACILITY_NAME field, if applicable. Facility names are most common
with group quarters (e.g. group quarters name—Pandora Hall; Facility Name—UVA).

Step 15

Enter a well-defined description in the LOCATION_DESCRIPTION field (up to 100 characters, do not
use commas) if providing a description helps locate the address or clear any confusion that may
exist regarding the address (e.g., homeless tent city behind the hardware store). This information
is not required since the New Construction Program handles only residential, city-style address
records; however, the location description may be useful in certain city-style address situations
where locating the address may be difficult.

Step 16

If known or preferred over including the geocode information, enter the structure latitude
coordinate in the LATITUDE field. Latitude and longitude coordinates must be in GCS NAD83 and in
decimal degrees. Include the decimal and maintain the field as Text to preserve all the digits of the
coordinate. Include a minimum of 6-digits after the decimal for optimal accuracy.

Step 17

If known or preferred over including the geocode information, enter the structure longitude
coordinate in the LONGITUDE field. Latitude and longitude coordinates must be in GCS NAD83 and
in decimal degrees. Be certain to include the negative sign for the northern hemisphere and
include the decimal. Maintain the field as Text to preserve all the digits of the coordinate. Include a
minimum of 6-digits after the decimal for optimal accuracy.

Step 18

Upon completion of adding all the new address records, save the file as a comma delimited value
.csv file. Retain the same naming convention as the .xls file, but change the file format. See Figure
16 for an example of an Address List Template filled with fictitious address information. It contains
a mixture of geocodes as well as latitude and longitude coordinates. No Title 13 address
information is included in the example.
Important note for participants using their GIS: Participants who plan to export their own address
shapefile to an .xls must also take the extra step to save the .xls as a .csv. The file must maintain all
of the fields as Text to ensure the preservation of leading and trailing zeros that may exist in the
data as well as the 6-digit decimal accuracy for the latitude and longitude coordinates.

Step 19

U.S. Census Bureau

Upon completion of all added records, refer to Section 3.3 for the instructions on preparing the file
for submission.

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Figure 16: Example of an Address List Template with Fictitious Address Information (No Title 13 U.S.C.
Information)

3.3

Preparing a File for Submission

After completing the process of adding new addresses, conduct a quality assessment or check
of the .csv file, whether it be the Census provided Address List Template, a locally generated
template, or an export from a GIS. Some items to check include the following:








Ensure the addresses included in the file are within tabulation blocks that are eligible for the
New Construction Program (check the specific map symbology on the Reference PDF Maps or
check the tabblock partnership shapefile for “NCELIGIBLE=Y”).
Ensure the file contains qualifying residential city-style addresses for your entity; (i.e., those for
which construction is in progress during or after March 1, 2018 and completion is expected by
Census Day, April 1, 2020).
Ensure all of the required fields, as outlined in Table 4, contain accurate information. Pay close
attention for the presence of the geocode information and/or latitude and longitude
coordinates, or both.
Ensure all fields are Text to preserve the content of the data (i.e., leading and trailing zeros and
6-digit decimal accuracy).

Once satisfied with the content and quality of the content in the .csv file, zip the file and name
it with the following naming convention: nc20__addresses_return.zip. The file does
not need password protection. For participants unfamiliar with preparing a .zip file, refer to
Appendix G for instructions on how to create a .zip file. Refer the next chapter for instructions
on using the Secure Web Incoming Module (SWIM) for uploading the New Construction
Program submission. SWIM is the official web portal used for uploading files for the various
Census Bureau partnership programs.

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CHAPTER 4. USING THE SECURE WEB INCOMING MODULE (SWIM)
FOR THE NEW CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM
New Construction Program participants must utilize the Census Bureau’s Secure Web Incoming
Module, or SWIM, to submit their zipped address file submission for processing. Use the steps
outlined in this chapter to establish or access an account and to submit the zipped address file
generated in the previous section.
Some liaisons may have established a SWIM account for other Census geography programs. If
so, the Census Bureau sent an email to the liaison’s email on-file for the established account
indicating there is no need to establish a new SWIM account for use in the New Construction
Program.
For liaisons without an existing SWIM account, the Census Bureau emailed one SWIM
registration token in a separate message from the New Construction Program materials and
cover letter. Liaisons without a SWIM account must utilize the 12-digit registration token to
establish an account.
If questions remain regarding the existence of a SWIM account, click “Forgot your password?”
on the main SWIM page and enter the email address to check for account existence. If SWIM
does not locate an account associated with the email address, it returns the following message,
“No account registered for this email. The email address associated with the account is case
sensitive. Try again with the proper case or go to Account Registration to register for a SWIM
account.” Choosing the Account Registration link in the message opens another window to
establish a SWIM account.
Note:

The components of the email and password of SWIM system accounts are case-sensitive.
Make note of the case-sensitive format used when establishing the SWIM account (e.g.,
[email protected] or [email protected] or [email protected]). The Census Bureau
recommends the use of lowercase characters and recommends safe retention of this
information in a secure location for future reference.

SWIM allows four attempts to login before it temporarily locks the account for 15 minutes.
After the 15-minute lock expires, participants may try to login again or reset their password
using the “Forgot your password?” link on the login page. Once selected, follow the prompts to
enter the case-sensitive email address and provide the security answer. If the security answer is
correct, the SWIM system sends a password reset link to the email account for use in resetting
the password. Please note the security answer is not case-sensitive. Once logged into SWIM,
participants can modify their password and security answer by selecting the ‘Change Security’
link at the top, right-hand side of the page.
Participants continuing to experience login issues should confirm use of the current internet
browser version (or one previous version). SWIM runs on the two most recent versions of each

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of the major internet browsers: Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple
Safari. If the browser version is older, upgrade to a newer version. If problems with SWIM still
occur, contact the New Construction Program Help Desk at (844) 242-1765 for assistance. An
additional SWIM token may be necessary to create another account.
IMPORTANT:

Do not use email to send the New Construction Program‘s submission to the Census
Bureau. Work with the Census Bureau to resolve SWIM issues.

The following list contains the file requirements for using SWIM:




File to upload must be .zip file format.
The .zip file may not include another .zip file as a component.
The .zip file must not be larger than 250 megabytes in size.

Refer to Table 6 for instructions on utilizing the SWIM application to submit the New
Construction Program address .zip file.
Table 6: SWIM Submission

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

Open a new browser window and enter the SWIM URL .
The SWIM Please Login screen opens.

Step 2

U.S. Census Bureau

For participants with an existing SWIM account, enter the email address and password and then
click the Login button. The Welcome screen opens. Go to Step 8.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 3

For participants without a SWIM account, have the 12-digit registration token provided by the
Census Bureau ready for account registration. Choose the Register Account button after
accessing the SWIM URL. The Account Registration screen opens.

All fields on the Account Registration screen are required.

Step 4

Enter the registration token, name, phone number, agency or organization, email address in the
appropriate fields.

Step 5

Create a password using the following criteria:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Must be at least 8-characters in length.
Must have at least one uppercase character.
Must have at least one lowercase character.
Must have at least one number.
Must have at least one special character. Valid choices are as follows: #, !, $, *, &,?, and
~.
Note: The commas shown in the previous list are for spacing purposes only. The comma is not a
valid special character for use in the password.
Step 6

U.S. Census Bureau

Establish a security question. Click the arrow to the right of the Security Question field and select
a question from the drop-down menu. Enter an answer in the Answer field. Click the Submit
button when finished. A Success screen opens to confirm the successful creation of a SWIM
account.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 7

On the Success screen, select Login to return to the SWIM Please Login screen (shown in Step 1)
to proceed with the login process.

Step 8

Enter the email and password information and click the green Login button to login to SWIM. The
Welcome screen opens. If the account has uploaded other files for different geography programs
administered by the Census Bureau, a list of files previously uploaded by the SWIM user displays,
as shown in the example below. The list includes the creation date of the file upload, the name of
the file, and the corresponding size of the .zip file.

Step 9

To begin a new upload, click the Start New Upload button at the bottom of the screen.

The “What Census program are you reporting data for?” screen opens. Choose the New
Construction Program radio button and click the Next button.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 10

The “What type of NC entity are you reporting for?” screen opens. Participants must select the
level of geography that matches the type of entity they represent. County participants (e.g.,
CO48001) choose the County choice. Minor Civil Division (MCD) participants (e.g.,
MC2500119295) choose MCD. Incorporated Place participants (e.g., PL5127200) choose Place, as
shown in the screenshot below. If questions arise about the proper entity choice, contact the
New Construction Program Help Desk at (844) 242-1765 for assistance.

Click the radio button for the entity type (e.g., Place for this example) to upload. The choice of
Place opens the Select a State and Place screen. Complete the two sections and click the Next
button.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 11

Following the selection of the entity type to upload, the Select a .ZIP file to upload screen opens.
Click the +Add File button to launch the Choose File to Upload window and navigate to the folder
where the .zip file resides. This is likely “C:\NC2020 or C:\NewConstruction”.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 12

Once the file upload completes, the Status field shows “Success.” The name of the file appears in
the File(s) field. Participants can add comments to the Comment section if they choose. Click the
Next button to proceed with the upload.

Step 13

The Thank You screen appears. It thanks the participant and indicates a forthcoming email once
the transfer completes.

Step 14

Choose “upload form” in the phrase “You may Log Out or return to the upload form, to submit
more files.” sentence to return to the Welcome screen and begin the upload process again. If
complete with the upload process, choose Log Out.

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Step

Action and Result
It is important to mention that SWIM sessions deactivate after 15 minutes of inactivity.
Participants taking longer than 15 minutes to upload a file must log back into the system and
start again. They will receive a message noting the period of inactivity on the Login screen.

When they reach the Welcome screen, a record listed with a Status of “In progress, Continue?”
appears with that day’s date in the Created On field. Participants can choose the “Continue?” link
to continue uploading or they can delete the item by choosing the Delete button to the far right
of the row.

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CHAPTER 5. NEXT STEPS FOR THE NEW CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM
Congratulations on the completion of the 2020 Census New Construction Program. From
September through November 2019, the Census Bureau will process the submission .zip files
received through SWIM. The Census Bureau will conduct basic quality checks to verify the file
format and content to confirm the submitted addresses fall within blocks eligible for the New
Construction Program and that proper geocoding exists for each record. The Census Bureau will
also compare each address received as part of the New Construction Program submissions
against the Census Address List to ensure participants did not submit duplicated records.
The Census Bureau will not process address records without geocodes or latitude and longitude
coordinates, improperly formatted files that do not follow the predefined Address List
Template, or any address submitted in a block that is not eligible for the New Construction
Program.
Participants will receive an email acknowledging receipt of submission through SWIM, but the
Census Bureau will not provide feedback and the results of their processing.

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APPENDICES

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APPENDIX A

REFERENCE PDF MAP LEGEND

The legend describes the various symbols and colors used on the paper maps. The legend
includes three columns: Symbol Description, Symbol, and Label Style.


The Symbol Description column includes the type
of features, boundaries, and geography shown on
the map.
 The Symbol column shows the symbols
representing the feature in the symbol
description.
 The Label Style column shows an example of the
name of a particular feature such as a road,
waterway, or geographic area displayed on the
map.

Within the legend, there are five groupings:
•

•

•

•

•
Figure 17: Example of a Legend for the
Reference PDF Maps

U.S. Census Bureau

The boundaries grouping refers to different
boundary types or geographic areas shown on
the map. Each with its own distinct color or
symbol.
The transportation grouping represents the
various types of transportation features. Thicker
lines identify major roadways such as interstate
and U.S. highways while thinner lines represent
secondary roads and city streets. Also identified
are cul-de-sacs and circles, jeep trails, walkways,
stairways, and ferries. Each represented by
distinctive symbology.
The other features grouping includes features
such as pipelines, streams, and nonvisible
boundaries. Streams and shorelines are blue and
geographic offsets and corridors are speckled
red.
The last grouping of symbols represents various
landmarks on the map such as rivers, lakes,
glaciers, airports, cemeteries, golf courses, jails,
military installations, parks, and mountain peaks.
The area outside of the subject area is speckled
gray.
The footnote and notes grouping provides
additional information and details on geographic
relationships, boundaries, and symbols.

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APPENDIX B

PARTNERSHIP SHAPEFILE NAMES AND LAYOUTS

The information in this section provides background information for the partnership shapefiles
provided with the New Construction Program. The list of state-based shapefiles is in Table 7.
They are found within the state folder created during the .exe extraction process.
State-based shapefiles follow the naming convention of PVS_19_v1__.shp,
where  is the number corresponding FIPS number for the state, (e.g., “24” corresponds to
Maryland) and  is the abbreviation for the shapefile layer. For example,
PVS_19_v1_place_24.shp is the Maryland shapefile for incorporated places. Using the place file
from the state depicts all places within the state.
The shapefiles highlighted in purple within the two tables below are files that may be most
relevant for a New Construction Program participant. Some of the same files are available at
the county level as well, but the state organized files likely will be of more use to a state or
tribal participant or to a person participating for an incorporated place that crosses multiple
counties.
Table 7: State Shapefiles Names

U.S. Census Bureau

Shapefile layer



American Indian Areas (AIA) – Legal

aial

2010 American Indian Areas (AIA) – Legal

aial2010

American Indian Areas (AIA) – Statistical

aias

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions (AITS) - Legal

aitsl

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions (AITS) - Statistical

aitss

Block Area Group

bag

Metropolitan Statistical Area/Metropolitan Statistical
Area

cbsa

Congressional Districts

cd

Census Designated Place

cdp

Counties and Equivalent Areas

county

2010 Counties and Equivalent Areas

county2010

Elementary School Districts

elsd

County Subdivisions - Legal

mcd

New England City and Town Areas

necta

Incorporated Places

place

2010 Public Use Microdata Areas

puma2010

Secondary School Districts

scsd

State Legislative Districts Lower

sldl

State Legislative District Upper Chambers

sldu

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Shapefile layer



State

state

Tribal Block Groups

tbg

Tribal Census Tracts

tct

2010 Census Tracts

tracts2010

Urban Area

uac

Unified School District State-Based

unsd

Similar to the state-based shapefile names, the county-based shapefiles have the following
naming convention: PVS_19_v1__.shp, where  is the number
corresponding FIPS number for the state and county, (e.g. “24001” corresponds to Allegany
County, Maryland) and  is the abbreviation for the shapefile layer. They are found
within the individual county folder(s) created during the .exe extraction process.
Table 8 details the county-based shapefile layers and layer names. For example,
PVS_19_v1_curtracts_24001.shp is the Allegany County, Maryland, shapefile for current census
tracts. The shapefiles that may be of specific use during the New Construction Program,
dependent on the entity type, are highlighted with light purple within both tables.
Table 8: County Shapefiles Names

U.S. Census Bureau

Shapefile layer



American Indian Areas (AIA) – Legal

aial

American Indian Areas (AIA) – Statistical

aias

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions (AITS) - Legal

aitsl

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions (AITS) - Statistical

aitss

Alaska Native Regional Corporations (ANRC)

anrc

Area Landmark

arealm

Block Area Groups

bag

Block Groups

bg

Metropolitan Statistical Area/Metropolitan Statistical
Area

cbsa

Census County Division

ccd

Congressional Districts

cd

Census Designated Place

cdp

Consolidated Cities

concity

Counties and Equivalent Areas

county

Census Tracts - Current

curtracts

All Lines

edges

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Shapefile layer



Elementary School Districts

elsd

Hawaiian Home Lands (HHL)

hhl

County Subdivisions - Legal

mcd

New England City and Town Areas

necta

Offsets

offset

Incorporated Places

place

Point Landmarks

pointlm

2010 Public Use Microdata Areas

puma2010

Secondary School Districts

scsd

State Legislative Districts Lower

sldl

State Legislative Districts Upper

sldu

Subbarrios

submcd

Census Blocks - Current

tabblock

2010 Census Blocks

tabblock2010

2010 Traffic Analysis Delineation

tad2010

2010 Traffic Analysis Zones

taz2010

Tribal Block Groups

tbg

Tribal Census Tracts

tct

2010 Census Tracts

tracts2010

Census Urban Areas

uac

Urban Growth Area

uga

Unified School Districts

unsd

Hydrography - Area

water

Relationship Tables



Address Ranges

addr

All Names (Linear Feature Names – Fielded)

allnames

Topological Faces (2-cells with all geocodes)

faces

Topological Faces - Area Landmark Relationship

areafaces

Topological Faces - Area Hydrography Relationship

hydrofaces

From the two previous tables, a participant can see the numerous files that are bundled within
the .exe file. The New Construction Program does not use most of them, but they are included
as a part of standard files available from the Census Bureau.
The tables below present the file layout of some of the most common files of use for the New
Construction Program. Table 3 contains the file layout for the tabblock shapefile, so that
information is not repeated within this appendix.
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Though not identical to the TIGER/Line shapefiles, should detailed questions arise about the
partnership shapefiles, first refer to the TIGER/Line Files Technical Documentation located at:
. If the information in this appendix and in the
TIGER/Line shapefiles technical documentation do not resolve the question, please contact the
New Construction Program Help Desk at (844) 242-1765.
Table 9: Edges Shapefile (PVS_19_v1_edges)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State code.

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County code.

TLID

10,0

Number

Permanent edge ID.

TFIDL

10,0

Number

Permanent face ID on the left of the edge.

TFIDR

10,0

Number

Permanent face ID on the right of the edge.

MTFCC

5

Char

FIDELITY

1

Char

FULLNAME

40

Char

SMID

22,0

Number

Spatial metadata identifier.

SMIDTYPE

1

VarChar

SMIDTYPE code that reflect source attribution for
boundary edges, PLSS, Parcels, Surveyed, etc.

RTTYPE

1

VarChar

Route type code.

BBSPFLG

1

Char

CBBFLG

1

Char

BBSP_2020

1

Char

New BBSP flag.

CHNG_TYPE

4

Char

Type of linear feature update.

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification of change.

LTOADD

10

Char

Left To address.

RTOADD

10

Char

Right To address.

LFROMADD

10

Char

Left From address.

RFROMADD

10

Char

Right From address.

ZIPL

5

Char

Left ZIP Code.

ZIPR

5

Char

Right ZIP Code.

EXTTYP

1

Char

Extension type.

MTUPDATE

10

Date

Date of last update to the edge.

U.S. Census Bureau

MAF/TIGER Feature Class Code of the primary
feature for the edge.
Indication to a respondent when their entity
boundary has changed through spatial
enhancement.
Decoded feature name with abbreviated qualifier,
directional, and feature type.

Redistricting data project participant submitted
request of an edge for selection as a block
boundary.
Indicates the status of an edge for a selection as a
tabulation block boundary.

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Table 10: Census Tract Shapefile (PVS_19_v1_curtracts)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State code (e.g., 08).

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County code (e.g., 009).

TRACTCE

6

Char

Census Tract Code (e.g., 964600).

NAME

100

Char

TRACTID

11

Char

NEW_CODE

2

Char

New Tract Code.

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update.

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage of the boundary.

TRACTTYP

1

Char

Tract Characteristic Flag.

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship Description.

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification of change.

TRACTLABEL

7

Char

Six-digit TRACTCE and decimal between fourth and
fifth digit used for geocoding (e.g., 9646.00).

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage updated with returned data.

U.S. Census Bureau

Base name for the census tract. Drops trailing zeros
of suffix displayed in TRACTCE (e.g., 9646).
Concatenation of STATEFP, COUNTYFP, and
TRACTCE fields (e.g., 08009964600).

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Table 11: American Indian Areas Shapefile (PVS_19_v1_aial)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State code.

AIANNHCE

4

Char

COMPTYP

1

Char

AIANNHFSR

1

Char

NAMELSAD

100

Char

AIANNHNS

8

Char

LSAD

2

Char

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

CLASSFP

2

Char

PARTFLG

1

Char

Flag that indicates if only part of a feature is represented.

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update.

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage of the boundary.

AUTHTYPE

1

Char

Authorization type for legal area updates (O – Ordinance,
R – Resolution, L – Local Law, S – State Level Action, X –
Other).

DOCU

120

Char

Supporting documentation.

FORM_ID

4

Char

Record ID for any boundary update (GUPS only).

AREA

10

Number
(Double)

Acreage of area update.

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description.

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification of change.

NAME

100

Char

Entity name.

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage updated with returned data.

U.S. Census Bureau

Census American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native
Hawaiian (AIANNH) code.
Indicates if Reservation (or equivalent), Trust Land, or
both are Present.
Flag indicating level of recognition of an AIANNH tribe or
group.
Name with translated LSAD.
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) numeric
identifier for AIANNH areas.
Legal / Statistical Area Description codes describe the
particular typology for each geographic entity.
Functional Status defines the current functional status of
a geographic entity. See
https://www.census.gov/library/reference/codelists/functional-status-codes.html for more information.
FIPS 55 Class Code defines the current class of a
geographic entity. See
https://www.census.gov/library/reference/codelists/class-codes.html for more information.

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Table 12: County Shapefile (PVS_19_v1_county)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State code.

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County code.

COUNTYNS

8

Char

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) feature
code for the county or equivalent feature.

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD code.

LSAD

2

Char

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

CLASSFP

2

Char

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update.

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage of the boundary.

AUTHTYPE

1

Char

Authorization type for legal area updates (O –
Ordinance, R – Resolution, L – Local Law, S – State
Level Action, X – Other).

DOCU

120

Char

Supporting documentation.

FORM_ID

4

Char

Record ID for any boundary update (GUPS only).

AREA

10,3

Number
(Double)

Acreage of area update.

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description.

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification of change.

NAME

100

Char

Entity name.

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage updated with returned data.

U.S. Census Bureau

Legal / Statistical Area Description codes describe the
particular typology for each geographic entity.
Functional Status defines the current functional status
of a geographic entity. See
https://www.census.gov/library/reference/codelists/functional-status-codes.html for more
information.
FIPS 55 Class Code defines the current class of a
geographic entity. See
https://www.census.gov/library/reference/codelists/class-codes.html for more information.

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Table 13: County Subdivisions Shapefile (PVS_19_v1_mcd)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State code.

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County code.

COUSUBFP

5

Char

FIPS 55 county subdivision code.

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD.

COUSUBNS

8

Char

LSAD

2

Char

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

CLASSFP

2

Char

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update.

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage of the boundary.

AUTHTYPE

1

Char

Authorization type for legal area updates (O –
Ordinance, R – Resolution, L – Local Law, S – State
Level Action, X – Other).

DOCU

120

Char

Supporting documentation.

FORM_ID

4

Char

Record ID for any boundary update (GUPS only).

AREA

10,3

Number
(Double)

Acreage of area update.

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description.

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification of change.

NAME

100

Char

Entity name.

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage updated with returned data.

U.S. Census Bureau

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) feature
code for the county subdivision.
Legal / Statistical Area Description codes describe the
particular typology for each geographic entity.
Functional Status defines the current functional status
of a geographic entity. See
https://www.census.gov/library/reference/codelists/functional-status-codes.html for more
information.
FIPS 55 Class Code defines the current class of a
geographic entity. See
https://www.census.gov/library/reference/codelists/class-codes.html for more information.

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Table 14: Incorporated Place Shapefile (PVS_19_v1_place)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State code.

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County code.

PLACEFP

5

Char

FIPS 55 Place code.

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD.

PLACENS

8

Char

LSAD

2

Char

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

CLASSFP

2

Char

PARTFLG

1

Char

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update.

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage of the boundary.

