Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) 

Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS

Instructions for Using the Geographic Update Partnership Software 

(GUPS) Revised as of February 27, 2018

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economic and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

census.gov
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Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents........................................................................................................................................ii

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement......................................................................................................vii

Introduction .............................................................................................................................................viii

A. The Boundary and Annexation Survey............................................................................................viii

B. What’s New for the 2018 BAS? .......................................................................................................viii

C. Key Dates for BAS Respondents ....................................................................................................viii

D. BAS State Agreements..................................................................................................................... ix

E. Legal Disputes .................................................................................................................................. ix

F. Respondent Guide Organization ...................................................................................................... ix

Section 1: Process and Workflow.........................................................................................................1

1.1 Receiving the GUPS Application and Shapefiles ..............................................................................1

1.2 Getting Help.......................................................................................................................................2

1.3 BAS Help ...........................................................................................................................................2

Section 2: Reviewing BAS Data ............................................................................................................3

2.1 Boundary Corrections ........................................................................................................................3

2.2 Legal Boundary Changes ..................................................................................................................3

2.3 Reviewing Legal Boundaries .............................................................................................................3

2.4 Submitting Acceptable Documentation..............................................................................................4

2.5 Legal Disputes ...................................................................................................................................5

2.6 Reviewing Linear Features ................................................................................................................5

2.7 Reviewing Area Landmarks and Hydrographic Areas.......................................................................6

2.8 Reviewing Point Landmarks ..............................................................................................................8

Section 3: Quality Control and File Submission ...............................................................................10

3.1 Validating Updates...........................................................................................................................10

3.2 Submitting Files Through SWIM......................................................................................................10

3.3 Submitting Files on DVD..................................................................................................................11

Section 4: Requirements and Installation..........................................................................................12

4.1 Getting Started.................................................................................................................................13

4.2 How to Install GUPS........................................................................................................................14

Section 5: Using GUPS (Basics and Map Management) ..................................................................19

5.1 How to Access BAS Shapefiles.......................................................................................................19

5.2 Import Data from the Census Bureau’s BAS Web site....................................................................20

5.3 Download Shapefiles from the BAS Web site to Your Hard Drive ..................................................30

5.4 Download Shapefiles from the Census Bureau ftp2 Site ................................................................32

5.5 Use GUPS Interface ........................................................................................................................35

5.6 Menu & Toolbars .............................................................................................................................39

5.7 How to Import User-Provided Data into GUPS ...............................................................................58

Section 6: Making BAS Updates in GUPS..........................................................................................63

6.1 How to Update Legal Boundaries....................................................................................................63

6.2 How to Update Linear Features.......................................................................................................87

6.3 How to Update Area Landmarks and Hydrographic Areas .............................................................93

6.4 How to Update Point Landmarks...................................................................................................103

6.5 How to Use GUPS Review and Validation Tools ..........................................................................106

6.6 How to Export a Printable Map......................................................................................................118

6.7 How to Export ZIP Files to Share/Submit......................................................................................121
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page iii

Section 7: Submitting Your Files to the Census Bureau Through SWIM .....................................127

Appendices ............................................................................................................................................133

Appendix A BAS Contact Information and Resources ......................................................................... A-1

Appendix B Geographic Offsets ........................................................................................................... B-1

Appendix C MTFCC Descriptions......................................................................................................... C-1

Appendix D Standard Street Type Abbreviations ................................................................................. D-1

Appendix E GUPS Tools ...................................................................................................................... E-1

E.1 Set Layer Symbology..................................................................................................................... E-1

E.2 Change Label Display.................................................................................................................... E-3

E.3 Restoring Default Label Display Settings ...................................................................................... E-5

E.4 Using the Table of Contents Toolbar to Manage Layers............................................................... E-6

E.5 Preset Views in the Manage Layer Visibility Table of Contents .................................................... E-7

Appendix F MAF/TIGER Feature Classification ....................................................................................F-1

Appendix G Shapefile Names...............................................................................................................G-1

Appendix H Shapefile Layouts.............................................................................................................. H-1
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page iv

List of Tables

Table 1: Available Change Types by Entity Type ......................................................................................... 4

Table 2: Acceptable MTFCCs for New Area Landmarks / Hydrographic Areas........................................... 7

Table 3: Restricted Point Landmark MTFCCs .............................................................................................. 8

Table 4: GUPS Hardware and Software Requirements ............................................................................. 13

Table 5: Install the GUPS Application......................................................................................................... 14

Table 6: Start a New Project Using Shapefiles from the BAS Web site ..................................................... 20

Table 7: Download Shapefiles from the BAS Web site to a Hard Drive ..................................................... 30

Table 8: Download Shapefiles from ftp2 Site to a Hard Drive (State Users).............................................. 32

Table 9: GUPS Main Page Elements.......................................................................................................... 35

Table 10: Menu Tabs and Their Functions ................................................................................................. 40

Table 11: Adjust Snapping Tolerances....................................................................................................... 43

Table 12: Standard Toolbar Buttons ........................................................................................................... 45

Table 13: Identify a Feature on the Map..................................................................................................... 47

Table 14: Select/Deselect Features on the Map......................................................................................... 48

Table 15: View Layer Attributes Using the Attributes Table ....................................................................... 52

Table 16: Measure Distances, Area, and Angles on a Map ....................................................................... 53

Table 17: Bookmark Locations on a Map ................................................................................................... 55

Table 18: BAS Toolbar Buttons .................................................................................................................. 56

Table 19: Status Bar Elements ................................................................................................................... 57

Table 20: Add Data Toolbar Buttons........................................................................................................... 58

Table 21: Load Shapefiles/Geodatabase Layers........................................................................................ 59

Table 22: Load Data from a Web Mapping Service.................................................................................... 60

Table 23: Add Imagery Files ....................................................................................................................... 60

Table 24: Import a ZIP File Shared by Another User.................................................................................. 61

Table 25: Add Land Area as Reservation or Off-reservation Trust Land ................................................... 63

Table 26: Record an Addition ..................................................................................................................... 72

Table 27: Make a Boundary Correction ...................................................................................................... 78

Table 28: Add a Geographic Offset ............................................................................................................ 81

Table 29: Add a Linear Feature .................................................................................................................. 87

Table 30: Delete a Linear Feature .............................................................................................................. 89

Table 31: Restore a Deleted Linear Feature .............................................................................................. 90

Table 32: Changing the Attributes of a Linear Feature............................................................................... 91

Table 33: Create a New Area Landmark/Hydrographic Area ..................................................................... 93

Table 34: Delete an Area Landmark/Hydrographic Area............................................................................ 96
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Table 35: Add Area to an Area Landmark/Hydrographic Area ................................................................... 99

Table 36: Remove Area from an Area Landmark/Hydrographic Area...................................................... 101

Table 37: Add a Point Landmark .............................................................................................................. 103

Table 38: Delete a Point Landmark .......................................................................................................... 104

Table 39: Change the Attributes of a Point Landmark.............................................................................. 105

Table 40: Use the Geography Review Tool.............................................................................................. 106

Table 41: Reviewing Change Polygons .................................................................................................... 110

Table 42: Export a Printable Map ............................................................................................................. 118

Table 43: Export Files to Share with Another User................................................................................... 121

Table 44: Export Files for Submission to the Census Bureau .................................................................. 124

Table 45: Transmit Files to the Census Bureau Using SWIM .................................................................. 127

Table 46: Reset Layer Symbology............................................................................................................ E-1

Table 47: Change Default Labeling .......................................................................................................... E-3

Table 48: Restoring Default Labeling........................................................................................................ E-5

Table 49: Table of Contents Layers Toolbar Buttons ............................................................................... E-6

Table 50: MAF/TIGER Feature Classification............................................................................................F-1

Table 51: State Shapefiles Names ...........................................................................................................G-1

Table 52: County Shapefiles Names ........................................................................................................G-2

Table 53: Edges Shapefile (PVS_17_v2_edges) ..................................................................................... H-1 

Table 54: Address Ranges Attribute File (PVS_17_v2_addr) .................................................................. H-2 

Table 55: Census Block Shapefile (PVS_17_v2_tabblock2010) .............................................................. H-3 

Table 56: Census Tract Shapefile (PVS_17_v2_curtracts) ...................................................................... H-4 

Table 57: American Indian Areas Shapefile (PVS_17_v2_aial) ............................................................... H-5 

Table 58: County and Equivalent Areas Shapefile (PVS_17_v2_county) ................................................ H-6 

Table 59: County Subdivisions Shapefile (PVS_17_v2_mcd) .................................................................. H-7 

Table 60: Incorporated Place Shapefile (PVS_17_v2_place) .................................................................. H-8
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page vi

List of Figures

Figure 1. Tribal BAS Workflow...................................................................................................................... 1

Figure 2. GUPS Main Page Layout............................................................................................................. 35

Figure 3. Close Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. 37

Figure 4. Restore the Table of Contents..................................................................................................... 37

Figure 5. Managing Layer Visibility ............................................................................................................. 38

Figure 6. Menu and Toolbars...................................................................................................................... 39

Figure 7. Manage Layer Toolbar................................................................................................................. 39

Figure 8. Standard Toolbar ......................................................................................................................... 44

Figure 9. Sub-tool Markers ......................................................................................................................... 44

Figure 10. BAS Toolbar .............................................................................................................................. 56

Figure 11. Status Bar .................................................................................................................................. 57

Figure 12. Add Data Toolbar....................................................................................................................... 58

Figure 13. A Cadastral (Parcel-Based) Boundary Map ............................................................................ B-1

Figure 14. How a Boundary Should be Represented When Sent to the Census Bureau ........................ B-1

Figure 15. Place Boundary – Front Lot Line ............................................................................................. B-2

Figure 16. Place Boundary – Rear Lot Line.............................................................................................. B-2

Figure 17. Table of Contents Layers Toolbar ........................................................................................... E-6

Figure 18. Add Preset Layer..................................................................................................................... E-7

Figure 19. Visibility Presets Dialog Box .................................................................................................... E-7
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page vii

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT

A federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for 

failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA) unless that collection of information displays a current valid Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number. This collection is voluntary. The authority for 

conducting this collection comes from Title 13 United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 6 

Paperwork Reduction Act.

The OMB Control Number for this information collection is 0607-0151. Public reporting for this 

collection of information is estimated to be approximately 2 hours per response, including the 

time for reviewing instructions, completing and reviewing the collection of information.

Comments concerning the accuracy of this burden and suggestions for reducing the burden 

should be directed to:

Paperwork Reduction 0607-0151

United States Census Bureau

4600 Silver Hill Road, Room 4H177

Washington, DC 20233

The Census Bureau issued a Federal Register Notice to revise its confidentiality pledge 

language to address the new cybersecurity screening requirements:

Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from 

cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that transmit your data.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page viii

INTRODUCTION

A. The Boundary and Annexation Survey

The U.S. Census Bureau (Census Bureau) conducts an annual survey called the Boundary and 

Annexation Survey (BAS) to collect information about selected legally defined geographic areas, 

such as counties (and equivalent areas), incorporated places, minor civil divisions (MCDs), 

federally recognized American Indian Areas (AIAs), including reservations, off-reservation trust 

lands and tribal subdivisions, Hawaiian Homelands, and Alaska Native Regional Corporations 

(ANRC). The BAS also provides an opportunity for participants to review the names and 

geographic relationships for these areas. Title 13, U.S.C., Section 6, authorizes this survey.

The Census Bureau uses the boundary information collected during the BAS to tabulate data for 

the decennial and economic censuses, and to support the Population Estimates Program (PEP) 

and the American Community Survey (ACS). Maintaining correct boundaries and boundary-tofeature relationships through the BAS helps ensure that the Census Bureau assigns the 

appropriate population to each governmental unit (GU).

In compliance with the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-16, the BAS supports the 

Census Bureau’s spatial data steward responsibilities for the Federal Geographic Data 

Committee (FGDC) and the Geospatial One-Stop by updating the inventory and boundaries of 

GUs.

In addition, the BAS is the source of up-to-date information on changes to the boundaries, 

codes and names of incorporated places, MCDs, counties (and equivalent areas), Hawaiian 

Homelands, ANRC, and federally recognized AIAs, which include reservations and offreservation trust lands used by the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS), the National Map, and the 

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).

Please visit the BAS program Web site at <https://www.census.gov/programssurveys/bas.html>.

For more information on the BAS, please view the “Introduction to BAS” video series on the 

Census Bureau’s BAS Web site at <https://www.census.gov/programssurveys/bas/library/videos/bas-intro.html>.

B. What’s New for the 2018 BAS?

1. The Geographic Partnership Support Desk (GPSD) is now fully functional and available 

to assist with any questions respondents may have regarding BAS.

2. Redistricting data contacts participating in the Voting District Project (VTDP) may submit 

boundary updates for reconciliation with BAS contacts.

C. Key Dates for BAS Respondents

January 1, 2018 — All boundary changes must be legally in effect on or before this date to be

reported in the 2018 BAS.

March 1, 2018 — BAS submission date deadline for boundary updates to be reflected in the 

ACS and PEP published data. Boundary submissions received by this date are also reflected in 

next year’s BAS materials.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page ix

May 31, 2018 — BAS boundary updates submitted by this date will be reflected in next year’s 

BAS materials. 

D. BAS State Agreements

The Census Bureau has established a number of agreements with states for reporting boundary 

changes. Please visit the BAS State Agreements webpage within the BAS program Web site at

<https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/bas/information/state-agreements.html> or call 

(800) 972-5651 for information regarding state agreements.

Note: The Census Bureau can only establish BAS state agreements for states that require local 

governments to report boundary changes to a state agency.

E. Legal Disputes

If the Census Bureau discovers that an area of land is in dispute between two or more 

jurisdictions, the Census Bureau will not make any boundary corrections until the parties come 

to a written agreement, or there is a documented final court decision regarding the dispute.

If you have questions concerning this, please contact the Census Bureau Legal Office at 

301-763-9844.

For disputes involving tribal areas, the Census Bureau must defer to the Office of the Solicitor at 

the Department of the Interior for a legal opinion. Often complicated land issues require an 

extended period of time for resolution, and in those cases, the Census Bureau will retain the 

current boundary in the database until a legal opinion is issued by the Solicitor’s office.

F. Respondent Guide Organization 

This guide has been created for those who choose to participate in the survey using GUPS. 

Those using their own GIS should consult the Boundary and Annexation Survey Respondent 

Guide: Digital available on the BAS Web site: <https://www.census.gov/programssurveys/bas/information/response-methods.Digital_BAS.html>. Those using paper maps should 

consult the Boundary and Annexation Survey Respondent Guide: Paper. This guide is equipped 

with shortcuts to subjects that respondents may want to jump to directly. To move directly to one 

of these sections, click on the linked text.

This guide contains two parts:

Part 1: Provides an overview of BAS. It specifies the:

 BAS Process and Workflow;

 Receiving the GUPS Application and Shapefiles;

 GUPS Help;

 BAS Help;

 Reviewing BAS Data (Information specific to the review and update of each type of 

geographic entity);

 Boundary Corrections (Including Legal Boundary Changes and Reviewing Legal Boundaries);

 Submitting Acceptable Documentation; 
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 Reviewing Linear Features (Reviewing Area Landmarks and Hydrographic Areas and Reviewing 

Point Landmarks);

 Validating Updates; and

 Submitting Files Through SWIM and Submitting Files on DVD.

Part 2: Describes GUPS and gives step-by-step instructions (Action/Result in table 

format) for how to:

 How to Use GUPS application;

 Requirements and Installation;

 How to Access BAS Shapefiles;

 Download Shapefiles from the BAS Web site to Your Hard Drive;

 Download Shapefiles from the Census Bureau ftp2 Site;

How to Import User-Provided Data into GUPS;

 How to Use GUPS Review and Validation Tools; 

 How to Export ZIP Files to Share/Submit; and

 Submitting Your Files to the Census Bureau Through SWIM.

Note: In all the Action/Result tables, the action is ususally a command or action you need to perform and 

the Result(s) of the action will be shown in italics. For example: if you click GUPS icon on your 

desktop, the software should begin to run automatically.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 1

PART 1. BAS OVERVIEW

SECTION 1: PROCESS AND WORKFLOW

Figure 1 below displays the three phases of the work to be completed for the Tribal BAS. The 

first section in the diagram includes initial steps. The second section indicates the types of 

geographic data that should be reviewed and updated. The final section lists the final steps to 

validate and submit changes. 

Figure 1. Tribal BAS Workflow

Sections 1, 2, and 3 of this guide are organized around the topical areas in the diagram and 

provide needed program information and procedures, as well as relevant deadlines. 

See Appendix A: BAS Contact Information and Resources for a list of contacts and helpful 

program links.

1.1 Receiving the GUPS Application and Shapefiles

GUPS is available for installation two ways. GUPS is available for download directly from the 

BAS Web site <https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/bas/technical-documentation/gupsinstructions.html>. You can also request to receive GUPS on DVD, which will be shipped to you 

in a package containing the GUPS DVD, respondent guide, and a read me text file.

Once you have installed GUPS on your computer, the BAS shapefiles can be imported from the 

BAS Web site directly to the GUPS application. Instructions on how to load data into GUPS 
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appears in Section 5: Using GUPS (Basics and Map Management), Table 7: Download 

Shapefiles from the BAS Web site to a Hard Drive. If you do not have Internet access, you 

may request shapefiles on DVD. To request a data DVD, call 1-800-796-3748 or e-mail

geo.bas@census.gov.

1.2 Getting Help

1.2.1 GUPS Help

Part 2: How to Use GUPS of this guide contains directions for how to use the tools available 

within the GUPS application, as well as step-by-step instructions for how to carry out specific 

shapefile updates (e.g., annexations and deannexations, adding and deleting features and 

landmarks, etc.).

Embedded within the GUPS application (under the Help tab menu) are other resources, 

including a short training video on how to submit a ZIP file through SWIM. Additional videos will 

be provided on the BAS Web site as they become available. In addition, a Section 508-

compliant version of this guide is available there. The Help menu provides a link to both.

For supplemental information on functions within GUPS that are specific to QGIS, a QGIS 

user’s manual can be found at <http://docs.qgis.org/2.8/en/docs/user_manual/index.html>. The 

QGIS manual offers particularly helpful information on several activities that are touched on in 

this guide, but not described in detail, including working with user-provided data layers, creating 

search expressions for attribute tables, and creating customized coordinate systems. For 

questions concerning technical problems with the GUPS application, user support is available 

via telephone (1-800-972-5651) and e-mail geo.bas@census.gov.

1.3 BAS Help

BAS participants may find the Boundary and Annexation Survey Respondent Guide: Digital 

helpful. Although designed for experienced GIS users, it provides important information on

geocoding, topological relationships, and spatial accuracy relevant to Census shapefiles. This 

guide can be downloaded at: <https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/bas.html>.

The Census Bureau has also created a number of other BAS-related videos, including a helpful 

one on the subject of topology and why topology is important to the BAS. To view these videos, 

go to: <https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/bas/library/videos.html>.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 3

SECTION 2: REVIEWING BAS DATA

The Census Bureau requests that you review and update all legal entities and boundaries within 

your reservation/trust lands/tribal subdivisions, including the additions and deletions of land area

and boundary corrections. You may also update linear features and landmarks, including area 

landmarks, hydrographic areas, and point landmarks, although review of these is optional.

To help conduct your review, the GUPS application will allow you to import and overlay your 

own geospatial data layers with the Census Bureau shapefiles. You can import image files from 

web mapping services, geodatabases, and also other file types. Steps to import the most 

common types of user-provided data are provided in Section 5.7, How to Import UserProvided Data into GUPS.

