2010 Decennial Census Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA)

Important Note to Digital LUCA and BAS Participants: [PDF] [TEXT]

The Local Update of Census Addresses program, also known as LUCA, is a decennial census geographic partnership program that will allow the Census Bureau to benefit from local knowledge in developing its Master Address File (MAF) for the 2010 Census. Tribal, state, and local governments can contribute to a more complete and accurate census for their community by reviewing and commenting on the list of housing unit and group quarters addresses that the Census Bureau will use to deliver questionnaires within their community.

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

The invited governments designate a LUCA liaison to review the portion of the Census address list covering the area under its jurisdiction. The LUCA liaison will be subject to the same confidentiality requirements as census workers, prohibiting the disclosure of census information. The address list is confidential under Title 13 U.S.C. and participants must review a set of security guidelines [PDF] / [MS Word] and sign a confidentiality agreement [PDF] / [MS Word] promising to protect the confidentiality of the addresses.
The Census Bureau will send the LUCA liaison an address list from the MAF, corresponding maps, and address tallies.
In areas with city-style addresses, the LUCA liaison can provide input regarding individual addresses on the list, as well as addresses missing from the list that should be added. The Census Bureau will verify this input during the Address Canvassing Operation and provide feedback to the participants about the results.
In areas with noncity-style addresses (e.g., rural route and box number or post office box numbers), the LUCA liaisons will provide input regarding the count of housing unit and group quarters addresses. The Census Bureau will visit each census block during the 2010 Census Address Canvassing Operation and update the Census address list. The Census Bureau will provide the LUCA participants with an updated address list and maps during the feedback phase.
Public Law 103-430 allows the LUCA participants to appeal the Census Bureau determinations provided during the feedback phase. All appeals must be adjudicated prior to Census Day to ensure that the housing unit is visited during the enumeration phase. An agency independent of the Census Bureau will review and decide on all appeals prior to Census Day, April 1, 2010.

The Census Bureau is making a number of improvements to the 2010 Decennial Census LUCA program that are being tested during the 2008 Census Dress Rehearsal.

There will be a single review cycle for all address types versus the multiple cycle of review that was used for Census 2000.
There will be a longer review period: 120 calendar days versus 90 calendar days.
There will be more advance notice so that participating governments can prepare.
There will be more comprehensive communications as well as periodic contact to answer questions and gauge each participating government's progress.
For the Dress Rehearsal, state governments were offered an opportunity to directly participate in LUCA.
There will be three options for participation:
- Option 1 - Full Address List Review, which requires the entity to sign a confidentiality agreement;
- Option 2 - Provide your local address list (only city-style addresses) for Census Bureau matching and feedback (requires the entity to sign a confidentiality agreement);
- Option 3 - Provide your local address list (only city-style addresses) for Census Bureau matching but no feedback (no Title 13 confidentiality agreement) will be provided.
Governments in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico may only participate in the 2010 Decennial Census LUCA program using Option 1.
Participating governments in the 2010 Decennial Census LUCA program will be offered the option of using the Census Bureau supplied MAF/TIGER Partnership Software application that combines the Census address list, address count list, and maps in an easy-to-use Geographic Information System (GIS) software package.

Tentative 2010 Decennial Census LUCA Schedule

Time Frame	Activity
January 2007 to February 2007	LUCA Advance notice letters mailed to the highest elected official and other contacts in all active functioning governments.
August 2007	LUCA invitation letters and registration materials mailed to the highest elected official and other contacts of each government.
August 2007 to January 2008	Invited governments register for LUCA and the Census Bureau ships the LUCA review materials to each participating government.
November 2007 to March 2008	LUCA participants review and update the address list and return their comments to the Census Bureau's Regional Office.
October 2007 to October 2008	Census Bureau reviews the participant's LUCA submission and updates the Master Address File and the TIGER^® geographic database.
November 2008 to July 2009	Census Bureau prepares for and conducts the Address Canvassing Operation using GPS equipped hand-held computers.
Fall/Winter 2009	Census Bureau ships feedback materials to the LUCA participants showing how we processed each government's LUCA submissions.
Fall/Winter 2009	LUCA participants review their LUCA feedback. Participants that selected Option 1 or 2 have the opportunity to appeal the results to the LUCA Appeals Office.
Winter 2009/2010	LUCA Appeals Office reviews and adjudicates the appeals.

Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding the LUCA program, please contact the Local Geographic Partnerships Branch via e-mail at luca@geo.census.gov , by phone at 866-511-LUCA, or by mail to:

Geography Division
US Census Bureau
Stop 7400
4600 Silver Hill Road
Washington, DC 20233-7400

For technical questions please call the Geographic Partnership Help Desk by phone at 866-919-LUCA or by email at geo.tech.help@census.gov.

Frequently Asked Questions

Software Developers

You may also contact us if you are developing a software application to either participate in, or support, Geographic Partnership Programs and would like to request test data (spatial and address). The MAF/TIGER Partnership Software page has more information on the technical capabilities and formats.

2010 Decennial Census Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA)

Tentative 2010 Decennial Census LUCA Schedule

Contact Information

Frequently Asked Questions

Software Developers

Related Program Links