AUTHTYPE

1

Char

Authorization type for legal area updates (e.g., O –
Ordinance, R – Resolution, L – Local Law, S – State
Level Action, X – Other).

DOCU

120

Char

Supporting documentation.

FORM_ID

4

Char

Record ID for any boundary update (GUPS only).

AREA

10,3

Number
(Double)

Acreage of area update.

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description.

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification of change.

NAME

100

Char

Entity name.

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage updated with returned data.

U.S. Census Bureau

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
feature code for the place.
Legal / Statistical Area Description (LSAD) codes
describe the particular typology for each
geographic entity.
Functional Status codes define the current
functional status of a geographic entity. See
https://www.census.gov/library/reference/codelists/functional-status-codes.html for more
information.
FIPS 55 Class code defines the current class of a
geographic entity. See
https://www.census.gov/library/reference/codelists/class-codes.html for more information.
Flag that indicates if only part of a feature is
represented.

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APPENDIX C

PARTNERSHIP SHAPEFILE COORDINATE SYSTEM AND
PROJECTION

The partnership shapefiles provided by the Census Bureau are in an unprojected geographicbased coordinate system that follows the specifications below:







GCS_NAD83
Angular Unit: Degree (0.017453292519943299)
Prime Meridian: Greenwich (0.000000000000000000)new
Datum: D_North_American_1983
Spheroid: GRS_1980
Semi-major Axis: 6378137.000000000000000000
o Semi-minor Axis: 6356752.31414035610000000
o Inverse Flattening: 298.257222101000020000

IMPORTANT:

Participants may re-project the partnership shapefiles into a local coordinate system
projection; however, the Census Bureau requests that participants convert the
submission back to GCS NAD83 prior to submission.

Most GIS software packages contain projection wizards, or something similar, allowing the user
to transform file coordinate systems and projections. For example, if participants have access to
ArcGIS to update files, the Census Bureau recommends that participants activate and utilize
ArcGIS’s “Projection Utility Wizard” extension. TIGER partnership shapefiles contain defined
projection information in the *.prj file. Since ArcGIS accesses the *.prj file for projection
information, there is no need to define these parameters before changing the file coordinate
system.

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APPENDIX D

MAF/TIGER FEATURE CLASSIFICATION CODES

The addition of new features is not permitted during the New Construction Program; however,
having the information within this appendix may assist participants with understanding the
MAF/TIGER Feature Classification Codes (MTFCCs) as they exist in the edges shapefile
described in Appendix B.
The MTFCC is a five-digit code assigned by the Census Bureau intended to classify and describe
geographic objects or features. Map symbolization of these codes assist participants with
distinguishing feature types, for instance symbolizing based on the MTFCC helps distinguish a
road from a stream or a railroad from a pipeline.
Table 15: MAF/TIGER Feature Classification Codes (MTFCCs)

MTFCC Feature Name
S1100

Interstate Highway or Primary Road with limited access

S1200

Primary Road without limited access, US Highway, State
Highway, or County Highway, Secondary and connecting roads

U.S. Census Bureau

S1400

Local Neighborhood Road, Rural Road, City Street

S1500

Vehicular Trail (4WD)

S1630

Ramp

S1640

Service Drive usually along a limited access highway

S1710

Walkway/Pedestrian Trail

S1720

Stairway

S1730

Alley

S1740

Private Road for service vehicles (logging, oil fields, ranches, etc.)

S1750

Private Driveway

H3010

Stream/River

H3013

Braided Stream

H3020

Canal, Ditch or Aqueduct

R1011

Railroad Feature (Main, Spur, or Yard)

R1051

Carline, Streetcar Track, Monorail, Other Mass Transit Rail

R1052

Cog Rail Line, Incline Rail Line, Tram

P0001

Nonvisible Legal/Statistical Boundary

L4010

Pipeline

L4020

Power Transmission Line

L4110

Fence Line

L4121

Ridge Line

L4031

Aerial Tramway/Ski Lift

K2451

Airport or Airfield

L4140

Property/Parcel Line

L4165

Ferry Crossing

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APPENDIX E

UNIT DESIGNATION ABBREVIATION EXAMPLES

Participants adding new addresses with unit information refer to the table in this appendix for
proper abbreviations approved for use by the Census Bureau.
Table 16: Unit Designation Abbreviations

U.S. Census Bureau

Name

Abbreviation

Apartment

APT

Basement

BSMT

Bottom

BOTM

Building

BLDG

Downstairs

DOWN

Floor

FLR

Front

FRNT

Interior

INTE

Level

LVL

Lower

LOWR

Middle

MIDL

Mobile Home

MH

Number

#

Penthouse

PH

Room

RM

Right

RGHT

Space

SP

Studio

STUD

Suite

STE

Suites

STES

Trailer

TRLR

Upper

UPPR

Upstairs

UPS

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APPENDIX F

PHYSICAL LOCATION DESCRIPTION AND STREET TYPE
ABBREVIATION EXAMPLES

Participants refer to this appendix for the approved physical location descriptions and street
type abbreviations to use when preparing their address information.
Table 17: Physical Location Descriptions and Street Type Abbreviations

U.S. Census Bureau

Full Name

Abbreviation

Alternate Route

ALT

Avenue

AVE

Blue

BL

Boulevard

BLVD

Brown

BRN

Boarded Up

BU

Circle

CIR

County Highway

CO Hwy

County Road

CO Rd

Court

CT

Drive

DR

East

E

Four-Wheel Drive Trail

4WD

Freeway

FWY

Green

GR

General Delivery

GEN DEL

Hospital

HOSP

Highway Contract
Route

HCR

House

HSE

Interstate

I

Intersection

INT

Lane

LN

North

N

Parkway

PKWY

Post Office Box

PO BOX

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U.S. Census Bureau

Full Name

Abbreviation

Road

RD

Route

RTE

Rural Route

RR

South

S

Star Route

ST RT

State Highway

ST HWY

State Road

ST RD

State Route

ST RTE

Street

ST

Thoroughfare

THFR

Township Highway

TWP HY

Township Road

TWP RD

West

W

White

WHT

Yellow

YLW

With

W/

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APPENDIX G

CREATING A .ZIP FILE WITH WINDOWS 10

For participants unfamiliar with the process of zipping a file, refer to the instruction below. This
example uses Windows 10 operating system. Windows 10 does not require any third-party
tools to zip or unzip a file or folder. Contact your local computer staff for assistance with other
programs that create .zip files. Contact the New Construction Help Desk at (844) 242-1765 if
questions remain about zipping the New Construction Program submission.
Table 18: Using Windows 10 to Create a .ZIP File

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

Navigate to the file location and select the file.

Step 2

Right-click on the file, then select to WinZip, and select Add to “file name” .zip file or Add/Move
to Zip file.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 3

Using the Add to “file name”.zip choice takes the guesswork out of choosing specific settings or
the retyping the file name. If a participant has named the file as suggested in this documentation,
the .zip file has the same file naming convention, i.e., nc20__addresses_return.zip.
The Add Complete window appears showing successful completion of the zip process. Select OK to
dismiss the window.

Step 4

U.S. Census Bureau

Using the Add/Move to Zip file choice allows for alteration of various zip file settings. Enter the
name of the zipped file or hit Enter to accept the suggested filename. Windows automatically
suggests a filename for the ZIP file based on the file a participant right-click on. In the example, the
participant right-clicked on the “nc20_PL5127200_addresses_return.csv” file, so the suggested ZIP
file is “nc20_PL5127200_addresses_return.zip”. Retain the other default settings and select Add.
The same “Add Complete” window, as shown in Step 3, appears. Click OK to dismiss the window.

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APPENDIX H

GLOSSARY

American Indian Area (AIA) – A Census Bureau term that refers to any or all of the following
entities: American Indian reservation, American Indian off-reservation trust land, Oklahoma
tribal statistical area, joint use area, American Indian tribal subdivision, tribal designated
statistical area, and state designated American Indian statistical area.
American Indian Reservation (AIR) – An area of land with boundaries established by final
treaty, statute, executive order, and/or court order and over which a federally recognized,
American Indian tribal government has governmental authority. Along with ‘‘reservation’’
primary governmental or administrative division of a county in 28 states and the ‘‘reservation’’
designations such as colonies, communities, pueblos, rancherias, and reserves apply to AIRs.
American Indian tribal subdivision – A legal subdivision of a federally recognized American
Indian reservation, off-reservation trust land, or a statistical subdivision of Oklahoma tribal
statistical areas. These entities are internal units of self-government or administration that
serve social, cultural, and/or economic purposes for American Indians.
Boundary – A line, either invisible or coincident with a visible feature that identifies the extent
of a geographic entity, such as a census tract, city, county, state, or reservation. A boundary
marks the limits of an area.
Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) – An annual survey to collect information about
selected legally defined geographic areas. The Census Bureau uses BAS as a means to update
information about the legal boundaries and names of all governmental units in the United
States.
Campground – A specific area set aside primarily for people to camp (e.g., in a tent, cabin, or
camping trailer). Campgrounds often charge a fee and sometimes provide minimal amenities.
This category includes both public campgrounds (e.g., in national/state/local parks or
recreation areas) and private campgrounds (e.g., KOA campgrounds, religious campgrounds,
hunting camps, or self-improvement camps).
Carnival or Circus – A traveling show or amusement enterprise (e.g., a circus, carnival, or fair),
where the performers and workers may reside in temporary quarters on site, such as tents,
buses, or recreational vehicles.
Census block – A census block is the smallest statistical geography for which the Census Bureau
collects and tabulates decennial census data. Census blocks are bounded by visible features,
such as roads, streams, and railroad tracks, and by invisible features, such as the boundaries of
governmental units and other legal entities. Census blocks are statistical geographic subdivision
of census tracts. Census blocks are numbered within census tracts and are unique to the census
tract to which they belong. Census block numbers consist of 4-digits and may include a single
alpha character suffix reflecting a boundary change or added feature (e.g. 3001A and 3001B).

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Note:

If an entity has three different census tracts, each will likely contain a census block 1000.
Respondents are encouraged to pay close attention to both the census tract and census block
number when completing address updates. The New Construction Program uses 2019
partnership tabulation blocks represented as “tabblock” in the Partnership shapefiles for
digital participants.

A census block is an area bounded by visible and/or invisible features shown on Census Bureau
maps. A census block is the smallest geographic area created by the Census Bureau for which it
collects and tabulates decennial census data. Census blocks are numbered within block groups
and are uniquely numbered within census tracts.
Census block group – Block groups are statistical geographic divisions of a census tract, defined
for the tabulation and dissemination of census data from the decennial censuses, the ACS, and
other select surveys.
Census block number – Census block numbers contain a 4-digit number. Census blocks are
numbered uniquely within each census tract.
Census Bureau – An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Census Bureau is the
country's preeminent statistical collection and dissemination agency. It publishes a wide variety
of statistical data about people and the economy of the nation. The Census Bureau conducts
approximately 200 annual surveys and conducts the decennial census of the United States
population.
Census Bureau map – Any map produced by the Census Bureau. A Census Bureau map displays
geographic entities used in a Census Bureau sponsored census or survey for which the Census
Bureau tabulates data.
Census county division (CCD) – Statistical geographic entities in 21 states where minor civil
divisions either do not exist or have been unsatisfactory for reporting statistical data. The
Census Bureau, in cooperation with state, tribal, and local officials, delineate these areas solely
for statistical purposes. CCDs have no legal function and are not legal governmental units. The
primary goal of CCDs is to establish and maintain a set of sub-county geographies with stable
boundaries and recognizable names. Naming of each CCD is based on a place, county, or wellknown local name that identifies its location. In most cases, census tracts nest within CCDs, but
in less populated counties CCDs nest within census tracts.
Census designated place (CDP) – Statistical geographic entities representing closely settled,
unincorporated communities that are locally recognized and identified by name. CDPs are the
statistical equivalent of incorporated places, with the primary differences being the lack of both
a legally defined boundary and an active, functioning governmental structure chartered by the
state and administered by elected official.
Census tracts – Census tracts are relatively permanent statistical geographies of a country or
equivalent entity delineated for the tabulation and presentation of statistical data. The
following criteria apply to reviewing, updating, and delineating census tracts. Census tracts
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generally have a population size between 1,200 and 8,000 people, with an optimum size of
4,000 people.






Census tracts follow relatively permanent visible features.
Census tracts may follow governmental unit boundaries and other non-visible features.
Census tracts consist of a six-digit code, with a decimal between the fourth and fifth digit,
containing a four-digit base number, including leading zeros, plus a two-digit number suffix,
including trailing zeros. For example, 1234.01 and 0003.00.
Census tracts may split due to population growth or merge because of substantial population
decline.

Census tract number – Unique numbers to identify census tracts within a county or statistically
equivalent entity. Census tract numbers contain up to a 4-digit number followed by a decimal
point and a 2-digit number for suffixed tracts, e.g., 1234.01. For census tracts without a suffix,
the number will contain a period with zero fill, e.g., 4567.00.
Census Bureau geocoding – To process participants’ New Construction Program submission,
the Census Bureau requires the inclusion of census geographic code information including the
state, county, census tract, and census block codes or the structure coordinates (latitude and
longitude) on the address list. Geocoding is how the Census Bureau codes population to
geographic entities. The Census Bureau will not accept addresses without the census
geographic codes (geocodes) or the structure coordinates (latitude and longitude).
Respondents can find the census geographic codes on the New Construction Program
materials.
City-style address – The city-style addresses are housing units and group quarters that have a
house number and street name address, for example, 212 Elm Street, or 137 Clark Court, Apt.
3. At times, the house numbers may also include an alpha character such as 35A or W9254.
These are mailing addresses or addresses that provide location for emergency services, such as
police, fire, and rescue (E-911 addresses). City-style addresses for housing units in multiunit
structures, such as apartment buildings, contain a unit designator, for example, Apt 101 or Suite
D or a location designator such as “rear” or “basement” (Refer to Appendix C, Unit Designation
Abbreviations). The Census Bureau and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) treat these designators as
part of the housing unit address, and they are included in each affected census address record.
Note:

For the New Construction Program, participants must provide unit identifiers (e.g., Apt 1, Apt
2, Unit A, Unit B, Suite #) for multiunit buildings. Ensure that all apartment buildings,
especially small multiunit buildings (3-4 units) such as large houses subdivided into
apartments, have a separate address line for each unit that includes the basic street address
and the individual unit designation.

County – The primary legal division of most states. Most are governmental units with powers
defined by state law.
Edges – All linear features contained in the MAF/TIGER System.

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Edges shapefile – All linear features in the MAF/TIGER System are contained in the edges
shapefile. Participants use the edges shapefile to add, delete, or change linear feature
attributes.
Faces – Topological areas in the MAF/TIGER System formed by edges.
Feature – Any part of the landscape, whether natural (a stream or ridge) or artificial (a road or
power line). In a geographic context, features are any part of the landscape portrayed on a
map, including nonvisible boundaries of legal entities, such as, city limits or county lines.
Federal Information Processing Series (FIPS)—These are codes formerly known as Federal
Information Processing Standards codes, until the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) announced its decision in 2005 to remove geographic entity codes from its
oversight. The Census Bureau continues to maintain and issue codes for geographic entities
covered under FIPS oversight, albeit with a revised meaning for the FIPS acronym. Geographic
entities covered under FIPS include states, counties, congressional districts, core based
statistical areas, places, county subdivisions, sub-minor civil divisions, consolidated cities, and
all types of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian areas. FIPS codes are assigned
alphabetically according to the name of the geographic entity and may change to maintain
alphabetic sort when new entities are created or names change. FIPS codes for specific
geographic entity types are usually unique within the next highest level of geographic entity
with which a nesting relationship exists. For example, FIPS state, congressional district, and core
based statistical area codes are unique within nation; FIPS county, place, county subdivision,
and sub-minor civil division codes are unique within state. The codes for American Indian,
Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian areas also are unique within state; those areas in multiple
states will have different codes for each state.
Geocodes – Codes that place an individual address in its correct geographic location, which
includes the correct state, county, census tract, and census block codes. Because the Census
Bureau counts people where they live, geocodes provide information to Census enumerators
for locating an address. Accurate geocoding also ensures the Census Bureau counts housing
units, and the people associated with them, in the correct census geography.
Geographic Information System (GIS) – A computer system for the storage, retrieval, and
maintenance of information about the points, lines, and areas that represent the streets and
roads, rivers, railroads, geographic entities, and other features on the surface of the Earthinformation that previously was available only on paper maps.
Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS) – A self-contained GIS update and processing
package provided by the Census Bureau for participation in a variety of Census geography
programs, including 2020 New Construction Program. Pre-packaged to include all of the

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components for 2020 New Construction, the GUPS contains the Census Bureau’s TIGER
partnership shapefiles necessary to participate. GUPS allows the participant to add external
geospatial data (shapefiles, geodatabases, and imagery) for comparison and update purposes.
Group quarters – Group Quarters (GQs) are places where people live or stay, in a group
arrangement, owned or managed by an entity or organization providing housing and/or
services for the residents. These services may include custodial or medical care as well as other
types of assistance, and residency is commonly restricted to those receiving these services.
Residents of group quarters are usually not related.
The following types of group quarters are acceptable and should be included on participants’
address list:






Correctional facilities:
o Federal and state prisons.
o Local jails and other municipal confinement facilities.
o Correctional residential facilities.
Group homes:
o Juvenile facilities:
o Group homes for juveniles (non-correctional).
o Residential treatment centers for juveniles (non-correctional).
o Correctional facilities intended for juveniles.
Nursing homes:
o Nursing facilities/skilled-nursing facilities.

Note: Residents of assisted living, congregate care, and continuing care communities who are not
receiving skilled nursing care are included in the housing unit population. Assisted living
quarters are considered housing units and not group quarters as long as they have separate
access from outside or from a common hall.







Note:

Homeless shelters.
Hospitals:
o Mental (psychiatric) hospitals and psychiatric units in other hospitals.
o Hospitals with patients who have no usual home elsewhere.
o In-patients hospice facilities.
College or university dormitories, fraternities, sororities.
Workers’ group living quarters or dormitories.
Religious group quarters.
Any group quarters under construction that will be habitable (closed to the elements with final
roof, windows, and doors) on Census Day, April 1, 2020.
Housing units and group quarters can exist within the same structure. For example, assisted
living quarters (housing units) may be located in the same structure that contains a nursing
facility (group quarters).

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Housing unit – The Census Bureau defines a housing unit as a single-family house, townhouse,
mobile home, trailer, apartment, group of rooms, or a single room occupied as a separate living
quarters or, if vacant, intended for occupancy as a separate living quarters. Separate living
quarters are living quarters in which one or more occupants (or intended occupants, if vacant)
live separate from any other individual(s) in the building and have direct access to the living
quarters without going through another’s living quarters, such as from outside the building or
through a common hall.
The following types of housing units are acceptable and should be included on the updates to
the Census Bureau’s Address List that you submit:







Houses, including townhouses, condominiums, and apartments.
Living quarters within an otherwise nonresidential structure such as an apartment within a
church, school, or business.
Mobile homes or trailers occupied as separate living quarters, or if vacant, intended for
occupancy as separate living quarters.
Transitory location sites for movable or mobile housing, portable housing units, boats,
motorized recreational vehicles (RVs), tents, and trailers pulled by cars or trucks. TRANSITORY
LOCATION also include hotels and/or motels if people occupy rooms on a transient basis
because they have no other residence. Transient locations are acceptable for inclusion in the
New Construction Program.
Any new housing units under construction that will have basic construction (windows, doors,
roof that close the structure from the elements) completed by Census Day, April 1, 2020.

Hotel or Motel – A lodging facility that some people may use as long-term or permanent
housing. Lodging facilities include hotels, motels, hostels, single-room occupancy units, inns,
resorts, lodges, and bed and breakfasts. The types of units within these lodging facilities could
be single rooms, suites, cabins, cabanas, cottages, or bungalows. In addition, organizations such
as the YMCA and YWCA may offer lodging, along with other services, at their facilities.
Incorporated place —A type of governmental unit, incorporated under state law as a city, town
(except in New England, New York, and Wisconsin), borough (except in Alaska and New York),
or village, generally to provide governmental services for a concentration of people within
legally prescribed boundaries.
Legal boundary – The legally defined boundary of a governmental unit, usually referring to a
county, minor civil division, or incorporated place.
Marina – A dock or basin where small vessels (commercial or private), such as boats or yachts,
can be securely moored or parked, in which some people may use the vessels as their primary
residence. Marinas may offer supplies, repairs, and other services/amenities. Marinas may be
standalone entities or components of a resort, and they may be owned and operated by public
entities (e.g., municipal facilities) or by a private club (e.g., yacht club) or company.

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Master Address File (MAF) – The Master Address File (MAF) is the Census Bureau’s nationwide
database of all addresses and physical/location descriptions used to support many of the
Census Bureaus’ operations. It contains mailing addresses and ZIP Codes, and address records
containing geographic information such as location description of the addresses. In areas where
there are non-city style addresses (e.g. rural routes or post office box numbers), the address
record may contain additional information such as location description. The Census Bureau
continues to update the MAF using the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) Delivery Sequence File (DSF)
and various automated, computer assisted, and clerical field operations.
MAF/TIGER Feature Classification Code (MTFCC) – A 5-digit code assigned by the Census
Bureau to classify and describe geographic objects or features in the MAF/TIGER System and its
output products.
Minor Civil Division (MCD) – The primary governmental or administrative division of a county in
29 states and the Island Areas having legal boundaries, names, and descriptions. The MCDs
represent many different types of legal entities with a wide variety of characteristics, powers,
and functions depending on the state and type of MCD. In some states, some or all of the
incorporated places also constitute MCDs. MCDs are identified by a variety of terms, such as
town (in eight states), township, and/or district. They include both functioning and
nonfunctioning government entities.
New Construction Program – A Census Bureau program offered every 10 years that allows
eligible participants, following established guidelines, to submit city-style addresses for existing
geographies and delineate new statistical geographies as appropriate.
New Construction Program liaison – A person designated by the Tribal Chairman/Chairwoman
or Highest Elected Official to serve as the primary point of contact for the New Construction
Program.
Non-city style address – Non city-style addresses are addresses that do not include a house
number and/or a street name. Non-city style addresses also may not include a complete house
number and street name address. Frequently used non-city style mailing addresses include:





Rural route and box number.
Highway contract route and box number.
General delivery.
Post Office box only delivery.

Important Note: The New Construction Program does not accept non-city style addresses.

Nonvisible feature – The Census Bureau defines a nonvisible feature as one that is not visible
on the ground and/or in imagery such as a city or county boundary through space, a property
line or line-of-sight extension of a road.

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Place – A concentration of population either legally bound as an incorporated place or
identified by the Census Bureau as a census designated place.
Racetrack – A facility used for racing automobiles, motorcycles, horses, or dogs where traveling
workers may reside in temporary quarters on site, such as tents, buses, or recreational vehicles.
This category includes both commercial and private racetrack facilities.
Recreational Vehicle (RV) Park – A specific area set aside primarily for people to temporarily
park and occupy recreational vehicles (also referred to as travel trailers or camping trailers). RV
parks typically use short-term (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly) rental agreements to provide
spaces (with or without basic utility hook-ups) for people to park their RV. RVs are often on
wheels while people live or stay in them; they are not permanent structures because they could
be easily driven or towed away on any given day. This category includes both public and private
RV park facilities.
Regional Census Center (RCC) – Temporary offices set up approximately two years prior to the
decennial census. The geographic staff from the Regional Offices are assigned to their
respective RCC and assist with the execution of various geographic operations as well as
provide support for the field operations conducted during the decennial.
Regional Office (RO) – One of the permanent Census Bureau offices responsible for the Census
Bureau’s office and field operations within its region.
Residential vs Nonresidential Addresses - The Census Bureau classifies all addresses into two
use types, residential and nonresidential. Residential addresses are addresses of housing units,
group quarters, and transitory locations where one or more people could live. Nonresidential
addresses are addresses of a structure or unit within a structure that do not serve as a
residence, such as commercial establishments, schools, government offices, and churches.
Note:

Some structures can contain both residential and nonresidential units even though they have
a single address, such as an apartment over a store or a home with an office. In this instance,
the New Construction Program considers this address residential since it contains a housing
unit.