2.1 Boundary Corrections

A boundary correction is the adjustment of a boundary to correct an error in how the Census 

Bureau depicts an existing boundary. Boundary corrections should follow the general shape of 

the existing boundary. Legal documentation is not required when submitting a boundary 

correction to the Census Bureau.

2.2 Legal Boundary Changes

Legal boundary changes are the result of legal actions (e.g., annexations), and documenting 

such changes is the primary goal of the BAS. AIA Legal documentation (e.g., statute, federal 

court decision, trust deed) must accompany all AIA legal boundary changes, while legal 

boundary change submissions from incorporated places, MCDs, and counties must provide an 

authorization number, such as a resolution or ordinance number.

2.3 Reviewing Legal Boundaries

The following can be updated through Tribal BAS:

 Federal American Indian Reservations are areas that have been set aside by the United States 

for the use of tribes, the exterior boundaries of which are more particularly defined in the final 

tribal treaties, agreements, executive orders, federal statutes, secretarial orders, or judicial 

determinations.

Trust lands may be located on or off a reservation; however, the Census Bureau tabulates data 

only for off-reservation trust lands. Please do not submit on-reservation trust land because the 

Census Bureau can only show the exterior reservation boundary.

 Federal Off-Reservation Trust Lands are areas for which the United States holds title in trust 

for the benefit of a tribe (tribal trust land) or for an individual American Indian (individual trust 

land).

The Census Bureau does not identify fee land (or land in fee simple status) or restricted fee 

lands as specific geographic areas.

 Tribal Subdivisions are legal administrative subdivisions of federally recognized American 

Indian reservations and off-reservation trust lands and are described as additions, administrative 

areas, areas, chapters, county districts, communities, districts, or segments. These entities are 

internal units of self-government or administration that serve social, cultural, and/or economic 

purposes for the American Indians on the reservations and off-reservation trust lands.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 4

 Hawaiian Homelands are areas held in trust for Native Hawaiians by the state of Hawaii, 

pursuant to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920, as amended.

 Alaska Native Regional Corporation (ANRCs) were created pursuant to the Alaska Native

Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) enacted in 1971 as a "Regional Corporation" and organized 

under the laws of the state of Alaska to conduct both the for-profit and non-profit affairs of Alaska 

Natives within a defined region of Alaska.

Table 1 below shows the specific changes allowed for each legal entity type. 

Table 1: Available Change Types by Entity Type

Entity Type Available Change Types

Alaska Native Regional Corporation 

(ANRC)

 Boundary Correction (add)

 Boundary Correction (remove)

Hawaiian Home Land (HHL)  New Entity

 Deleted Entity

 Addition 

 Deletion 

 Boundary Correction (add)

 Boundary Correction (remove)

 Geographic Corridor

 Geographic Offset

Reservation / Trust Land  New Entity (No Land previously; Have Reservation land 

and adding Trust Lands for first time, or Have Trust land 

and are adding reservation for first time)

 Deleted Entity (changing from reservation to trust land or 

trust land to reservation) 

 Addition (adding to type of geography that already exists)

 Deletion (Deleting a portion of reservation or trust land)

 Boundary Correction (add)

 Boundary Correction (remove)

 Geographic Offset

Tribal Subdivision  Adding tribal subdivisions for first time

 Deleting tribal subdivisions all together

 Addition 

 Deletion 

 Boundary Correction (add)

 Boundary Correction (remove)

2.4 Submitting Acceptable Documentation

The Census Bureau is responsible for depicting reservation and off-reservation trust land 

boundaries but because the Census Bureau is not the authority on the boundaries, we require 

documentation to update reservation and off-reservation trust land boundaries.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 5

The following changes require documentation:

 New off-reservation trust land;

 New reservation land;

 Changes from off-reservation trust land to reservation land and changes from reservation land to 

off-reservation trust land;

 Large changes to existing off-reservation trust land;

 Large changes to existing reservation land; and

 Boundary corrections to off-reservation trust land or reservation land that do not follow the 

general shape of the boundary.

For off-reservation trust land, the most common documentation is a trust deed or a letter from 

the BIA. Documents should state that the land is “in trust” for your tribe.

For reservation land, documentation examples include (but are not limited to) federal register 

notice, Act of Congress, Executive Order, or a new legal opinion issued by the BIA. When 

submitting large boundary corrections to an existing reservation, please submit your reservation 

document.

If you cannot locate your documentation, you can contact your regional BIA office to obtain 

documentation. The Census Bureau will treat legal opinions issued in writing from the BIA as 

documentation since the BIA is the authority on reservation and off-reservation trust land 

boundaries. If the Census Bureau cannot interpret a document, such as a treaty, the Census 

Bureau will contact the BIA for assistance. 

If you have questions about documentation, please call the Census Bureau at 

1-800-972-5651 or e-mail geo.bas@census.gov. If you need to contact the BIA, please see 

<http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/RegionalOffices/index.htm> for contact information for your 

regional office.

2.5 Legal Disputes

If the Census Bureau discovers that an area of tribal land is in dispute between two or more 

jurisdictions, the Census Bureau will not make either annexations or boundary corrections until 

the parties come to a written agreement, or there is a documented final court decision regarding 

the matter/dispute. If you have questions concerning this, please contact the Census Bureau 

Legal Office at 301-763-9844.

For disputes involving tribal areas, the Census Bureau must defer to the Office of the Solicitor at 

the Department of the Interior for a legal opinion. Often complicated land issues require an 

extended period of time for resolution, and in those cases, the Census Bureau will retain the 

current boundary in the database until a legal opinion is issued by the Solicitor’s office.

2.6 Reviewing Linear Features

It is important that Census Bureau data reflects the most recent linear features to ensure that 

new or previously missed housing units located along these features are identified and located. 

When reviewing linear features (edges layer) on the Census Bureau shapefiles, first determine 

whether any features are missing or need to be deleted. Pay particular attention to areas that 

have experienced recent population growth or construction activities, as these are the most
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 6

likely to possess new or altered linear features (e.g., new subdivisions, traffic circles converted 

to straight ways, or privately maintained roads that serve as public streets, but exclude private 

driveways). 

You may also add attribute updates (e.g., name, class code, and address ranges) for selected 

features. For a complete list of MAF/TIGER Feature Class Codes (MTFCCs), review

Appendix C: MTFCC Descriptions.

To aid in the review of linear features, GUPS allows you to import local street centerline files, 

hydrography layers, imagery, and other user-provided geospatial data for reference and 

comparison against the Census Bureau data.

In your review, please note:

 S1100 and S1200 – If you add road features with an MTFCC of S1100 (Primary Road) or S1200 

(Secondary Road), you must supply a feature name. As is the case for all road features, the 

feature name should be a proper name or route number.

 Spatial Inaccuracies – The Census Bureau will not process the wholesale spatial realignment of 

features to enhance spatial accuracy. If a feature is in the incorrect location, delete the feature 

and add it in the correct location. Take this action only if the feature is exceedingly spatially 

inaccurate and/or the current location (with respect to other features and boundaries) affects the 

tabulation of housing units to the correct geography, such as legal entities, census tracts, and 

census blocks.

 Address Range Changes – The Census Bureau accepts address range data as part of the 

linear feature update layer. As with other linear feature updates, you must supply the required 

attributes and corresponding change type for the update. In addition, because existing address 

ranges are not shown in our outgoing shapefiles, we recommend that participants only add 

address ranges to new features.

2.7 Reviewing Area Landmarks and Hydrographic Areas

The Census Bureau accepts updates to area landmarks and hydrographic areas in a similar 

manner to legal boundary changes. However, area landmarks and hydro areas are not legal 

entities, so no documentation or effective dates are required.

Allowable updates for area landmarks and hydrographic areas are:

 Add new area landmark or hydrographic area;

 Remove area landmark or hydrographic area;

 Change or add landmark name; and

 Boundary corrections (add and remove area).

If you add a new area landmark or hydrographic area, please add only: 

 Water bodies;

 Glaciers;

 Airports;

 Cemeteries;
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 7

 Golf courses; and

 Parks.

The Census Bureau cannot add other types of area landmark / hydrographic areas to the 

MAF/TIGER System at this time (even though others may already exist in the database).

Table 2 shows the acceptable MTFCCs for new area landmarks or hydrographic areas.

Table 2: Acceptable MTFCCs for New Area Landmarks / Hydrographic Areas

MTFCC Description 

H2030 Lake/Pond

H2040 Reservoir

H2041 Treatment Pond

H2051 Bay/Estuary/Gulf/Sound

H2081 Glacier

C3023 Island

K1231 Hospital/Hospice/Urgent Care Facility

K1235 Juvenile Institution

K1236 Local Jail or Detention Center 

K1237 Federal Penitentiary, State Prison, or Prison Farm

K2110 Military Installation

K2180 Park

K2181 National Park Service Land

K2182 National Forest or Other Federal Land

K2183 Tribal Park, Forest, or Recreation Area

K2184 State Park, Forest, or Recreation Area

K2185 Regional Park, Forest, or Recreation Area

K2186 County Park, Forest, or Recreation Area

K2187 County Subdivision Park, Forest, or Recreation Area

K2188 Incorporated Place Park, Forest, or Recreation Area

K2189 Private Park, Forest, or Recreation Area

K2190 Other Park, Forest, or Recreation Area (quasi-public, independent park, 

commission, etc.)

K2424 Marina

K2540 University or College

K2457 Airport – Area Representation

K2561 Golf Course

K2582 Cemetery

Note: If adding an MTFCC K2457 (Airport – Area Representation) area landmark, please limit the 

updates to major airports (major regional and international airports). The feature should show the 

full extent of the airport facility, that is, do not limit the addition to simply the landing strips.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 8

2.8 Reviewing Point Landmarks

Because many of the point landmarks contained in the Census Bureau’s MAF/TIGER System 

originate from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), 

which is the official gazetteer of point landmark names for the Federal Government, point 

landmark updates are limited in the BAS. The Census Bureau cannot modify any point landmark 

imported from the GNIS database. Thus, be aware that name changes or deletions submitted 

for the following types of landmarks may be left unchanged:

 K2451 (Airport or Airfield);

 K2582 (Cemetery);

 C3022 (Summit or Pillar); and

 C3081 (Locale or Populated Place).

Also, due to Title 13 privacy concerns, any landmark with an MTFCC shown in Table 3 below 

cannot be added to the MAF/TIGER System as a point landmark. The MAF/TIGER System no 

longer maintains any point landmarks with these MTFCCs. Landmarks with these codes could 

identify a residence or private business. Thus, it is also important not to add any of the point 

landmark types shown in the table using alternative MTFCCs.

Table 3: Restricted Point Landmark MTFCCs

MTFCC Description 

K1100 Housing Unit Location

K1121 Apartment Building or Complex

K1122 Rooming or Boarding House

K1223 Trailer Court or Mobile Home Park

K1226 Housing Facility/Dormitory for Workers

K1227 Hotel, Motel, Resort, Spa, Hostel, YMCA, or YWCA

K1228 Campground

K1229 Shelter or Mission

K1232 Halfway House/Group Home

K1233 Nursing Home, Retirement Home, or Home for the Aged

K1234 County Home or Poor Farm

K1235 Juvenile Institution

K1241 Sorority, Fraternity, or College Dormitory

K1251 Military Group Quarters

Area Landmark / Hydro Area Changes May Be Delayed

The Census Bureau prioritizes boundary changes to legal areas to meet ACS, PEP, and BAS 

deadlines. Therefore, there may be delays in incorporating area landmark and hydrographic area 

changes to the MAF/TIGER System. Please do not resubmit any changes that were sent during the 

previous year’s BAS. We are working on incorporating those changes, and they will be reflected in the 

next year’s BAS materials.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 9

MTFCC Description 

K1299 Other Group Quarters Location

K2100 Governmental

K2197 Mixed Use/Other Non-residential

K2300 Commercial Workplace

K2361 Shopping Center or Major Retail Center

K2362 Industrial Building or Industrial Park

K2363 Office Building or Office Park

K2364 Farm/Vineyard/Winery/Orchard

K2366 Other Employment Center

K2424 Marina

K2500 Other Workplace

K2564 Amusement Center

Point Landmark Changes May Be Delayed

The Census Bureau prioritizes boundary changes to legal areas to meet ACS, PEP, and BAS 

deadlines. Therefore, there may be delays in incorporating point landmark changes to the MAF/TIGER 

System. Please do not resubmit any changes that were sent during the previous year’s BAS. We are 

working on incorporating those changes, and they will be reflected in the next year’s BAS materials.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 10

SECTION 3: QUALITY CONTROL AND FILE SUBMISSION

3.1 Validating Updates

Once you have completed your BAS updates, you must complete a review of your change 

polygons to ensure that: 

1. The polygons have no unintended holes (e.g., you annexed several faces but missed a traffic 

circle or small pond). 

2. All boundary corrections meet a minimum size threshold (very small corrections cannot be 

processed).

3.2 Submitting Files Through SWIM

Prompt submission of updates is appreciated. It benefits the Census Bureau—allowing us to 

review the files early, provide feedback, and avoid backups in file processing—and you—

guaranteeing your updates are recorded accurately and are reflected in the latest releases of 

Census Bureau data products.

For those with Internet access, all BAS submissions must be made via the Secure Web 

Incoming Module (SWIM). Due to security reasons, we cannot accept files sent via e-mail or 

through our alternate ftp sites.

If you indicated on your “Annual Response Form” that you wished to receive the GUPS 

application, you will automatically receive the SWIM URL and a registration token via e-mail. 

The e-mail should arrive 5 days after the Annual Response is completed online (or 5 business 

days after the Census Bureau receives the paper form).

The registration token allows you to establish a personal SWIM account. If you do not receive a 

SWIM token after the amount of time specified, e-mail geo.bas@census.gov or call 

1-800-972-5651.

Once registered, you will no longer need the token to log into the system.

For step-by-step instructions to submit files through the SWIM, see Table 45. For those without 

Internet access, see Section 3.3 below.

Validate Often

Validation tools in GUPS can be accessed at any time while you are working in the application. We 

suggest you utilize them as you work to identify errors early and avoid extensive rework. Steps to 

use the Geographic Review tool and the Review Change Polygons tool are included in Section

6.5, How to Use GUPS Review and Validation Tools.

Current SWIM Users

If you are a participant in another Census Bureau partnership program, or participated in a previous 

BAS year, and already have a SWIM account, you may use your current account to submit files for the 

BAS. You do not need to set up a new account.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 11

3.3 Submitting Files on DVD

If you do not have Internet access, you may copy your ZIP file(s) to DVD for submission. The 

DVD should be mailed to: 

U.S. Census Bureau

National Processing Center

ATTN: BAS Returns, Bldg 63E

1201 East 10th Street

Jeffersonville, IN 47132
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 12

PART 2. HOW TO USE GUPS

SECTION 4: REQUIREMENTS AND INSTALLATION

This section includes information needed to use GUPS. It offers a description of the GUPS 

application and gives specific instructions (in the form of step-action tables) for how to use 

GUPS to make BAS updates. Reminder: this guide is equipped with shortcuts to subjects that 

respondents may want to jump to directly. To move directly to one of these sections, click on the 

linked text.

Section 4: Requirements and Installation

 Getting Started - Lists the hardware and software requirements for GUPS and SWIM; and

 How to Install GUPS - Provides instructions for installing the application.

Section 5: Using GUPS (Basics and Map Management)

 How to Access BAS Shapefiles - Provides instructions to open GUPS, start a project, and load 

shapefiles;

 Import Data from the Census Bureau’s BAS Web site;

 Download Shapefiles from the BAS Web site to Your Hard Drive;

 Download Shapefiles from the Census Bureau ftp2 Site;

 Use GUPS Interface - Including the Menu, Toolbars, Table of Contents or Map Legend, and the 

Map View area;

 Menu & Toolbars - Offers instructions for using the tools available through the menu and toolbars;

 How to Import User-Provided Data into GUPS;

 How to Upload User-Provided Data Layers; and

 How to Import a Shared ZIP Shapefile.

Section 6: Making BAS Updates in GUPS

 How to Update Legal Boundaries - Gives instructions on Adding Land Area as Reservation or

Trust Lands for the First Time; Adding (or Deleting) Land Area to an Existing Reservation or 

Existing Off-Reservation Trust Land, and 

 Make a Boundary Correction (Add Area / Remove Area);

 How to Update Linear Features;

 How to Update Area Landmarks and Hydrographic Areas;

 How to Update Point Landmarks;

 How to Use GUPS Review and Validation Tools;
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 13

 Provides instructions on How to Export a Printable Map; and

 How to Export ZIP Files to Share/Submit.

Section 7: Submitting Your Files to the Census Bureau Through SWIM

 Provides instructions to submit files to the Census Bureau through SWIM.

4.1 Getting Started

Download GUPS from the BAS Web site at: <https://www.census.gov/programssurveys/bas/technical-documentation/gups-instructions.html>. If you requested and received the 

GUPS package, it should include a DVD containing GUPS, respondent guides, and a readme 

text file.

Before beginning the installation, check your computer to verify that it has the capabilities need 

to run GUPS, (using Table 4 below)

GUPS is based on QGIS (formerly known as Quantum GIS), a free and open-source desktop 

geographic information system application. You can learn more about QGIS at 

<http://www.qgis.org/en/site/>. The GUPS application was developed for use in a desktop PC or 

a network environment.

Table 4 lists the hardware and software requirements to install and run GUPS. Also included 

are the software requirements to: (1) play training videos available within the application and (2) 

submit files through the SWIM Web site.

Table 4: GUPS Hardware and Software Requirements

Hardware Operating System Browser

Disk Space Needed to 

Run GUPS: 

2.0 GB

Disk Space Needed to 

Store Shapefiles: 

Shapefile sizes vary. To 

view the size of your 

shapefiles, select a file/

folder, right-click, and 

choose Properties in the 

drop-down menu. The 

Files Properties box 

opens and displays the 

file/folder sizes. Select 

multiple files/ folders in 

the list to view their 

properties via the same 

method.

RAM: 

Windows: 

To run GUPS, users need one of the following 

Windows operating systems:

 Windows XP

 Windows Vista

 Windows 7

 Windows 8 

 Windows 10

Apple Mac OS X: 

Mac OS X users must secure a license for 

Microsoft Windows and use a Windows 

bridge. The suggested bridge software is Boot 

Camp, which comes pre-installed on all Mac 

computers. See instructions for using Boot 

Camp at:

<https://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/ge

tstarted/>

Important Note: Since Boot Camp requires

you to restart your computer to set up the 

Minimum Browser 

Versions to Play Training 

Videos:

 Internet Explorer 9

 Google Chrome 3 

 Mozilla Firefox 3.5

 Apple Safari 4 

Minimum Browser 

Versions to Use SWIM:

 Internet Explorer 8 

 Google Chrome 3

 Mozilla Firefox 3.5 

 Apple Safari 4.1.3
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 14

Hardware Operating System Browser

 4 GB recommended 

minimum

bridge, be sure to print the instructions 

provided at the URL above before you begin. 

Depending on the Windows OS version, GUPS dialog boxes may have a different appearance 

than the screenshots contained in the user guide, although the content is the same.

4.2 How to Install GUPS 

To install the GUPS application you must have Administrator privileges for your computer. If you 

already have GUPS downloaded, please make sure you are using the most current version. 

