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Overview of the 2010 Census Local Update of Census Address (LUCA) Program

The Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) program provided an opportunity for designated representatives of local, state, and tribal governments to review addresses contained in the Census Bureau's MAF/TIGER database. It was made possible by the Census Address List Improvement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-430) The program operated as follows:

• The invited governments designated a LUCA liaison to review the portion of the Census address list covering their area of jurisdiction. The LUCA liaison was 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 had to review a set of security guidelines and sign a confidentiality agreement promising to protect the confidentiality of the addresses.
• The Census Bureau sent the LUCA liaison an address list from the MTDB, corresponding maps, and address tallies.
• In areas with city-style addresses (i.e. house number/street name), the LUCA liaison could comment on individual addresses on the list, as well as addresses missing from the list. The Census Bureau verified this input during the Address Canvassing Operation and provided 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 could challenge the count of housing unit and group quarters addresses. The Census Bureau visited each census block during the 2010 Census Address Canvassing Operation and updated the Census address list. The Census Bureau provided the LUCA participants with an updated address list and maps during the feedback phase.
• Public Law 103-430 allowed the LUCA participants to appeal the Census Bureau address determinations provided during the feedback phase. All appeals had to be adjudicated prior to Census Day to ensure that the housing unit was visited during the enumeration phase. An agency independent of the Census Bureau reviewed and decided on all appeals prior to Census Day, April 1, 2010.

LUCA liaisons from participating governments reviewed the Census Bureau's address lists from November 2007 through May 2008. After the Census Bureau processed their updates and performed the Address Canvassing operation, the participants were able to review the feedback and have appeals adjudicated from October 2009 through March 2010.

The Federal Register Notices from the 2010 LUCA program can be found on our Federal Register Notices page.

For more information about the 2010 Census Program, please see our LUCA FAQ page or contact us.