Data / Federal rules / 2026-18481
Decennial Census of the Population of Americans; Proposed Residence Criteria and Proposed Regulations for Demographic Questions
The Census Bureau published this proposed rule in the Federal Register on September 10, 2026. Comments closed on October 13, 2026.
SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. It reads every rule and proposed rule in the Federal Register each morning, and this page is that reading. Name your industry once and new rules, comment deadlines and effective dates arrive in your sheet, CRM, Slack or agent as they are published.
What the agency says
The Census Bureau is proposing to add two new parts to the Code of Federal Regulations governing the decennial census of population and housing. First, the Census Bureau is proposing to add a part outlining the residence criteria used for identifying each person's "usual residence," as needed to determine whether and where to count them in the census of the population throughout the United States. Second, the Census Bureau is proposing to add a part establishing standards and restrictions for the inclusion of certain demographic questions on the decennial census short-form questionnaire and any other questionnaire used for the enumeration of the population. The Census Bureau is considering these two additions to better prioritize and fulfill its Constitutional mandate to count for apportionment the "whole number of persons in each State" based on the concept of "usual residence"--a process that factors in an element of allegiance but otherwise should be colorblind and should not be distorted in any way by questions about immaterial personal characteristics, such as race. Although these two parts are somewhat related and complementary, each is being proposed independently based on its own merits. These proposals are intended to ensure fidelity to the Constitution, improve and protect the core decennial census data, and promote efficiency.
Key facts
- Document number
- 2026-18481
- Type
- Proposed rule
- Action
- Proposed rule; request for comments
- Agency
- Commerce Department; Census Bureau
- Published
- September 10, 2026
- Comments due
- October 13, 2026
- Dates
- To ensure consideration during the decision-making process, comments must be received by October 13, 2026.
- Docket
- Docket No. 260903-0005
- Regulation ID (RIN)
- 0607-AA75
- Code of Federal Regulations
- 15 CFR 60; 15 CFR 70
- Topics
- Administrative practice and procedure; Privacy
- Pages
- 8
Other documents from the Census Bureau
| Document | Type | Published |
|---|---|---|
| Decennial Census of the Population of Americans; Proposed Residence Criteria and Proposed Regulations for Demographic Questions; Extension of Comment Period 2026-20328 | Proposed rule | Oct 5 |
| Age Search Fee Structure 2026-13801 | Final rule | Jul 8 |
| Streamlining the Census Bureau's Foreign Trade Regulations; Correction 2026-11688 | Final rule | Jun 11 |
| Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR): Clarification of Filing Requirements Regarding In-Transit Shipments and Other FTR Provisions; Correction 2026-10370 | Final rule | May 26 |
| Streamlining the Census Bureau's Foreign Trade Regulations 2026-06133 | Final rule | Mar 30 |
| Age Search Service Fee Structure 2026-03494 | Proposed rule | Feb 23 |
| Streamlining the Regulations Governing Requests for Special Census Services and Studies 2026-03384 | Final rule | Feb 20 |
| Streamlining the Regulations Governing the Official Seal of the Census Bureau 2026-01308 | Final rule | Jan 23 |
Everything from the Census Bureau · Rules on administrative practice and procedure · Rules on privacy · Published in September 2026
Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-23. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.