Compare the version on your computer with the one provided on the Census Bureau's 

installation DVD to acquire the latest version. To complete the installation, follow the steps in the 

table below.

Note: If you already have a version of GUPS installed, please check to make sure you are running the 

latest version. Go to the GUPS tab and click the About GUPS option in the drop-down menu to 

find the GUPS version number. If you are not running the latest version, download and follow the 

setup instructions which will automatically uninstall the old version before it installs the latest 

GUPS version.

Table 5: Install the GUPS Application

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Click the direct download link <https://www2.census.gov/geo/pvs/gups/> or place the 

installation DVD into your computer’s DVD drive. For some users, a Windows 

protected your PC pop-up box may appear. 

To continue, click ‘More info’, then select ‘Run anyway?’. 

Step 2 Other users may receive a user account control pop-up that asks, “Do you want to run 

this file?”, “Do you want to allow the following program from an unknown publisher to 

make changes to this computer?”, or a similar query. See an example below. 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 15

Step Action and Result

If you receive such a pop-up, click ‘Run’, ‘Yes’, ‘Allow’, or an option that allows you to 

proceed. The software should begin to run automatically. 

Step 3 If the software does not run automatically, open Windows Explorer, navigate to your 

DVD drive, and double-click on the file named Setup-7.0.0-x.bat.

Note: The name of this file may vary slightly, but it will be the only setup .bat file 

available.

If the software still does not run properly, contact your System Administrator for 

assistance

Step 4 When the installer opens, the Welcome to the QGIS Setup Wizard screen appears. 

Before proceeding, close all other programs or applications you have open. Once other 

programs and applications are closed, click the Next button.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 16

Step Action and Result

Step 5 The License Agreement screen appears. 

Read the License Agreement and click the I Agree button to continue.

Step 6 The Choose Install Location screen opens. We recommend you install the application 

at the default location (i.e., C:\Program files\QGISGUPS).

To begin the installation, click Next to continue.

Step 7 The Choose Components screen opens. 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 17

Step Action and Result

‘QGIS’ in the Select components to install field is grayed out since it is the default. 

You do not need to select it, simply click Install to continue. 

If you want to review a previous screen or reread the license agreement, click the Back 

button (each screen contains this button). This returns you to the previous screen. 

Step 8 The software should take between 5 and 10 minutes to install. When it is finished, the 

Completing the QGIS Setup Wizard screen opens.

Click the Finish button.

Step 9 After you click finish, the GUPS Install Setup: Completed screen opens showing the 

status of the installation of GUPS on your computer. When completed, you click the 

close button on the following screen.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 18

Step Action and Result

Step 10 To complete the installation, click the Close button at the bottom of the GUPS Install 

Setup: Completed Setup Wizard screen. Once the application installs, a QGIS icon 

appears on your desktop.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 19

SECTION 5: USING GUPS (BASICS AND MAP 

MANAGEMENT)

After successfully installing GUPS, you are ready to start your BAS updates. There are three

ways to retrieve shapefiles when starting a new project:

 From the Census Web site (loads directly into GUPS);

 From DVD (If one was requested); and

 From My Computer (if you downloaded them to your hardrive)

Table 6 shows the steps to open GUPS and start a new project using the Census Web site. 

Table 7 shows the same steps to open GUPS, but starts a new project using the Census 

provided DVD or My Computer (downloaded Census shapefiles saved to your hard drive).

5.1 How to Access BAS Shapefiles

BAS shapefiles from the BAS Web site can be pulled directly into the application when working 

in GUPS. Users can load the shapefiles as needed or load multiple county files at once. This is 

the preferred method for loading the Census Bureau’s BAS Shapefiles into GUPS as it ensures 

that required files are placed in the correct location for the application to access.

Another option for loading files is to download the shapefiles to your hard drive from the BAS 

Web site (or from the Census Bureau ftp2 site), then import them into GUPS. BAS shapefiles 

are also available for download from the BAS Web site here: 

<https://www.census.gov/geographies/mapping-files/2018/geo/bas/2018-bas-shapefiles.html>.

Instructions for how to download Census Bureau shapefiles to your hard drive appear in Table 6

and Table 7. Downloading files to your hard drive is not the preferred method when working in 

GUPS, and should be used only when necessary (e.g., you need additional data layers that 

GUPS does not automatically load and want to pull them in as user-provided data).

If you have requested to receive the shapefiles on DVD, you can also load the files directly into

GUPS from the DVD. Instructions for how to load shapefiles are contained in Table 6: Start a 

New Project Using Shapefiles from the BAS Web site.

Whether the files are pulled from the BAS Web site or from the DVD, the GUPS application 

unzips them and places them into a pre-established folder created on your computer’s home 

directory during the installation process (C:\GUPSGIS\gupsdata\BAS2018\shape). It then 

displays them in the application. GUPS then manages the files for you. You do not need to take 

any further action.

CAUTION!

Regardless of the source of the shapefiles, it is important that you DO NOT CHANGE any shapefile or 

folder name. The files and folders must have the exact names given for the GUPS application to 

recognize and load them. 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 20

5.2 Import Data from the Census Bureau’s BAS Web site

To start a new project using GUPS to import data from the Census Bureau’s BAS web site (the 

recommended method), open the GUPS application and begin your BAS updates by follow the 

steps in Table 6 below. Before beginning, note that:

1. If you wish to practice using GUPS without committing the changes you make, simply exit the 

system without saving. Before the system closes, it will give you the option to discard the 

changes.

2. If you feel comfortable with the system, but you do not want to make all your changes in one 

session, simply save your changes, then close the system. When you open GUPS later, it will 

allow you to reopen the project and continue working.

Note: In all the Action/Result tables, the action is ususally a command or action you need to perform and 

the Result(s) of the action will be shown in italics. For example: if you click the QGIS icon on your 

desktop, the software should begin to run automatically.

Table 6: Start a New Project Using Shapefiles from the BAS Web site

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Double-click the QGIS icon on your desktop. 

The QGIS splash screen appears. (Note: QGIS is the open-source platform on which GUPS 

is built.)

Step 2 Wait until the application loads (If you have an older computer, this may require a few 

minutes). When the GUPS application has loaded, the GUPS main page opens and the QGIS 

Tips! box appears. 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 21

Step Action and Result

Note: Since GUPS was built on the QGIS open-source platform, you may see references to 

QGIS in several locations within the GUPS application.

Step 3 If you wish to view QGIS system tips, click the Next button to read the first tip. Thereafter use 

the Previous and Next buttons to navigate within tips. If you do not wish to see tips again, 

click the checkbox in the bottom left-hand corner that reads ‘I’ve had enough tips, don’t show 

this on start up any more!’

Step 4 To begin a GUPS project, close the QGIS Tips! Box by clicking the OK button. The box 

closes and the Map Management dialog box opens, as shown below.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 22

Step Action and Result

Step 5 In the Map Management dialog box, use the drop-down menu next to the Program field to 

select your program, ‘Tribal Boundary and Annexation Survey’. ‘Tribal Boundary and 

Annexation’ populates the field.

Step 6 In the Sub Program field, select ‘Tribal Boundary and Annexation Survey’.

Step 7 In the Entity Type field drop-down menu, select the entity type you represent. The options are 

‘Alaska Native Regional Corporation’, ‘Hawaiian Homeland’, and Reservation/Trust Land’.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 23

Step Action and Result

This example uses Reservation/Trust Land.

Step 8 Next select the Entity Name field drop-down. Since you selected the entity type 

‘Reservation/Trust Land’ GUPS automatically provides a list of the Reservations and OffReservation Trust Lands. The scroll bar to the right allows you to move up and down the list 

of reservations/trust lands.

Step 9 Once you have selected your entity from the drop-down menu, the Map Management screen 

will provide you with a list of counties. The counties in which the selected entity already exists 

will be at the top of the list and their corresponding check boxes will be ‘checked’. Adjacent 

counties (counties whose borders touch the automatically selected county or counties) are 

highlighted in YELLOW. Any previously selected counties will be highlighted in CYAN.

All checked counties will display in the Map View. Uncheck the box for any county you do not 

wish to see.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 24

Step Action and Result

To select additional counties to display (you may choose up to a total of 10 at once), check 

the checkboxes next to them. Scroll down using the scroll bar to the right to see the full list of 

counties.

1. Choose ‘Tribal Boundary and Annexation Survey’ from the Program drop-down 

menu.

2. Choose your Entity Type from the drop-down menu.

Choose the Entity Name you want to update from the drop-down menu.

Step 10 After you select the working county or counties, GUPS asks you to specify the location from 

which you want to pull the county’s (or county equivalent’s) shapefile. The Select Data 

Folder, Directory or Location box opens.

Step 11 In the Select Data Folder, Directory or Location box drop-down menu, select the location 

from which you wish to pull the file. This example assumes the user is pulling the data from 

the BAS Web site, so click on ‘Census Web’ in the drop-down menu.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 25

Step Action and Result

Step 12 Once you click on ‘Census Web’, the shapefile for the county begins to load and progress is 

displayed by a blue striped bar (color may vary), with the percentage of the upload completed 

displayed to the right.

Step 13 As GUPS loads the data, it unzips and copies the files to a folder that was created on your 

computer’s home directory during the installation process.

Step 14 It then pulls the file into the GUPS application.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 26

Step Action and Result

Step 15 If for any reason shapefiles are missing from the location you chose in the Select Data 

Folder, Directory or Location drop-down menu, or the files are corrupted and cannot be 

loaded, you will receive an error message such as the one shown below.

Step 16 Click OK to return to the Map Management dialog box.

Step 17 You may try loading the file(s) from another location. Simply click the Open button at the 

bottom of the Map Management box. 

The Select Data Folder, Directory or Location dialog box reopens, allowing you to select 

another option for securing the files. 

If you have trouble loading shapefiles using the ‘Census Web’ and ‘CD/DVD’ options, follow 

the instructions in Table 7 or Table 8 to download the files to your computer from the BAS 

Web site or Census Bureau’s ftp2 site. Then pull them into GUPS using the ‘My Computer’ 

option in the Select Data Folder, Directory or Location drop-down menu. When you select 

‘My Computer’ the Select directory screen opens. 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 27

Step Action and Result

On this screen, click on the My Computer icon in the left-hand corner. 

Navigate to the location of the files you want to load, then select the files and click on the 

Select button at the bottom of the Select directory screen. GUPS unzips and loads the files, 

then moves them to the pre-established folder on your home directory.

Step 18 After working on a project, be sure to save before exiting. Otherwise your edits will be lost. To 

save, click the Save icon on the Standard toolbar.

The Current edits pop-up box asks if you want to save the changes for all layers.

Click OK. The changes are saved.

Step 18 If you do not wish to save your changes, simply close the application (click the red X in the 

upper right-hand corner of the main GUPS page). A Save? pop-up warning asks if you want to 

save the project.

Click Discard not to save your project.

Step 19 To reopen a saved project, in the Map Management dialog box, click the down arrow next to 

the Open Recent button. The drop-down menu opens with your project listed. 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 28

Step Action and Result

If you share a computer with other GUPS users, multiple project files may appear in the dropdown menu, as shown below. Here three separate users in Karuk Reservation have created 

projects on the same computer. 

To identify which of the entries in the list represents your project, look at its number string. 

This string comprises your BAS ID. Each BAS ID is 11 digits. The first digit indicates the Entity 

Type (i.e., the user type) (4 = American Indian Area). The next two digits are the state FIPS 

code and 99 is what BAS uses for all AIAs since they can cross state lines. The following four 

digits are the TR code (the tribe code). The final four digits are the AIANNHCE/TA Code (the 

tribal area code). 

The number string, reflects a project created by the Karuk Tribal 

participant , where 4 = American Indian Area; 99 = state FIPS code used for tribal areas; 0117 

= code for Karuk Tribe ; and 1760 = Karuk Reservation/Trust Land. 

If you do not know the BAS ID information for your particular geography, it is available within 

the Map Management dialog box. Below is an example for Karuk Tribe Karuk Reservation.

Step 20 Once you have identified the correct file to reopen, select it from the list. The map for the 

project automatically loads and the layers show in the Table of Contents. 

Census Bureau-defined default layers and view settings are loaded each time you start a new 

project in GUPS.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 29

Step Action and Result

If you change these settings for a project, when you save the project your new settings are 

also saved. Thus, when you reopen the project, the Table of Contents and Map View display 

the layers and the map according to the settings you were last using rather than returning to 

the Census Bureau default settings. 

To restore the default settings for a layer: 

 Click on the layer in the Table of Contents. A drop-down menu opens.

 In the drop-down menu, select ‘GUPS Layer’. A submenu opens.

 In the submenu, select ‘Load default style’ (see illustration below).

To reset the default settings for all layers, select ‘Load all default style.’

Loading Multiple Files at Once

The limit to how many county datasets can be loaded at once is 11 (the working county plus 

10 other counties). To load shapefiles for additional counties, after the first 10 are loaded:

 Leave the same working county selected in the Working County field. 

 Uncheck the already loaded counties in the Map Management dialog box list.

 Check the checkboxes for the additional counties (up to 10) that you wish to add.

Click the Open button and after the Select Data Folder, Directory or Location box 

opens, use the drop-down menu to select the source of the files. Repeat this process 

as many times as needed.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 30

5.3 Download Shapefiles from the BAS Web site to Your Hard Drive

Follow the steps in Table 7 below to download the files from the BAS Web site to your hard 

drive. 

Table 7: Download Shapefiles from the BAS Web site to a Hard Drive

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Enter the URL <https://www.census.gov/geographies/mapping-files/2018/geo/bas/2018-

bas-shapefiles> into your Internet browser. The Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) 

Partnership Shapefiles page opens. 

Step 2 Under ‘2018 Partnership Shapefiles’, in the ‘Select a Geography’ drop-down box, select 

the name of state your entity is located in from the drop-down list '. The [State Name] 

Partnership Shapefile Batch Download page opens. 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 31

Step Action and Result

Step 3 To select the county(ies) you need, click the box next to it. You may select up to five (5) 

counties at a time. Once you have selected the counties needed, hit the “Submit” button at 

the bottom left hand side of the page.

A prompt to save the file(s) appears. 

Step 4 Click the down arrow next to Save and select ‘Save As’ in the drop-down list. The Save As

dialog box appears, with the file appearing in the File Name field. If you selected more than 

one county, a single ZIP file containing the selected counties is saved.

Step 5 In the Save As dialog box, select a location on your home directory to save the files. 

Step 6 Click the Save button. The file(s) are saved in the location you selected.

Step 7 To obtain shapefiles for additional counties, repeat the download process as needed.

Step 8 When you select your geography in GUPS, the application asks you to specify the location 

(‘CD/DVD’, ‘My Computer’, or ‘Census Web’) of your files. When you select ‘My Computer’, 

GUPS asks you to select a directory. Navigate to the location where you saved the files and 

select those you wish to upload. GUPS unzips and loads the files, then moves them to the 

pre-established folder on your home directory.

Step 9 When the Select Data Folder, Directory or Location box opens, use the drop-down menu 

to select the location from which to pull the shapefiles. In this instance, we will load them 

from a Census Bureau-provided DVD. To do so, insert the DVD into your DVD drive, then 

select ‘CD/DVD’, as shown below.
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Step Action and Result

The files for Clark and Jennings Counties begin to download and progress is displayed by 

the blue striped bar (color may vary), with the progress percentage noted to the right.

Step 10 If for any reason shapefiles are missing from the location you chose in the Select Data 

Folder, Directory or Location drop-down menu, or the files are corrupted and cannot be 

loaded, you will receive an error message such as the one shown below.

5.4 Download Shapefiles from the Census Bureau ftp2 Site

If you are a state level user, or if you would like to download shapefiles for several counties at 

one time to your hard drive, follow the steps in Table 8.

Table 8: Download Shapefiles from ftp2 Site to a Hard Drive (State Users)

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Using Internet Explorer (IE) or a web browser of your choice navigate to 

<ftp://ftp2.census.gov/>. The ftp root at ftp2.census.gov main page opens.
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Step Action and Result

Step 2 Press ‘Alt’ and click the ‘View’ tab on the browser menu and select “Open FTP site in File 

Explorer” to open the Census Bureau FTP site in Windows Explorer (sometimes called file 

explorer). If using Windows Explorer, you do not need a username or password to access 

the ftp2 site.

Step 3 After the Census Bureau FTP site has been opened in file explorer, click the ‘geo’ folder.
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Step Action and Result

Step 4 Within the ‘geo’ folder, click the ‘pvs’ folder. 

Step 5 Select the state folder that contains the county(ies) for which you are downloading data. 

The state folders are represented using two-digital state FIPS codes.

Step 6 There are several sets of shapefiles within each state directory. You will want to download 

the most recent partnership shapefiles. These shapefiles are contained within a zip file 

with the prefix partnership_shapefiles_18v2. Each zip file ends with a five-digit statecounty FIPS code (e.g., 08051) which represents the county for which you are 

downloading data. Make sure to choose the filename with "18v2", because the "18v1" 

files are sometimes also available in the folders.

Step 7 Select the county or counties that you intend to download and copy to your local or 

network drive. You may copy the files to any location you wish. When you select your 

geography in GUPS, the application asks you to specify the location (‘CD/DVD’, ‘My 

Computer’, or ‘Census Web’) of your files. When you select ‘My Computer’, GUPS asks 

you to select a directory. Navigate to the location where you saved the files and select 

those you wish to upload. GUPS unzips and loads the files, then moves them to the preestablished folder on your home directory.

If you have an ftp client software such as winscp or filezilla (or other) you may connect to 

<ftp://ftp2.census.gov/> without a password. Enter ‘anonymous’ as your user name and 

enter your e-mail address in place of a password.
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5.5 Use GUPS Interface

5.5.1 GUPS Main Page

Figure 2 shows the layout of the main GUPS page. This page contains all the tools needed for 

making BAS updates. All work is completed from this page. Shown in the figure are the main 

page elements. These include the:

1. Menu;

2. Table of Contents;

3. Map View (where the data displays);

4. Toolbars (Standard toolbar, BAS toolbar, and Add Layers toolbar); and

5. Status Bar (at bottom of page).

Figure 2. GUPS Main Page Layout

The purpose for each element on the main GUPS page is explained in Section 5.5.1 through 

Section 5.6.9 describes in detail the individual components and specific functions of each 

element.

Table 9: GUPS Main Page Elements

Page Element General Function

Menu The menu offers basic features such as settings and help; tools to manage the map 

view and import user-provided data; important calculation, measurement, and 

geoprocessing tools; and tools needed to make shapefile updates. Note that almost 

all of the functions available from the menu are also available in the application’s 

more conveniently located toolbars.
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Page Element General Function

Table of 

Contents 

The Table of Contents shows the layers on the map for the county you selected. 

The Table of Contents toolbar allows you to add or remove layers (or groups), 

manage layer visibility, and filter the legend by map content

.

Map View The Map View displays the data for the county you selected in the Map 

Management dialog box.

Standard 

Toolbar

Provides the navigation and other tools needed to interact with the map and layers’ 

attribute tables. 

BAS Toolbar Gives the specific tools needed to make BAS updates, view linear feature attributes, 

review and validate changes, import and export zipped files, and print.

Manage Layers 

Toolbar

Offers tools to import your own data. You may superimpose map layers in GUPS to 

compare the features on your own maps with those on the Census shapefiles. Note: 

although shown horizontally here, this toolbar appears aligned vertically to the left of 

the Table of Contents in the GUPS application.
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Page Element General Function

Status Bar Displays information on the map scale, projection, and coordinates and allows you to 

adjust the display. 

