A SORN is a notice published in the Federal Register, required by the Privacy Act of 1974, intended to alert the public that a Federal agency has created, modified, or abolished a system of records (SOR). A SOR is a compilation of multiple records, containing information about individuals retrieved by some identifying number, symbol, or personal identifier (such as name, employee number, social security number (SSN), etc.)

The Privacy Compliance Branch, under the Policy Coordination Office, manages the Census Bureau Systems of Records Notices (SORNs).