Shapefile – Digital representations of geographic features, such as roads and boundaries used
to create maps. A shapefile stores non-topological geometry and attribute information for the
spatial features in a dataset. The Census Bureau provides county-based shapefiles in Esri
shapefile format.
Street segment – The portion of a street or road between two features that intersect that
street or road, such as, other streets or roads, railroad tracks, streams, and governmental unit
boundaries. The Census Bureau records the known address ranges for every street segment
with city-style addresses.

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Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing System (TIGER) – Address
records in the MAF are linked to feature segments in the Topologically Integrated Geographic
Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) System. The TIGER database includes the geographic
coordinates and names of all streets, water features, other linear features, and boundaries for
jurisdictions and statistical areas (census tracts, census blocks, etc.,) used to tabulate decennial
census data.
Transitory Location — The Census Bureau defines a Transitory location (TL) as a site with
movable or mobile housing that may include transitory units such as boats, motorized
recreational vehicles or trailers (RVs), tents, or other types of portable housing. Transitory
locations also include hotels and/or motels if people occupy rooms on a transient basis because
they have no other residence. Transitory locations are acceptable for inclusion in the New
Construction.
The Enumeration of Transitory Locations (ETL) is a census operation designed to provide
coverage for enumeration for locations where people live in non-traditional housing that is
transient or movable in nature. The types of transitory locations that are included in the ETL
include:













Recreational Vehicle (RV) Parks.
Campgrounds.
Carnivals.
Marinas.
Racetrack Hotel.
Motels.
Hostels.
Single-Room Occupancy Units.
Inns.
Resorts.
Lodges.
Bed and Breakfast.

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NC-G-120

Quick Start (CD/DVD) - Partnership Shapefiles or Reference PDF Maps
2020 Census New Construction Program
Getting Started
Open (or print) the 2020 Census New Construction Program Digital Respondent Guide (e.g., NC_Digital_Respondent_Guide.pdf) as listed in Figure 1
and Figure 2. The Digital Respondent Guide offers participants instructions on using the Partnership Shapefiles, Reference PDF Maps, and the
Address List Template to submit their newly constructed addresses to the U.S. Census Bureau. Please note the sections below correspond to the
method of participation an entity selected when registering for the New Construction Program. Participants that selected to receive Partnership
Shapefiles by Data Disc DVD also receive a Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS) installation disc in the event they decide to use GUPS
rather than their own GIS. Participants that selected to receive Reference PDF Maps by Data Disc DVD do not receive a GUPS installation disc.
If a participant with Partnership Shapefiles chooses to use GUPS, they must locate the GUPS Quick Start Guide to begin their work. A printed copy is
included with the New Construction Program materials or a digital version, NC_GUPS_Quick_Start.pdf, is located on their Data Disc. They must also
open (or print) the 2020 Census New Construction Program Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS) Respondent Guide
(e.g., NC_GUPS_Respondent_Guide.pdf) because it includes specific instructions on the use of GUPS for the New Construction Program. Figure 1
depicts digital versions of both the GUPS Quick Start Guide and the GUPS Respondent Guide.
While available on the Data Disc, most of these materials are also available for download from the New Construction Program website:
.
To get started, follow these steps.
1. First, create a new folder (or new directory) on a local computer to copy the contents from the Data Disc. Consider using the “NC2020”
naming convention for the folder name.
2. Insert the Data Disc into the CD/DVD drive of the local computer with the newly created folder. One of two windows, as shown in Figure
1 and Figure 2, opens based on the method of participation selected during registration.
Partnership Shapefiles

Reference PDF Maps (e.g., Large Format PDF Maps)

Figure 2: Data Disc Layout for Reference PDF Maps (refer to
Section II to proceed with setup)

Figure 1: Data Disc Layout for Partnership Shapefiles (refer to
Section I to proceed with setup)
3.
4.

I.

With the window open that shows the Data Disc contents, select all of the materials and right-click the mouse to Copy the selected
materials.
Navigate to the newly created folder and right-click to Paste the copied materials. Ensure everything from the Data Disc is in the new
folder and then remove the Data Disc from the CD/DVD drive.

Extracting the Partnership Shapefiles
To open the Partnership Shapefiles from the new folder created in step 1 of the Getting Started section, follow these steps.
1. Double-click on the folder named “shape” shown in Figure 1.

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NC-G-120

2.
3.

4.
II.

Within the “shape” folder, double-click on the file name 2020NC_.exe to extract the shapefiles. In this instance, since the
example is for participant PL5127200, the .exe file name would be 2020NC_PL5127200.exe.
A command prompt shows the progress of the file extraction and closes upon completion. The Partnership Shapefiles extract within
the “shape” folder as individual folders for the state and each county in which the participant’s jurisdiction is located.
Refer to Chapter 2 in the Digital Respondent Guide for information on using the Partnership Shapefiles.

Viewing the Reference PDF Maps (e.g., Large Format PDF Maps)
To open the Reference PDF Maps from the new folder created in step 1 of the Getting Started section, follow these steps.
1. Launch Adobe Acrobat Reader® software. IMPORTANT: Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the Reference PDF Maps
effectively. Other software that open PDF files may distort this product.
2. Choose File-Open and navigate to the “maps” folder shown in Figure 2.
3. The large format maps are located within the bundled PDF file named NC20.pdf, where EntType is the entity
type and EntCode is the entity code. In this instance, the bundled PDF file name would be NC20P5127200.pdf. The Digital
Respondent Guide contains more detail on this file and the three other files in the “maps” folder.
4. Select the NC20.pdf file and click Open.
5. Refer to Chapter 1 in the Digital Respondent Guide for information on using the Reference PDF Maps.

III. Using the Address List Template
The Address List Template, shown in Figure 3, is a blank Microsoft Excel®.xls spreadsheet included on the Data Disc for all New
Construction Program participants. The Census Bureau provides this file for the purpose of keying addresses into a file to ensure that
city-style addresses for housing units, group quarters, and transitory locations are submitted in the required format for the New
Construction Program and as a “header” file for participants that already have their address information in a digital file and would like
to import that information into GUPS.
IMPORTANT: The Census Bureau will not accept addresses in the incorrect file format or with inadequate information.

Figure 3: Address List Template
To open the Address List Template from the new folder created in step 1 of the Getting Started section, follow these steps.
1. From the new folder created in step 1 of the Getting Started section, double-click on the Address_list_template.xls to open it.
2. Save the template as nc20__addresses_return.xls, where “EntityID” matches the aforementioned coding (e.g.,
PL5127200). This file name for this example would be nc20_PL5127200_addresses_return.xls.
3. IMPORTANT: The file must maintain the fields as text to ensure the preservation of the format embedded within the template.
Upon completion of all work and prior to submission to the Census Bureau, participants must save the .xls file as a comma
delimited value .csv file. Participants that use the template to format their own locally sourced address information and plan to
import their addresses into GUPS must also save their file in the .csv format prior to importing into GUPS. Refer to Chapter 4 in the
GUPS Respondent Guide for more instructions.
4. Following the instructions in the Digital Respondent Guide, provide the required address information in the appropriate fields.
5. Save often to preserve the edits.
6. Refer to Chapters 3, 4, and 5 in the Digital Respondent Guide for more instructions on the use of the template and the subsequent
tasks for submitting the information to the Census Bureau.
Please contact the New Construction Program Help Desk by phone at (844) 242-1765 or by email at [email protected] if
questions remain after consulting the respondent guide(s) or for additional assistance. As a reminder, information about the New
Construction Program, as well as Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and schedules, is available on the New Construction Program
website at .

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2020 Census New Construction Program
Respondent Guide
Instructions for Participants Using Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS)

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... vi
A.
B.
C.

Background .................................................................................................................................. vi
Defining the Qualifications of New Construction ........................................................................ vi
Training and Technical Support .................................................................................................. vii

Chapter 1. System Requirements and Installation .................................................................. 1
1.1
1.2

Hardware and Operating System Requirements .......................................................................... 1
GUPS Installation .......................................................................................................................... 2

Chapter 2. Getting Started with GUPS .................................................................................... 6
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4

Accessing the Partnership Shapefiles ........................................................................................... 6
Opening GUPS and Starting a New Project using Census Web .................................................... 7
Opening GUPS and Starting a New Project using My Computer (Data Disc) ............................. 14
Opening GUPS and Starting a New Project using My Computer (Website) ............................... 20

Chapter 3. GUPS Menus and Toolbars .................................................................................. 31
3.1
3.2

GUPS Main Page ......................................................................................................................... 31
Table of Contents and Map View ............................................................................................... 34

Chapter 4. Using GUPS for the New Construction Program .................................................. 36
4.1

The New Construction Toolbar ................................................................................................... 36
4.1.1 Adding Imagery to the Map View .......................................................................................................37
4.1.2 The User Address List .........................................................................................................................39
4.1.2.1

Adding Addresses.........................................................................................................................45

4.1.2.1.1

Manually Adding an Address Using the Add Map Spot Button.................................................45

4.1.2.1.2

Manually Adding an Address by Keying the Tract and Block Information ................................51

4.1.2.2

Importing Addresses ....................................................................................................................55

4.1.2.3

Editing Addresses .........................................................................................................................63

4.1.2.4

Copying Addresses .......................................................................................................................64

4.1.2.5

Deleting Addresses ......................................................................................................................65

4.1.3 The Address Review Tool ....................................................................................................................66
4.1.4 The Export to Zip Button ....................................................................................................................70

Chapter 5. Using the Secure Web Incoming Module (SWIM) for the New Construction
Program .............................................................................................................. 73
Chapter 6. Next Steps for the New Construction Program .................................................... 82
Appendices ........................................................................................................................... 83
Appendix A Additional GUPS Functionality ....................................................................... A-1
A.1
A.2
A.3
A.4

Menu Bar ........................................................................................................................... A-1
Status Bar .......................................................................................................................... A-4
Standard Toolbar ............................................................................................................... A-5
Using the New Bookmark Button ........................................................................................ A-7

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A.5

Using the Select Features by Value Button .......................................................................... A-8

Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Appendix E
Appendix F

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Address List Template .XLS File ...................................................................... B-1
Unit Designation Abbreviation Examples ....................................................... C-1
Physical Location Description and Street Type Abbreviation Examples .......... D-1
Partnership Shapefile Names ......................................................................... E-1
Glossary ......................................................................................................... F-1

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Hardware and Operating System Requirements .............................................................. 1
Table 2: Install the GUPS Application from the Installation DVD ................................................... 2
Table 3: Getting Started with GUPS using Shapefiles from the Census Web ................................. 7
Table 4: Getting Started with GUPS using Shapefiles from the Data Disc.................................... 14
Table 5: Getting Started with GUPS using Shapefiles from the New Construction Program
Website............................................................................................................................ 21
Table 6: GUPS Main Page Elements .............................................................................................. 32
Table 7: New Construction Toolbar Buttons ................................................................................ 36
Table 8: Add Imagery Button ........................................................................................................ 37
Table 9: Referencing Imagery from an Internet Map Service ...................................................... 39
Table 10: User Address List Buttons ............................................................................................. 41
Table 11: Adding an Address Using the Add Map Spot Button .................................................... 46
Table 12: Adding Address by Keying the Tract and Block Information ........................................ 51
Table 13: Importing Addresses into the User Address List ........................................................... 55
Table 14: Editing Addresses in the User Address List ................................................................... 63
Table 15: Copying Address in the User Address List ..................................................................... 64
Table 16: Deleting Address in the User Address List .................................................................... 65
Table 17: Using the Address Review Tool ..................................................................................... 67
Table 18: Using the Export to Zip Button...................................................................................... 71
Table 19: SWIM Submission.......................................................................................................... 74
Table 20: Menu Tabs and Their Functions ................................................................................... A-1
Table 21: Status Bar Elements ..................................................................................................... A-4
Table 22: Standard Toolbar Buttons ............................................................................................ A-5
Table 23: Adding a New Bookmark .............................................................................................. A-7
Table 24: Select Features by Value Button .................................................................................. A-9
Table 25: Address List Tempate Fields, Descriptions, and Valid Entries ..................................... B-1
Table 26: Unit Designation Abbreviations ................................................................................... C-1
Table 27: Physical Location Descriptions and Street Type Abbreviations ...................................D-1
Table 28: State Shapefiles Names ................................................................................................ E-1
Table 29: County Shapefiles Names............................................................................................. E-2

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: GUPS Main Page Layout................................................................................................. 31
Figure 2: Table of Contents - Default Layers and Layer Groupings .............................................. 34
Figure 3: Expand/Collapse Layers ................................................................................................. 35
Figure 4: User Address List Button on the New Construction Toolbar......................................... 40
Figure 5: User Address List within GUPS for the New Construction Program .............................. 40
Figure 6: New Construction (NC) Eligible and Ineligible Census Blocks ....................................... 41
Figure 7: Menu and Toolbars ....................................................................................................... A-1
Figure 8: Status Bar ...................................................................................................................... A-1
Figure 9: Standard Toolbar .......................................................................................................... A-5
Figure 10: Sub-Tool Markers ........................................................................................................ A-5
Figure 11: Address List Template File Layout with Header Row ................................................. B-1

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INTRODUCTION
A.

Background

The 2020 Census New Construction Program (New Construction Program) provides tribal, state,
and local governments an opportunity to update the U.S. Census Bureau’s address list with
living quarters for which construction is in progress during or after March 1, 2018 and
completion is expected by Census Day, April 1, 2020. The participants supplement the address
list for enumeration during the 2020 Census and ensure that the Census Bureau’s address list is
as complete as possible to produce an accurate population count.
IMPORTANT:

B.

All examples within this document are for training purposes and include fictitious
information. They do not reflect Title 13 protected data.

Defining the Qualifications of New Construction

To be eligible, federally recognized tribes, states, counties, cities (incorporated places), and
townships (minor civil divisions) must have city-style residential addresses in blocks where the
Census Bureau plans for self-enumeration (i.e., in blocks where the Census Bureau plans to mail
correspondence regarding the census questionnaires to households rather than hand deliver
the census questionnaire) during the 2020 Census. The New Construction Program does not
accept non-city style addresses. The structure of the living quarters must have basic
construction (windows, doors, roof that close the structure from the elements) completed by
Census Day.
The Census Bureau will not accept structure types that do not meet the criteria explained
above. Acceptable structure types include housing units and group quarters, including transitory
locations. Unacceptable structure types include condemned or scheduled for demolition and
any housing under renovation or remodeling for conversion to a non-residential purpose. See
Appendix F for the definition of housing units and group quarters that includes a list of
acceptable addresses within each of those structure types.
This program does not allow for changes to street features, legal, or statistical boundaries. The
Census Bureau updates the legal and statistical boundaries through its annual Boundary and
Annexation Survey (BAS), the Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP), and other geographic
programs.
Unlike the Local Update of Census Addresses Operation (LUCA), the Census Bureau does not
provide its address list as part of the New Construction Program. Participants are not required
to sign confidentiality and security agreements that applied to LUCA. When participants submit
address data for new housing to be included in the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau will protect
the submitted data from subsequent disclosure under Title 13, U.S.C. Section 9, which provides
for the confidential treatment of census-related information, including individual address and
structure coordinates.
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C.

Training and Technical Support

The Census Bureau plans to conduct training webinars to provide instruction on participating in
the New Construction Program. The webinar schedule is available at
.
For any technical support, please contact the Census Bureau by e-mail at:
 or by phone at (844) 242-1765.

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CHAPTER 1. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND INSTALLATION
This chapter includes hardware and operating system requirements information necessary to
install and use the Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS). GUPS is a customized
geographic information system (GIS) provided by the Census Bureau to participants without
extensive GIS experience. GUPS runs in QGIS, an open-source GIS platform, and contains all
functionality required to add or import address points in census blocks eligible for the New
Construction Program, to execute automated quality checks, and to create standardized data
output files for Census Bureau processing. For information on the QGIS open-source platform,
go to: .
The Census Bureau recommends using GUPS in conjunction with this respondent guide. GUPS is
available on DVD or available for download from the New Construction Program website. In
addition, a digital version of this guide is also available at
.

1.1 Hardware and Operating System Requirements
Before beginning the installation, check the computer to verify if it has the capabilities needed
to run GUPS. Table 1 lists the requirements to install and run GUPS as well as the internet
browsers that support the use of SWIM.
Table 1: Hardware and Operating System Requirements

Hardware

Operating System

Supported Browser

Disk Space Needed to Run
GUPS:
4 GB

Windows®:
To run GUPS, Windows users need one of
the following operating systems:
 Windows 7®
 Windows 8®
 Windows 10®
Apple®:
Mac OS X® users must secure a license for
Microsoft Windows and use a Windows
bridge. The suggested bridge software is
Boot Camp®, which comes pre-installed on
all Mac computers. Locate instructions for
using Boot Camp at:
.

SWIM runs on the two most
recent versions of each of
these major browsers:
 Internet Explorer®
 Google Chrome®
 Mozilla Firefox®
 Apple Safari®

Disk Space Needed to Store
Shapefiles:
Shapefile sizes vary. To view
the size of the shapefiles, rightclick, and choose Properties in
the drop-down menu. The Files
Properties box opens and
displays the folder size. Select
multiple files/folders in the list
to view their properties via the
same method.
RAM:
4 GB minimum, 8 GB or more
recommended for optimal
performance.

IMPORTANT: Since Boot Camp requires a
restart of the computer to set up the
bridge, be sure to print the instructions
provided at the URL above before
beginning installation.

Note: Depending on the Windows OS version, GUPS may have a different appearance than the
screenshots contained in the respondent guide; however, the content is the same.
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1.2 GUPS Installation
To install the GUPS application, participants must have Administrator privileges for their
computer. Participants with previous versions of GUPS installed on their computer for use with
other Census Bureau programs must install this updated version for the New Construction
Program. Download the software from the New Construction Program website or use the
Census Bureau’s installation DVD to update GUPS. To complete the installation from the
installation DVD, follow the steps in Table 2. Locate instructions for installing a downloaded
copy of GUPS on the New Construction Program website.
Table 2: Install the GUPS Application from the Installation DVD

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

Place the GUPS software installer DVD received with the New Construction Program materials
into the computer’s CD/DVD drive. Depending on the version of Windows, a Windows
protected your PC pop-up display window may appear. Note: this pop-up appears differently
depending on the operating system. To continue, click ‘More info’, then select ‘Run anyway’.

Step 2

Other computers may show a pop-up display window that asks, “Do you want to run this file?”,
“Do you want to allow the following program from an unknown publisher to make changes to this
computer?”, or a similar query. If any of these occur, click ‘Run’, ‘Yes’, ‘Allow’, or an option that
allows the software installation to proceed. The software should begin to run automatically.

Step 3

The software should auto-install, but if the installation does not run automatically, navigate to the
CD/DVD drive, and double-click on the file named SETUP-10.0.x.x.bat.
IMPORTANT: The name of this file may vary slightly, but it will be the only setup batch (e.g., .bat)
file available.
If the software still does not run properly, contact the local System Administrator for assistance. If
they cannot resolve the installation problem, contact the New Construction Program Help Desk at
(844) 242-1765 or by email at .

Step 4

U.S. Census Bureau

A Welcome to QGIS 3.4.4-Madeira window pops up allowing users to import previous settings
used into the default profile. Users may choose to import their settings or to have a clean start.
Select the desired options and click “Let’s get started”.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 5

When the installer opens, the Welcome to the QGIS 3.4.4 ‘Madeira’ Setup Wizard screen appears.

Note: The version needed for the New Construction Program is QGIS 3.4.4 Madeira. If the exact
same version of QGIS exists on the computer, an instruction to uninstall and reinstall appears.
Participants may retain other versions of QGIS that may be in use for other programs, but must
reinstall if the same version exists on the computer to ensure installation of the latest update.
Before proceeding with installation, close all other programs or applications. Once other programs
and applications are closed, click the Next button.
Step 6

The License Agreement screen appears.

Read the License Agreement and click the I Agree button to continue.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 7

The Choose Install Location screen opens.

The Browse button on this screen allows participants to browse the local computer for an
installation location. The Census Bureau recommends the installation of the GUPS application to
the default location: (e.g., C:\QGIS344) to prevent installation errors or issues. To begin the
installation, click the Next button.
Step 8

The Choose Components screen opens.

‘QGIS’ in the Select components to install field is checked and grayed out since it is the default.
Simply click Install to continue.
To review a previous screen or reread the license agreement, click the Back button (each screen
contains this button). This returns the screen to the previous page.
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Step

Action and Result

Step 9

The software takes between five and 10 minutes to install. When it finishes installation, the
Completing the QGIS 3.4.4 ‘Madeira’ Setup Wizard screen opens. Click the Finish button.

Step 10

The GUPS Install Setup: Completed screen opens showing the status of the installation of GUPS. To
complete the installation, click the Close button.

Step 11

Participants use QGIS Desktop 3.4.4 for their New Construction Program work. They can ignore the
other software installed as part of the process. Once the application installs QGIS 3.4 (or QGIS344)
to the Start Menu, All Programs list.

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CHAPTER 2. GETTING STARTED WITH GUPS
After successfully installing GUPS, participants are ready to begin their work of adding newly
constructed addresses. There are two ways to access the partnership shapefiles within GUPS:
1. Census Web. This choice downloads shapefiles directly into GUPS from the Census Bureau’s
website. It is the recommended method for accessing the shapefiles in GUPS.
2. My Computer. This choice requires navigating to a folder on the local computer where the
participant copied and extracted data from the Data Disc or where they saved and extracted the
shapefiles after downloading them from the New Construction Program website. This is the
more complicated choice.
IMPORTANT:

At the time of creation of this material, neither GUPS nor the New Construction Program
website was finalized. As a result, the software icons, website section names, and the
images referenced within this document may vary slightly from what a participant sees
as they begin their work. None of the variances will be significant; however, contact the
New Construction Program Help Desk by phone at (844) 242-1765 or by email at
 should any questions arise.

2.1 Accessing the Partnership Shapefiles
Regardless of the method of participation selected during registration, the shapefiles necessary
to conduct the New Construction Program are available directly within the GUPS application. By
choosing the Census Web option when selecting the geography initially in GUPS, participants
with internet connectivity can load one or multiple county files at once if their entity spans
multiple counties or if they are a state or tribal participant. Refer to Table 3 for instructions on
getting started with GUPS by using the shapefiles downloaded directly into GUPS by Census
Web.
Note: The Census Web option is the recommended method for accessing the partnership shapefiles
for use in the New Construction Program. Use of this option ensures the proper placement of
the required files for GUPS to operate properly.

To use the My Computer option in GUPS, participants have two methods to acquire the
partnership shapefiles. They can copy, paste, and extract the .exe file that contains the
partnership shapefiles from the Data Disc DVD onto their local computer if they requested to
receive one during registration or they can download exe file that contains the partnership
shapefiles from the New Construction Program website, , onto their local computer. Please
note that downloading files to the hard drive is not the preferred method when working in
GUPS, and should be used only when necessary (e.g., if internet connectivity is unreliable or not
possible).