5.5.2 Table of Contents and Map View

When you choose your program and geography in the Map Management dialog box, GUPS 

automatically loads a set of default data layers (and default layer groups) defined by the Census 

Bureau for the program you selected. As the map opens in Map View, the list of the preset 

layers (already grouped) appears in the Table of Contents.

You will use the Table of Contents and the small toolbar appearing at its top to manage your 

map view. Note that the Table of Contents and the Map View windows are interdependent. 

Selections you make in the Table of Contents are immediately reflected on the map display.

Figure 3. Close Table of Contents

You can close the Table of Contents at any time to see more of the map (just click on the small 

‘x’ in the upper right-hand corner).To restore the Table of Contents, click the View tab on the 

Menu, select ‘Panels’ in the drop-down menu, click the arrow next to ‘Panel’ to open the 

submenu, then click on ‘Layers’.

Figure 4. Restore the Table of Contents
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The Table of Contents will then reopen and display in its default position on the page.

5.5.3 Managing the Map View from Within the Table of Contents 

Within the Table of Contents, you can manage layer visibility (i.e., determine what layers 

display on the map), reorder data layers, and set new layer symbology. 

5.5.3.1 Manage Layer Visibility

To add or remove layers from the map view: 

 Click the checkbox next to a layer to add it to the map view.

 Uncheck the checkbox next to a layer to remove it from the view.

OR, Right-click the name of the layer and select ‘Remove’ in the drop-down menu. 

Figure 5. Managing Layer Visibility

5.5.3.2 Reorder Data Layers

In the Table of Contents, the order in which the layers are listed determines how the layers 

display on the map. The layers at the top display on top of those below them. To change the 

display order:

1. Left-click on the layer name.

2. Hold down the mouse button and drag the layer to the desired position in the list. 

3. Release the mouse button to place the layer in its new position. The map display will then reflect 

the new layer order in the Table of Contents.

5.5.3.3 Expand/Contract Table of Contents Menus

To expand or contract the menu for a layer or layer group: 

 Click on the ‘+’ sign to expand the group. When you click the ‘+’ sign next to the layer name

, the layer’s submenu opens:
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 When you click the ‘-’ sign next to the layer name, the submenu retracts:

5.6 Menu & Toolbars

The main Menu, the Standard toolbar, and the BAS toolbar are located at the top of the 

GUPS page. These toolbars offer general GIS and system tools and allow you to make your 

BAS updates. 

Figure 6. Menu and Toolbars

The Manage Layer toolbar, the vertical toolbar located to the left of the Table of Contents

(shown here in a horizontal position) allows you to import user-provided data. 

Figure 7. Manage Layer Toolbar

Note: Although the Menu is always located at the top of the page and cannot be moved, you may move 

the toolbars to the location most convenient for you. For example, if you prefer that the Add Data 

toolbar appear at the top of the page, you can drag it there. This allows you to expand the area 

available for the Table of Contents and Map View.

 As you work with the toolbars, hover your mouse over any toolbar button to see the name of the 

tool it represents. You can also resize and reposition the toolbars by dragging them. 

 The Menu, the Standard toolbar, and the BAS toolbar are described in the section below. The 

Add Data toolbar is discussed in Section 5.7 How to Import User Provided Data inot GUPS.

5.6.1 Menu Tabs

Table 10 defines each of the tabs on the main Menu, provides an image of the drop-down 

options for each, and describes each tab’s function.
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Table 10: Menu Tabs and Their Functions

Tab Drop-down Menu Function / Description

Project From the Project tab, you may save a project, 

click on ‘Save as Image’ to create an image 

file of the map in Map View, or exit the 

application. 

If you click ‘Save as Image’, GUPS allows you 

to select a file type for the image (.png, .jpg, 

.tif, etc.), name the file, and save it to any 

location on your computer.

Edit From the Edit tab, you may ‘Undo’ your last 

action or ‘Redo’ the action (if you selected 

‘Undo’ and then changed your mind). 

Note: For ‘Undo’ to work, the correct layer 

must be selected in the Table of Contents. 

For example, if you added a linear feature in 

the Edges layer, then closed the layer and 

opened the Area Landmarks layer, ‘Undo’ 

will not delete the linear feature. You must

reselect the Edges layer to undo the linear 

feature’s addition. 

Note: You may undo multiple actions within a 

layer (e.g., the addition of several linear 

features) provided you have not yet saved. 

Once you save an action, ‘Undo’ is disabled. 

View The View tab allows you to complete several 

actions also available on the Standard 

toolbar. Included are options for navigating 

the map, identifying feature attributes, 

measuring distance, and creating spatial 

bookmarks to return to the same map view at 

a later time.

From this location you can also: 

 Set what toolbars display.

 Restore the Table of Contents if you 

earlier closed it (click ‘Panels’ in the 

drop-down menu, click the right arrow, 

click ‘Layers’ in the Layers down-menu). 

 Refresh the map to restore it to the 

original map extent.
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Tab Drop-down Menu Function / Description

Layer The Layer tab allows you to add and remove 

layers from the map, open the layer attribute 

table, set the map projection, or Coordinate 

Reference System (CRS), and display or hide 

layers.

Note: Many of these same functions are 

more conveniently located on the Add Layers 

toolbar and the small toolbar that sits at the 

top of the Table of Contents. 

Settings The Settings tab allows you to customize the 

CRS and map display options and set 

snapping tolerances (see instructions below 

this table).

Vector The Vector tab provides access to several 

Geoprocessing Tools, which allow you to 

create buffers around features, overlay areas 

so that you can create an intersection, union, 

or symmetrical difference, merge features, 

and perform other common geoprocessing 

actions.

Raster The Raster tab provides access to a 

Calculator, which allows you to perform 

calculations on the basis of existing raster 

pixel values. 

Web The MetaSearch option takes you to a search 

tool that uses another search engine's data to 

produce results from the Internet. You can 

use the default services already loaded, or 

add your own sites. The Help option takes 

you to 

<https://issues.qgis.org/projects/MetaSerach>
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Tab Drop-down Menu Function / Description

Processing Although available to GUPS users, the 

options under the Processing tab are not 

needed for Census Bureau geographic 

program participation. The items under this 

tab pertain to algorithms, creating models, 

viewing the results of algorithms executed, 

and history.

Help The Help tab provides tools for understanding 

QGIS (the open-source platform on which 

GUPS was developed) and the GUPS 

application itself. It also contains BAS contact 

information, access to the online version of 

this guide, training videos, and other 

information. Clicking the About option will 

bring up the latest version you have loaded on 

your pc.

GUPS

Click the ‘About GUPS’ option in the 

drop-down menu to find the GUPS 

version number. If you call for technical 

support, you will need to supply this 

number Here the version number is 

5.12.1-0. The number you see will be 

more recent. 

The GUPS tab provides quick access to the 

key tools also available on the Standard and 

BAS toolbars, including those needed to 

manage maps;

make linear changes; 

area feature changes;

review and validate your work;
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Tab Drop-down Menu Function / Description

import county ZIP files from other users, and 

export maps;

and

add imagery. .

Table 11: Adjust Snapping Tolerances

Step Action and Result

Step 1 In the Settings tab drop-down menu, click on ‘Snapping Options’. 

The Snapping options dialog box opens.

Step 2 From the Snapping mode drop-down menu, select whether you want the tolerance 

adjustment to apply only to the current layer or to all layers.

Note on Snapping Tolerances

Snapping tolerances in GUPS are pre-defined by layer (e.g., the default tolerance for edges is set to 15 

pixels). When making boundary corrections, you may want to adjust the snapping tolerances for a layer 

or layers. To do this, follow the steps in the table below. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 3 From the Snap to drop-down menu, choose the snapping method.

Step 4 From the Tolerance drop-down menu, use the up and down arrows to select the value you 

want and then select your units (map units or pixels) in the drop-down to the right. 

Step 5 If you want to enable topological editing and/or snapping on an intersection, use the 

checkboxes next to each. 

Step 6 Click OK. The new snapping tolerances are set.

5.6.2 Standard Toolbar Buttons

The Standard toolbar provides the navigation tools to interact with the map and layers’ 

attribute tables.

Figure 8. Standard Toolbar

The Standard toolbar actually includes several smaller toolbars. Each sub-toolbar is identified 

by a series of small parallel lines that precede it.

Figure 9. Sub-tool Markers
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The first sub-toolbar contains the Save button, Map Management button (opens the Map 

Management dialog box), and the Search button. The second sub-toolbar provides tools for 

viewing and navigating the map in Map View, and the third sub-toolbar allows you to identify, 

select, and deselect features on the map, make measurements, create spatial bookmarks, and 

work with the layers’ attribute tables.

You can move the location of the sub-toolbars. Simply left-click the parallel lines preceding the 

sub-toolbar and while holding down the mouse, drag the sub-toolbar to the location you want.

Each button on the Standard toolbar and its purpose is defined in Table 12 below.

Table 12: Standard Toolbar Buttons

Button Name Function / Description

Save Saves the current GUPS project, including any user 

changes to layer properties, projection, last viewed extent, 

and layers added.

Map Management Choose your geographic participant program in GUPS and 

access the automatically loaded default map display 

layers based on the program chosen.

GUPS Data 

Settings

Warning! This tool deletes files and folders 

permanelty! Change GUPSGIS data working directory 

and clean GUPS project data.

Select Features 

by Area or Single 

Click

Allows the user to select layer features in the map window 

with a single click, by dragging the cursor, or by drawing 

graphics on the screen.

Search Search the map by place, landmark, or street name and 

zoom automatically to the feature.

Touch Zoom and 

Pan

Designed for touchscreen computers. Allows you to zoom 

and pan the map displayed in Map View using finger 

gestures to increase or decrease the map scale. 

Pan Map Shifts the map in Map View without changing the map 

scale. Click the button, then click a location on the map to 

re-center the map to the clicked location.

Pan Map to 

Selection

Shifts the map in Map View to the rows selected in the 

attribute table for a selected feature. After selecting a 

feature(s), click the button to re-center the map based on 

the selected feature(s).
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Button Name Function / Description

Zoom In Displays the map in Map View at a larger scale. Click the 

button, then click on the map at the location to which you 

want to zoom. 

Zoom Out Displays the map in Map View at a smaller scale.

Zoom Full Displays the map in Map View at a smaller scale and 

zooms the map view to the full extent of the county. 

Zoom to Selection Zooms the Map View to the rows selected by query in the 

attribute table for a feature(s). After selecting a feature(s) 

on the map, click the button to view the feature(s) at a 

greater map scale.

Zoom to Layer Zooms the Map View to the layer selected in the Table of 

Contents. After selecting the layer, click the button to 

zoom to the layer’s extent.

Zoom Last Zooms the Map View to the previous map extent.

Zoom Next Zooms the Map View forward to the next map extent (if 

you viewed the previous extent).

Refresh Displays Map View to initial full display.

Identify Features Identifies geographic features. Click the button, then click 

on a feature on the map to identify the feature at the 

location. 

Deselect Features 

from All Layers

Deselects selected features from all layers.

Measure Provides options to measure linear distance, area, and 

angles on the map. 

New Bookmark Creates and names a spatial bookmark of the current map 

view.

Show Bookmarks Display all bookmarks created by the user.

Most of the sub-toolbar buttons defined above are straight-forward. Those related to features, 

however, require further explanation. You will need these buttons to identify and select/deselect 

features on the map and to view feature attributes. You will also need them to make 

measurements and create spatial bookmarks.
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5.6.3 Identify a Feature Using the Identify Features Button

To identify a feature on the map, follow the steps in Table 13.

Table 13: Identify a Feature on the Map

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Click the Identify button on the Standard toolbar. 

Step 2 Then right-click on the feature. The results will display in drop-down menu on the map.

To see all attributes for the feature, select ‘Show attribute table’ in the faces drop-down menu.

Step 3 Alternately, click the Identify button, then left-click on the feature. The feature turns red (color 

may vary) and the Identify Results screen opens under the Table of Contents, showing the 

feature attributes. (Note that here we have dragged the screen from beneath the Table of 

Contents so that it sits over the map.)
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Step Action and Result

5.6.4 Select/Deselect Features Using the Select Features and Deselect 

Features Buttons

The Select Features button gives you several ways to select features on the map. The 

Deselect Features from All Layers button allows you to deselect features you previously 

selected. Table 14 describes each of the feature selection methods, discusses when one might 

be preferable over another, and explains how to deselect features.

Table 14: Select/Deselect Features on the Map

Step Action and Result

Step 1 To begin, click on the layer name in the Table of Contents for the layer in which you want to 

select a feature. For example, if you want to select linear features, click on the ‘edges’ layer; 

if you want to select faces, click on the ‘faces’ layer.

Step 2 Then click once on the Select Features button on the Standard Toolbar.

Step 3 To select an edge or face on te map, click on it. In this example, we have selected ‘faces’ in 

the Table of Contents and clicked on a face. The face selected turns cyan (color may vary).
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Step Action and Result

Step 4 To select more than one face, hold down the CTRL key while clicking on the additional faces

you wish to select. This method is suited to instances where you want to select faces that are 

not contiguous, as shown below. 

You can also select multiple features by simply clicking the Select Feature button, then 

dragging your cursor over the features. This method is convenient when you want to select a 

large number of contiguous faces or a large number of nearby linear features without having 

to click each, one by one.

A Note on GUPS Tools

GUPS tools remain active until a different tool is selected. For example, if you use the Select 

Features tool to choose faces for a new area landmark, then decide you would rather add a 

new linear feature instead, you must click the Add Linear Feature tool before you click on 

the map again. If you do not, the Select Features tool, still active, selects a face.

Step 5 To open other Select Features options, click on the down arrow to the right of the Select 

Features button. The Select Features drop-down menu opens. 
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Step Action and Result

Note that when a menu option is selected, the button’s appearance changes.

Step 6 The first option in the menu, ‘Select Feature(s)’, duplicates the functions available when you 

click on the main button on the toolbar. 

Step 7 The second option, ‘Select Features by Polygon’, allows you to draw a polygon on the map 

to select features. To use this feature select it in the drop-down menu, then follow the steps 

below.

Step 8 Left-click on the map where you want to begin the polygon. Drag your cursor to extend the 

line to the point you want, left-click, then extend the line in a new direction. Continue until you 

have a closed polygon, as shown below. 

Step 9 When you are done, right-click. (This tells the system you have finished drawing). All faces 

with an edge appearing within the polygon are highlighted in cyan blue.
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Step Action and Result

Step 10 The final option, ‘Select Features by Radius’, allows you to use your cursor to draw a circle 

to define the features you want to select. 

To use this tool, left-click on the map where you want to begin, then hold down the mouse 

and drag the cursor outward to expand the circle. Release the mouse when you are done. 

The feature(s) selected is(are) highlighted in cyan blue.

Step 11 You can either deselect polygons selected by holding and using the same selection option to 

deselect by holding CTRL and retracing over the polygons, or deselect a feature or features 

automatically by clicking the Deselect Features from All Layers. 
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5.6.5 View an Attribute Table for a Layer on the Map

To view an attribute table for a map layer, follow the steps in Table 15.

Table 15: View Layer Attributes Using the Attributes Table

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Right-click the layer in the Table of Contents. The layer drop-down menu opens.

Step 2 Click the ‘Open Attribute Table’ option in the drop-down menu. The Attribute table opens 

showing all features in the layer and their attributes (e.g., name, MTFCCs, etc.). Each 

column represents a separate attribute and each row an individual feature.

Step 3 To select a feature to view, click on the number on the far left of the row. To select multiple 

features, click on the number of the row for the first feature you want to select, then press the 

CTRL key. While holding the CTRL key down, click on the numbers for the other individual 

rows you want to select. To select a range of features, click on the number for the row 

showing the first feature you want to select, then press the SHIFT key. While holding down 

the SHIFT key, click on the number for the last row you want to select.
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5.6.6 Determine Distance, Area, and Angles on the Map

To measure the distance between two or more points, area, or an angle on a map, follow the 

steps in Table 16.

Table 16: Measure Distances, Area, and Angles on a Map

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Click the Measure button on the Standard toolbar. 

The Measure button drop-down menu opens.

Step 2 To measure the distance between two points on the map, select ‘Measure Line’ in the dropdown menu. The Measure box opens.

Step 3 Zoom to the map location where you want to make the measurement. Then click on the 

beginning point on the map and continue clicking on points until you reach the final point. 

Right-click when you are done. The length of each segment of the line you drew, as well as 

the total length of the line between the beginning point and the ending point, appear in the 

Measure box. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 4 To measure area on the map, select ‘Measure Area’ in the drop-down menu. The Measure

box opens. When the box opens, left-click on the map to begin drawing a polygon around the 

area you want to measure. Left-click when you reach each vertex of the polygon. When you 

are finished, right-click. The area polygon encompasses appears in the Total field. Use the 

drop-down to the right to see the area in other units of measure.

To begin a new measurement, click the New button.

Step 5 To measure an angle on the map, first select the ‘Measure Angle’ option in the drop-down 

menu. Then left-click on the map to begin drawing the angle. Drag the mouse (but do not hold 

down the mouse button) to create the first side of the angle. Then left-click. Drag the mouse 

again (again without holding down the mouse button) to draw the second leg. The Angle box 

opens showing the angle measurement.
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Step Action and Result

5.6.7 Save Locations on a Map Using the Bookmark Button

To save geographic locations on your map and view them later, follow the steps in Table 17.

Table 17: Bookmark Locations on a Map

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Zoom to the location on the map in Map View that you wish to bookmark and click on the 

New Bookmark button on the Standard toolbar.

The Geospatial Bookmarks box opens.

Step 2 Click on the row named ‘New bookmark’. Then backspace over ‘New bookmark’ and type 

in a descriptive name for the bookmark (255-character limit). Click the Close button. The 

bookmark is added.

Step 3 To view and manage spatial bookmarks, click on the Show Bookmarks button on the 

Standard toolbar. The Geospatial Bookmarks dialog box again opens.

To zoom to a bookmark, click on a bookmark name in the dialog box and then click the 

Zoom to button. 

To delete a bookmark, click on the bookmark name, then press the Delete button.

Bookmark names and coordinates cannot be edited from the Geospatial Bookmarks

dialog box.
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5.6.8 BAS Toolbar Buttons

The BAS toolbar provides the BAS-specific functions needed to complete your review and 

update activities, as well as to import and export zipped shapefiles.

Figure 10. BAS Toolbar

Each toolbar button is described in Table 18 below.

Table 18: BAS Toolbar Buttons

Button Name Function/Description

Add Linear 

Feature

Add a new linear feature.

Delete Linear 

feature

Delete an existing linear feature.

Split Linear 

Feature

Split a linear feature. You may need to split a linear feature to accurately 

reflect an entity’s location. This feature “splits” the original into two.

Display All 

Names

Displays all names for a street with multiple names assigned in the 

MAF/TIGER System.

User Address 

List

Import an address list (.csv, .txt, etc.) into GUPS.

Modify Linear 

Feature 

Attributes

Edit attributes of a selected linear feature.

Modify Area 

Feature

Make updates to legal area (annexations, deannexations, boundary 

corrections, etc.).

Show/Hide 

Legend

Shows or hides the layer.

Geography 

Review Tool

Review the attribute table for a layer.

Review 

Change 

Polygons

Review change polygons in a layer and make corrections (reviews change 

polygons for holes and minimum size).

Import 

County ZIP

Import zipped Census Bureau shapefiles shared by another GUPS user.

