Title 15—Commerce and Foreign Trade--Volume 1
PART 80—FURNISHING PERSONAL CENSUS DATA FROM CENSUS OF POPULATION SCHEDULES
§ 80.1   General requirements.
(a) Data from records of decennial census of population questionnaires pertaining to an individual will be released only in accordance with these rules.
(b) Census information contains only the responses recorded by the Census enumerator; no changes of any of these entries have been or can be made.
(c) Requests for information from decennial census of population records (herein “Census Information”) should be made available on Form BC-600, which is available from offices at the Census Bureau in Suitland, Maryland 20233, and Jeffersonville, Indiana 47131; all county courthouses; Social Security Administration field offices; post offices; and Immigration and Naturalization Service offices. A letter request—without Form BC-600—will be accepted only if it contains the information necessary to complete a Form BC-600. No application will be processed without payment of the required fee as set forth in 15 CFR 50.5.
(d) The Bureau may require verification of the identity of the applicant requesting Census information and it may require the applicant to submit the following notarized statement:
I, ____________________ (Printed name), do hereby certify that I am the individual to whom the requested record pertains or that I am within the class of persons authorized to act on his behalf in accordance with 15 CFR, Part 80.
(e) Except as otherwise provided, Census information will be provided only to the individual to whom the record pertains. It will include the names of the subject and the head of the household, the relationship of the subject to the head of the household, and the subject's age and birthplace.
(f) Similar Census information pertaining to other members of a household will be furnished only upon written authorization of the individual whose record is requested, except as provided in § 80.3.
(g) Census information will not be furnished to another person unless the person to whom the information relates authorizes such release in the space provided on the Form BC-600.
§ 80.2   Rules pertaining to records of the living.
(a) An individual who has attained age 18 may request his or her own Census information.
(b) A parent may request Census information for and in behalf of a child who has not reached age 18. The request must be signed by one of the parents.
(c) A legal guardian may obtain Census information relating to a ward by submitting a certified copy of the order of guardianship appointment.
§ 80.3   Rules applicable to deceased persons and estates.
(a) Census information relating to a deceased person may be released only to a parent, child, grandchild, brother, sister, spouse, insurance beneficiary, or the executor or administrator of a deceased person's estate. The request must be signed by a person entitled to receive the information as provided herein, state the relationship of the applicant to the deceased, and include a certified copy of the death certificate or other adequate proof of death. The request of an executor or administrator must be accompanied by a certified copy of the court order of appointment.
(b) Except for a spouse, a person related to the deceased person through marriage, such as an in-law relationship, is not eligible to request Census information on the deceased, whether or not the applicant was a member of the household of the deceased.
§ 80.4   Signature of persons unable to sign their name.
A person requesting Census information who is unable to sign his or her name shall make an “X” mark where signature is required, and the mark must be witnessed by two persons who know the applicant. They must also sign the application certifying the applicant's identity. In the case of such persons who are unable to make an “X” mark, Census information can be released upon receipt of a physician's sworn statement verifying the disability and the written request of a parent, brother, sister, child or a spouse.
§ 80.5   Detrimental use of information.
Section 8 of Title 13, United States Code requires that,
§ 80.6   False statements.
Any false statement or forgery on the application or supporting papers required to obtain Census information is punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment pursuant to section 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code.