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IMPORTANT:

Regardless of the method used to acquire the partnership shapefiles, Data Disc or
website, participants must not change any of the shapefile or folder names. The
shapefiles and folders must retain their exact names as extracted for GUPS to recognize
and load them. GUPS will not work if participants alter the naming convention.

Refer to Table 4 for instructions on getting started with GUPS by using the shapefiles sourced
from the Data Disc. Refer to Table 5 for instructions on getting started with GUPS by using the
shapefiles sourced from the New Construction Program website.

2.2 Opening GUPS and Starting a New Project using Census Web
To open the GUPS and begin adding or importing addresses for the New Construction Program
using the preferred choice of Census Web, follow the steps in Table 3 below. Before beginning,
note that:
1. To practice using GUPS without committing the changes, simply exit the system without saving.
Before the system closes, it will give the option to save or discard the changes.
2. If comfortable with GUPS, but completion of updates are not possible in one session, simply
save the changes and close GUPS. Participants can reopen saved projects and continue working
later.
Note: In all the Action/Result tables, the action is usually a command or action to perform and the
Result(s) of the action will appear in italics. For example, “click the QGIS icon the desktop, the
software should begin to run automatically.”
Table 3: Getting Started with GUPS using Shapefiles from the Census Web

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

After installing GUPS using instructions in Table 2 or from the New Construction Program website,
select QGIS Desktop 3.4.4 from the All Programs list in the Start Menu.

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Step

Action and Result
The QGIS splash screen appears.

Step 2

GUPS launches with the Map Management window.

Step 3

In the Map Management window, use the drop-down menu next to the Program field to select the
New Construction Program. The ‘New Construction Program’ populates the Program field.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 4

In the Entity Type field, use the drop-down menu to select the type of entity. The options are
‘Tribe’, ‘State’, ‘County’, ‘Place’, ‘Minor Civil Division (MCD)’. Independent city participant should
select ‘Place’. This example uses Place as the Entity Type.

Note: The subsequent menu options vary, depending on the Entity Type chosen.
Step 5

U.S. Census Bureau

In the State field, use the drop-down menu to select the state. The scroll bar to the right allows
participants to move up and down the list of state available. This example uses Virginia.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 6

After selecting the state, GUPS prompts participants for a location from which to download the
place’s (or place equivalent’s) partnership shapefiles. The Select Data Folder, Directory or Location
window opens.

Note: The launch of this menu is dependent on the entity type selected. For this example, it
launched after choosing the State.
GUPS only asks to specify a download location once per project. When a project closes and
reopens, the shapefiles automatically reload, even if a participant made no changes during the first
session.
Step 7

In the Select Data Folder, Directory or Location drop-down menu, select a data download location.
This example uses the ‘Census Web’ option from the drop-down menu.

Step 8

When ‘Census Web’ is chosen, the shapefile for the state with the places begins to load and
progress is displayed by a grey blank bar (color may vary), with the percentage of the upload
completed displayed to the middle.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 9

After the shapefiles load, GUPS returns to the Map Management window. In the Entity Name field,
use the drop-down menu to select the place that corresponds to the specific participant. This
example uses Falls Church city, Virginia.

Step 10

To open the data for Falls Church city, Virginia, select the Open button.

Note: When choosing an entity that has been previously loaded, any previously loaded county(s)
appear in cyan blue and remain checked in the Map Management window. Other counties
associated with the entity appear in yellow if they have not been selected previously and must be
checked to download.

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Step

Action and Result
Important note for the other entity types, Tribe, State, County, and MCD participants:
For the ‘Tribe’ Entity Type, a drop-down menu that lists all Reservations and Off-Reservations Trust
Lands within the Entity Name field activates and allows for the selection of the ‘Tribe’.
For the ‘State’ Entity Type, a drop-down menu that lists all the states within the State field activates
and allows the selection of the ‘State’. Following the selection of the ‘State’, a list of counties within
that state appears. Participants can select up to 10 counties to load at once.
For the ‘County’ Entity Type, participants select their state from the drop-down menu next to State
field and then select their county from the drop-down menu next to the County field.
For the ‘MCD’ Entity Type, participants use the drop-down menu next to State field to select the
state and then select the county from the drop-down menu next to County field followed by the
Entity Name.

Step 11

As GUPS loads the data, it unzips and copies the shapefiles to a folder in the home directory created
during the GUPS installation process. The data is then loaded into the GUPS application. The Map
Management window remains on-screen, with grayed-out fields, while the project is loading
followed by a progress bar with the message “Starting GUPS”. The shapefile data layers for Falls
Church city, Virginia, appear in the Table of Contents along with a blank User Address List to use for
manually adding or importing addresses and the Map View load to use for adding map spots to
geocode the new address records.

If the ‘Census Web’ option is not successful, follow the instructions in Table 4 or Table 5 for loading
shapefiles using the ‘My Computer’ option.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 12

To open a previously saved project, in the Map Management window, click the drop-down arrow
next to the Open Recent button. The drop-down menu opens with a list of current projects.

Multiple project files, for multiple programs, may appear, as shown above. In the example above,
two separate projects exist on the same computer. To identify which of the entries in the list
represents a particular project, look at folder name that follows “/gupsdata” to identify the project
(e.g., NC20). Look at the entity identification code on the file name to identify the entity. The entity
identification code is a unique identification number of up to twelve characters in length assigned
to each entity by the Census Bureau. The characters are strings composed of letters and numbers.
See the chart below for more detail on the entity identification coding.
Entity

Entity Identification Code

Total
Characters

Tribe

TR (2 alpha) + (4 numeric tribal code) + TA (2 alpha) + (4
numeric tribal geographic area code)

12

State

ST (2 alpha) + (2 FIPS numeric) FIPS is acronym for the
Federal Information Processing Standards.

4

County

CO (2 alpha) + State (2 FIPS numeric) + County (3 FIPS
numeric)

7

Place

PL (2 alpha) + State (2 FIPS numeric) + FIPS Place (5 FIPS
numeric)

9

Minor
Civil
Division

MC (2 alpha) + State (2 FIPS numeric) + County (3 FIPS
numeric) + FIPS MCD (5 FIPS numeric)

12

The entity identification code for a particular geography is available within the Map Management
window and on the other New Construction Program materials. Below is an example for Freetown
Township, an MCD in Bristol County, Massachusetts.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 13

Proceed to Chapter 3 for an introduction to the GUPS menus and toolbars.

2.3 Opening GUPS and Starting a New Project using My Computer (Data Disc)
GUPS participants with limited internet connectivity for using the ‘Census Web’ option can use
the partnership shapefiles from the Census Bureau-provided DVD (e.g., the Data Disc) they
requested during registration. Participants must copy the data from the Data Disc directly on a
local computer’s hard drive. Retain the Data Disc as backup in the event something happens to
the data copied onto the local computer.
To open the GUPS and begin adding or importing addresses for the New Construction Program
using the shapefiles that originate from the Data Disc, follow the steps in Table 4.
Table 4: Getting Started with GUPS using Shapefiles from the Data Disc

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

Create a new folder or new directory on a local computer. Consider using “NC2020” or
“NewConstruction” for the new folder name.

Step 2

Insert the Data Disc into the CD/DVD drive of the local computer with the newly created folder.
‘Copy’ and ‘Paste’ all of the contents on the Data Disc into the new folder on the local computer.

Step 3

Open the ‘shape’ folder on the local computer. Double-click the 2020NC_.exe to extract
the partnership shapefiles necessary to participate in the New Construction Program. The shapefiles
extract into subdirectories created within the ‘shape’ folder.

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Step

Action and Result
DO NOT CHANGE any shapefile or folder name. The files and folders must have the exact names
given for the GUPS application to recognize and load them.

Step 4

After installing GUPS using instructions in Table 2 or from the New Construction Program website,
select QGIS Desktop 3.4.4 from the All Programs list in the Start Menu.

The QGIS splash screen appears.

Step 5

GUPS launches with the Map Management window.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 6

In the Map Management window, use the drop-down menu next to the Program field to select the
New Construction Program. The ‘New Construction Program’ populates the Program field.

Step 7

In the Entity Type field, use the drop-down menu to select the type of entity. The options are ‘Tribe’,
‘State’, ‘County’, ‘Place’, ‘Minor Civil Division (MCD)’. Independent city participant should select
‘Place’. This example uses Place as the Entity Type. Note: The subsequent menu options vary,
depending on the Entity Type.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 8

In the State field, use the drop-down menu to select the state. The scroll bar to the right allows
participants to move up and down the list of state available. This example uses Virginia.

Step 9

After selecting the state, GUPS prompts participants for a location from which to download the
place’s (or place equivalent’s) partnership shapefiles. The Select Data Folder, Directory or Location
window opens.

Note: The launch of this menu is dependent on the entity type selected. For this example, it launched
after choosing the State.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 10

In the Select Data Folder, Directory or Location drop-down menu, select a data download location.
This example uses the ‘My Computer’ option from the drop-down menu.

GUPS only asks to specify a download location once per project. When a project closes and reopens,
the shapefiles automatically reload, even if a participant made no changes during the first session.
Step 11

With ‘My Computer’ selected, navigate to the ‘shape’ folder on the local computer where the
partnership shapefiles were extracted as explained in Step 3, choose the ‘shape’ folder, and then
click the Select button. IMPORTANT: Do not open/double-click into the ‘shape’ folder.

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Step

Action and Result
Important note for the other entity types, Tribe, State, County, and MCD participants:
For the ‘Tribe’ Entity Type, a drop-down menu that lists all Reservations and Off-Reservations Trust
Lands within the Entity Name field activates and allows for the selection of the ‘Tribe’.
For the ‘State’ Entity Type, a drop-down menu that lists all the states within the State field activates
and allows the selection of the ‘State’. Following the selection of the ‘State’, a list of counties within
that state appears. Participants can select up to 10 counties to load at once.
For the ‘County’ Entity Type, participants select their state from the drop-down menu next to State
field and then select their county from the drop-down menu next to the County field.
For the ‘MCD’ Entity Type, participants use the drop-down menu next to State field to select the
state and then select the county from the drop-down menu next to County field followed by the
Entity Name.

Step 12

The shapefiles begin to load and progress is displayed by the blue striped bar (color may vary), with
the progress percentage noted to the right. Once complete, the shapefile data layers for Falls Church
city, Virginia, appear in the Table of Contents along with a blank User Address List to use for manually
adding or importing addresses and the Map View loads to use for adding map spots to geocode the
new address records.

Step 13

To open a previously saved project, in the Map Management window, click the drop-down arrow
next to the Open Recent button. The drop-down menu opens with a list of current projects.

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Step

Action and Result
Multiple project files, for multiple programs, may appear, as shown above. In the example above,
two separate projects exist on the same computer. To identify which of the entries in the list
represents a particular project, look at the entity identification code on the file name. The entity
identification code is a unique identification number of up to twelve characters in length assigned to
each entity by the Census Bureau. The characters are strings composed of letters and numbers. See
the chart below for more detail on the entity identification coding.
Entity

Entity Identification Code

Total Characters

Tribe

TR (2 alpha) + (4 numeric tribal code) + TA (2 alpha) + (4
numeric tribal geographic area code)

12

State

ST (2 alpha) + (2 FIPS numeric)

4

County

CO (2 alpha) + State (2 FIPS numeric) + County (3 FIPS
numeric)

7

Place

PL (2 alpha) + State (2 FIPS numeric) + FIPS Place (5 FIPS
numeric)

9

Minor Civil
Division

MC (2 alpha) + State (2 FIPS numeric) + County (3 FIPS
numeric) + FIPS MCD (5 FIPS numeric)

12

The entity identification code for a particular geography is available within the Map Management
window and on the other New Construction Program materials. Below is an example for Freetown
Township, an MCD in Bristol County, Massachusetts.

Step 14

Proceed to Chapter 3 for an introduction to the GUPS menus and toolbars.

2.4 Opening GUPS and Starting a New Project using My Computer (Website)
GUPS participants with limited internet connectivity that did not request a CD/DVD during
registration download an .exe file that includes the partnership shapefiles from the New
Construction Program website. They must also download the respondent guide(s) and the
Address List Template, should they wish to use it to import addresses into GUPS or use it
instead of using GUPS.
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To open the GUPS and begin adding or importing addresses for the New Construction Program
using the partnership shapefiles that originate from the website, follow the steps in Table 5.
Table 5: Getting Started with GUPS using Shapefiles from the New Construction Program Website

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

Create a new folder or new directory on a local computer. Consider using “NC2020” or
“NewConstruction” for the new folder name.

Step 2

Navigate to the New Construction Program website and locate the section for downloading data:
.

Note: At the time of creation of this respondent guide, the website development was not complete;
therefore, creating a screenshot showing the download data section was not possible. Participants
that are unable to locate the download data section on the New Construction Program website can
contact the New Construction Program Help Desk at (844) 242-1765 for assistance.
Step 3

Under the download data section, select the name of the state in which the entity is located from the
drop-down list. For American Indian Areas, choose “AIA” from the drop-down menu. The system
routes participants to a file transfer protocol (FTP) directory for that state or AIAs.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 4

For this example, the state of Colorado’s FTP directory opens. The state directory will have additional
subdirectories for each entity type in the state. State participants select the .exe file the root
directory that includes ‘ST’. The example below shows 2020NC_ST08.exe.

Also in the state directory is a ‘locator’ text file that lists every entity in the state, the Entity IDs, and
the subdirectory in which the data is located. For example, Alma, Colorado’s Entity ID is PL0801530
and its .exe file is located within the place subdirectory.

County participants (i.e., those with Entity ID that begins with CO) choose the county directory.
Incorporated place, independent city, or consolidated city participants (i.e., those with Entity ID that
begins with PL) choose the place directory. Minor civil division participants (i.e., those with Entity ID
that begins with MC) choose the mcd directory. The example below depicts the state of Colorado’s
“county” subdirectory.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 5

Click the file name to save the .exe file and select ‘Save As’ in the drop-down list. The example shows
the selection of CO08009’s .exe file.

.
The Save As pop-up appears with the .exe file appearing in the File Name field. Navigate to the newly
created directory from Step 1. Click the Save button.
Step 6

Minimize or close the New Construction Program website. Navigate to the newly created directory
where the .exe file resides. Double-click the 2020NC_.exe to extract the partnership
shapefiles.

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Step

Action and Result

The shapefiles extract into subdirectories created within the same folder.
DO NOT CHANGE any shapefile or folder name. The files and folders must have the exact names
given for the GUPS application to recognize and load them.
Step 7

After following the instructions for downloading and installing GUPS from the New Construction
Program website, select QGIS Desktop 3.4.4 from the All Programs list in the Start Menu.

The QGIS splash screen appears.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 9

GUPS launches with the Map Management window.

Step 10

In the Map Management window, use the drop-down menu next to the Program field to select the
New Construction Program. The ‘New Construction Program’ populates the Program field.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 11

In the Entity Type field, use the drop-down menu to select the type of entity. The options are ‘Tribe’,
‘State’, ‘County’, ‘Place’, ‘Minor Civil Division (MCD)’. Independent city or consolidated city
participants should select ‘Place’. This example uses County as the Entity Type. Note: The subsequent
menu options vary, depending on the Entity Type.

Step 12

Select the State field and use the drop-down menu to select the state then select the County field
and select the county. This example uses Baca County, Colorado.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 13

After selecting the state and county, GUPS prompts participants for a location from which to
download the county’s partnership shapefiles. The Select Data Folder, Directory or Location window
opens.

Note: The launch of this menu is dependent on the entity type selected. For this example, it launched
after choosing the County.
Step 14

In the Select Data Folder, Directory or Location drop-down menu, select a data download location.
This example uses the ‘My Computer’ option from the drop-down menu.

GUPS only asks to specify a download location once per project. When a project closes and reopens,
the shapefiles automatically reload, even if a participant made no changes during the first session.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 15

With ‘My Computer’ selected, navigate to the folder on the local computer where the partnership
shapefiles extracted (i.e., where the .exe file resides) and choose that folder. Do not open or doubleclick the folder. Click the Select button.
IMPORTANT: Do not open or double-click into the folder because GUPS is programmed to search for
specific subdirectories created with .exe file extraction.

Important note for the other entity types, Tribe, State, Place, and MCD participants:
For the ‘Tribe’ Entity Type, a drop-down menu that lists all Reservations and Off-Reservations Trust
Lands within the Entity Name field activates and allows for the selection of the ‘Tribe’.
For the ‘State’ Entity Type, a drop-down menu that lists all the states within the State field activates
and allows the selection of the ‘State’. Following the selection of the ‘State’, a list of counties within
that state appears. Participants can select up to 10 counties to load at once.
For the ‘Place Entity Type, participants select their state from the drop-down menu next to State
field and then select their place from the drop-down menu next to the Entity Name field.
For the ‘MCD’ Entity Type, participants use the drop-down menu next to State field to select the
state and then select the county from the drop-down menu next to County field.
GUPS directs participants to select the location from which to download the shapefiles.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 16

The shapefiles begin to load and progress is displayed by the blue striped bar (color may vary), with
the progress percentage noted to the right. Once complete, the shapefile data layers for Baca
County, Colorado, appear in the Table of Contents along with a blank User Address List to use for
manually adding or importing addresses and the Map View loads to use for adding map spots to
geocode the new address records.

Step 17

To open a previously saved project, in the Map Management window, click the drop-down arrow
next to the Open Recent button. The drop-down menu opens with a list of current projects.

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Step

Action and Result
Multiple project files, for multiple programs, may appear, as shown above. In the example above,
two separate projects exist on the same computer. To identify which of the entries in the list
represents a particular project, look at the entity identification code on the file name. The entity
identification code is a unique identification number of up to twelve characters in length assigned to
each entity by the Census Bureau. The characters are strings composed of letters and numbers. See
the chart below for more detail on the entity identification coding.
Entity

Entity Identification Code

Total Characters

Tribe

TR (2 alpha) + (4 numeric tribal code) + TA (2 alpha) + (4 numeric
tribal geographic area code)

12

State

ST (2 alpha) + (2 FIPS numeric)

4

County

CO (2 alpha) + State (2 FIPS numeric) + County (3 FIPS numeric)

7

Place

PL (2 alpha) + State (2 FIPS numeric) + FIPS Place (5 FIPS numeric)

9

Minor Civil
Division

MC (2 alpha) + State (2 FIPS numeric) + County (3 FIPS numeric) +
FIPS MCD (5 FIPS numeric)

12

The entity identification code for a particular geography is available within the Map Management
window and on the other New Construction Program materials. Below is an example for Freetown
Township, an MCD in Bristol County, Massachusetts.

Step 18

Proceed to Chapter 3 for an introduction to the GUPS menus and toolbars.

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CHAPTER 3. GUPS MENUS AND TOOLBARS
With an introduction to getting started with GUPS and the choices for accessing the partnership
shapefiles provided in the previous chapter, the focus of this chapter is to provide information
on the GUPS menus and toolbars used most frequently in the New Construction Program as
well as discussing the layout of the Table of Contents and Map View.

3.1 GUPS Main Page
Figure 1 shows the layout of the GUPS main page following the launch of GUPS for the New
Construction Program. This page contains all the tools needed for completing the New
Construction Program using GUPS. The main elements include:







Menu Bar.
Table of Contents.
Map View (where the data displays).
Toolbars (e.g., Standard toolbar and New Construction toolbar).
User Address List.
Status Bar (at bottom of page).

Figure 1: GUPS Main Page Layout

Table 6 explains the purpose of main elements on the GUPS Page Layout for the New
Construction Program. For detailed descriptions and functions of the additional menus and
toolbars, please see Appendix A.

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Table 6: GUPS Main Page Elements

Page Element

General Function

Menu Bar

The Menu Bar offers basic features such as Settings and Help, tools to manage the map
view and import user-provided data, as well as important calculation, measurement, and
geoprocessing tools. Note that almost all of the functions available from the Menu Bar
are also available in the application’s more conveniently located toolbars. More
information on this page element is available in Appendix A.1.

Table of Contents

The Table of Contents shows the layers (boundaries and features) on the map for the
entity type selected, including NC eligible/ineligible block designations, and housing type
designations. The top panel allows users to style layers, add layer (or groups), manage
layer visibility, filter content, expand or collapse layers, and to remove layers.

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Page Element

General Function

Map View

The Map View displays the data for the county selected in the Map Management
window.

Standard Toolbar

The Standard toolbar provides the navigation and other tools needed to interact with the
map and layers’ attribute tables. More information on this page element is available in
Appendix A.3.

New Construction
Toolbar

The New Construction toolbar provides the specific tools needed to open the User
Address List, turn address labels off/on, toggle the legend, review address list inputs for
submission and errors, export zipped files, print, and interact with imagery layers. More
information on this page element is available in Section 4.1.

User Address List

The User Address List includes tools to add addresses manually or import addresses from
a local address list (.csv or .txt format only). Once addresses are added, the User Address
List has tools to deselect, edit, copy, delete, and filter the data as needed. More
information on the User Address List is available in Section 4.1.2.

Status Bar

The Status Bar, located along the bottom of the GUPS window, displays information on
the map scale, projection, and coordinates and allows the user to adjust the display.
More information on this page element is available in Appendix A.2.

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3.2 Table of Contents and Map View
When choosing a program and geography in the Map Management window, GUPS
automatically loads a set of default data layers (and default layer groups) defined by the Census
Bureau for the program selected. As the map opens in Map View, the list of the preset layers
(already grouped) appears in the Table of Contents. Figure 2 illustrates some of the default data
layers and layer groups.

Figure 2: Table of Contents - Default Layers and Layer Groupings

Use the Table of Contents and the small toolbar appearing at its top to manage the Map View.
The Table of Contents and the Map View windows are interdependent. This means selections
made in the Table of Contents immediately reflect in the Map View. By clicking the small ‘x’ in
the upper right hand corner of the Table of Contents, participants may close it to see more of
the Map View. To restore the Table of Contents, click the button Show Hide button from the
New Construction toolbar as shown in Table 7. The Table of Contents will then reopen and
display in its default position on the page.
For the New Construction Program, participants can manage layer visibility (i.e., determine
what layers display on the map), reordered the data layers, and expand and collapse grouped
data layers to see what lies within the grouping. This functionality may assist participants with
viewing information more appropriately in the Map View.
To manage visibility, click the checkbox next to a layer to make the layer visible (e.g., turn the
layer on) in the Map View. Uncheck the checkbox (e.g., turn the layer off) next to a layer to
make the layer invisible in the Map View. This tactic may prove beneficial if the Map View is
cluttered with too many data layers.

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The order in which the layers appear in the Table of Contents determines the order that the
layers display in the Map View. The layers at the top of the Table of Contents display on top of
the layers that appear below them. While programmed to display data layers in an order that
works for most participants, adding imagery or other data layers may require a reordering of
layers in order for the map elements to appear properly within GUPS. To manage the data
order, follow these steps:




Left-click on the data layer name in the Table of Contents.
Hold down the mouse button and drag the layer to the desired position in the Table of Contents.
Release the mouse button to place the data layer in its new position. The Map View display will
then reflect the new layer order in the Table of Contents.

To expand the menu for a layer or grouped layer, click the ‘ ’ symbol. When clicking the ‘ ’
symbol, the submenu opens as visible in Figure 3 for Current_Census_Block_51610. Click the ‘ ’
symbol to collapse the submenu.