Export to ZIP Create the ZIP file containing all required data and shapefiles to be 

submitted to the Census Bureau.
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Button Name Function/Description

Print Map to 

File

Export a printable map in .pdf, .png, .tif, or jpeg format.

Add Point 

Landmark

Add a new point landmark.

Edit Point 

Landmark

Edit point landmark attributes.

Delete Point 

Landmark

Delete an existing point landmark.

5.6.9 Status Bar

The Status bar at the bottom of the GUPS main page displays information about the map. It 

allows you to adjust the map scale and see the mouse cursor’s coordinates on the map.

Figure 11. Status Bar

Table 19 below describes each element of the Status bar.

Table 19: Status Bar Elements

Item Description

Allows you to toggle between the mouse’s coordinate position or the map view extents 

as you pan and zoom in and out on the map.

Coordinate Shows your current position in map coordinates (default is decimal degrees for GUPS) 

as your map cursor is moved across the map.

Scale Shows your current position in map coordinates (default is decimal degrees for GUPS) 

as your map cursor is moved across the map.

Rotation Shows the map rotation.

Render Allows you to temporarily prevent layers from drawing by clicking the checkbox 

immediately to the left of “Render.”

Clicking on the icon opens the projection properties for the current map.
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5.7 How to Import User-Provided Data into GUPS

5.7.1 The Add Data Toolbar

To import your own imagery, geodatabase, web mapping service, or other data layers into 

GUPS you will use the Add Data toolbar.

Figure 12. Add Data Toolbar

Although shown in a horizontal position here, the Add Data toolbar appears arranged vertically 

to the left of the Table of Contents in GUPS. Its buttons are described in Table 20. 

Table 20: Add Data Toolbar Buttons

Button Name Function/Description

Add Vector 

Layer

Allows you to add shapefile and geodatabase files to your GUPS project.

Add Raster 

Layer

Allows you to add raster datasets such as imagery.

Add PostGIS 

Layer

Add PostGIS layer.

Add 

SpatialLite 

Layer

Add data from a SpatialLite database.

Add MS SQL 

Layer

Add MS SQL 2008 Spatial data.

Add Oracle 

Spatial Layer

Add a spatial layer from an Oracle database.

Add 

WMS/WM(T)S 

Layer

Add Web Mapping Services and Web Mapping Tile Services. Publicly 

accessible and secured WMS services are supported.

Add WCS 

Layer

Add Web Coverage Services, which provide access to raster data useful 

for client-side map rendering.

Add WFS 

Layer

Add Web Feature Services.

New 

Shapefile 

Layer
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Button Name Function/Description

Add a new shapefile layer or new temporary scratch layer.

5.7.2 How to Upload User-Provided Data Layers

GUPS supports vector data in a number of formats, including those supported by the OGR 

library data provider plugin, such as ESRI shapefiles, MapInfo MIF (interchange format), and 

MapInfo TAB (native format). It also supports PostGIS layers in a PostgreSQL database and 

SpatiaLite layers. Support for additional data types (e.g., delimited text) is provided by additional 

data provider plugins. 

Below are the steps to import the most commonly used data formats. To upload shapefile or 

geodatabase data layers, follow the steps in Table 21. 

Note: You May Only Upload One User-Provided Data Layer at a Time. If you have multiple data 

layers that you wish to upload, note that GUPS will only allow you to upload one layer at a time.

Table 21: Load Shapefiles/Geodatabase Layers

Step Action and Result

Step 1

Begin the upload. Click the Add Vector Layer button on the Add Data toolbar. The 

Add Vector Layer dialog box opens.

Step 2 In the Encoding drop-down menu, the default value is ‘System’. If you receive an error 

message when opening your file, use the drop-down to select UTF-8. UTF-8 populates the 

Encoding field.

Step 3 Click the Browse button and navigate to the folder where the shapefile or geodatabase is 

saved on your computer.

Step 4 Left-click the file you want to upload, then click the Open button. The shapefile / geodatabase 

is added to the Table of Contents and to the Map View window.
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To load data from a web mapping service, follow the steps in Table 22. 

Table 22: Load Data from a Web Mapping Service

Step Action and Result

Step 1

Begin the upload. Click the Add WMS/WM(T)S Layer button on the Add Data toolbar. 

The Add Layers from a WM(T)S Server dialog box opens.

Step 2 Select the web mapping service. Click the Layers tab, then click the New button under the 

tab. The Create a new WMS Connection dialog box opens. 

Step 3 In the Name field, type a name for the web mapping imagery service. In the URL field, type 

the URL for the service. If the service requires a user name and password, type them in the 

fields provided. Click OK. The service will be added to the drop-down menu for web mapping 

services appearing just below the Labels tab. 

Note: If you are working inside a firewall, you may be prompted to enter a user name and 

password to obtain resources from outside the firewall.

Step 4 Select the imagery service you added in the drop-down menu. The available layers appear in 

the ID/Name/Title/Abstract box. 

Step 5 Click on the layer you want to display, then click the Add button. The WMS is added to the 

map showing in Map View and to the Table of Contents.

When the WMS is added, it displays over the top of other layers you have selected for Map 

View. To make it display below these layers, click on the WMS layer and, while holding down 

the mouse button, drag it to the bottom of the Table of Contents.

If you do not have access to a web mapping service, have a poor Internet connection, or work 

under a restrictive firewall, you can still add other types of imagery files to GUPS (e.g., a county 

or state imagery dataset), one option for adding imagery may be the National Agricultural 

Imagery Service (NAIP), supplied in web mapping service format by the U.S. Geological Survey.

To add imagery files, follow the steps in Table 23.

Table 23: Add Imagery Files

Step Action and Result

Step 1

Click the Add Raster Layer button on the Add Data toolbar. The Open a GDAL 

Supported Raster Data Source dialog box opens.

Step 2 Navigate to the folder on your computer where the imagery file is stored.

Step 3 Select the file, then click Open. The file loads into GUPS.
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5.7.3 How to Import a Shared ZIP Shapefile

If you want to import Census Bureau shapefiles already updated by another user, you may use 

the Import Project ZIP File button (available both on the BAS toolbar and in the Map 

Management dialog box), then follow the steps in Table 24.

Table 24: Import a ZIP File Shared by Another User

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Click the Import Project ZIP File button in the upper left-hand corner of the Map 

Management dialog box:

OR on the BAS toolbar:

Step 2 The Open window opens. 

Step 3 From this window, click on the ‘Computer’ icon (called ‘My Computer’ in some versions of 

Windows) located in the far-left-hand pane. When the list of directories 

opens, navigate to the location where the shared ZIP file is located.

Step 4 Once you locate the file, click once on the file, then click the Open button. 
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Step Action and Result

The file loads into Map View.
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SECTION 6: MAKING BAS UPDATES IN GUPS

The tables in this section provide step-by-step instructions for making BAS updates. The 

examples assume you have read and understood the directions for opening GUPS and using 

Map Management. If you do not yet feel comfortable with Map Management, please review the 

contents of Section 5: Using GUPS (Basics and Map Management) before you begin making 

updates. It is highly recommended to use a souce of imagery data when making any BAS 

updates.

All examples shown here, although using real data, are purely fictitious. They are employed for 

purposes of illustration only and do not indicate any actual geographic changes.

6.1 How to Update Legal Boundaries

6.1.1 Adding Land Area as Reservation or Trust Lands for the First Time

Follow the steps in Table 25 to add land as reservation or off-reservation trust land(s). In this 

example, we will add a parcel of land as a fictitious newly acquired ‘off-reservation’ trust land for 

the Spirit Lake Reservation (3935).

Table 25: Add Land Area as Reservation or Off-reservation Trust Land

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Open in Map View the entity where you want to add the new trust land(s). Be sure that you 

have all layers you wish to see checked in the Table of Contents. It is recommended that you 

check (turn on) all Tribal Layers.

Step 2 Click the Modify Area Feature button on the BAS toolbar. 

The Modify Area Feature dialog box opens. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 3 Click the drop-down arrow next to the Geography field, and select the entity type you want to 

add from the drop-down menu. In this example we are adding a Off-Reservation trust land, so 

we select ‘Reservation/Trust Land’. 

Reservation/Trust Land appears in the Geography field and prior to any changes, Spirit Lake

Reservation will be the only file that becomes available.

Step 4

Step 5 Then click on the map to select the face or faces.

If the entity includes only a single face, you may simply click once on the face to select it. If the 

entity includes several contiguous faces, after clicking on the first face, depress the CTRL key 

and while holding it down, left-click on each additional face to be added. The selected faces 

turn cyan (colors may vary).
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Step Action and Result

Note: You may also select faces (after clicking the Select Features button) by simply 

dragging your cursor over the edges that mark their boundaries. Additional means of selecting 

faces (by polygon and by radius) are discussed in Table 14 in Section 5.

Because all geographic areas consist of faces, you may need to “split” a face to accurately 

reflect an entity’s boundary. 

To split a face, digitize a new line that represents the boundary’s location (see Table 29 for 

instructions to add a linear feature) and assign it the appropriate MTFCC. This splits the 

original face into two faces. You can now select the face you need to add to the new entity. 

Step 6 To record a new entity, click the Add Entity button on the dialog box toolbar. 

The Modify Area Feature new entity dialog box opens.
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Step Action and Result

If you click the Add Entity button before selecting the faces, you will see a pop-up box 

warning. Simply click OK and add the faces.

Since we have already selected faces, we do not see the pop-up warning. 

Step 7 In the new entity dialog box, select the LSAD (Legal/Statistical Area Description) from the 

drop-down list available. In this example, we will indicate that it is an ‘Off-Reservation Trust 

Land (suffix)’ since a reservation already exists. If a reservation didn’t already exist, then the 

LSAD should be ‘Trust Land (suffix)’. The term ‘Off-Reservation Trust Land’ or ‘Trust Land’ will 

be added to the Entity Name, in this example, will be added to Spirit Lake Reservation.
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Step Action and Result

Step 8 Next add the effective date for the legal change. Click on the calendar icon next to the 

EFF_DATE field and, when the calendar opens, click on the effective date.

The date selected populates the EFF_DATE field. 

Step 9 Next, add the authority type using the AUTHTYPE drop-down menu. In this example we have 

indicated the AUTHTYPE as a D-Deed.

Step 10 Finally, upload documentation for the change. For all changes that are more than cartographic 

boundary corrections, documentation will need to be provided. To upload documentation, click 

the folder icon next to the DOCU field. 
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Step Action and Result

The DOCU window opens. 

Step 11 Click on the icon for ‘My Computer’ (or simply ‘Computer’ in some Windows versions) to open 

the directory where you have saved your documentation. 

Your directories display, as shown below.

Step 12 Select the appropriate directory in the list and navigate to the file you want to upload as 

documentation, then click the file. The file name appears in the File name: field. 

To upload the file, click the Open button. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 13 Once you have clicked the Open button, the name of the document appears in the DOCU field

Step 14 Click the OK button.

Note: Red asterisks indicate required fields. You must complete required fields to move 

forward. If you click OK and have not completed one or more required fields, GUPS will 

prompt you to do so. Any required field not completed will highlight in red 

If your reservation and/or trust lands contain more than 1 census tract, or more than 1 

block group or more than one Tribal Subdivision – there are a few additional steps –

continue on to Step 15 below.
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Step Action and Result

If not, and you have completed all required fields, when you click OK, the faces for the new 

entity turn green on the map (colors may vary) and the name of the new entity appears on the 

list in the Modify Area Feature dialog box. Skip to Step 16.

Once the Census Bureau verifies the new Trust Lands, it will assign it the same FIPS code as 

the Reservation.

Step 15 If you have more than 1 census tract, block group or tribal subdivision, there are additional 

steps to follow when adding area either as ‘reservation’ or ‘trust land’.

After clicking OK (in Step 14) if there is currently more than 1 tribal subdivision defined for the 

Entity, a pop-up window will appear with a drop down menu to select which Tribal subdivision 

(AITSL) the new area should be assigned too. In this example, the new Off-Reservation Trust 

Land is being assigned to Wood Lake District (80).
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Step Action and Result

Once a selection is made, if there is more than 1 Tribal Block Group (TBG), a new pop-up 

window will appear with a drop-down menu to select which Tribal Census Tract/Tribal Block 

Group to which the new area should be assigned. In this example, it is being assigned to the 

adjacent area labled 3935T00100B. 

Once the selection is made, you are returned to the Modify Area Feature menu and can 

continue with additional changes to the boundaries. (Step 16)

Step 16 To make additional changes to the map, simply make a new selection in the Modify Area 

Feature dialog box Geography field and continue work (refer back to Step 3 above). You 

may save your changes as you go or wait until you have finished all work on the map. Saving 

as changes are completed, however, is recommended to avoid losing work in the event of a 

power outage or system interruption. Changes can be made to the reservation boundary, trust 

land boundaries and tribal subdivision boundaries.
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6.1.2 Adding (or Deleting) Land Area to an Existing Reservation or 

Existing Off-Reservation Trust Land

Follow the steps in Table 26 to record land being added to an existing reservation or existing

off-reservation trust lands. The fictitious example in the table looks at Kootenai Off-Reservation 

Trust Lands. 

Table 26: Record an Addition

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Open in Map View the entity. Be sure that you have all layers you wish to see on the map 

checked in the Table of Contents.

Step 2 Click the Modify Area Feature button on the BAS toolbar. 

The Modify Area Feature dialog box opens.

Step 3 Click the drop-down area next to the Geography field, and select the entity type (here 

‘Reservation/Trust Land’), from the drop-down menu. A list of available entities appears in the 

Info list in the bottom portion of the dialog box.
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Step Action and Result

Step 4 Click on the row in the list for the entity that is making the addition (here ‘Kootenai OffReservation Trust Land’). (Note: Once you click on the row, the map zooms to the full extent 

of the entity selected.)

Step 5 Click on the Zoom in button on the Standard toolbar to zoom into the area where the 

addition is to be made.

Step 6 To select the faces you want to add to the off-reservation trust lands, click on the small down 

arrow next to the Select Features button on the dialog box toolbar. The Select Features

button drop-down menu opens.

In this example we will use the “polygon” method to select the faces we want to add to 

Kootenai Off-Reservation Trust Lands. Click on ‘Select Features by Polygon’ in the menu.

Step 7 Next, go to the map and place your cursor where you want to add the faces. 
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Step Action and Result

To select a single face, simply drag the cursor outward in the center of the face. To select 

multiple faces, drag the cursor across the edges that separate the faces. In this example, we 

select seven faces. The faces selected turn cyan (color may vary).

Because all geographic areas consist of faces, you may need to “split” a face to accurately 

reflect an entity’s boundary. To split a face, digitize a new line that represents the boundary’s 

location (see Table 29 for instructions to add a linear feature) and assign it the appropriate 

MTFCC. This splits the original face into two faces. You can now select the face you need to 

add to the new entity.

If you accidentally select a face you do not wish to include, you can use the Deselect 

Features from All Layers option in the Select Feature(s) drop-down menu to clear the 

selected faces from your screen and start over.

Step 8 Click the Add Area button on the dialog box toolbar.
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Step Action and Result

The Modify Area Feature Choose change type pop-up box appears, and asks you to 

choose your change type. 

Step 9 Since this is an addition (not a boundary correction), click the ‘Legal Change’ radio button, 

then click OK. The Create Change Polygons dialog box opens. 

Step 10 Click the calendar icon next to the EFF_DATE field to open the calendar, then click on the 

effective date for the annexation. 

The selected date will populate the EFF_DATE field. 

Step 11 Select an authority type for the addition in the AUTHTYPE field drop-down menu. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 12 In the DOCU field, type in the ordinance or other legal documentation number authorizing the 

addition of the Off-Reservation Trust Lands or upload documentation for the change. To 

upload documentation, click the folder icon next to the DOCU field. 

The DOCU window opens. 

Step 13 Click on the icon for ‘My Computer’ (or simply ‘Computer’ in some Windows versions) to open 

the directory where you have saved your documentation. 

Your directories display, as shown below.
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Step Action and Result

Step 14 Select the appropriate directory in the list and navigate to the file you want to upload. Click 

the file, then to upload it, click the Open button at the bottom of the DOCU window. 

The name of the document populates the DOCU field on the dialog box.

Step 15 Finally, select ‘Addition or Added Area’ in the drop-down menu for the CHNG_TYPE field. 

Step 16 When you are finished, click OK. The added faces (once you save) turn green in color on the 

map (color may vary).

If you have more than 1 census tract, block group or tribal subdivision, there are additional 

steps to follow when adding area either as ‘reservation’ or ‘trust land’.

Instructions can be found beginning in Table 25, Step 15.
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Step Action and Result

6.1.3 Make a Boundary Correction (Add Area / Remove Area)

To make a boundary correction that adds or removes area from an entity, follow the steps in 

Table 27. In this fictitious example, a boundary correction is made to the Karuk Off-Reservation 

Trust land. 

Table 27: Make a Boundary Correction

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Open your entity in Map View. Be sure you have all layers you wish to see on the map 

checked in the Table of Contents.

Step 2 Click the Modify Area Feature button on the BAS toolbar.

The Modify Area Feature dialog box opens.

Step 3 Click the arrow next to the Geography field, and select in the drop-down menu the entity 

type for which you want to add or remove area. In this example, we select 
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Step Action and Result

‘Reservation/Trust Land’. The Info list populates with the entities for the geography that 

was chosen at the beginning of the project.

Step 4 Click on the row in the list for the area for which area is being added/removed (here Karuk 

off-Reservation trust land). The map zooms to the area selected.

Step 5 Click the down arrow next to the Select Features button to select the face(s) to add or 

remove for the boundary correction. The Select Features drop-down menu opens. 

In this example, we are adding two small faces that are difficult to select, so we opt for 

‘Select Features by Freehand’. This method allows us to place our cursor inside the first 

face and draw a tiny line. The selected face turns cyan (colors may vary). 
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Step Action and Result

To select the other face, press the CTRL key, and while holding it down, repeat the action 

for the remaining face. Both faces turn color. 

To add area, the area must be outside the selected entity. To remove area, the area must 

be within the selected entity.

Step 6 On the Modify Area Feature toolbar, click on the Add button (to add area to the entity) or 

on the Remove button (to remove area from the entity). 

The Modify Area Feature Choose change type pop-up box opens, and asks you to 

choose your change type. 

Step 7 Since we are not making a legal boundary change, but rather a boundary correction, click 

the radio button next to ‘Boundary Correction’. Then click OK. The added faces turn green 

on the map (color may vary) and are added to the legal entity boundary.
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Step Action and Result

Removing area from a boundary is conducted following the same steps, the only difference 

being that you click the Remove button on the Modify Area Feature toolbar. Once you 

select the faces and click the Remove button, you see the same Modify Area Feature 

Choose change type pop-up box, select ‘Boundary Correction’, and see the faces turn 

green.

6.1.4 Add a Geographic Offset

The steps to add a geographic offset are shown in Table 28. The fictitious example provided

uses Karuk Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land. The steps in the table show how the 

tribe would mark the addition of a geographic offset along Old Hwy 96 in order to ensure that 

the houses that are addressed to the north side of that stretch of highway are not included 

within the reservation/trust land boundary.

Table 28: Add a Geographic Offset

Step Action and Result

To create a geographic offset requires two actions: first you must split the face (if an edge 

does not already exist), then you must add the area.

Step 1 Load the data for the reservation (in this example, Karuk Reservation/Trust Land).
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Step Action and Result

Step 2 Pan to the location of the geographic offset (here Old Hwy 96). 

Step 3 Click the Add Linear Feature button on the BAS toolbar.

Step 4 Left-click on the map at the beginning point of the first line and drag the cursor to create the 

line marking the offset distance from the highway. Left-click at the end of the line, then rightclick to tell GUPS you have finished drawing. The line appears on the map, and the Add 

Linear Feature dialog box opens. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 5 Select the appropriate MTFCC code in the MTFCC drop-down list. In this example, we select 

‘P0001 – Nonvisible Legal/Statistical Boundary’.

The MTFCC field populates with your selection.

Step 6 Click the OK button.

The line turns from purple to dark green (colors may vary) and the name, if you provided one, 

is added to the map.

Step 7 To add the area: click the Modify Area Feature button on the BAS toolbar. 

The Modify Area Feature dialog box opens.
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Step Action and Result

Step 8 In the Geography field drop-down menu, select the entity type (in this case, 

‘Reservation/Trust Land’). A list of the available options populates the Info list at the bottom 

of the dialog box. 

Step 9 Click on the row for Karuk Off-Reservation Trust Land in the list. The map zooms to the 

Karuk Off-Reservation Trust Land.

Step 10 Pan to the location of the new offset you drew on the map. Then click the Select Feature(s)

button on the small toolbar near the top of the Modify Area Feature dialog box.

Step 11 Left-click inside the offset face, then drag your cursor across the road. When you release the 

cursor the face on the north side of the road has been selected and turn cyan or yellow (color 

may vary) to highlight. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 12 To record the offset, click the Add button on the Modify Area Feature dialog box toolbar.

The Modify Area Feature Choose change type dialog box opens.

Step 13 Click the radio button next to Offset. A box opens giving an explanation of what a geographic 

offset is and asking if you want to proceed. 

Click Yes. You are returned to the Modify Area Feature Choose change type box.

Step 14 Click the OK button at the bottom of the box.

Step 15 The Review Change Polygons pop-up box opens and asks whether this is a legal change. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 16 If the geographic offset is not part of a legal change, click No. The change is automatically 

added as a boundary correction. 

If the geographic offset is a legal change, click Yes. The Create Change Polygons dialog 

box opens.

Step 17 Click on the calendar icon next to the EFF_DATE field to select an effective date for the 

change.

Step 18 Use the AUTHTYPE drop-down menu to select an authority type. 

Step 19 In the DOCU field, either type in the documentation number, or upload legal documentation 

of the change. To upload a document, click on the folder icon, navigate to the directory where 

the document is stored, and double-click the file. The file uploads to GUPS and the name of 

the file appears in the DOCU field.
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Step Action and Result

Step 20 In the CHNG_TYPE field, select ‘Offset’ in the drop-down list. offset fills the CHNG_TYPE

field as shown in the screenshot above. 

Step 21 Click OK. The face marking the offset turns green on the map (color may vary). The offset 

has been added. 

6.2 How to Update Linear Features

6.2.1 Add a Linear Feature

Follow the steps in Table 29 to add a linear feature. 

Table 29: Add a Linear Feature

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Open in Map View the county that contains the entity where you want to add a linear 

feature. Be sure the edges layer is checked in the Table of Contents. Then zoom to the 

location on the map where you want to add the feature.

Step 2 Click on the Add Linear Feature button on the BAS toolbar. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 3 Left-click the mouse at the starting point of the line (A) and continue to left-click the mouse 

at each vertex (shape) point of the line. When you have completed the new line, right-click 

the mouse (B). The right-click tells GUPS you are finished drawing.

The Add Linear Feature dialog box opens.

Step 4 Type the name of the new linear feature in the Name field if the feature is named; 

otherwise, leave blank. Be sure when entering the feature name either to spell out the 

feature type (e.g., street, road, avenue), or to select an approved abbreviation from the list 

provided in Appendix D.

Step 5 In the MTFCC field drop-down menu, choose the appropriate code for the feature. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 6

Click the OK button at the bottom of the Add Linear Feature dialog box. 

The added linear feature and the name you assigned appear on the map.

Adding a linear feature coincident with a boundary – GUPS will not allow one linear 

feature to be placed over another. For example, if you attempt to add a road overlaying a 

legal boundary line, a pop-up box will warn you ‘Added Line Overlays an Existing line’. If 

you are adding a linear feature coincident with a boundary, follow the instructions for 

updating linear feature attributes instead (for instructions see Table 32). Once you select

the boundary edge that you want to add a street on top of, update the MTFCC in the 

Update Attributes pop-up to one of the "S" class feature codes (e.g., S1400) and add a 

name in the FULLNAME field.

6.2.2 Delete a Linear Feature

To delete a linear feature, follow the steps in Table 30.

Table 30: Delete a Linear Feature

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Open in Map View the county that contains the entity where you want to delete a linear 

feature. Be sure the edges layer is checked in the Table of Contents. Then zoom to the 

location on the map where you want to delete the feature.

Step 2 Click on the Delete Linear Feature button on the BAS toolbar. 

Step 3 Left-click the linear feature that you want to delete. In the example below, we clicked on an 

unnamed road. The clicked linear feature turns cyan (color may vary) and the Delete Linear 

Feature pop-up box appears, asking if you are sure you want to delete the feature. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 4 Click OK. The line is deleted in the attribute table. The cyan color is removed from the line 

and the line now looks as it did originally.

When you delete a linear feature, it is not actually removed from the Census shapefile. 

GUPS assigns a Delete Line flag to the feature in the attribute table, and the feature is later 

processed for deletion when the Census Bureau receives the BAS file. 

Note: If you have multiple linear features to delete, you may click the Delete Linear 

Feature button on the toolbar once, then press CTRL and click each of the features you 

want to delete. GUPS will delete all of the linear features selected. You may also drag your 

cursor over multiple linear features to select them.

6.2.3 Restore a Deleted Linear Feature

To restore a deleted linear feature, follow the steps in Table 31.

Table 31: Restore a Deleted Linear Feature

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Open in Map View the county that contains the deleted linear feature. Be sure the edges layer 

is checked in the Table of Contents. Then zoom to the location on the map where the deleted 

feature is located.

Step 2 Left-click on the deleted feature. The deleted feature turns cyan (color may vary) and the

Delete Linear Feature dialog box opens. The box asks you to confirm that you want to restore 

the line.
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Step Action and Result

Step 3 To restore the linear feature, click the OK button.

The Delete Line flag is removed from the attribute table and the line is restored.

6.2.4 Change the Attributes of a Linear Feature

Follow the steps in Table 32 to change the attributes (e.g., the name, MTFCC, or address 

range) of a linear feature.

Table 32: Changing the Attributes of a Linear Feature

Step Action and Result

Step 1 If you plan to change the name of a linear feature, check first to see if it has an alternate

name. To do this, click the Display All Names button on the BAS toolbar. 

Then click on the linear feature on the map. The selected feature turns cyan (color may 

vary) and the Display All Names dialog box opens, showing the primary name in the Prim. 

Name field and the alternate name, if one is present, in the Alt. Name field.

To see any additional alternate names, click the drop-down arrow to the right of the Alt. 

Name field. If no alternate name exists, ‘NULL’ appears in the Alt. name field.

Step 2 If you plan to provide an address range for a linear feature, check the checkbox next to >

direction in the Edges field in the Table of Contents. This activates the arrows that 

indicate the FROM and TO nodes for line segments.
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Step Action and Result

Step 3 Click on the Modify Linear Feature Attributes button on the BAS toolbar. 

Step 4 Click the linear feature on the map with attributes you want to edit. The Modify Linear 

Feature Attributes dialog box opens with the TIGER Line Feature ID (TLID) of the feature 

selected. The FULLNAME field populates if the feature is named. If the feature is not 

named, the field is blank. The MTFCC, LTOADD, RTOADD, LFROMADD, and 

RFROMADD fields show the assigned values for each.

Step 5 Update the FULLNAME field. If the field is blank, type in the new name. If the field is 

already populated, highlight the existing name and hit the Delete key on your keyboard. 

You may also backspace over the name to clear the field. Then type in the new name.

Step 6 If you need to correct the MTFCC code, click on the down arrow to the right of the field to 

open the drop-down menu and select the correct MTFCC from the menu.

Step 7 Change the address range for the linear feature, if necessary. Type in potential address 

ranges in the LTOADD (left to address); RTOADD (right to address); LFROMADD (left from 
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Step Action and Result

address); RFROMADD (right from address) fields based on the directional arrows. The 

directional arrows show the origin node (FROM) and the end node (TO).

Step 8 Click Save button at the bottom of the Modify Linear Feature Attributes dialog box.

The address ranges for all features are blank in the geographic partnership shapefiles 

because the ranges are stored in tables separate from the shapefiles. You can provide 

address ranges in these fields, but be aware that we may already have address ranges. 

It is important to note which node is the FROM node and which is the TO node (based on 

the red directional arrows) so that the address ranges are associated with the correct side 

of the street and the correct census block. 

Note: Provide potential address ranges for blocksides, such as 0-98, 100-198, etc., for 

even parity and 1-99, 101-199, etc., for odd parity address ranges. Do not provide actual 

address ranges.

6.3 How to Update Area Landmarks and Hydrographic Areas

6.3.1 Add a New Area Landmark/Hydrographic Area

To create a new landmark or hydrographic area, follow the steps in Table 33. In this fictitious 

example, we will add a golf course in Jefferson County, Indiana, located northwest of Dupont

Town.

Table 33: Create a New Area Landmark/Hydrographic Area

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Open your project in Map View. Be sure the ‘Area_Landmarks’ layer is checked in the Table 

of Contents (found under the ‘State_Level’ layer). Then zoom to the location on the map 

where you want to add the landmark or hydrographic area.

Step 2 Click the Modify Area Feature button on the BAS toolbar. 

The Modify Area Feature dialog box opens.
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Step Action and Result

Step 3 In the Geography field drop-down menu, select ‘Area Landmark/Area Hydrology’. ‘Area 

Landmark/Area Hydrology’ populates the Geography field and a list of area landmarks and 

hydrological features in the county appears in the Info list. 

Step 4 Click on the yellow Select Feature(s) button on the Modify Area Feature toolbar. 

Step 5 Then click on the first face on the map you wish to select. To select more than one face, 

depress the CTRL key, and while holding it down, click on the additional faces. In this 

example, we are selecting two faces, one on either side of Bear Creek. The selected faces 

turn cyan (color may vary). 

Step 6 Click on the Add Entity button on the Modify Area Feature toolbar. 
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Step Action and Result

The Modify Area Feature box opens. 

Step 7 In the Modify Area Feature box, type in the name of the new area landmark in the Full name

field. 

Then select the appropriate code in the MTFCC field drop-down list, as shown below.

Step 8 Click OK. The faces selected for the new entity now display in purple (color may vary). The 

name of the added landmark also appears within the change polygon on the map (see green 

circle), and the name of the new entity appears in the Info list. 
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Step Action and Result

Because all geographic areas consist of faces, you may need to “split” a face to accurately 

reflect an entity’s boundary. To split a face, digitize a new line that represents the boundary’s 

location (see Table 29 for instructions to add a linear feature) and assign it the appropriate 

MTFCC. This splits the original face into two faces. You can now select the face you need to 

add to the new entity. 

6.3.2 Delete an Area Landmark/Hydrographic Area

To delete an area landmark or hydrographic area, follow the steps in Table 34.

Table 34: Delete an Area Landmark/Hydrographic Area

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Open your project in Map View. Be sure the ‘Area_Landmarks’ layer is checked in the 

Table of Contents (found under the ‘State_Level’ layer).

Step 2 Click the Modify Area Feature button on the BAS toolbar. 
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Step Action and Result

The Modify Area Feature dialog box opens.

Step 3 In the Geography field drop-down menu, select ‘Area Landmark/Area Hydrography’. 

‘Area Landmark/Area Hydrography’ populates the Geography field and a list of area 

landmarks and hydrological features in the county appears in the Info list.

Hint To view all the area landmarks and hydrographic areas in the Info list, you may use the 

scroll bar located to the far right-hand side of the Modify Area Feature dialog box. 

To move up and down within the list, use the blue navigation arrows located on the small 

toolbar near the top of the dialog box. 

Step 4 In the Info list, click on the area landmark/hydrographic area you want to delete. The 

selected entry is highlighted in the Info list and the map zooms directly to the selected 

feature.
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Step Action and Result

Step 5 Click the Delete Area Feature button on the Modify Area Feature dialog toolbar. 

A pop-up box opens and asks you to confirm that you want to delete the feature.

Step 6 To delete the area landmark/hydro area, click OK. The linear feature turns gray (color may 

vary) on the map, and its name disappears from the Info list. 

Step 7 Not ready to delete? If you change your mind about deleting the area landmark/hydro area, 

click Cancel. You will be returned to the Modify Area Feature dialog box with the Delete 

Area Feature button grayed out. 

Step 8 If you now decide to delete the area landmark/hydro feature, click on the feature name in 

the Info list. The buttons will reactivate and you may click the Delete Area Feature button 

again.
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6.3.3 Add Area to an Area Landmark or Hydrographic Area

Follow the steps in Table 35 to add area to an area landmark or hydrographic area.

Table 35: Add Area to an Area Landmark/Hydrographic Area

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Open your project in Map View. Be sure the ‘Area_Landmarks’ layer is checked in the Table 

of Contents (found under the ‘State_Level’ layer).

Step 2 Click the Modify Area Feature button on the BAS toolbar. 

The Modify Area Feature dialog box opens.

Step 3 Click the down arrow next to the Geography field and select ‘Area Landmark/Area 

Hydrography’ in the drop-down menu. The selection populates the Geography field and a list 

of area landmarks/hydro features in the county appears in the Info list.

Step 4 Click the row in the list for the area landmark/hydro area to which you want to add area. The 

selected entity is highlighted in the Info list and the map zooms to its location.

Step 5 To select the face(s) you want to add to the area landmark, click the Select Feature button on 

the Modify Area Feature toolbar.
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Step Action and Result

Then click the face you want to add to the area feature. The added face turns cyan (color may 

vary). (Note: To select more than one face, depress the CTRL key, and while holding it down, 

click the other faces.)

Step 6 To add the face(s) selected, click the Add Area button on the Modify Area Feature dialog 

box toolbar. 

The selected face is added to the area landmark and turns the same color as the other face(s) 

that make up the area landmark. The map also now shows the full extent of the area 

landmark.

Because all geographic areas consist of faces, you may need to “split” a face to accurately 

reflect an entity’s boundary. To split a face, digitize a new line that represents the boundary’s 

location (see Table 29 for instructions to add a linear feature) and assign it the appropriate 

MTFCC. This splits the original face into two faces. You can now select the face you need to 

add to the new entity.
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6.3.4 Remove Area from an Area Landmark/Hydrographic Area

Follow the steps in Table 36 to remove area from an area landmark or hydrographic area.

Table 36: Remove Area from an Area Landmark/Hydrographic Area

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Open your project in Map View. Be sure the ‘Area_Landmarks' layer is checked in the 

Table of Contents (found under the ‘State_Level’ layer).

Step 2 Click the Modify Area Feature button on the BAS toolbar.

The Modify Area Feature dialog box opens.

Step 3 In the Geography field drop-down menu, select ‘Area Landmark/Area Hydrography’. 

‘Area Landmark/Area Hydrography’ populates the Geography field and a list of area 

landmarks and hydrological features in the county appears in the Info list.

Step 4 Select the area landmark/hydro area from which you want to remove area. The selected 

entity is highlighted in the Info list and the map zooms to its location. In this example, we 

have chosen Indian Lake County Park. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 5 To select the face(s) you want to remove from the area landmark, click the Select Feature

button on the Modify Area Feature dialog box toolbar. 

Then click on the first face you want to remove. To select additional faces, depress the 

CTRL key, and while holding it down, click the additional faces. 

Step 6 To remove the face(s) selected, click the Remove Area button on the Modify Area Feature 

dialog box’s internal toolbar. 

The selected face turns light green (color may vary) on the map and is removed from the 

area landmark.

Because all geographic areas consist of faces, you may need to “split” a face to accurately 

reflect an entity’s boundary. To split a face, digitize a new line that represents the 

boundary’s location (see Table 29 for instructions to add a linear feature) and assign it the 

appropriate MTFCC. This splits the original face into two faces. You can now select the face 

you need to add to the new entity.
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6.4 How to Update Point Landmarks

6.4.1 Add a Point Landmark

To add a point landmark, follow the steps in Table 37.

Table 37: Add a Point Landmark

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Open your project in Map View. Be sure the ‘Point Landmark’ layer is checked in the Table 

of Contents (found under the ‘State_Level’ layer).

Step 2 Click the Add Point Landmark button on the BAS toolbar. 

Step 3 Click on the map where you want to add the point landmark. The Add Point Landmark dialog 

box opens and a red X marks the location you selected.

Step 4 Type in the name for the new point landmark in the FULLNAME: field. Then click the down 

arrow next to the MTFCC: field to open the drop-down menu. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 5

Select the MTFCC, then click the OK button at the bottom of the box.

The map updates to show the added point landmark. In this case we added a traffic circle and 

named it Buchanan Circle. 

6.4.2 Delete a Point Landmark

To delete a point landmark, follow the steps in Table 38.

Table 38: Delete a Point Landmark

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Zoom to the area on the map where you want to delete a point landmark. In this example, we 

will delete the traffic circle named Buchanan Circle.

Step 2 Click the Delete Point Landmark button on the BAS toolbar.

Step 3 On the map, click on the point landmark you want to delete (Buchanan Circle). The Delete 

Point Landmark dialog box opens, and asks if you are sure you want to delete the point 

landmark.

Step 4 Click OK. The point landmark disappears from the map and from the attribute table.
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6.4.3 Change the Attributes of a Point Landmark

To change the attributes of a point landmark (e.g., its name, MTFCC), follow the steps 

in Table 39.

Table 39: Change the Attributes of a Point Landmark

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Zoom to the area on the map where the point landmark is located and click on the landmark. 

In this example, we will change the name of Buchanan Traffic Circle.

Step 2 Click on the Edit Point Landmark button on the BAS toolbar. 

Step 3 On the map, click on Buchanan Circle. The Edit Point Landmark dialog box opens.

Step 4 To change the name, backspace over the name appearing in the FULLNAME: field, then type 

in the new name. In this example, we will change the name to Marley Circle.

Step 5 Click OK. The new name of the point landmark appears on the map. 
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6.5 How to Use GUPS Review and Validation Tools

GUPS provides two tools—the Geography Review tool and the Review Change Polygons

tool to help you review and validate the updates you have made in the system. 

6.5.1 Geography Review Tool

The Geography Review tool filters the map layers based on various fields in the attribute table. 

You can use this tool to check the changes you made to linear features, area landmarks, point 

landmarks, and legal boundaries anywhere within your project area (you may also view the 

attributes of entities, features, landmarks, and boundaries you did not change). Note: Although 

this tool allows you to review your changes, you cannot use it to edit them. 

Instructions for how to use the Geography Review tool information appear in Table 40 below.

Table 40: Use the Geography Review Tool

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Click on the Geography Review button on the BAS toolbar. 

The Geography Review Tool dialog box opens.

Step 2 In the Layer Name: field drop-down menu, select the data layer you want to view: 

In this example, we selected the file “bas17_49901171750_99_changes_aial.” This is the 

transaction data output file for the tribal areas layer (note the word “changes” in the file 

name to indicate the layer has been updated). 
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Step Action and Result

Step 3 Once you make your selection, the attribute table for the layer opens, with the attributes for 

each tribal area you changed displayed in a separate row. 