Figure 3: Expand/Collapse Layers

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CHAPTER 4. USING GUPS FOR THE NEW CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM
With the information presented in the first three chapters, this chapter turns its focus to
teaching participants about specific tools necessary to add or import addresses into GUPS for
the New Construction Program.
IMPORTANT:

The various examples included within this documentation are fictitious and does not
include Title 13 protected data.

4.1 The New Construction Toolbar
Table 7 details the New Construction toolbar, introduced in Table 6.
Table 7: New Construction Toolbar Buttons

Button

U.S. Census Bureau

Name

Function/Description

User Address
List

Click the User Address List button to activate the User Address List and reopen it if
closed.

Show Label
On/Off

Click the Show Label On/Off button to turn on and off the map spot labels from the
User Address List in the Map View.

Show/Hide
Legend

Click the Show/Hide Legend button to hide the legend (e.g., Table of Contents). Click
it again to shows the Table of Contents.

Address
Review Tool

Click the Address Review Tool button to preform quality checks of the User Address
List before executing the Export to Zip button to ensure the address records in the
User Address List are valid and do not contain errors. This tool is particularly beneficial
for participants that import their addresses from an external source rather than
manually adding them directly into GUPS.

Export to Zip

Click the Export to Zip button to create the .zip file containing all required data and
for submission to the Census Bureau. Execute the Address Review Tool first to ensure
the data is valid.

Print Map to
File

Click the Print Map to File button to export a printable map in *.pdf, *.png, *.tif, or
*.jpeg format.

Internet Map
Service

Click the Internet Map Service button to load a GIS map service from the internet into
GUPS to assist with overlaying external source visuals/data. Note: An internet
connection is required for this button to function.

Add Imagery

Click the Add Imagery button to add either United States Geological Survey (USGS) or
Esri imagery to overlay the data in GUPS. Remove imagery by using the same button.

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4.1.1 Adding Imagery to the Map View
After successfully opening GUPS and starting a new project, one of the first actions the Census
Bureau recommends is loading imagery to assist with accurate map spot placement and
geocoding for new addresses. To add imagery in the GUPS Map View; follow the steps in Table
8. To reference imagery outside of GUPS in a separate internet browser, follow the steps for
adding an internet map service as described in Table 9.
Table 8: Add Imagery Button

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

Click the drop-down menu next to the Add Imagery button from the New Construction toolbar.

Choose Add Esri Imagery or Add USGS Imagery to add the imagery file to the Map View.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 2

The screenshots below includes a visual of the Map View without and with imagery added.

Step 3

To remove the imagery from the map display, click again on the Add Imagery button or uncheck the
imagery layer from the Table of Contents to manage the layer visibility as described in Section 3.2.

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Table 9: Referencing Imagery from an Internet Map Service

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

From the New Construction Program toolbar, click the Internet Map Service button.

A pop-up display window appears asking the participant to “Select a point on the map to enable
Internet Map Service.”

Step 2

Click on a point in the Map View. The Internet Map Service pop-up display window opens with two
options, Google Maps and Bing Maps. Check one option and choose OK to launch an internet browser
displaying the imagery of the location selected in the Map View.

Step 3

Participants may use the imagery launched from this tool to compare with the Map View. They can
close the internet browser when they complete their comparison.

4.1.2 The User Address List
As described in Table 7 and shown below in Figure 4, the button for the User Address List is
located on the New Construction toolbar. It provides ways to add, import, copy, and
manipulate address data. As shown in Figure 5, the User Address List opens empty at the
bottom of the initial GUPS startup screen for the New Construction Program project for a
participant. If participants close the User Address List to make more room for the Map View or
close it in error, they may reopen it by clicking the User Address List button on the New
Construction toolbar.
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Figure 4: User Address List Button on the New Construction Toolbar

Figure 5: User Address List within GUPS for the New Construction Program

The User Address List offers tools to add addresses manually or import an address list file (CSV
or text format only). Added addresses may be selected, edited, copied, deleted, and filtered as
needed. Participants can add newly constructed addresses for census blocks in their jurisdiction
that are eligible for the New Construction Program. Recall from Section B that only blocks
where the Census Bureau plans self-enumeration are eligible for inclusion in the New
Construction Program.
Eligible blocks display in GUPS with an orange border. They are in the Table of Contents as an
attribute of the Current_Census_Block layer with the layer name of NC Eligible. See Figure 3 for
a visual of this layer in the Table of Contents. Figure 6 illustrates an example of eligible and
ineligible blocks within the GUPS Map View. In this example, participants must submit
addresses only for blocks 2348 and 2351 in census tract 9646.00 since they are the only two
eligible blocks shown. The Census Bureau would reject addresses received for the other five
blocks in the example (e.g., 2352, 2353, 2354, 2349, and 2357).

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Figure 6: New Construction (NC) Eligible and Ineligible Census Blocks

IMPORTANT: The New Construction Program only accepts residential, city-style addresses for living
quarters located in the census blocks eligible for the New Construction Program.

With the discussion of eligible blocks complete, the remainder of this chapter focuses on the
User Address List itself. Table 10 describes the buttons located within the User Address List
once it appears within the New Construction Program project.
Table 10: User Address List Buttons

Button

Function/Description
Click the Add button to open the Address Update form shown below. Fields with and
asterisk (*) are required. The required fields do not appear in the example because the
structure type (HU/QG/TL) remains unselected.

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Button

Function/Description
Click the Import button to import participant created/maintained address files. The
format of the file must be text format, either.csv or .txt.

Click the Deselect All Features button to deselect all rows/lines/address points selected
in the User Address List.
Check the Move Selection to top button to move the selected row(s) to the top of the
User Address List.
Click the Move Up button to move the highlighted record to the next line up in the User
Address List.
Click the Move Down button to move the highlighted record to the next line down in the
User Address List.
Click the Edit button to reopen the Address Update form for a selected record in the
User Address List as shown below. Participants can edit the information in the form.

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Button

Function/Description
Click the Copy button to copy a selected address record in the User Address List. After
selecting the Copy button, a Dialog window appears prompting participants for the
number of copies to create.

Once copied, participants use the Edit button to modify the duplicate records in the User
Address List. Participants may find this button useful when adding multi-unit address
records such as apartments, condominiums, townhomes, etc.
Click the Delete button to delete a selected record or records from the User Address List.
After selecting the address record(s) and clicking the Delete button a warning window
appears, as shown below. Participants can click OK to delete or Cancel to abort the
deletion. OK permanently deletes the selected records from the User Address List.

Click the Delete All button to delete all records from the User Address List. This button
removes every record in the User Address List without having to select them. As with the
Delete button, a warning message appears that warns participants the deletion is
permanent. Participants can click OK to delete or Cancel to abort the deletion. OK
permanently deletes all records from the User Address List.

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Button

Function/Description
Once a participant has selected the Add button, an Address Update window launches
with a form (i.e., Address Update form) to complete for the new address. Click the Add
Map Spot button to add a map spot to the Map View and update the geocode
information (e.g., the latitude and longitude coordinate and the tract and block
information) in the form. Participants must zoom in on the eligible census block before
clicking on the Add Map Spot button. A “+” sign indicates GUPS is ready to capture the
map spot. Before and after examples are below.

Within the Address Update form, participants may click the Clear the Map Spot button
to clear the map spot from the Map View and the Address Update form. This button is
functional prior to saving the record as well as while using the Edit button within the
User Address List after the adding the address.

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Button

Function/Description
Click the Show All Features button to expose filter options within the User Address List.
The default is to show all the features, but the User Address List can be filtered county,
selected features, columns, and blocks as shown below.

This section, in the bottom right of the User Address List, relates to the use of the Show
All Features button. It depicts the visible number of addresses in the User Address List
compared to the total number of addresses in the User Address List. These numbers can
vary based on the filters. See below for an example.

4.1.2.1 Adding Addresses
Having completed the introduction to the User Address List and the buttons within it, this
section highlights one of the two ways for adding addresses. Participants may add addresses
manually by using the Add Map Spot button within the User Address List to add the geocode
(e.g., census tract and census block information) or they may add addresses manually by using
their own local address and/or map source(s) as a reference to locate the area in GUPS and
manually key the geocode information. Participants may opt to use a single method or a
combination of both to add a housing unit, group quarters, or transitory location to the User
Address List.
Table 11 provides specific instructions necessary to add an address using the Add Map Spot
button. To enter the geocode information manually using a local source to key the geocode,
follow the guidance in Table 12.
4.1.2.1.1 Manually Adding an Address Using the Add Map Spot Button
The example in the table within this section adds an address for a housing unit. Additional fields
appear for adding a group quarters or transitory location, but participants follow the same
process to add those types of residential address records. Refer to the Glossary in Appendix F
for definitions and types of housing units, group quarters, or transitory locations.

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Table 11: Adding an Address Using the Add Map Spot Button

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

Once a participant determines from the local sources that adding an address is necessary, locate
the census block on the Map View to add the address record. Use the Pan Map, Zoom In, or Zoom
Out buttons on the Standard toolbar to shift and display the map at a larger or smaller scale. For
information on the Standard toolbar buttons, refer to Appendix A.2.
The Census Bureau strongly recommends the use of imagery to assist with the placement of map
spots within GUPS. To add imagery, refer to Section 4.1.1.

Step 2

Once zoomed to the specific location on the Map View, click the Add button from the User
Address List.

The Address Update form opens to complete for a new address.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 3

For this example, select Housing Unit from the HU/GQ/TL drop-down menu. Fields with a red
asterisk (*) are required.

If a participant selects Group Quarters or Transitory Location, the fields GQ/TL Name and Facility
Name appear. Participants must enter the GQ/TL name and the Facility Name, if applicable, when
adding addresses for GQs or TLs. See below for visuals of the GQ and TL selections.

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Step

Action and Result

Though not marked by asterisks, geocode information is required. It is the participants’ choice
whether to include the geocode by utilizing the Add Map Spot button to gather a latitude and
longitude coordinate or by manually entering the six-digit tract number and four-digit block (with
suffix if applicable) number. If capturing a map spot, the Latitude and Longitude fields and the
Tract and Block fields automatically populate with the addition of the map spot in the Map View.
The Census Bureau recommends using the Add Map Spot button, in conjunction with imagery, to
capture an accurate latitude and longitude coordinate for each added address record, whenever
possible.
Step 4

U.S. Census Bureau

Click the Add Map Spot button to add the latitude and longitude coordinate for a housing unit
record.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 5

If necessary, zoom further into the Map View to choose the appropriate location for the address
and click the mouse to add the map spot. A pink cross hair identifies the map spot location. The
latitude and longitude coordinates associated with the map spot location in the Map View and the
tract and block information automatically fill on the Address Update form.

Please note that a census block number may include a one or two digit alpha suffix. In the
screenshot below, census block 2009 contains suffix B. Participants using Add Map Spot must not
worry about the inclusion of the suffix because the tool automatically includes the complete tract
and block information.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 6

Enter the required information (e.g., the House Number and Street Name) and other applicable
information (e.g., Apt/Unit # and ZIP Code) to complete the address record. Select OK to save the
new address in the User Address List. Reminder: All information is for training purposes and is
fictitious. There is no Title 13 information displayed.

Step 7

Save the project after making updates. Once all address updates are complete, refer to Section
4.1.2.3 for instructions on the Address Review Tool.

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4.1.2.1.2 Manually Adding an Address by Keying the Tract and Block Information
Participants who would rather key the tract and block information rather than utilize the Add
Map Spot button utilize their local source(s) to determine the proper location within the Map
View to add the address. Follow the steps in Table 12 to add an address by manually keying the
tract and block geocode.
As with the previous section, the example in the table adds an address for a housing unit. While
there are additional fields that appear for adding a group quarters or transitory location, follow
the same process to add those types of residential address records. Refer to the Glossary in
Appendix F for definitions and types of housing units, group quarters, or transitory locations.
Table 12: Adding Address by Keying the Tract and Block Information

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

In the local source, identify the addresses to add for the New Construction Program. Locate the
census block in the GUPS Map View to add the address record(s). Use the Pan Map, Zoom In, or
Zoom Out buttons on the Standard toolbar to shift and display the map at a larger or smaller
scale. For information on the Standard toolbar buttons, refer to Appendix A.2.
The Census Bureau strongly recommends the use of imagery to assist with the confirmation of the
geocode. To add imagery, refer to Section 4.1.1.

Step 2

Once zoomed to the specific location on the Map View, click the Add button from the User
Address List.

The Address Update form opens to complete for a new address.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 3

For this example, select Housing Unit from the HU/GQ/TL drop-down menu. Fields with a red
asterisk (*) are required.

If a participant selects Group Quarters or Transitory Location, the fields GQ/TL Name and Facility
Name appear. Participants must enter the GQ/TL name and the Facility Name, if applicable, when
adding addresses for GQs or TLs. See below for visuals of the GQ and TL selections.

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Step

Action and Result

Though not marked by asterisks, geocode information is required. It is the participants’ choice
whether to include the geocode by utilizing the Add Map Spot button to gather a latitude and
longitude coordinate or by manually entering the six-digit tract number and four-digit block (with
suffix if applicable) number. If adding manually, participants must enter the six-digit tract number
and four-digit block number (with alpha suffix, if applicable). Manually entry of the latitude and
longitude information is not applicable when keying the tract and block information. The Census
Bureau recommends using the Add Map Spot button, in conjunction with imagery, to capture an
accurate latitude and longitude coordinate for each added address record, whenever possible.
Please note that a census block number may include a one or two digit alpha suffix. In the
screenshot below, census block 2009 contains suffix B. If the census block number on the Map
View includes an alpha suffix, please ensure the inclusion of the suffix in the Block field of the
Address Update form.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 4

To add a record by keying the geocode, click the Tract field to enter the six-digit tract number
located within the GUPS Map View. It is not necessary to include the decimal between the fourth
and fifth digit. Click the Block field to enter the four-digit block number, and suffix if one exists.

Step 5

Enter the required information (e.g., the House Number and Street Name) and other applicable
information (e.g., Apt/Unit # and ZIP Code) to complete the address record. Select OK to save the
new address in the User Address List. Reminder: All information is for training purposes and is
fictitious. There is no Title 13 information displayed.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 6

Save the project after making updates. Once all address updates are complete, refer to Section
4.1.2.3 for instructions on the Address Review Tool.

4.1.2.2 Importing Addresses
Participants who plan to import their new addresses into the User Address List rather than
manually adding them can refer to the Address List Template shown in Appendix B for the
proper file structure and content. The Address List Template is available for use from the New
Construction Program website and/or from the Data Disc if requested during registration.
Before importing the addresses into GUPS, participants must follow the Census Bureau
specifications to format their local address list source. Format the local address list of new
addresses in a comma delimited text format such as a .csv or txt with the corresponding
headers from the Address List Template. Participants must include the required fields as listed
in Table 25 within Appendix B .
IMPORTANT:

If participants provide the latitude and longitude for an address record, it is not
necessary to fill in the fields for the STATE, COUNTY, TRACT, and BLOCK. GUPS will
automatically populate this information during import.

Follow the steps in Table 13 to import a local address list into the User Address List.
Table 13: Importing Addresses into the User Address List

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

To import address records into the User Address List, select the Import button.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 2

An Address Import pop-up display window indicates that the file to import should be in comma
separated values (.csv) or text file format (.txt). Click the Yes button to continue. Click the No
button to save a sample header file to your local hard drive for use in properly structuring the local
address list. Note: The Address List Template .xls file on the DVD is, in essence, the same file as the
sample header file mentioned in this pop-up display window.

Step 3

Navigate to the location of the properly formatted, local address list. Select the .csv or .txt file and
then click Open.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 4

The Import Options window opens. On the left, is the Census Headers section used to crossreference to the local data in the .csv or .txt file. On the right, is a corresponding list of User
Headers with choices to match to the Census Headers.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 5

Participants match each of the applicable User Headers with the corresponding Census Headers.
For this example, to map the GQ/TL flag field from the Census Headers, select GQ_TL_FLAG field
from the User Headers drop-down menu.

Once all the applicable headers are set, click the OK button.

Note: Retain the N/A for the GEO ID field since this field is a concatenation of the State, County,
Tract, and Block fields. Participants may retain N/A for the STATE, COUNTY, TRACT, and BLOCK if
every address in their .csv or .txt file contains a latitude and longitude. Conversely, they may retain
N/A for the LATITUDE and LONGITUDE fields if every record contains the state, county, tract, and
block geocode information. All records require a geocode to the state, county, tract, and block OR
a latitude and longitude coordinate for each record submitted for the New Construction Program.
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Step

Action and Result

Step 6

An Address Progress status window followed by a GeocodeLatLon status window appear showing
the progress of the import.

The windows disappear if no problems with the data or import were noted. The User Address List
populates with the address record(s) from locally generated .csv or .txt file.

Save the project and proceed to Section 4.1.2.3 if no errors occur with the import process and no
further additions are required.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 7

If there were duplicate headers selected in the User Headers column, the following Address Import
message appears.

Click OK to return to the Import Options window that identifies the duplicate headers by
highlighting them. In this example, the participant erroneously selected the User Header
GQ_TL_FLAG for Census Headers GQ/TL Flag and GQ/TL Name. Correct the error (e.g., GQ/TL
Name) and choose OK.

The windows described in Step 6 appear and disappear upon a successful import of a local file. If
the data is error-free, the populated User Address List appears as shown in Step 6. Save the
project and proceed to Section 4.1.2.3. If errors exist with the data, proceed to Step 8.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 8

If problems exist with the data itself (e.g., blank lines, records without geocodes or latitude and
longitude coordinates, missing GQ information, etc.) an Import Address pop-up display window
appears with information about the number of records that failed validation. Participants have
three choices, Import All Addresses, Import Valid Addresses, and Cancel, as displayed below. For
this example, choosing Import All Addresses loads all five records from the .csv or .txt into GUPS.
From GUPS, participants can correct the errors. Choosing Import Valid Addresses only imports the
four valid records that pass all of the Census Bureau requirements. Cancel allows participants to
cancel the import of the local file and correct the error prior to importing.

Step 9

Click the Import All Addresses button to import every record and correct the failed addresses. A
User Address Error List window appears allowing user to correct or delete individual address
failures. Please note, the User Address Error List window can appear docked beneath the Table of
Contents or may open above the User Address List. If the User Address Error List window does not
appear on-screen, click the Address Review Tool button on the New Construction toolbar and
follow the instructions in Section 4.1.2.3.

After selecting the errant address record, the participant can correct it by clicking the Fix button or
delete it by clicking the Delete button.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 10

For this example, select the record and click the Fix button. The Address Update form opens with
the information pre-populated and the erroneous field highlighted.

Edit the errant information (e.g., update the four-digit ZIP Code to the correct five-digit ZIP Code)
and click the OK button.
Participants may import more than one address source for a particpant’s jurisdiction if they
conform to the required file format and include the required information. Doing so appends the
sources together into one User Address List within the GUPS project for the participant. While this
is not necessarily recommended, the quality and validation checks within GUPS will prevent
duplicates.Participants must use the Address Review Tool and resolve all errors that occur within
the User Address List prior to submission. i
Step 11

U.S. Census Bureau

Save the project after making updates to the User Address List.

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4.1.2.3 Editing Addresses
Follow the steps in Table 14 to edit addresses within the User Address List.
Table 14: Editing Addresses in the User Address List

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

Locate the address record to edit within the User Address List and left-click on the row to select it.
With the record selected in the User Address List, click the Edit button.

Note: the individual cells are not editable. GUPS does not permit in-line editing.
Step 2

The Address Update form opens with the original address information pre-populated.

Perform edits where necessary, including changing the structure type, updating any of the fields
shown in white, and modifying (e.g., moving) the map spot. Click the OK button to close the form
once the edits are complete to return to the User Address List.

Step 3

U.S. Census Bureau

Save the project after making updates to the User Address List.

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4.1.2.4 Copying Addresses
GUPS provides a way to copy existing address records in order to perform minor modifications
to handle multi-unit addresses or addresses in need of only minor changes. Participants can
copy a selected address record up to 99 times in one action. The process for copying an address
once or 99 times is the same. If there is a need to copy an address more than 99 times, repeat
the process until reaching the required number of copies. Table 15 shows how to create copies
of an address record for six apartments. The Census Bureau anticipates that the multi-unit
address scenario is the most common reason for using this GUPS functionality.
Table 15: Copying Address in the User Address List

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

Select an address record from the User Address List to copy. Click the Copy button to copy the
address.

Step 2

After selecting the Copy button, a dialog screen opens asking how many records (copies) to make.
Enter the 5 in the box and click the OK button.

Entering 5 results in six copies of the same record in the User Address List.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 3

Follow the steps in Table 14 to edit each address individually and add the apartment information
to prevent duplicate addresses.

Should duplicate records remain in the User Address List the Address Review Tool discussed in
Section 4.1.3 will catch them and instruct participants to correct the duplication.
Step 4

Save the project after making updates to the User Address List.

4.1.2.5 Deleting Addresses
If a participant determines they added a record(s) in error, they may delete them using the
steps outlined in Table 16.
Table 16: Deleting Address in the User Address List

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

Select one or more address from the User Address List for deletion. Click the Delete button.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 2

Once clicked, a pop-up display window appears that warns participants of the consequences of this
action. Click OK to delete the record(s) or Cancel to retain the records in the User Address List.

Step 3

If participants want to delete their entire User Address List, click the Delete All button. Selecting the
records in the User Address List is not required because this functionality deletes every record in
the User Address List. Use this button with caution.

Once clicked, a pop-up display window appears that warns participants of the consequences of this
action. Click OK to delete all records or click Cancel to retain the records in the User Address List.

Step 4

Save the project after deleting records from the User Address List.

4.1.3 The Address Review Tool
With work complete within the User Address List by following instructions from the previous
sections, this section turns its focus to the specific tool that performs quality control and
validation checks on the User Address List, the Address Review Tool. This tool is most useful
with imported data because manually adding records using the Address Update form already
integrates quality checks and prevents the entry of errant data.
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Before making a submission for the New Construction Program, the Census Bureau requests
the execution of this tool to review the quality and validity of addresses within the User
Address List. Follow the steps in Table 17 to use the Address Review Tool.
Table 17: Using the Address Review Tool

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

Click the Address Review Tool button in the New Construction toolbar.

Step 2

Clicking the Address Review Tool button opens a pop-up display window informing that the process
may take several minutes. Click the OK button to continue.

A Validate features status window appears and disappears upon completion.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 3

If there are no errors, click OK on the Address Review pop-up display window and proceed to Section
4.1.4.

If there are errors, the User Address Error List displays the failed addresses in a separate window that
falls either beneath the Table of Contents or near the User Address List.

Step 4

U.S. Census Bureau

To correct an address record, participants may use the tools within the User Address Error List to Fix
or Delete the record, or, after closing the User Address Error List, participants may select the errant
record(s) in the User Address List and click the Edit button to open the Address Update form and
correct the errors. Both methods display the specific errors in red and provide intel regarding why
the information is problematic.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 5

In this example of a problem record, the tract is not within the jurisdiction. Participants must correct
the tract information or delete the record.

In the second example, the record is a duplicate of others. Participants must add apartment/unit
information to make the record unique or must delete the record.

Once complete with the edit of the specific record, click the OK button to modify the record and
remove it from the User Address Error List. If there are additional errors to fix, continue working
through the User Address Error List until all errant records are corrected or deleted.
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Step

Action and Result

Step 6

If participants are unable to resolve the errant information, they must Delete the record rather than
Fix it. With the errant record selected in the User Address Error List, click the Delete button.