If you cannot see all the columns in the attribute data table, drag the edge of the dialog box 

outward to widen the view. You may also move the dialog box to another location by 

clicking inside the box and dragging it. For example, this particular table consists of 24 

fields (columns). You can expand the table or use the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen 

to scroll right and left.

Step 4 To see a tribal area on the map, click its row in the attribute table, then click the Zoom

button (the row is highlighted and the map automatically zooms to the area selected, which 

is highlighted and shows changes made in cyan – colors may vary). 
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Step Action and Result

Step 5 To view other Tribal Areas listed in the table rows, use the Previous Zoom and Next 

Zoom buttons. The previous or next row highlights and the system zooms to the map for 

that row. 

Step 6 You may use the Search feature at the bottom of the dialog box to filter the table layers by 

specific attributes (e.g., full name, MTFCC, change type, etc.). 

Step 7 First, select the layer you want to view (in this example, we will select the AIAL (Tribal 

Area) layer).

For each feature changed for a Tribal area, the attributes of the changed feature display in 

the table rows. Each column gives the name of the attribute. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 8 In the Column Name drop-down menu, select the attribute by which you want to filter.

In this example, we will select change type (CHNG_TYPE). 

Step 9 Finally, in the Select drop-down, select the attribute value by which you want to filter, then 

click the Search button. In this example, we will select ‘Boundary Correction’.

After you click Search, the attribute table is filtered to show the rows for all boundary 

corrections made in the AIAL (Tribal Area) layer. 
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Step Action and Result

To view an individual boundary correction, click on its row and click the Zoom button. To 

return to the attribute table to see the full (unfiltered) county subdivision layer, click the 

Refresh button in the upper right-hand corner of the dialog box. 

Note that when filtering the table by some attributes (e.g., state and county FIPS code or 

MTFCC), no drop-down list appears from which to make a selection. This is because some 

attribute codes are too numerous to make scrolling through a list practicable. Instead you 

will receive a blank box in which you may type the search value. For example, if you are 

filtering the area landmarks layer by MTFCC and want to see hospitals in the layer, type in 

the MTFCC for hospitals (K1231), as shown below, then click Search.

6.5.2 Review Change Polygons Tool

The Review Change Polygons tool allows you to view the transactions created from the edits 

you made to legal entities, as well as to area landmarks and hydrographic areas. You can 

review the transaction polygons that represent boundary changes, as well as new 

incorporations and disincorporations. The tool also allows you to make corrections to change 

polygons.

To use the Review Change Polygons tool, follow the steps in Table 41. 

Table 41: Reviewing Change Polygons

Step Action and Result

Step 1 In the Map Management dialog box, make sure the Tribal Area for which you want to run 

the check appears in the Entity field. 

Once you click the Open button at the bottom of the dialog box and the map opens in 

Map View, you are ready to run the Review Change Polygons check.

Notes on Reviewing Change Polygons

You must run the Review Change Polygons tool before GUPS will export a file.

You must run the Review Change Polygons tool for each county in which you worked. For 

example, if you made changes to your working county, but also made changes to an adjacent county 

when annexing land for your county, you must run the change polygon check on both counties. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 2 Once you have loaded the entity, you are ready to begin the change polygons review. 

Click on the Review Change Polygons button on the BAS toolbar. 

The Review Change Polygons dialog box opens just below the Table of Contents.

Note: This box can be dragged anywhere on your screen and docked.

Step 3 Use the Geography drop-down menu shown below to select the geography you want to 

review.

Step 4 After you select an entity type, the Small Area Check and Find Holes buttons become 

active and all change polygons for the entity type you selected appear in the Info list at 

the bottom of the box.

Step 5 To check for small area change polygons, click the Small Area Check button. If all your 

change polygons are of sufficient size, a pop-up box informs you of this.
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Step Action and Result

Step 6 If you have small area polygons within the Reservation/Trust Land, they appear in the 

Info list with their acreage noted in the Area in Acres column. The Display All Changes

button also becomes active (this button allows you to toggle back to see all change 

polygons in the list).

Step 7 To view a polygon on the map, click the row for the polygon in the Info list. The polygon is 

highlighted and the map zooms to the location of the polygon. 

Note in the illustration above, we moved the Review Change Polygons box to sit over 

the map. As stated earlier, you may move the box anywhere on the page and dock it.

Step 8 To delete polygons that are too small (less than 500 square feet), click on the row for the 

change polygon in the Info list. The Delete Change Polygon button appears.
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Step Action and Result

Step 9 To delete the polygon, click the Delete Change Polygon button. A pop-up box asks if 

you are sure you want to delete.

Step 10 Click the Yes button. The polygon is removed from the list, from the map, and from the 

attribute table.

Step 11 Before the Small Area check is complete, you must repeat the steps above for each 

geography type for which you created change polygons.

Step 12 Next, review your polygons for holes (that is, two or fewer small faces missed when 

creating a change polygon). While still in the Review Change Polygons dialog box, 

select a geography type from the Geography drop-down menu. For this example, we 

again selected ‘Reservation/Trust Lands’. A list of change polygons for 

Reservations/Trust Lands populates the Info list and the Display All Changes button 

replaces the Small Area button (since you’ve already run this check). The Find Holes

buttons remains in its original location. 

Step 13 Click on the row for the polygon in the Info list to see it on the map, then click the Find 

Holes button. If no holes are present, a pop-up box informs you of this.
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Step Action and Result

Step 14 If holes are found, a list of polygons with holes appears in the Holes Review box and the 

Fix button activates at the bottom of the box. 

Step 15 To correct a change polygon, click on its row to highlight it. The map zooms to its location 

and displays all holes in cyan (color may vary). 

Step 16 Click the Fix button to repair the hole. The change polygon is corrected and the correction 

displays on the map (i.e., the hole is changed to the same color as the remainder of the 

polygon). 
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Step Action and Result

Step 17 Before the Find Holes check is complete, you must repeat the steps above for each 

geography type for which you created change polygons.

Step 18 After you review for small areas and holes, you may also use the Review Change 

Polygons tool to check the general accuracy of your change polygons. To do so, select 

your entity type in the Geography drop-down menu. A full list of change polygons for the 

geography type selected displays in the Info list.

Step 19 Click on the row for each polygon to see it on the map and review your changes. 

If you notice a mistake on the map (e.g., you created a new incorporated place that was 

supposed to have six faces, but you selected only five), click on the Modify Area Feature

button on the BAS toolbar and make the correction.

Step 20 To review boundary changes, select the entity type you want to review in the Geography 

drop-down menu at the top of the Review Change Polygons dialog box. In this example, 

we select ‘Reservation/Trust Land’. All boundary change polygons for the entity type 

selected populate the Info list. 

To review a boundary change, click on the change polygon in the list, then click the Legal 

Entity Change button at the bottom of the Review Change Polygons dialog box, shown 

below. 

The map zooms to where the change was made and a box opens displaying the 

information that you entered when you coded the change. Here, because the change was 
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Step Action and Result

a boundary correction, the effective date, authority type, and documentation fields are not 

filled.

If this change was mistakenly coded as a boundary correction, and should have been a 

legal change instead, you may correct the error here. In this example we correct a change 

polygon mistakenly coded as a boundary correction rather than an addition.

Step 21 Click the calendar icon next to the EFF_DATE field to select an effective date for the 

addition.

Step 22 Use the drop-down menu for the AUTHTYPE field to select the authority type for the 

change.

Step 23 In the DOCU field, type in the ordinance or other legal documentation number authorizing 

the Addition, or upload legal documentation for the change. To upload documentation, 

click the folder icon next to the DOCU field. 
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Step Action and Result

When the DOCU window opens, click on the icon for ‘My Computer’ (or simply ‘Computer’ 

in some Windows versions) to open the directory where you have saved your 

documentation. 

Your directories display, as shown below.

Select the appropriate directory and navigate to the file you want to upload. Click the file. 

Then, to upload it, click the Open button at the bottom of the DOCU window. 

GUPS uploads the file and the file name appears in the DOCU field.

Step 24 Finally, in the CHNG_TYPE field drop-down menu, change ‘Boundary Correction’ to the 

correct change type (‘Annexation’, ‘Corridor’, or ‘Offset’). Here we select ‘Annexation’.

Step 25

Click the OK button. The correction is made.

Step 26 When you have completed all your reviews (for small areas, holes, and boundary 

changes) for all entity types, and have made any corrections needed, click the Save

button on the BAS toolbar. All corrections are saved. Your Review Change 

Polygons check is complete.
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6.6 How to Export a Printable Map

GUPS allows you to generate printable maps in four formats (.pdf, .png., .tiff, and .jpeg). The 

maps can be created in portrait or landscape view, on letter or ledger (legal) size paper, and at 

various scales. To export a printable map from GUPS, follow the steps in Table 42.

Table 42: Export a Printable Map

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Click on the Export to ZIP button on the BAS toolbar. 

The MapExport dialog box opens.

Step 2 In the Desired Map Titles section, type in a map title and sub-title. 

Step 3 Under Page Orientation, click the radio button next to ‘Portrait’ or ‘Landscape’ to select the 

map’s orientation on the page when printed. 
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Step Action and Result

The map orientation in the preview pane to the right changes to reflect your selection.

Portrait View (left) and Landscape View (right)

Step 4 Under Map Scale, click the appropriate radio button to select the map scale (you may use 

your current map extent or set a fixed scale). To select a fixed scale, click the radio button 

next to ‘Fixed Scale’, then click the down arrow to open the drop-down menu. In the dropdown list, click on the scale that you want.

Step 5 Under Desired Paper Size, click the radio button next to ‘Letter’ for 81⁄2 by 11-inch paper or 

the ‘Ledger’ button for 11 by 17-inch paper. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 6 When you are ready to export the file, under Export File Format, click the radio button next 

to the desired format. You may export the file in .pdf, .png, .tiff, or .jpeg format. 

Step 7 Click the Save button. The Map Export – Save Map As... window opens. 

Note: GUPS automatically selected the “output” folder for BAS2018 as the save location. 

This folder was created on your computer by the GUPS installer. If you want to save the file 

to a different location, navigate to the location first before saving.

Step 8 After you have selected the location, type in the name you want to give the file, then click 

Save.

Step 9 The file is saved and you receive a pop-up message confirming that the export is complete. 
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Step Action and Result

Step 10 To save the file, click OK. Your file is saved either in the default BAS2018 output location or 

in the alternate location you specified. Here we saved the file in the default location.

6.7 How to Export ZIP Files to Share/Submit

When creating export ZIP files, you have two options—you may export the file to share with 

another user or you may export the file for submission to the Census Bureau. In either case, 

GUPS automatically names the output ZIP file for you. It packages all the files required by the 

Census Bureau (including any documentation you uploaded) into the ZIP file and saves it in a 

preset location created on your computer by during the installation process.

6.7.1 Export a File to Share

To export a file to share with another user, follow the steps in Table 43.

Table 43: Export Files to Share with Another User

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Click on the Export to ZIP button on the BAS toolbar. 

Important Note

If you make changes to more than one working county, you must export a separate ZIP file for each.
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Step Action and Result

Step 2 After you click Export to Zip button, you may receive one of two results, depending on 

whether you have validated your changes using the Review Change Polygons tool. If you 

have not used the tool to check your work, the Export to ZIP pop-up box appears and lists 

the specific checks that need to be run before you can export the file.

If you see this message, click the Cancel button and run the Review Change Polygons

check. Then repeat the initial export steps again.

Step 3 If you have already run the Review Change Polygon check, the Export to ZIP pop-up box 

displays the status of the checks and the date and time they were made, as shown below.

Step 4 Look carefully at the run times listed. If you have made any additional changes after these 

times, click Cancel and run the Review Change Polygons check again. Then repeat the 

export steps. 

Step 5 The Select Output Type dialog box opens. 
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Step Action and Result

To prepare ZIP file to be shared with another user, select the “Share with Another Participant”

radio button. Click OK.

Step 6 The ZIP File Output dialog box opens. It informs you that the ZIP file was created and asks if 

you want to view the folder.

Step 7 If you click Yes, the directory opens and displays the folder location where GUPS placed the 

file. Note: GUPS automatically saves the file to an output folder that the GUPS installer 

placed on your computer during the installation process.

Step 8 You may now share the file with another user.
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6.7.2 Export a File to Submit to the Census Bureau

To export a file to submit to the Census Bureau, follow the steps in Table 44. 

Table 44: Export Files for Submission to the Census Bureau

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Click on the Export to ZIP button on the BAS toolbar. 

The Select Output Type dialog box opens. 

Click the Export for Census radio button. Then click OK.

Step 2 After you click OK, you may receive one of two results, depending on whether you have 

validated your changes using the Review Change Polygons tool. If you have not used the tool 

to check your work, the Export to ZIP pop-up box appears and lists the specific checks that 

need to be run before you can export the file.

Step 3 If you see this message, click the Cancel button and run the Review Change Polygons

check. Then repeat the initial export steps again.
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Step Action and Result

Step 4 If you have already run the Review Change Polygon check, the Export to ZIP pop-up box 

displays the status of the checks and the date and time they were made, as shown below.

Step 5 Look carefully at the run times listed. If you have made any additional changes after these 

times, click Cancel and run the Review Change Polygons check again. Then repeat the 

export steps. 

Step 6 Otherwise, click OK. The GUPS User Contact Information dialog box opens up. Complete the 

required fields and click OK.

The ZIP File Output dialog box opens. It informs you that the ZIP file was created and asks if 

you want to view the folder.

Step 7 If you click Yes, the directory opens and displays the folder location where GUPS placed the 

file. Note: GUPS automatically saves the file to an output folder that the GUPS installer placed 

on your computer during the installation process.
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Step Action and Result

Step 8 You are now ready to upload your file to the Census Bureau through the SWIM. See Section 7

on the next page. 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 127

SECTION 7: SUBMITTING YOUR FILES TO THE CENSUS 

BUREAU THROUGH SWIM

To upload and transmit your update files to the Census Bureau, you must access your account 

in the SWIM, as shown in Table 45 below.

Note: If you already have a SWIM account, have your user name (e-mail address) and password 

ready. If you do not have a SWIM account, have the 12-digit registration token provided by the 

Census Bureau ready. 

Table 45: Transmit Files to the Census Bureau Using SWIM

Step Action and Result

Step 1 If you are a participant in another Census Bureau partnership program and already have a 

SWIM Account, access <https://respond.census.gov/swim/> and enter your E-mail address 

and Password. Then click the Login button. The Welcome screen opens. Go to Step 7.

Step 2 If you do not yet have a SWIM Account, have the 12-digit registration token provided to you by 

the Census Bureau ready for your registration. You can register at 

<https://respond.census.gov/swim/>. Once the login screen opens, click the Register 

Account button. The Account Registration screen opens. 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 128

Step Action and Result

All fields on the Account Registration screen are required. You will not be able to move to 

the next screen until you have completed all fields.

Step 3 On the Account Registration screen, first, enter the 12-digit token provided by the Census 

Bureau. Then enter your name, agency, and e-mail in the appropriate fields.

Step 4 Next, create a password. The passwords must meet the five criteria below: 

1. It must be 8 characters in length

2. It must have at least one upper case character

3. It must have at least one lower case character

4. It must have at least one number

5. It must have at least one special character (valid special characters are: #, !, $, *, &, ?, ~). 

Note: Commas in the special characters list are for spacing purposes only; the comma is 

not a valid character for the password.

Step 5 Set up a security question (click the arrow on the right of the Security Question box and 

select a question in the drop-down list, then enter an answer in the Answer box). When you 

have finished, click the Submit button. A screen opens to confirm that you have successfully 

registered.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 129

Step Action and Result

Step 6 On the Confirmation screen, click Login. You will return to the Login screen. 

Step 7 On the Login screen, enter your e-mail and password then click the green Login button. The 

Welcome screen opens. You will see the list of files you have previously uploaded, the 

creation date of the file, the name of the file, and its corresponding zip size. If you need to 

make modifications, click on the file you want to edit then select the Start Now Upload button.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 130

Step Action and Result

Step 8 To begin an upload, click the Start New Upload button. A screen opens asking which 

program for which you are reporting data. On this screen, click the Boundary Annexation 

Survey (BAS) radio button, then click Next at the bottom of the screen.

Step 9 A screen opens asking “What type of BAS you are reporting for?” Click the radio button 

next to the governmental unit for which you are reporting data, then click the Next button. In 

this example, we will select Tribal Area. 

Step 10 A screen opens that allows you to select your Tribal Area for which you are reporting data. 

scroll through the drop-down menu and select the Tribal Area. Then click the Next button.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 131

Step Action and Result

Step 11 The Select a .ZIP file to upload screen opens. Choose a zip file to upload. Note: All files 

must be a zip file. To upload a file, click the + Add File button on the screen.

Step 12 The Choose File to Upload window opens and allows you to navigate on your computer to 

the ZIP file’s location. 

Locate the ZIP file you want to upload then double-click it. Note: You can only add one file at 

a time.

Step 13 Once the file upload is complete, the Status field shows ‘Success.’ The name of the file 

appears in the File(s) field. To add another file, click the + Add File and the upload process 

will repeat.

In this example, there are two files uploaded. One for an updated digital address list and one 

for an updated shapefile. 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page 132

Step Action and Result

Step 14 After you have uploaded the file(s), type any comments (including pertinent information about 

data projection or supporting documentation for shapefiles) in the Comments field. Click 

Next.

Step 15 The Thank You screen appears and confirms the receipt of your submission.

Step 16 To submit files for a different entity, click on the ‘Upload Form’ link in the phrase “You may 

Log Out or return to the upload form, to submit more files.” This choice returns you to the

Welcome screen.

To log out, click on Log Out. The Census Bureau will acknowledge the receipt of the 

uploaded file.

SWIM sessions deactivate after 15 minutes of inactivity.

Note: While working in SWIM, you may obtain help by clicking on the Help button on any 

screen. When you click the button, a screen opens with links to help resources.
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APPENDICES
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page A-1

APPENDIX A BAS CONTACT INFORMATION AND 

RESOURCES

Action/Question Resource Contact

Request shapefiles 

on DVD

Geography 

Division

Call: 1-800-972-5651

E-mail: geo.bas@census.gov

BAS materials 

questions

Geography

Division

Call: 1-800-972-5651

E-mail: geo.bas@census.gov

Legal boundary 

questions

Geography 

Division 

Call: 1-301-763-1099

E-mail: geo.bas@census.gov

Fax: 1-800-972-5652

Ask guidance on 

areas under legal 

dispute

Census Bureau 

Legal Office 

Call: 1-301-763-9844

GUPS technical 

support

Geography 

Division 

Call: 1-800-972-5651

E-mail: geo.bas@census.gov

Be sure to have the number for the version of GUPS you 

are running ready. To find this number, go to the Help tab 

on the main Menu in GUPS and click ‘About GUPS’ in the 

drop-down menu. A pop-up box will provide you the 

number.

SWIM token 

questions 

Geography 

Division

Call: 1-800-972-5651

E-mail: geo.bas@census.gov

SWIM technical 

support

Geography 

Division

geo.swim@census.gov

Submit output files 

on DVD (if you do 

not have Internet 

access)

National 

Processing 

Center

Send to: 

US Census Bureau

National Processing Center

ATTN: BAS Returns, Bldg 63E

1201 East 10th Street

Jeffersonville, IN 47132
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page B-1

APPENDIX B GEOGRAPHIC OFFSETS

Geographic Offsets

A geographic offset is an area (either within or outside of a geographic entity) that is only on one 

side of a road (unlike corridors, which involve both sides of the road) and does not include 

structures addressed to that side of the road. Much of the same guidelines regarding corridors 

also holds true for offsets.