A pop-up display window appears, asking to confirm the deletion. Click OK to delete the record.

Step 7

Save the project after making updates or deleting records from the User Address List and proceed to
Section 4.1.4.

4.1.4 The Export to Zip Button
The Export to Zip button on the New Construction toolbar performs the quality control and
validation checks like those within the Address Review Tool. If the Address Review Tool was not
executed by participants prior to attempting to export their submission, the Export to Zip tool
will catch the errors and instruct participants to correct them using the Address Review Tool.
New Construction Program submissions must be error free, so participants must correct all
errors before creating the export zip files. If every address record in the User Address List
passes the checks, the New Construction (NC) Program Contact Information window opens. If
the User Address List does not pass checks, a window opens asking the participant to run the
Address Review Tool.
To export an address file to submit to the Census Bureau, follow the steps in Table 18. GUPS
packages all the files required by the Census Bureau into the zip file and saves it in the location
created on the participant’s computer during the GUPS installation process.

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Table 18: Using the Export to Zip Button

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

Click the Export to Zip button on the New Construction toolbar.

Step 2

If the User Address List contains errant records, an Address Generic pop-up display window appears.
Click OK to launch the Address Review Tool as discussed in Section 4.1.2.3 and correct the errors.

If the User Address List is free of errors, the GUPS User Contact Information window opens.
Complete the form with the New Construction liaison information or with the information for the
person submitting the data, if different from the liaison and click the OK button.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 3

The Export to Zip pop-up display window opens and informs the participant of the directory location
and file name for the exported User Address List. Click the Yes button to open the folder for the file
location, shown below, or click the No button to dismiss the window. IMPORTANT: Participants must
make a note of the file location in order to retrieve it for submission as described in Chapter 5.

The file naming convention is nc20__return__.zip, where yyyy is
the four-digit year; mm is the two-digit month; dd is the two-digit day; and where hh is the two-digit
hour in 24-hour format (e.g., 00-23); mm is the two-digit minute; and ss is the two-digit second. In
the example above, the date stamp is July 9, 2019 and the time stamp is 10:07am and 31 seconds.
Step 4

U.S. Census Bureau

Refer to the next chapter for instructions on submitting the exported .zip file using the Secure
Incoming Web Module (SWIM).

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CHAPTER 5. USING THE SECURE WEB INCOMING MODULE (SWIM)
FOR THE NEW CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM
New Construction Program participants must utilize the Census Bureau’s Secure Web Incoming
Module, or SWIM, to submit their GUPS generated User Address List .zip file. Use the steps
discussed in this chapter to establish or access an account in SWIM and submit the User
Address List .zip file generated in the previous section, Section 4.1.4.
Some liaisons may have established a SWIM account for other Census geography programs. If
so, the Census Bureau sent an email to the liaison’s email on-file for the established account
indicating there is no need to establish a new SWIM account for use in the New Construction
Program.
For liaisons without an existing SWIM account, the Census Bureau emailed one SWIM
registration token in a separate message from the New Construction Program materials and
cover letter. Liaisons without a SWIM account must utilize the 12-digit registration token to
establish an account.
If questions remain regarding the existence of a SWIM account, click “Forgot your password?”
on the main SWIM page and enter the email address to check for account existence. If SWIM
does not locate an account associated with the email address, it returns the following message,
“No account registered for this email. The email address associated with the account is case
sensitive. Try again with the proper case or go to Account Registration to register for a SWIM
account.” Choosing the Account Registration link in the message opens another window to
establish a SWIM account.
Note: The components of the email and password of SWIM system accounts are case-sensitive. Make
note of the case-sensitive format used when establishing the SWIM account (e.g.,
[email protected] or [email protected] or [email protected]). The Census Bureau
recommends the use of lowercase characters for the email address and recommends safe
retention of this information in a secure location for future reference.

SWIM allows four attempts to login before it temporarily locks the account for 15 minutes.
After the 15-minute lock expires, participants may try to login again or reset their password
using the “Forgot your password?” link on the login page. Once selected, follow the prompts to
enter the case-sensitive email address and provide the security answer. If the security answer is
correct, the SWIM system sends a password reset link to the email account for use in resetting
the password. Please note the security answer is not case-sensitive. Once logged into SWIM,
participants can modify their password and security answer by selecting the ‘Change Security’
link at the top, right-hand side of the page.

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Participants continuing to experience login issues should confirm use of the current internet
browser version (or one previous version). As mentioned in Table 1, SWIM runs on the two
most recent versions of each of the major internet browsers: Internet Explorer, Google Chrome,
Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari. If the browser version is older, upgrade to a newer version.
If problems with SWIM still occur, contact the New Construction Program Help Desk at
(844) 242-1765 for assistance. An additional SWIM token may be necessary to create another
account.
IMPORTANT: Do not use email to send the New Construction Program submission to the Census
Bureau. Work with the Census Bureau to resolve SWIM issues.

The following list contains the file requirements for using SWIM:




File to upload must be .zip file format.
The .zip file may not include another .zip file as a component.
The .zip file must not be larger than 250 megabytes in size.

Participants using GUPS should not encounter any problems related to these file requirements.
Refer to Table 19 for instructions on utilizing the SWIM application to submit the New
Construction Program User Address List .zip file.
Table 19: SWIM Submission

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

Open a new browser window and enter the SWIM URL .
The SWIM Please Login screen opens.

Step 2

U.S. Census Bureau

For participants with an existing SWIM account, enter the email address and password and then
click the Login button. The Welcome screen opens. Go to Step 8.
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Step

Action and Result

Step 3

For participants without a SWIM account, have the 12-digit registration token provided by the
Census Bureau ready for account registration. Choose the Register Account button after
accessing the SWIM URL. The Account Registration screen opens.

All fields on the Account Registration screen are required.

Step 4

Enter the registration token, name, phone number, agency or organization, email address in the
appropriate fields.

Step 5

Create a password using the following criteria:
1.

Must be at least 8-characters in length.

2.

Must have at least one uppercase character.

3.

Must have at least one lowercase character.

4.

Must have at least one number.

5.

Must have at least one special character. Valid choices are as follows: #, !, $, *, &,?, and
~.

Note: The commas shown in the previous list are for spacing purposes only. The comma is not a
valid special character for use in the password.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 6

Establish a security question. Click the arrow to the right of the Security Question field and select
a question from the drop-down menu. Enter an answer in the Answer field. Click the Submit
button when finished. A Success screen opens to confirm the successful creation of a SWIM
account.

Step 7

On the Success screen, select Login to return to the SWIM Please Login screen (shown in Step 1)
to proceed with the login process.

Step 8

Enter the email and password information and click the green Login button to login to SWIM. The
Welcome screen opens. If the account has uploaded other files for different geography programs
administered by the Census Bureau, a list of files previously uploaded by the SWIM user displays,
as shown in the example below. The list includes the creation date of the file upload, the name of
the file, and the corresponding size of the .zip file.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 9

To begin a new upload, click the Start New Upload button at the bottom of the screen.

The “What Census program are you reporting data for?” screen opens. Choose the New
Construction Program radio button and click the Next button.

Step 10

The “What type of NC entity are you reporting for?” screen opens. Participants must select the
level of geography that matches the type of entity they represent. County participants (e.g.,
CO48001) choose the County choice. Minor Civil Division (MCD) participants (e.g.,
MC2500119295) choose MCD. Incorporated Place participants (e.g., PL5127200) choose Place,
as shown in the screenshot below. If questions arise about the proper entity choice, contact
the New Construction Program Help Desk at (844) 242-1765 for assistance.

Click the radio button for the entity type (e.g., Place for this example) to upload. The choice of
Place opens the Select a State and Place screen. Complete the two sections and click the Next
button.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 11

Following the selection of the entity type to upload, the Select a .ZIP file to upload screen opens.
Click the +Add File button to launch the Choose File to Upload window and navigate to the
directory where the .zip file resides. The .zip file resides in the “output” folder on the drive
selected when installing GUPS. This is likely “C:\GUPSGIS\gupsdata\NC20\output”.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 12

Once the file upload completes, the Status field shows “Success.” The name of the file appears in
the File(s) field. Participants can add comments to the Comment section if they choose. Click the
Next button to proceed with the upload.

Step 13

U.S. Census Bureau

The Thank You screen appears. It thanks the participant and indicates a forthcoming email once
the transfer completes.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 14

Choose “upload form” in the phrase “You may Log Out or return to the upload form, to submit
more files.” sentence to return to the Welcome screen and begin the upload process again. If
complete with the upload process, choose Log Out.

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Step

Action and Result

It is important to mention that SWIM sessions deactivate after 15 minutes of inactivity.
Participants taking longer than 15 minutes to upload a file must log back into the system and
start again. They will receive a message noting the period of inactivity on the Login screen.

When they reach the Welcome screen, a record listed with a Status of “In progress, Continue?”
appears with that day’s date in the Created On field. Participants can choose the “Continue?” link
to continue uploading or they can delete the item by choosing the Delete button to the far right
of the row.

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CHAPTER 6. NEXT STEPS FOR THE NEW CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM
Congratulations on the completion of the 2020 Census New Construction Program using GUPS.
From September through November 2019, the Census Bureau will process the User Address
List .zip files received through SWIM. Although GUPS performs quality checks and data
validation, the Census Bureau will conduct basic quality checks to verify the file format and
content to confirm the submitted addresses fall within blocks eligible for the New Construction
Program and that proper geocoding exists for each record. The Census Bureau will also
compare each address received as part of the New Construction Program submissions against
the Census Address List to ensure participants did not submit duplicated records.
The Census Bureau will not process address records without geocodes or latitude and longitude
coordinates, improperly formatted files that do not follow the predefined Address List
Template, or any address submitted in a block that is not eligible for the New Construction
Program.
Participants will receive an email acknowledging receipt of submission through SWIM, but the
Census Bureau will not provide feedback and the results of their processing.

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APPENDICES

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

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APPENDIX A ADDITIONAL GUPS FUNCTIONALITY
The Menu bar, the Standard toolbar, and the New Construction Program toolbar are located at
the top of the GUPS page as shown in Figure 7. These toolbars offer general GIS and system
tools used during the New Construction Program and with other Census geography programs as
well. The Status Bar is located at the bottom of the GUPS page as shown in Figure 8. It helps
participants navigate the Map View in the New Construction Program project by adjusting the
scale and magnification.
The Menu bar is always located at the top of the page and cannot be moved; however, the
toolbars may be moved the toolbars to a more convenient location. While working with the
toolbars, hover the mouse over any toolbar button to see the name of the tool it represents.
Resize and reposition the toolbars by dragging them. By default, the Standard toolbar falls just
beneath the Menu bar. The next two sections of this appendix discuss the Menu bar and
Standard toolbar. Table 7 discussed the New Construction toolbar.

Figure 7: Menu and Toolbars

Figure 8: Status Bar

Note: The visualization of menus and toolbars may differ depending on the computer operating
system, so the screenshots may not match identically to what a participant sees.

A.1

Menu Bar

Table 20 defines each of the tabs on the Menu bar, provides an image of the drop-down
options for each, and describes each tab’s function.
Tab
Project

U.S. Census Bureau

Drop-down Menu

Table 20: Menu Tabs and Their Functions

Function/Description
The Project tab allows participants to save
changes, display project properties, adjust
snapping options, import/export files, and
exit the application. The Save and Exit
QGIS menus will be used most often.

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Tab

Drop-down Menu

Function/Description

Edit

The Edit tab does not apply for New
Construction Program participants, so all
of the drop-down menus are inactive.

View

The View tab duplicates several actions
also available on the Standard toolbar.
Included are options for navigating the
map, zooming, identifying feature
attributes, measuring distance, and
creating spatial bookmarks to return to
the same Map View later.
This tab also provides a way to refresh the
Map View, show layers or selected layers,
set toolbars within the Panels drop-down,
and toggle the software to full screen.

Layer

The Layer tab adds and removes layers or
groups of layers from the Map View and
sets the scale visibility of layer(s).
Participants must not change the CRS or
projection in GUPS, so do not use the Set
CRS or Set Project drop-down menus.
Note: Many of these same functions are
more conveniently located on the small
toolbar that sits at the top of the Table of
Contents.

Settings

U.S. Census Bureau

The Settings tab provides access to
customize user profiles and the Style
Manager. Participants must not change
the projection or interface, so do not use
the Custom Projections or Interface
Customization drop-down menus. The
Options menu launches a general window
with various customizations. None of the
tools within this tab is needed for the
New Construction Program.
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Tab

Drop-down Menu

Function/Description

Vector

The Vector tab provides access to several
Geoprocessing Tools, used to create
buffers around features, overlay areas to
create an intersection, union, or
symmetrical difference, merge features,
and perform other common
geoprocessing actions. This tool is not
necessary for the New Construction
Program.

Raster

The Raster tab provides access to tools
are QGIS based and not used for the New
Construction Program.

Web

The Web tab provides access to tools are
QGIS based and not used for the New
Construction Program.

Processing

The Processing tab provides access to
tools are QGIS based and not used for the
New Construction Program.

Help

The Help tab provides tools for
understanding QGIS; the GUPS application
itself allows participants to report an issue
with the software. The GUPS Help menu
routes participants to the New
Construction Program website for the
guide and contact information. The About
menu lists the version of QGIS installed on
the computer with additional QGIS
specifications.

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Tab

Drop-down Menu

Function/Description
The GUPS tab provides quick access to the
key tools also available on the Standard
and New Construction toolbars. The Map
Management drop-down menu includes a
shortcut to Map Management, GUPS Data
Settings, and Search Zoom functions on
the Standard toolbar. The Geographic
Review drop-down menu provides
shortcuts to the User Address List, Show
Label On/Off, and Show/Hide Legend
functions on the New Construction
toolbar. The QC drop-down menu
provides a shortcut to the Address Review
Tool on the New Construction toolbar. The
Export drop-down menu provides a
shortcut to the Export to Zip and Print
Map to File functions on the New
Construction toolbar. The Imagery dropdown menu provides shortcuts to the
Internet Map Service and Add Imagery
functions on the New Construction
toolbar.

GUPS

Participants likely will use the toolbar
buttons rather than the drop-down menus
within the Menu bar for all of the dropdown menus described in this table.

A.2

Status Bar

Table 21 describes each item within the Status bar.
Table 21: Status Bar Elements

Item

Description

Coordinate

Shows the current position in map coordinates (default is decimal degrees for GUPS) as the
mouse moves across the Map View. As a reminder, do not change the projection of the project.
Toggles between the coordinate position of the mouse cursor or the map view extents as the
map is panned and zoomed.

Scale

Shows the current zoom level in the Map View. Can be changed by selecting one of the
predefined levels from the drop-down, by keying in a new ratio, or using the scroll wheel on the
mouse.
Locks the Scale to prevent zooming in or zooming out when using Magnifier.

Magnifier

U.S. Census Bureau

Allows the participant to zoom without changing the scale.

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A.3

Standard Toolbar

The Standard toolbar, shown in Figure 9, provides the navigation tools to interact with the map
and layers. It includes three sub-toolbars, identified by the grouping bars or marker on the
toolbar, shown in Figure 10. The first sub-toolbar, the Project toolbar, contains buttons for
saving projects, changing map projects, and conducting searches. The second sub-toolbar, the
Map Navigation toolbar, contains buttons for navigating the Map View. The third sub-toolbar,
the Attributes toolbar, provides tools for selecting features, making measurements, creating
bookmarks, and working with the attribute tables.

Figure 9: Standard Toolbar

To rearrange the toolbars, left-click and hold the sub-toolbar marker (shown in red below) then
drag it to the desired location. Release the mouse button to set the toolbar in the new location.

Figure 10: Sub-Tool Markers

Table 22 describes each button on the Standard toolbar.
Button

Table 22: Standard Toolbar Buttons

Name

Function/Description

Save

Click the Save button to save the current GUPS project,
including any changes to layer properties, projection, last
viewed extent, and layers added.

Style Manager

Click the Style Manager button for a list of symbology and
colors for point, lines, and polygons features. The Census
Bureau does not recommend participants change the style
of the preset symbology.

Map Management

Click the Map Management button to choose a geographic
program in GUPS and the entity to update. GUPS
automatically loads a set of default map layers based on
the program chosen.

GUPS Data Settings

Click the GUPS Data Settings button to change the GUPS
working directory should problems with loading the GUPS
data occur. Contact the New Construction Program Help
Desk before performing this task.
This button also is used to “clean GUPS” by removing GUPS
data. Participants may remove GUPS data by Program, by
Project, or by removal of all data.
Warning! The Clean options delete files and folders
permanently and work will be lost

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Button

U.S. Census Bureau

Name

Function/Description

Search Zoom

Click the Search Zoom button to search the map by census
tract, census block, landmark, or street name and zoom
automatically to the feature. This functionality is quite
helpful if a known list of address records exists to add to
the User Address List.

Search Feature(s)

Click the Select Feature(s) button to reveal four selection
methods for selecting features in the Map View and one
deselection method. Participants can select features by
polygon, freehand, or radius. This button is not particularly
useful for New Construction.

Pan Map

Click the Pan Map button to re-center the map at the
location clicked in the Map View without changing the map
scale.

Pan Map to Selection

Click the Pan to Map to Selection button after selecting a
feature on the map to re-center the map based on the
selected feature(s).

Zoom In

Click the Zoom In button to increase the map scale after
clicking on the map and to displays the map in Map View
at a larger scale.

Zoom Out

Click the Zoom Out button to decrease the map scale after
clicking on the map and to displays the map in Map View
at a smaller scale.

Zoom Full

Click the Zoom Full button to display the map in Map View
at the full extent of the county.

Zoom to Selection

Click the Zoom to Selection button after selecting a
feature on the map (or in the attribute table) to view the
feature at the scale of the selected feature.

Zoom to Layer

Click the Zoom to Layer button after selecting a layer in
the Table of Contents to display the map at the extent of
the selected layer.

Zoom Last

Click the Zoom Last button to return to the previous zoom
extent.

Zoom Next

Click the Zoom Next button to move forward to the next
zoom extent.

New Bookmark

Click the New Bookmark button to create, name, and save
geographic locations in the Map View for future reference.
See A.4 for additional information.

Show Bookmarks

Click the Show Bookmarks button to view and manage the
bookmarks. To zoom to a bookmark, double-click on the
bookmark name in the Spatial Bookmarks window that
appears after creating the bookmark. See A.4 for
additional information.

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Button

Name

Function/Description

Refresh

Click the Refresh button to refresh the screen at its current
extent.

Identify Features

Click the Identify Features button, followed by a click on a
participant added map spot in the Map View to identify
the record from the User Address List. The selected map
spot appears in red in the Map View and the results appear
in the Identify Results window. This button also identifies
other Map View features in other layers within the Table
of Contents.

Select Features by Value,
or Select All Features, or
Invert Feature Selection

Click the Select Features by Value button to reveal three
selection options for selecting features in the Map View.
The options for this button allows the participant to select
features of the project based upon the attributes of the
layer selected in the Table of Contents. See A.5 for
additional information.

Deselect Features from
All Layers

Click the Deselect Features from all Layers button to
deselect the selected features in all layers in a single
action.

Measure

Click the Measure button to measure the distance
between two or more points, an area, or an angle on a
map.

Most of the sub-toolbar buttons described above are straightforward to use; however, the next
two sections provide additional details on buttons that may benefit participants in the New
Construction Program.

A.4

Using the New Bookmark Button

Depending on the areal size of a participant’s jurisdiction, use of spatial bookmarks to navigate
the Map View may be more efficient than panning and zooming across the Map View. Follow
the steps in Table 23 to add new bookmarks for use in navigating the Map View.
Table 23: Adding a New Bookmark

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

Zoom to the location in the Map View to bookmark and click the New Bookmark button on the
Standard toolbar.
The Spatial Bookmarks window opens.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 2

Click on the row named New bookmark. Erase the Name field containing New bookmark and type
in a descriptive name (e.g., Broad St) for the new bookmark (255-character limit). Hit the Enter
key. This action adds the bookmark.

Step 3

Participants can view and manage spatial bookmarks within the Spatial Bookmarks window. If the
window closed, click the Show Bookmarks button on the Standard toolbar to reopen.
From the Spatial Bookmarks window, participants can zoom, add, and delete bookmarks by using
the corresponding buttons within the windows. In addition, double-clicking the bookmark zooms
to it in the Map View. They can edit bookmark names and coordinates by clicking on those
respective fields in the Spatial Bookmarks window. They can also import and export the
bookmarks as .xml files.

Step 4

A.5

To close the Spatial Bookmarks window, click the “X” in the upper right corner.

Using the Select Features by Value Button

Participants utilize this window to write queries for selecting features/records. They may write
simple or complex queries that use more than one field of information from within the layer
attributes or use different query choices to select specific features/records. There is no edit
functionality within the button; it simply selects the features/records meeting the query criteria.
After selection, participants can use other tools on the Standard toolbar to pan, zoom,
bookmark, etc.
Participants may find this tool useful for reviewing the User Address List after they enter or
import a large number of addresses or if they want to visually identify the New Construction
Program eligible blocks. If the User Address List is the selected layer, after selecting the records
using this tool use the buttons within the User Address List to make modifications as necessary.
Table 24 outlines one example.
IMPORTANT: This tool performs queries of the attributes for the layer selected in the Table of Contents
and launches unique windows based upon the layer selected. Select the desired layer in
the Table of Contents prior to clicking this button.

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Table 24: Select Features by Value Button

Step

Action and Result

Step 1

Highlight/select the layer of interest in the Table of Contents. This example highlights the User
Address List layer, nc20_PL5127200_useraddr layer.
Click the Select Features by Values button. The Select Features by Value window opens.

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Step

Action and Result

Step 2

The names that appear along the left side of the window are fields that are included in the User
Address List attribute table that GUPS uses. Participants do not see these same field names in the
User Address List within their GUPS project; however, the names between the two sets of field
names closely mimic each other.
Note: This window shows all fields for both stateside and Puerto Rico participants. Ignore the
fields that do not apply to your jurisdiction or that are not applicable to your jurisdiction’s data.

Step 3

To select records from the User Address List that contain an apartment unit attribute, click the
Exclude field option arrow for the UNIT attribute.
The choices for querying appear. Choose Is not missing (not null) and click the Select features
button. The records in the User Address List that have a value in the Apt/Unit # field are selected.

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Step

Action and Result

Click the Close button to close the Select Features by Value window. Closing allows a participant
to see the selected records in the User Address List and take action on them if necessary. This
action may be helpful if the individual apartment unit information requires an update.
Step 4

U.S. Census Bureau

The Select Features by Value window has other options that allow participants to flash the
selected features or zoom to them. Participants can also reset the form to prepare an additional
query. Within the Select features button, options exist for adding to the current selection,
removing from the current selection and filtering.

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Step

Action and Result
As mentioned earlier, the Select Features by Value window reflects the fields within the layer
selected in the Table of Contents. To illustrate the difference, below is an image of the window for
the current census block layer.

Use the same steps discussed before to query the attributes of the block layer, such as the
NCELIGIBLE field. Doing so may assist participants with locating scattered blocks that are eligible
for the New Construction Program.

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APPENDIX B ADDRESS LIST TEMPLATE .XLS FILE
Participants using GUPS that want to import their new addresses rather than manually add
them, may use the template displayed in Figure 11 and detailed in Table 25. Additionally, GUPS
participants that decide to forgo the use of GUPS in favor of the template alone may do so and
must follow the layout described in Table 25. Doing so ensures the new address information
includes the proper fields, content, and field structure.

Figure 11: Address List Template File Layout with Header Row

Upon selection of the Import button within the User Address List, GUPS offers participants the
chance to download a “sample header file” as shown in Step 2 of Table 13. This sample header
file is similar to the Address List Template .xls file described below. Both files include the
necessary fields for processing by the Census Bureau.
Table 25: Address List Tempate Fields, Descriptions, and Valid Entries

Field
Max
Number Character
Length

Field Name

Field Description

Required (Yes or No or
Recommended)

1

7

LINE_NUMBER

Sequential number for
each address record in
a file.

Recommended.

2

12

ENTITY_ID

Unique identification
number assigned by
the Census Bureau to
each entity.

Yes.

3

2

STATE

Two-digit FIPS state
code.

Yes, if not providing
latitude and longitude
information.

4

3

COUNTY

Three-digit FIPS county
code.

Yes, if not providing
latitude and longitude
information.

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Field
Max
Number Character
Length

Field Name

Field Description

Required (Yes or No or
Recommended)

5

7

CENSUS_TRACT

Six-digit current census
tract number, with a
decimal point between
the fourth and fifth
digit, consisting of a 4digit base number,
including leading
zeroes, plus 2-digit
number suffix, with
trailing zeroes. For
example, 123401 and
000300 correspond to
1234.01 and 3.00
respectively.

Yes, if not providing
latitude and longitude
information.

6

6

CENSUS_BLOCK

Up to six-digit Current
Census Block Number,
consisting of 4
numbers followed by
up to 2 alpha
characters that
represent block
suffixing.

Yes, if not providing
latitude and longitude
information.

Ex. 1001, 1001D,
1001AA
7

1

GQ_TL_FLAG

Field to denote the
address record as
either a group quarters
or transitory location.
Enter ‘G’ for group
quarters or a ‘T’ for
transitory location.

Yes, if adding a group
quarters or transitory
location address.

8

35

COMPLETE_ADDRESS_NUMBER

Housing unit or group
quarters assigned
address number, alone
or with an address
number prefix and/or
address number suffix
that identifies a
location along a
thoroughfare or within
a community. For 123
Main St, the “123” is
the complete address
number.

Yes.

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Field
Max
Number Character
Length

Field Name

Field Description

Required (Yes or No or
Recommended)

9

100

COMPLETE_STREET_NAME

Full street or road
name. The official
name of a
thoroughfare as
assigned by a
governing authority or
used and recognized
alternate (alias) name.
For 123 Main St, “Main
St” is the complete
street name.

Yes.

10

65

APTUNIT_NUMBER

Combination of Within
Structure Descriptor
and Identifier, e.g.,
"Apt 1", "Ste 22", “Unit
A”, “Bldg 2 Unit 10”,
etc. Populate with a
value other than one
already used for the
address.

Yes, if the address is a
duplicate (same
State/County/Tract/Block,
or Lat/Long, House #,
Street Name, ZIP).

11

5

MAILING_ZIP_CODE

The United States Post
Office (USPS) city-style
mailing ZIP Code for
the address.

Recommended if known.
If included it must be fivedigit numeric characters
only. Cannot be "00000",
"11111", "33333",
"66666", "77777",
"88888", or "99999".

12

100

GQ_TL_NAME

Name of group
quarters (Dobbs Hall or
Bayside Nursing Home)
or transitory location
(Royal RV Park or
Seabird Marina).

Yes, if adding a group
quarters or transitory
location. Cannot be "null"
if there is a value in
"GQ_TL_FLAG" or
"FACILITY NAME" field.
Cannot contain a comma
(e.g.",").

13

100

FACILITY_NAME

Name of group
quarters facility.
Usually a broader
name than the GQ
name.

No, but recommended if
group quarters addresses
being added are
associated with a facility
(e.g., The University of
Nevada Las Vegas for
dorms on its campus).

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Field
Max
Number Character
Length

Field Name

Field Description

Required (Yes or No or
Recommended)

14

100

LOCATION_DESCRIPTION

A short written
description of the
location and physical
characteristics of living
quarters (e.g., Red
House w/ white
shutters) that may
assist the Census
Bureau with locating
the living quarters.

No.

15

11

LATITUDE

Latitude coordinate of
address in decimal
degrees with a
minimum of 6 digits
following the decimal.

Yes, if not providing the
state, county, census
tract, and census block
geocode. Cannot contain
special characters, except
the decimal (e.g. ".").

16

12

LONGITUDE

Longitude coordinate
of address in decimal
degrees with a
minimum of 6 digits
following the decimal.

Yes, if not providing the
state, county, census
tract, and census block
geocode. Cannot contain
special characters, except
the decimal (e.g. ".") and
the negative sign (e.g. "-")
for this hemisphere.

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APPENDIX C UNIT DESIGNATION ABBREVIATION EXAMPLES
Participants adding new addresses with unit information refer to this appendix for the proper
abbreviations approved for use by the Census Bureau.
Table 26: Unit Designation Abbreviations

U.S. Census Bureau

Name

Abbreviation

Apartment

APT

Basement

BSMT

Bottom

BOTM

Building

BLDG

Downstairs

DOWN

Floor

FLR

Front

FRNT

Interior

INTE

Level

LVL

Lower

LOWR

Middle

MIDL

Mobile Home

MH

Number

#

Penthouse

PH

Room

RM

Right

RGHT

Space

SP

Studio

STUD

Suite

STE

Suites

STES

Trailer

TRLR

Upper

UPPR

Upstairs

UPS

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APPENDIX D PHYSICAL LOCATION DESCRIPTION AND STREET TYPE
ABBREVIATION EXAMPLES
Participants refer to this appendix for the approved physical location descriptions and street
type abbreviations to use in the User Address List.
Table 27: Physical Location Descriptions and Street Type Abbreviations

Full name

U.S. Census Bureau

Abbreviation

Alternate Route

ALT

Avenue

AVE

Blue

BL

Boulevard

BLVD

Brown

BRN

Boarded Up

BU

Circle

CIR

County Highway

CO HWY

County Road

CO RD

Court

CT

Drive

DR

East

E

Four-Wheel Drive Trail

4WD

Freeway

FWY

Green

GR

General Delivery

GEN DEL

Hospital

HOSP

Highway Contract Route

HCR

House

HSE

Interstate

I

Intersection

INT

Lane

LN

North

N

Parkway

PKWY

Post Office Box

PO BOX

Road

RD

Route

RTE

Rural Route

RR
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Full name

U.S. Census Bureau

Abbreviation

South

S

Star Route

ST RT

State Highway

ST HWY

State Road

ST RD

State Route

ST RTE

Street

ST

Thoroughfare

THFR

Township Highway

TWP HY

Township Road

TWP RD

West

W

White

WHT

Yellow

YLW

With

W/

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APPENDIX E PARTNERSHIP SHAPEFILE NAMES
The information in this section provides background information about the shapefiles used by
GUPS. Participants need not worry about opening the partnership shapefiles independently
from GUPS. The list of state-based shapefiles is in Table 28.
State-based shapefiles follow the naming convention of PVS_19_v1__.shp,
where  is the number corresponding FIPS number for the state, (e.g., “24” corresponds to
Maryland) and  is the abbreviation for the shapefile layer. For example,
PVS_19_v1_place_24.shp is the Maryland shapefile for incorporated places.
Table 28: State Shapefiles Names

Shapefile layer

U.S. Census Bureau



American Indian Areas (AIA) – Legal

aial

2010 American Indian Areas (AIA) – Legal

aial2010

American Indian Areas (AIA) – Statistical

aias

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions (AITS) - Legal

aitsl

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions (AITS) - Statistical

aitss

Block Area Group

bag

Metropolitan Statistical Area/Metropolitan Statistical Area

cbsa

Congressional Districts

cd

Census Designated Place

cdp

Counties and Equivalent Areas

county

2010 Counties and Equivalent Areas

county2010

Elementary School Districts

elsd

County Subdivisions - Legal

mcd

New England City and Town Areas

necta

Incorporated Places

place

2010 Public Use Microdata Areas

puma2010

Secondary School Districts

scsd

State Legislative Districts Lower

sldl

State Legislative District Upper Chambers

sldu

State

state

Tribal Block Groups

tbg

Tribal Census Tracts

tct

2010 Census Tracts

tracts2010

Urban Area

uac

Unified School District State-Based

unsd

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Similar to the state-based shapefile names, the county-based shapefiles have the following
naming convention: PVS_19_v1__.shp, where  is the number
corresponding FIPS number for the state and county, (e.g. “24001” corresponds to Allegany
County, Maryland) and  is the abbreviation for the shapefile layer. Table 29 details
the county shapefile layers and layer names. For example, PVS_19_v1_curtracts_24001.shp is
the Allegany County, Maryland, shapefile for current census tracts. The list of county-based
shapefiles is in Table 29.
Table 29: County Shapefiles Names

Shapefile layer

U.S. Census Bureau



American Indian Areas (AIA) – Legal

aial

American Indian Areas (AIA) – Statistical

aias

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions (AITS) - Legal

aitsl

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions (AITS) - Statistical

aitss

Alaska Native Regional Corporations (ANRC)

anrc

Area Landmark

arealm

Block Area Groups

bag

Block Groups

bg

Metropolitan Statistical Area/Metropolitan Statistical Area

cbsa

Census County Division

ccd

Congressional Districts

cd

Census Designated Place

cdp

Consolidated Cities

concity

Counties and Equivalent Areas

county

Census Tracts - Current

curtracts

All Lines

edges

Elementary School Districts

elsd

Hawaiian Home Lands (HHL)

hhl

County Subdivisions - Legal

mcd

New England City and Town Areas

necta

Offsets

offset

Incorporated Places

place

Point Landmarks

pointlm

2010 Public Use Microdata Areas

puma2010

Secondary School Districts

scsd

State Legislative Districts Lower

sldl

State Legislative Districts Upper

sldu

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Shapefile layer
Subbarrios

submcd

Census Blocks - Current

tabblock

2010 Census Blocks

tabblock2010

2010 Traffic Analysis Delineation

tad2010

2010 Traffic Analysis Zones

taz2010

Tribal Block Groups

tbg

Tribal Census Tracts

tct

2010 Census Tracts

tracts2010

Census Urban Areas

uac

Urban Growth Area

uga

Unified School Districts

unsd

Hydrography - Area

water

Relationship Tables

U.S. Census Bureau





Address Ranges

addr

Topological Faces (2-cells with all geocodes)

faces

Topological Faces - Area Landmark Relationship

areafaces

Topological Faces - Area Hydrography Relationship

hydrofaces

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APPENDIX F GLOSSARY
American Indian Area (AIA) – A Census Bureau term that refers to any or all of the following
entities: American Indian reservation, American Indian off-reservation trust land, Oklahoma
tribal statistical area, joint use area, American Indian tribal subdivision, tribal designated
statistical area, and state designated American Indian statistical area.
American Indian Reservation (AIR) – An area of land with boundaries established by final
treaty, statute, executive order, and/or court order and over which a federally recognized,
American Indian tribal government has governmental authority. Along with ‘‘reservation’’
primary governmental or administrative division of a county in 28 states and the ‘‘reservation’’
designations such as colonies, communities, pueblos, rancherias, and reserves apply to AIRs.
American Indian tribal subdivision – A legal subdivision of a federally recognized American
Indian reservation, off-reservation trust land, or a statistical subdivision of Oklahoma tribal
statistical areas. These entities are internal units of self-government or administration that
serve social, cultural, and/or economic purposes for American Indians.
Boundary – A line, either invisible or coincident with a visible feature that identifies the extent
of a geographic entity, such as a census tract, city, county, state, or reservation. A boundary
marks the limits of an area.
Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) – An annual survey to collect information about
selected legally defined geographic areas. The Census Bureau uses BAS as a means to update
information about the legal boundaries and names of all governmental units in the United
States.
Campground – A specific area set aside primarily for people to camp (e.g., in a tent, cabin, or
camping trailer). Campgrounds often charge a fee and sometimes provide minimal amenities.
This category includes both public campgrounds (e.g., in national/state/local parks or recreation
areas) and private campgrounds (e.g., KOA campgrounds, religious campgrounds, hunting
camps, or self-improvement camps).
Carnival or Circus – A traveling show or amusement enterprise (e.g., a circus, carnival, or fair),
where the performers and workers may reside in temporary quarters on site, such as tents,
buses, or recreational vehicles.
Census block – A census block is the smallest statistical geography for which the Census Bureau
collects and tabulates decennial census data. Census blocks are bounded by visible features,

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such as roads, streams, and railroad tracks, and by invisible features, such as the boundaries of
governmental units and other legal entities. Census blocks are statistical geographic subdivision
of census tracts. Census blocks are numbered within census tracts and are unique to the census
tract to which they belong. Census block numbers consist of 4-digits and may include a single
alpha character suffix reflecting a boundary change or added feature (e.g. 3001A and 3001B).
Note: If a jurisdiction has three different census tracts, each will likely contain a census block 1000.
Respondents are encouraged to pay close attention to both the census tract and census block
number when completing address updates. The New Construction Program uses 2019
partnership tabulation blocks represented as “tabblock2019” in the Partnership Shapefiles for
digital participants.

Census block group – Block groups are statistical geographic divisions of a census tract, defined
for the tabulation and dissemination of census data from the decennial censuses, the ACS, and
other select surveys.
Census block number – Census block numbers contain up to 6-digit, consisting of 4 numbers
followed by up to 2 alpha characters. Census blocks are numbered uniquely within each census
tract.
Census Bureau – An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Census Bureau is the
country's preeminent statistical collection and dissemination agency. It publishes a wide variety
of statistical data about people and the economy of the nation. The Census Bureau conducts
approximately 200 annual surveys and conducts the decennial census of the United States
population.
Census Bureau map – Any map produced by the Census Bureau. A Census Bureau map displays
geographic entities used in a Census Bureau sponsored census or survey for which the Census
Bureau tabulates data.
Census county division (CCD) – Statistical geographic entities in 21 states where minor civil
divisions either do not exist or have been unsatisfactory for reporting statistical data. The
Census Bureau, in cooperation with state, tribal, and local officials, delineate these areas solely
for statistical purposes. CCDs have no legal function and are not legal governmental units. The
primary goal of CCDs is to establish and maintain a set of sub-county geographies with stable
boundaries and recognizable names. Naming of each CCD is based on a place, county, or wellknown local name that identifies its location. In most cases, census tracts nest within CCDs, but
in less populated counties CCDs nest within census tracts.
Census designated place (CDP) – Statistical geographic entities representing closely settled,
unincorporated communities that are locally recognized and identified by name. CDPs are the
statistical equivalent of incorporated places, with the primary differences being the lack of both
a legally defined boundary and an active, functioning governmental structure chartered by the
state and administered by elected official.
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Census tracts – Census tracts are relatively permanent statistical geographies of a country or
equivalent entity delineated for the tabulation and presentation of statistical data. The
following criteria apply to reviewing, updating, and delineating census tracts. Census tracts
generally have a population size between 1,200 and 8,000 people, with an optimum size of
4,000 people.
Census tract number – Unique numbers to identify census tracts within a county or statistically
equivalent entity. Census tract numbers contain up to a 4-digit number followed by a decimal
point and a 2-digit number for suffixed tracts, e.g., 1234.01. For census tracts without a suffix,
the number will contain a period with zero fill, e.g., 4567.00.
Census Bureau geocoding – To process participants’ New Construction Program submission, the
Census Bureau requires the inclusion of census geographic code information including the state,
county, census tract, and census block codes or the structure coordinates (latitude and
longitude) on the address list. Geocoding is how the Census Bureau codes population to
geographic entities. The Census Bureau will not accept addresses without the census geographic
codes (geocodes) or the structure coordinates (latitude and longitude). Respondents can find
the census geographic codes on the New Construction Program materials.
City-style address – The city-style addresses are housing units and group quarters that have a
house number and street name address, for example, 212 Elm Street, or 137 Clark Court, Apt. 3.
At times, the house numbers may also include an alpha character such as 35A or W9254. These
are mailing addresses or addresses that provide location for emergency services, such as police,
fire, and rescue (E-911 addresses). City-style addresses for housing units in multiunit structures,
such as apartment buildings, contain a unit designator, for example, Apt 101 or Suite D or a
location designator such as “rear” or “basement” (Refer to Appendix C ). The Census Bureau
and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) treat these designators as part of the housing unit address,
and they are included in each affected census address record.
Note: For the New Construction Program, participants must provide unit identifiers (e.g., Apt 1, Apt 2,
Unit A, Unit B, Suite #) for multiunit buildings. Ensure that all apartment buildings, especially
small multiunit buildings (3-4 units) such as large houses subdivided into apartments, have a
separate address line for each unit that includes the basic street address and the individual unit
designation.

County – The primary legal division of most states. Most are governmental units with powers
defined by state law.
Edges – All linear features contained in the MAF/TIGER System.
Edges shapefile – All linear features in the MAF/TIGER System are contained in the edges
shapefile. Participants use the edges shapefile to add, delete, or change linear feature
attributes.
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Faces – Topological areas in the MAF/TIGER System formed by edges.
Feature – Any part of the landscape, whether natural (a stream or ridge) or artificial (a road or
power line). In a geographic context, features are any part of the landscape portrayed on a
map, including nonvisible boundaries of legal entities, such as, city limits or county lines.
Federal Information Processing Series (FIPS)—These are codes formerly known as Federal
Information Processing Standards codes, until the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) announced its decision in 2005 to remove geographic entity codes from its
oversight. The Census Bureau continues to maintain and issue codes for geographic entities
covered under FIPS oversight, albeit with a revised meaning for the FIPS acronym. Geographic
entities covered under FIPS include states, counties, congressional districts, core based
statistical areas, places, county subdivisions, sub-minor civil divisions, consolidated cities, and
all types of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian areas. FIPS codes are assigned
alphabetically according to the name of the geographic entity and may change to maintain
alphabetic sort when new entities are created or names change. FIPS codes for specific
geographic entity types are usually unique within the next highest level of geographic entity
with which a nesting relationship exists. For example, FIPS state, congressional district, and core
based statistical area codes are unique within nation; FIPS county, place, county subdivision,
and sub-minor civil division codes are unique within state. The codes for American Indian,
Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian areas also are unique within state; those areas in multiple
states will have different codes for each state.
Geocodes – Codes that place an individual address in its correct geographic location, which
includes the correct state, county, census tract, and census block codes. Because the Census
Bureau counts people where they live, geocodes provide information to Census enumerators
for locating an address. Accurate geocoding also ensures the Census Bureau counts housing
units, and the people associated with them, in the correct census geography.
Geographic Information System (GIS) – A computer system for the storage, retrieval, and
maintenance of information about the points, lines, and areas that represent the streets and
roads, rivers, railroads, geographic entities, and other features on the surface of the Earthinformation that previously was available only on paper maps.
Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS) – A self-contained GIS update and processing
package provided by the Census Bureau for participation in a variety of Census geography
programs, including 2020 New Construction Program. Pre-packaged to include all of the
components for 2020 New Construction, the GUPS contains the Census Bureau’s TIGER
partnership shapefiles necessary to participate. GUPS allows the participant to add external
geospatial data (shapefiles, geodatabases, and imagery) for comparison and update purposes.
Group quarters – Group quarters (GQs) are places where people live or stay, in a group
arrangement, owned or managed by an entity or organization providing housing and/or
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services for the residents. These services may include custodial or medical care as well as other
types of assistance, and residency is commonly restricted to those receiving these services.
Residents of group quarters are usually not related.
The following types of group quarters are acceptable and should be included on participants’
address list:






Correctional facilities:
 Federal and state prisons.
 Local jails and other municipal confinement facilities.
 Correctional residential facilities.
Group homes:
 Juvenile facilities:
 Group homes for juveniles (non-correctional).
 Residential treatment centers for juveniles (non-correctional).
 Correctional facilities intended for juveniles.
Nursing homes:
 Nursing facilities/skilled-nursing facilities.

Note: Residents of assisted living, congregate care, and continuing care communities who are not
receiving skilled nursing care are included in the housing unit population. Assisted living quarters
are considered housing units and not group quarters as long as they have separate access from
outside or from a common hall.








Homeless shelters.
Hospitals:
 Mental (psychiatric) hospitals and psychiatric units in other hospitals.
 Hospitals with patients who have no usual home elsewhere.
 In-patients hospice facilities.
College or university dormitories, fraternities, sororities.
Workers’ group living quarters or dormitories.
Religious group quarters.
Any group quarters under construction that will be habitable by Census Day, April 1, 2020.

Note: Housing units and group quarters can exist within the same structure. For example, assisted
living quarters (housing units) may be located in the same structure that contains a nursing
facility (group quarters).

Housing unit – The Census Bureau defines a housing unit as a single-family house, townhouse,
mobile home, trailer, apartment, group of rooms, or a single room occupied as a separate living
quarters or, if vacant, intended for occupancy as a separate living quarters. Separate living
quarters are living quarters in which one or more occupants (or intended occupants, if vacant)
live separate from any other individual(s) in the building and have direct access to the living
quarters without going through another’s living quarters, such as from outside the building or
through a common hall.
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The following types of housing units are acceptable and should be included on the updates to
the Census Bureau’s Address List:







Houses, including townhouses, condominiums, and apartments.
Living quarters within an otherwise nonresidential structure such as an apartment within a
church, school, or business.
Mobile homes or trailers occupied as separate living quarters, or if vacant, intended for
occupancy as separate living quarters.
Transitory location sites for movable or mobile housing, portable housing units, boats,
motorized recreational vehicles (RVs), tents, and trailers that are pulled by cars or trucks.
TRANSITORY LOCATION also include hotels and/or motels if people occupy rooms on a transient
basis because they have no other residence. Transient locations are acceptable for inclusion in
the New Construction Program.
Any new housing units under construction that will have basic construction (windows, doors,
roof that close the structure from the elements) completed by Census Day, April 1, 2020.

Hotel or Motel – A lodging facility that some people may use as long-term or permanent
housing. Lodging facilities include hotels, motels, hostels, single-room occupancy units, inns,
resorts, lodges, and bed and breakfasts. The types of units within these lodging facilities could
be single rooms, suites, cabins, cabanas, cottages, or bungalows. In addition, organizations such
as the YMCA and YWCA may offer lodging, along with other services, at their facilities.
Incorporated place —A type of governmental unit, incorporated under state law as a city, town
(except in New England, New York, and Wisconsin), borough (except in Alaska and New York),
or village, generally to provide governmental services for a concentration of people within
legally prescribed boundaries.
Legal boundary – The legally defined boundary of a governmental unit, usually referring to a
county, minor civil division, or incorporated place.
Marina – A dock or basin where small vessels (commercial or private), such as boats or yachts,
can be securely moored or parked, in which some people may use the vessels as their primary
residence. Marinas may offer supplies, repairs, and other services/amenities. Marinas may be
standalone entities or components of a resort, and they may be owned and operated by public
entities (e.g., municipal facilities) or by a private club (e.g., yacht club) or company.
Master Address File (MAF) – The Master Address File (MAF) is the Census Bureau’s nationwide
database of all addresses and physical/location descriptions used to support many of the
Census Bureaus’ operations. It contains mailing addresses and ZIP Codes, and address records
containing geographic information such as location description of the addresses. In areas where
there are non-city style addresses (e.g. rural routes or post office box numbers), the address
record may contain additional information such as location description. The Census Bureau
continues to update the MAF using the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) Delivery Sequence File (DSF)
and various automated, computer assisted, and clerical field operations.
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MAF/TIGER Feature Classification Code (MTFCC) – A 5-digit code assigned by the Census
Bureau to classify and describe geographic objects or features in the MAF/TIGER System and its
output products.
Minor Civil Division (MCD) – The primary governmental or administrative division of a county in
29 states and the Island Areas having legal boundaries, names, and descriptions. The MCDs
represent many different types of legal entities with a wide variety of characteristics, powers,
and functions depending on the state and type of MCD. In some states, some or all of the
incorporated places also constitute MCDs. MCDs are identified by a variety of terms, such as
town (in eight states), township, and/or district. They include both functioning and
nonfunctioning government entities.
New Construction Program – A Census Bureau program offered every 10 years that allows
eligible participants, following established guidelines, to submit city-style addresses for eligible
blocks within their jurisdiction.
New Construction Program liaison – A person designated by the Tribal Chairman/Chairwoman
or Highest Elected Official to serve as the primary point of contact for the New Construction
Program.
Non-city style address – Non city-style addresses are addresses that do not include a house
number and/or a street name. Non-city style addresses also may not include a complete house
number and street name address. Frequently used non-city style mailing addresses include:





Rural route and box number.
Highway contract route and box number.
General delivery.
Post Office box only delivery.

IMPORTANT: The New Construction Program does not accept non-city style addresses.

Nonvisible feature – The Census Bureau defines a nonvisible feature as one that is not visible
on the ground and/or in imagery such as a city or county boundary through space, a property
line, or line-of-sight extension of a road.
Place – A concentration of population either legally bound as an incorporated place or
identified by the Census Bureau as a census designated place.

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Racetrack – A facility used for racing automobiles, motorcycles, horses, or dogs where traveling
workers may reside in temporary quarters on site, such as tents, buses, or recreational vehicles.
This category includes both commercial and private racetrack facilities.
Recreational Vehicle (RV) Park – A specific area set aside primarily for people to temporarily
park and occupy recreational vehicles (also referred to as travel trailers or camping trailers). RV
parks typically use short-term (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly) rental agreements to provide spaces
(with or without basic utility hook-ups) for people to park their RV. RVs are often on wheels
while people live or stay in them; they are not permanent structures because they could be
easily driven or towed away on any given day. This category includes both public and private RV
park facilities.
Regional Census Center (RCC) – Temporary offices set up approximately two years prior to the
decennial census. The geographic staff from the Regional Offices are assigned to their
respective RCC and assist with the execution of various geographic operations as well as provide
support for the field operations conducted during the decennial.
Regional Office (RO) – One of the permanent Census Bureau offices responsible for the Census
Bureau’s office and field operations within its region.
Residential vs Nonresidential Addresses - The Census Bureau classifies all addresses into two
use types, residential and nonresidential. Residential addresses are addresses of housing units,
group quarters, and transitory locations where one or more people could live. Nonresidential
addresses are addresses of a structure or unit within a structure that do not serve as a
residence, such as commercial establishments, schools, government offices, and churches.
Note: Some structures can contain both residential and nonresidential units even though they have a
single address, such as an apartment over a store or a home with an office. In this instance, the
New Construction Program considers this address residential since it contains a housing unit.

Shapefile – Digital representations of geographic features, such as roads and boundaries used
to create maps. A shapefile stores non-topological geometry and attribute information for the
spatial features in a dataset. The Census Bureau provides county-based shapefiles in Esri
shapefile format.
Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing System (TIGER) – Address
records in the MAF are linked to feature segments in the Topologically Integrated Geographic
Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) System. The TIGER database includes the geographic
coordinates and names of all streets, water features, other linear features, and boundaries for
jurisdictions and statistical areas (census tracts, census blocks, etc.,) used to tabulate decennial
census data.

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Transitory Location — The Census Bureau defines a Transitory location (TL) as a site with
movable or mobile housing that may include transitory units such as boats, motorized
recreational vehicles or trailers (RVs), tents, or other types of portable housing. Transitory
locations also include hotels and/or motels if people occupy rooms on a transient basis because
they have no other residence. Transitory locations are acceptable for inclusion in the New
Construction. The Enumeration of Transitory Locations (ETL) is a census operation designed to
provide coverage for enumeration for locations where people live in non-traditional housing
that is transient or movable in nature. The types of transitory locations that are included in the
ETL include:













Recreational Vehicle (RV) Parks.
Campgrounds.
Carnivals.
Marinas.
Racetrack Hotel.
Motels.
Hostels.
Single-Room Occupancy Units.
Inns.
Resorts.
Lodges.
Bed and Breakfast.

U.S. Census Bureau

2020 Census New Construction Program GUPS Respondent Guide

F-9

NC-G-130

Quick Start (CD/DVD) - Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS)
2020 Census New Construction Program
Getting Started
Open (or print) the 2020 Census New Construction Program Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS) Respondent Guide
(e.g., NC_GUPS_Respondent_Guide.pdf) as listed in Figure 1. For participants that intend to use the Address List Template rather than GUPS,
consult the 2020 Census New Construction Program Digital Respondent Guide (e.g., NC_Digital_Respondent_Guide.pdf). While available on the
Data Disc DVD, some of these materials are also available for download from the New Construction Program website:
.
1. First, create a new folder (or new directory) on a local computer to
copy the contents from the Data Disc DVD. Consider using the
“NC2020” naming convention for the folder name.
2. Insert the Data Disc into the CD/DVD drive of the local computer with
the newly created folder.
3. When the window opens that shows the Data Disc contents, as shown
in Figure 1, select all of the materials and right-click the mouse to Copy
the selected materials.
4. Navigate to the newly created folder and right-click the mouse to
Paste the copied materials. Ensure everything from the Data Disc is in
the new folder and then remove the Data Disc from the CD/DVD drive.
5. Open the newly copied ‘shape’ folder on the local computer. Doubleclick the 2020NC_.exe file to extract the Partnership
Shapefiles (e.g., shapefiles).
6. Close the new folder and locate the GUPS Software Installer Disc DVD.

Figure 1: Data Disc Contents

I.

Installing GUPS from DVD
IMPORTANT: Participants likely need administrative privileges to install GUPS on their local computer. Check with the local system
administrator regarding software installation protocol prior to contacting the New Construction Help Desk for assistance with installation.
1.
2.

3.
4.

II.

Insert the GUPS Software Installer Disc into the CD/DVD drive of the local computer.
The software should auto-install, but if the installation wizard does not auto-launch, navigate to the CD/DVD drive to open (doubleclick) the Setup-x.x.x batch file. The file name may vary due to updated versioning of GUPS, but there is only one setup ‘.bat’ file on
the DVD to choose.
Follow the on-screen prompts and allow GUPS to install to the default location.
If participants encounter problems with installing GUPS from the DVD, navigate to the aforementioned New Construction Program
website to download the zipped GUPS installation file to the new folder created in Step 1 of Getting Started. Instructions for
installing GUPS after downloading the file are available in the same location of the downloaded file on New Construction Program
website. They are very similar to the instructions provided in this section.

Opening GUPS and Launching the New Construction Program
1. Launch QGIS from the All Programs within the Start
Menu or double-click the QGIS icon from the Desktop.
GUPS launches and the Map Management window
opens.
2. Select the New Construction Program from the Program
menu in the Map Management window as shown in
Figure 2.

Figure 2: Map Management Window with New Construction Program
U.S. Census Bureau

2020 Census New Construction Program GUPS Quick Start Guide

1

NC-G-130

3.

4.

5.

6.
7.

Select the Entity Type that matches your government.
There are five choices (Tribe, State, County, Place, and
Minor Civil Division). The subsequent sections are
dependent on the Entity Type selected. Keep choosing the
subsequent drop-down selections until the Select Data
Folder, Directory or Location window appears.

Please note that the first two letters of your Entity ID
provide the answer as to the Entity Type to select.
Tribe is TR; State is ST; County is CO; Place is PL; Minor
Civil Division is MC. If you have questions about your
government’s entity type, please contact the New
Construction Help Desk at (844) 242-1765.
Select either Census Web (preferred) or My Computer from
the Select Data Folder, Directory or Location window as
shown in Figure 3.

Selecting Census Web, the preferred choice,
downloads the shapefiles directly from the Census
Bureau website into GUPS.

Selecting My Computer to load the shapefiles into
GUPS requires participants navigate to the “shape”
folder within the locally created folder from the
Getting Started section above. IMPORTANT:
Participant using this option must ensure the selection
of the “shape” folder, not the actual shapefiles
themselves for the data to load properly.
Once the Select Data Folder, Directory or Location window
completes, the Map Management window reappears. After
completing the remaining sections, select Open on the Map
Management window, as shown in Figure 4.

Please note, once the data loads, subsequent launches
of GUPS for the New Construction Program will not
prompt participants to download the data again.
GUPS loads all of the required data and opens the project
to begin work as shown in Figure 5.
Consult the GUPS Respondent Guide for instructions on
working with GUPS for the New Construction Program.

Figure 3: Select Data Folder, Directory or Location Window

Figure 4: Map Management Window with Entity Type as Place

Figure 5: GUPS with New Construction Program Data Loaded

Please contact the New Construction Program Help Desk by phone at (844) 242-1765 or by email at [email protected] if
questions remain after consulting the respondent guide(s) or for additional assistance as necessary. As a reminder, information about the
New Construction Program, as well as Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and schedules, is available on the New Construction Program
website at .

U.S. Census Bureau

2020 Census New Construction Program GUPS Quick Start Guide

2

NC-E-200
Materials Available Online
Subject: 2020 Census New Construction Program – Materials Available Online
FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR
DECENNIAL CENSUS PROGRAMS
Dear :
Thank you for participating in the 2020 Census New Construction Program (New Construction Program).
The materials for participation, including the Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS),
partnership shapefiles, address list template, respondent guides, and quick start guides, are now
available on the New Construction Program website. Please follow the action steps below to complete
participation in the New Construction Program:

1. Review one of the following respondent guides applicable to you:
a. 2020 Census New Construction Respondent Guide: Digital – for those using their own GIS
software.
b. 2020 Census New Construction Respondent Guide: Geographic Update Partnership
Software (GUPS) – for those using GUPS.
2. Provide the New Construction Program addresses in the specified format using the Address List
template.
3. Submit your New Construction Program updates within 45 calendar days of receiving your
materials. Updates submitted after 45 days will not be accepted.

Please submit your New Construction Program updates using the Census Bureau’s Secure Web Incoming
Module (SWIM). If you do not already have a SWIM account, please email us via the email address
below to request a SWIM token, which is required to create an account. If you already have a SWIM
account, requesting a new account for the New Construction Program is not necessary.
SWIM website: 
If you have any questions regarding the New Construction Program or do not have any updates to
submit, please contact the Census Bureau via the information below.
Email: 
Phone: 1-844-242-1765
Website: 
Thank you for your participation in the New Construction Program.
Entity ID: 

NC-L-200
(7-2019)
OMB.: 0607-1007

DC

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. Census Bureau
Washington, DC 20233-0001









  
FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR
DECENNIAL CENSUS PROGRAMS
Dear :
Thank you for participating in the 2020 Census New Construction Program (New Construction Program). This
package includes your New Construction Program materials on one or two discs depending on the participation
method you chose during the registration phase. Please follow the action steps below to complete participation
in the New Construction Program:
1. Review one of the following respondent guides applicable to you:
a. 2020 Census New Construction Respondent Guide: Digital – for those using PDF Maps
or their own GIS software.
b. 2020 Census New Construction Respondent Guide: Geographic Update Partnership
Software (GUPS) – for those using GUPS.
2. Provide the New Construction Program addresses in the specified format using the Address
List template.
3. Submit your New Construction Program updates within 45 calendar days of receiving your
materials. Updates submitted after 45 days will not be accepted.
Please submit your New Construction Program updates using the Census Bureau’s Secure Web Incoming
Module (SWIM). If you do not already have a SWIM account, please email us via the email address below to
request a SWIM token, which is required to create an account. If you already have a SWIM account, requesting
a new account for the New Construction Program is not necessary.
SWIM website: 
If you have any questions regarding the New Construction Program or do not have any updates to submit,
please contact the Census Bureau via the information below.
Email: 
Phone: 1–844–242–1765
Website: 
Sincerely,

Albert E. Fontenot, Jr.
Associate Director for Decennial Census Programs

census.gov

NC-E-230
For Existing SWIM Account
Subject: 2020 Census New Construction Program – Secure Web Incoming Module (SWIM) Token Request
FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR
DECENNIAL CENSUS PROGRAMS
Dear :
The email address you are using, , is associated with an existing SWIM account.
Please sign in to the SWIM website using the previously established user name and password. A new
SWIM registration token is not required to log into an existing account. If you forgot your password,
please click on Forgot your password? link on the main page. You can enter your registered email
account to create a new password.
SWIM website: 
If you have any questions regarding the 2020 Census New Construction Program (New Construction
Program), please contact the Census Bureau via the information below.
Email: 
Phone: 1-844-242-1765
Website: 
Thank you for your participation in the New Construction Program.
Entity ID: 

NC-E-240
Issue SWIM Registration Token
Subject: 2020 Census New Construction Program – Secure Web Incoming Module (SWIM) Registration
Token
FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR
DECENNIAL CENSUS PROGRAMS
Dear :
Please use the SWIM registration token below to register for a SWIM account. 2020 Census New
Construction Program (New Construction Program) submissions must be sent through the SWIM
account. The Census Bureau security policy prohibits submissions by all other methods or protocols
(e.g., email or ftp).
SWIM Registration Token: 
If you have any questions regarding the New Construction Program, please contact the Census Bureau
via the information below.
Email: 
Phone: 1-844-242-1765
Website: 
Thank you for your participation in the New Construction Program.
Entity ID: 

NC-E-210
Follow-up Email
Subject: 2020 Census New Construction Program – 20 Days until Submission Deadline
FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR
DECENNIAL CENSUS PROGRAMS
Dear :
Thank you for your participation in the 2020 Census New Construction Program (New Construction
Program). Approximately 25 days ago, you received the New Construction Program materials for review.
If you have already submitted your New Construction Program updates or informed the Census Bureau
that you have no updates, please disregard this message.
Your government has 20 days remaining to complete your New Construction Program submission.
Please note that late submissions will not be accepted.
If you have any questions regarding the New Construction Program, please contact the Census Bureau
via the information below.
Email: 
Phone: 1-844-242-1765
Website: 
Entity ID: 

NC-L-210
(7-2019)
OMB.: 0607-1007

DC

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. Census Bureau
Washington, DC 20233-0001









  
FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR
DECENNIAL CENSUS PROGRAMS

Dear :
Thank you for your participation in the 2020 Census New Construction Program (New Construction
Program). Approximately 25 days ago, you received the New Construction Program materials for
review. If you have already submitted your New Construction Program updates or informed the
Census Bureau that you have no updates, please disregard this message.
Your government has 20 days remaining to complete your New Construction Program submission.
Please note that late submissions will not be accepted.
If you have any questions regarding the New Construction Program, please contact the Census
Bureau via the information below.
Email: 
Phone: 1–844–242–1765
Website: 

Sincerely,

Albert E. Fontenot, Jr.
Associate Director for Decennial Census Programs

census.gov

Readmefirst3
2020 Census New Construction Program
Computer Readable Data Disc

This disc contains the following items in addition to this Readmefirst3 file:

Non-Title 13 Data Disc
1. Folder named "maps"
-Within this folder are the Large Format PDF Maps, Readme, About the Maps, and Block to Map
sheet Relationship file.
2. Digital Respondent Guide
3. Digital Quick Start Guide
4. Address List Template
5. NC-L-200 Materials Enclosure Letter

----------------------------------------------------------------------PURPOSE

The purpose of distributing the digital data disc is to provide 2020 Census New Construction Program
(New Construction Program) participants with an electronic method of participating in the New
Construction Program. This disc contains the data files needed to participate electronically.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Non-Title 13 Data Disc
---------------

1. Folder named "maps"
-NC20.pdf - Large format images of the printed maps.
Additionally, the “maps” folder contains:
-Readme.txt file - explains the different components contained in the folder.

Readmefirst3
-About_the_maps.pdf - provides tips and a brief description of the map types.
-NC20_BLK2MS.txt - Block to map sheet relationship file containing a list of
all New Construction eligible blocks within the jurisdiction, and the sheet or grid number(s) that identify
the parent sheet where the block is located.
---------------

2. Digital Respondent Guide - File Name: NC_Digital_Respondent_Guide.pdf
-The Digital Respondent Guide provides instructions and examples for adding addresses using
the digital materials. The Respondent Guide is in an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). If the
computer does not already have software to read a PDF file, please download a PDF reader from the
internet.
---------------

3. Digital Quick Start Guide - File Name: NC_Digital_Quick_Start.pdf
-The Digital Quick Start Guide provides simple instructions to get started with the New
Construction Program.
---------------

4. Address List Template - File Name: Address_list_template.xls
-The Census Bureau provides an Address List Template to assist a government with providing
the required address information for all new addresses.
---------------

5. NC-L-200 Materials Enclosure Letter - File Name:
_2020NC_MaterialsEnclosureLetter_NCL200.pdf
-The Materials Enclosure Letter provides information about what is contained in the mailing
package.

Readmefirst2
2020 Census New Construction Program
Computer Readable Data Discs and Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS) Installation Disc

These discs contain the following items in addition to this Readmefirst2 file:

Non-Title 13 Data Disc
1. Folder named "shape"
-Within this folder are the Partnership Shapefiles (zipped)
2. Digital Respondent Guide
3. GUPS Respondent Guide
4. Digital Quick Start Guide
5. GUPS Quick Start Guide
6. Address List Template
7. NC-L-200 Materials Enclosure Letter

GUPS Installation Disc
1. Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS)

----------------------------------------------------------------------PURPOSE

The purpose in distributing the digital data disc is to provide 2020 Census New Construction Program
(New Construction Program) participants with an electronic method of participating in the New
Construction Program. These discs contain the data files needed to participate electronically, including
users of Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS). All participants receiving shapefiles will
receive a GUPS installation disc. Participants who did not specifically select to use GUPS are welcome to
use it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Readmefirst2
Non-Title 13 Data Disc
---------------

1. Folder named "shape"
-The "shape" folder contains a file named 2020NC_.exe; this is a zipped form of the
Census Partnership shapefiles. To extract the files, double-click with the left mouse button on the
executable (.exe). Please note that you may require administrative privileges to perform this task.

The  is in the form of XXyyyyyyyyyy,
Where:
XX = 2 character, alpha entity type

yyyyyyyyyy = the variable length, numeric entity code depending on the type of entity.
ST = state, 2 digits
CO = county, 5 digits
PL = place, 7 digits
MC = Minor Civil Division (MCD), 10 digits

The naming convention for a tribal entity is 2020NC_TRxxxxTAyyyy.exe where xxxx is the Tribal Name
code and yyyy is the Tribal Area code.
TR/TA = American Indian reservation or off-reservation trust land, 12 digits

The Partnership shapefiles will extract into multiple folders. A folder named "SS" (where "SS" is the state
FIPS code corresponding to the state where the entity is located; e.g., Maryland is 24) will contain all
state level shapefiles. A separate folder, or folders, named "SSCCC" (where "SS" is the state FIPS code
and "CCC" is the county FIPS code corresponding to the county where the entity is located; e.g.,
Montgomery County, Maryland is 24031) will contain all county level shapefiles. If an entity resides in
multiple states or counties, it will have corresponding folders for each of those locations.

The Census Bureau provides shapefiles as a reference for locating and geocoding individual addresses.
---------------

Readmefirst2
2. Digital Respondent Guide - File Name: NC_Digital_Respondent_Guide.pdf.
-The Digital Respondent Guide provides instructions and examples for adding addresses using
digital materials. The Respondent Guide is in an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To read a PDF
file, please download a PDF reader from the internet.
---------------

3. GUPS Respondent Guide - File Name: NC_GUPS_Respondent_Guide.pdf
GUPS.

- The GUPS Respondent Guide provides instructions and examples for adding addresses using

---------------

4. Digital Quick Start Guide - File Name: NC_Digital_Quick_Start.pdf
-The Digital Quick Start Guide provides simple instructions to get started with the New
Construction Program before reading the full-length respondent guide.
---------------

5. GUPS Quick Start Guide - File Name: NC_GUPS_Quick_Start.pdf
-The GUPS Quick Start Guide provides simple instructions to get started with the New
Construction Program using GUPS, including installation, before reading the full-length respondent
guide.
---------------

6. Address List Template - File Name: Address_list_template.xls
-The Census Bureau provides an Address List Template to assist with providing the required
address information for all new addresses.
---------------

7. NC-L-200 Materials Enclosure Letter - File Name:
_2020NC_MaterialsEnclosureLetter_NCL200.pdf
-The Materials Enclosure Letter provides information about what is contained in the mailing
package.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Readmefirst2

GUPS Installation Disc
---------------

1. Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS)

This disc contains the installation software.
Additionally, this disc contains a readme.txt with general GUPS installation instructions.

NC-E-300
Submission Close-out Email
Subject: Thank you for your participation in the 2020 Census New Construction Program
FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR
DECENNIAL CENSUS PROGRAMS
Dear :
The U.S. Census Bureau appreciates your participation in the 2020 Census New Construction Program
(New Construction Program). This email acknowledges our receipt of your submission. The Census
Bureau will contact you if we have any questions regarding your submission.
If you have any questions regarding the New Construction Program, please contact the Census Bureau
via the information below.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-844-242-1765
Website: 
Entity ID: 

NC-E-310
Late Submission Close-out Email
Subject: Thank you for your participation in the 2020 Census New Construction Program
FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR
DECENNIAL CENSUS PROGRAMS
Dear :
The U.S. Census Bureau appreciates your participation in the 2020 Census New Construction Program
(New Construction Program). This email acknowledges our receipt of your submission.
Unfortunately, the Census Bureau is unable to process your submission because it was submitted past
the deadline.
If you have any questions regarding the New Construction Program, please contact the Census Bureau
via the information below.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-844-242-1765
Website: 
Entity ID: 

NC-L-300
(7-2019)
OMB.: 0607-1007

DC

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. Census Bureau
Washington, DC 20233-0001









  
FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR
DECENNIAL CENSUS PROGRAMS

Dear :
The U.S. Census Bureau appreciates your participation in the 2020 Census New Construction
Program (New Construction Program). This letter acknowledges our receipt of your submission.
The Census Bureau will contact you if we have any questions regarding your submission.
If you have any questions regarding the New Construction Program, please contact the
Census Bureau via the information below.
Email: 
Phone: 1–844–242–1765
Website: 

Sincerely,

Albert E. Fontenot, Jr.
Associate Director for Decennial Census Programs

census.gov

NC-L-310
(7-2019)
OMB.: 0607-1007

DC

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. Census Bureau
Washington, DC 20233-0001









  
FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR
DECENNIAL CENSUS PROGRAMS

Dear :
The U.S. Census Bureau appreciates your participation in the 2020 Census New Construction
Program (New Construction Program). This letter acknowledges our receipt of your submission.
Unfortunately, the Census Bureau is unable to process your submission because it was
submitted past the deadline.
If you have any questions regarding the New Construction Program, please contact the
Census Bureau via the information below.
Email: 
Phone: 1–844–242–1765
Website: 

Sincerely,

Albert E. Fontenot, Jr.
Associate Director for Decennial Census Programs

census.gov


File Typeapplication/pdf
AuthorJessie Files (CENSUS/GEO FED)
File Modified2019-08-05
File Created2019-08-05

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