The Census Bureau is aware that many governments base their legal boundaries on cadastral 

(parcel-based) right-of-way mapping. Census Bureau maps are based on spatial data that is 

topologically integrated which makes maintenance of geographic offsets inefficient. Using the 

road centerline wherever possible will help to establish more accurate population counts. If a 

boundary follows a front lot line, the Census Bureau strongly prefers that the road centerline be 

used as the boundary. If a boundary is at the rear of a lot, then it should be depicted as such. If 

it is unclear whether a particular line is a front lot line or something else, please contact the BAS 

team for assistance. As a rule, if a house or building could not conceivably be built in the area 

between the potential line and the centerline of the road, then the line can be considered a front 

lot line Figure 13. A Cadastral (Parcel-Based) Boundary Map depicts a cadastral (parcelbased) boundary map and Figure 14. How a Boundary Should be Represented When Sent 

to the Census Bureau shows how the boundary should be represented when it is sent to the 

Census Bureau.

Figure 13. A Cadastral (Parcel-Based) Boundary Map

Figure 14. How a Boundary Should be Represented When Sent to the Census Bureau
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page B-2

Figure 15. Place Boundary – Front Lot Line

Figure 15 - Shows a situation in which the place boundary is along the front lot line. In this 

example, the respondent must either use the road centerline as the boundary (preferred), or 

create an offset.

Figure 16. Place Boundary – Rear Lot Line

Figure 16 - The place boundary is on the rear lot line, so the respondent should of course not use 

the road centerline or create an offset, but should rather digitize in a new boundary following the 

rear lot line.

The Census Bureau has included an “offset” shapefile in the BAS materials 

(bas_2018_offset_<ssccc>.shp), so that your jurisdiction can be checked for any existing 

corridors or offsets. While the Census Bureau prefers that new offsets are not created (see 

above), this information can be helpful in determining if current boundaries are correct..
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page C-1

APPENDIX C MTFCC DESCRIPTIONS

The MAF/TIGER Feature Classification Code (MTFCC) is a 5-digit code assigned by the 

Census Bureau to classify and describe geographic objects or features in Census Bureau 

MAF/TIGER products.

MTFCC FEATURE CLASS FEATURE CLASS DESCRIPTION

C3022 Mountain Peak or 

Summit

A prominent elevation rising above the surrounding level of the 

Earth’s surface.

C3023 Island An area of dry or relatively dry land surrounded by water or low 

wetland. [including archipelago, atoll, cay, hammock, hummock, 

isla, isle, key, moku and rock]

C3024 Levee An embankment flanking a stream or other flowing water feature to 

prevent overflow.

C3026 Quarry (not waterfilled), Open Pit Mine or 

Mine

An area from which commercial minerals are or were removed 

from the Earth; not including an oilfield or gas field.

C3027 Dam A barrier built across the course of a stream to impound water 

and/or control water flow.

C3061 Cul-de-sac An expanded paved area at the end of a street used by vehicles 

for turning around. For mapping purposes, the Census Bureau 

maps it only as a point feature.

C3062 Traffic Circle A circular intersection allowing for continuous movement of traffic 

at the meeting of roadways.

C3066 Gate A movable barrier across a road.

C3067 Toll Booth A structure or barrier where a fee is collected for using a road.

C3071 Lookout Tower A manmade structure, higher than its diameter, used for 

observation.

C3074 Lighthouse Beacon A manmade structure, higher than its diameter, used for 

transmission of light and possibly sound generally to aid in 

navigation.

C3075 Tank/Tank Farm One or more manmade structures, each higher than its diameter, 

used for liquid (other than water) or gas storage or for distribution 

activities.

C3076 Windmill Farm One or more manmade structures used to generate power from 

the wind.

C3077 Solar Farm One or more manmade structures used to generate power from 

the sun.

C3078 Monument or Memorial A manmade structure to educate, commemorate, or memorialize 

an event, person, or feature.

C3079 Boundary Monument 

Point

A material object placed on or near a boundary line to preserve 

and identify the location of the boundary line on the ground.

C3080 Survey Control Point A point on the ground whose position (horizontal or vertical) is 

known and can be used as a base for additional survey work.

C3081 Locality Point A point that identifies the location and name of an unbounded 

locality (e.g., crossroad, community, populated place or locale).

C3085 Alaska Native Village 

Official Point

A point that serves as the core of an Alaska Native village and is 

used in defining Alaska Native village statistical areas.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page C-2

MTFCC FEATURE CLASS FEATURE CLASS DESCRIPTION

G2100 American Indian Area A legally defined state- or federally recognized reservation and/or 

off-reservation trust land (excludes statistical American Indian 

areas).

G2120 Hawaiian Home Land A legal area held in trust for the benefit of Native Hawaiians.

G2130 Alaska Native Village 

Statistical Area

A statistical geographic entity that represents the residences, 

permanent and/or seasonal, for Alaska Natives who are members 

of or receiving governmental services from the defining legal 

Alaska Native Village corporation.

G2140 Oklahoma Tribal 

Statistical Area

A statistical entity identified and delineated by the Census Bureau 

in consultation with federally recognized American Indian tribes 

that have no current reservation, but had a former reservation in 

Oklahoma.

G2150 State-designated Tribal 

Statistical Area

A statistical geographic entity identified and delineated for the 

Census Bureau by a state-appointed liaison for a state-recognized 

American Indian tribe that does not currently have a reservation 

and/or lands in trust.

G2160 Tribal Designated 

Statistical Area

A statistical geographic entity identified and delineated for the 

Census Bureau by a federally recognized American Indian tribe 

that does not currently have a reservation and/or off-reservation 

trust land.

G2170 American Indian Joint 

Use Area

An area administered jointly and/or claimed by two or more 

American Indian tribes.

G2200 Alaska Native Regional 

Corporation

Corporate entities established to conduct both business and 

nonprofit affairs of Alaska Natives pursuant to the Alaska Native 

Claims Settlement Act of 1972 (Public Law 92-203). There are 

twelve geographically defined ANRCs and they are all within and 

cover most of the State of Alaska (the Annette Island Reserve-an 

American Indian reservation-is excluded from any ANRC). The 

boundaries of ANRCs have been legally established.

G2300 Tribal Subdivision Administrative subdivisions of federally recognized American 

Indian reservations, off-reservation trust lands, or Oklahoma tribal 

statistical areas (OTSAs). These entities are internal units of selfgovernment or administration that serve social, cultural, and/or 

economic purposes for the American Indians on the reservations, 

off-reservation trust lands, or OTSAs.

G2400 Tribal Census Tract A relatively small and permanent statistical subdivision of a 

federally recognized American Indian reservation and/or offreservation trust land, delineated by American Indian tribal 

participants or the Census Bureau for the purpose of presenting 

demographic data.

G2410 Tribal Block Group A cluster of census blocks within a single tribal census tract 

delineated by American Indian tribal participants or the Census 

Bureau for the purpose of presenting demographic data

G3100 Combined Statistical 

Area

A grouping of adjacent metropolitan and/or micropolitan statistical 

areas that have a degree of economic and social integration, as 

measured by commuting.

G3110 Metropolitan and 

Micropolitan Statistical 

Area

An area containing a substantial population nucleus together with 

adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and 

social integration with that core, as measured by commuting. 

Defined using whole counties and equivalents.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page C-3

MTFCC FEATURE CLASS FEATURE CLASS DESCRIPTION

G3120 Metropolitan Division A county or grouping of counties that is a subdivision of a 

Metropolitan Statistical Area containing an urbanized area with a 

population of 2.5 million or more.

G3200 Combined New 

England City and Town 

Area

A grouping of adjacent New England city and town areas that have 

a degree of economic and social integration, as measured by 

commuting.

G3210 New England City and 

Town Metropolitan and 

Micropolitan Statistical 

Area

An area containing a substantial population nucleus together with 

adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and 

social integration with that core, as measured by commuting. 

Defined using Minor Civil Divisions (MCDs) in New England.

G3220 New England City and 

Town Division

A grouping of cities and towns in New England that is a 

subdivision of a New England City and Town Area containing an 

urbanized area with a population of 2.5 million or more.

G3500 Urban Area Densely settled territory that contains at least 2,500 people. The 

subtypes of this feature are Urbanized Area (UA), which consists 

of 50,000 + people and Urban Cluster, which ranges between 

2,500 and 49,999 people.

G4000 State or Equivalent 

Feature

The primary governmental divisions of the United States. The 

District of Columbia is treated as a statistical equivalent of a state 

for census purposes, as is Puerto Rico.

G4020 County or Equivalent 

Feature

The primary division of a state or state equivalent area. The 

primary divisions of 48 states are termed County, but other terms 

are used such as Borough in Alaska, Parish in Louisiana, and 

Municipio in Puerto Rico. This feature includes independent cities, 

which are incorporated places that are not part of any county.

G4040 County Subdivision The primary divisions of counties and equivalent features for the 

reporting of Census Bureau data. The subtypes of this feature are 

Minor Civil Division, Census County Division/Census Subarea, 

and Unorganized Territory. This feature includes independent 

places, which are incorporated places that are not part of any 

county subdivision.

G4050 Estate Estates are subdivisions of the three major islands in the United 

States Virgin Islands (USVI).

G4060 Subbarrio (Subminor 

Civil Division)

Legally defined divisions (subbarrios) of minor civil divisions 

(barrios-pueblo and barrios) in Puerto Rico.

G4110 Incorporated Place A legal entity incorporated under state law to provide generalpurpose governmental services to a concentration of population. 

Incorporated places are generally designated as a city, borough, 

municipality, town, village, or, in a few instances, have no legal 

description.

G4120 Consolidated City An incorporated place that has merged governmentally with a 

county or minor civil division, but one or more of the incorporated 

places continues to function within the consolidation. It is a place 

that contains additional separately incorporated places.

G4210 Census Designated 

Place

A statistical area defined for a named concentration of population 

and the statistical counterpart of an incorporated place.

G4300 Economic Census 

Place

The lowest level of geographic area for presentation of some types 

of Economic Census data. It includes incorporated places, 

consolidated cities, census designated places (CDPs), minor civil 

divisions (MCDs) in selected states, and balances of MCDs or 

counties. An incorporated place, CDP, MCD, or balance of MCD 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page C-4

MTFCC FEATURE CLASS FEATURE CLASS DESCRIPTION

qualifies as an economic census place if it contains 5,000 or more 

residents, or 5,000 or more jobs, according to the most current 

data available.

G5020 Census Tract Relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a County or 

equivalent feature delineated by local participants as part of the 

Census Bureau’s Participant Statistical Areas Program.

G5030 Block Group A cluster of census blocks having the same first digit of their fourdigit identifying numbers within a Census Tract. For example, 

block group 3 (BG 3) within a Census Tract includes all blocks 

numbered from 3000 to 3999.

G5035 Block Area Grouping A user-defined group of islands forming a single census tabulation 

block. A BAG must: (1) consist of two or more islands, (2) have a 

perimeter entirely over water, (3) not overlap, and (4) not cross the

boundary of other tabulation geographies, such as county or 

incorporated place boundaries.

G5040 Tabulation Block The lowest-order census defined statistical area. It is an area, 

such as a city block, bounded primarily by physical features but 

sometimes by invisible city or property boundaries. A tabulation 

block boundary does not cross the boundary of any other 

geographic area for which the Census Bureau tabulates data. The 

subtypes of this feature are Count Question Resolution (CQR), 

current, and census.

G5200 Congressional District The 435 areas from which people are elected to the U.S. House of 

Representatives. Additional equivalent features exist for state 

equivalents with nonvoting delegates or no representative. The 

subtypes of this feature are 106th, 107th, 108th, 109th, and 111th 

Congressional Districts, plus subsequent Congresses.

G5210 State Legislative 

District (Upper 

Chamber

Areas established by a state or equivalent government from which 

members are elected to the upper or unicameral chamber of a 

state governing body. The upper chamber is the senate in a 

bicameral legislature, and the unicameral case is a single house 

legislature (Nebraska).

G5220 State Legislative 

District (Lower 

Chamber)

Areas established by a state or equivalent government from which 

members are elected to the lower chamber of a state governing 

body. The lower chamber is the House of Representatives in a 

bicameral legislature.

G5240 Voting District The generic name for the geographic features, such as precincts, 

wards, and election districts, established by state, local, and tribal 

governments for the purpose of conducting elections.

G5400 Elementary School 

District

A geographic area within which officials provide public elementary 

grade-level educational services for residents.

G5410 Secondary School 

District

A geographic area within which officials provide public secondary 

grade-level educational services for residents.

G5420 Unified School District A geographic area within which officials provide public educational 

services for all grade levels for residents.

G6120 Public-Use Microdata 

Area

A decennial census area with a population of at least 100,000 or 

more persons for which the Census Bureau provides selected 

extracts of household-level data that are screened to protect 

confidentiality

G6300 Traffic Analysis District An area delineated by Metropolitan Planning Organizations 

(MPOs) and state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) for 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page C-5

MTFCC FEATURE CLASS FEATURE CLASS DESCRIPTION

tabulating journey-to-work and place-of-work data. A Traffic 

Analysis District (TAD) consists of one or more Traffic Analysis 

Zones (TAZs).

G6320 Traffic Analysis Zone An area delineated by Metropolitan Planning Organizations 

(MPOs) and state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) for 

tabulating journey-to-work and place-of-work data.

G6330 Urban Growth Area An area defined under state authority to manage urbanization that 

the Census Bureau includes in the MAF/TIGER® System in 

agreement with the state.

G6350 ZIP Code Tabulation 

Area (Five-Digit)

An approximate statistical-area representation of a U.S. Postal 

Service (USPS) 5-digit ZIP Code service area.

G6400 Commercial Region For the purpose of presenting economic statistical data, 

municipios in Puerto Rico are grouped into commercial regions.

H1100 Connector A known, but nonspecific, hydrographic connection between two 

nonadjacent water features.

H2025 Swamp/Marsh A poorly drained wetland, fresh or saltwater, wooded or grassy, 

possibly covered with open water. [includes bog, cienega, marais 

and pocosin]

H2030 Lake/Pond A standing body of water that is surrounded by land.

H2040 Reservoir An artificially impounded body of water.

H2041 Treatment Pond An artificial body of water built to treat fouled water.

H2051 Bay/Estuary/Gulf/

Sound

A body of water partly surrounded by land. [includes arm, bight, 

cove and inlet]

H2053 Ocean/Sea The great body of salt water that covers much of the earth.

H2060 Gravel Pit/Quarry filled 

with water

A body of water in a place or area from which commercial minerals 

were removed from the Earth.

H2081 Glacier A body of ice moving outward and down slope from an area of 

accumulation; an area of relatively permanent snow or ice on the 

top or side of a mountain or mountainous area. [includes ice field 

and ice patch]

H3010 Stream/River A natural flowing waterway. [includes anabranch, awawa, branch, 

brook, creek, distributary, fork, kill, pup, rio, and run]

H3013 Braided Stream A natural flowing waterway with an intricate network of interlacing 

channels.

H3020 Canal, Ditch or 

Aqueduct

An artificial waterway constructed to transport water, to irrigate or 

drain land, to connect two or more bodies of water, or to serve as 

a waterway for watercraft. [includes lateral]

K1225 Crew-of-Vessel 

Location

A point or area in which the population of military or merchant 

marine vessels at sea are assigned, usually being at or near the 

home port pier.

K1231 Hospital/Hospice/

Urgent Care Facility

One or more structures where the sick or injured may receive 

medical or surgical attention. [including infirmary]

K1235 Juvenile Institution A facility (correctional and non-correctional) where groups of 

juveniles reside; this includes training schools, detention centers, 

residential treatment centers and orphanages.

K1236 Local Jail or Detention 

Center

One or more structures that serve as a place for the confinement 

of adult persons in lawful detention, administered by a local 

(county, municipal, etc.) government.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page C-6

MTFCC FEATURE CLASS FEATURE CLASS DESCRIPTION

K1237 Federal Penitentiary, 

State Prison, or Prison 

Farm

An institution that serves as a place for the confinement of adult 

persons in lawful detention, administered by the federal 

government or a state government.

K1238 Other Correctional 

Institution

One or more structures that serve as a place for the confinement 

of adult persons in lawful detention, not elsewhere classified or 

administered by a government of unknown jurisdiction.

K1239 Convent, Monastery, 

Rectory, Other 

Religious Group 

Quarters

One or more structures intended for use as a residence for those 

having a religious vocation.

K1246 Community Center Community Center.

K2110 Military Installation An area owned and/or occupied by the Department of Defense for 

use by a branch of the armed forces (such as the Army, Navy, Air 

Force, Marines, or Coast Guard), or a state owned area for the 

use of the National Guard.

K2165 Government Center A place used by members of government (either federal, state, 

local, or tribal) for administration and public business.

K2167 Convention Center An exhibition hall or conference center with enough open space to 

host public and private business and social events.

K2180 Park Parkland defined and administered by federal, state, and local 

governments.

K2181 National Park Service 

Land

Area—National parks, National Monuments, and so forth—under 

the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.

K2182 National Forest or 

Other Federal Land

Land under the management and jurisdiction of the federal 

government, specifically including areas designated as National 

Forest, and excluding areas under the jurisdiction of the National 

Park Service.

K2183 Tribal Park, Forest, or 

Recreation Area

A place or area set aside for recreation or preservation of a 

cultural or natural resource and under the administration of an 

American Indian tribe.

K2184 State Park, Forest, or 

Recreation Area

A place or area set aside for recreation or preservation of a 

cultural or natural resource and under the administration of a state 

government.

K2185 Regional Park, Forest, 

or Recreation Area

A place or area set aside for recreation or preservation of a 

cultural or natural resource and under the administration of a 

regional government.

K2186 County Park, Forest, or 

Recreation Area

A place or area set aside for recreation or preservation of a 

cultural or natural resource and under the administration of a 

county government.

K2187 County Subdivision 

Park, Forest, or 

Recreation Area

A place or area set aside for recreation or preservation of a 

cultural or natural resource and under the administration of a 

minor civil division (town/township) government.

K2188 Incorporated Place 

Park, Forest, or 

Recreation Area

A place or area set aside for recreation or preservation of a 

cultural or natural resource and under the administration of a 

municipal government.

K2189 Private Park, Forest, or 

Recreation Area

A privately owned place or area set aside for recreation or 

preservation of a cultural or natural resource.

K2190 Other Park, Forest, or 

Recreation Area (quasiA place or area set aside for recreation or preservation of a cultural or natural resource and under the administration of some 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page C-7

MTFCC FEATURE CLASS FEATURE CLASS DESCRIPTION

public, independent 

park, commission, etc.)

other type of government or agency such as an independent park 

authority or commission.

K2191 Post Office An official facility of the U.S. Postal Service used for processing 

and distributing mail and other postal material.

K2193 Fire Department Fire Department.

K2194 Police Station Police Station.

K2195 Library Library.

K2196 City/Town Hall City/Town Hall.

K2400 Transportation Terminal A facility where one or more modes of transportation can be 

accessed by people or for the shipment of goods; examples of 

such a facility include marine terminal, bus station, train station, 

airport and truck warehouse.

K2424 Marina A place where privately owned, light-craft are moored.

K2432 Pier/Dock A platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by 

piles. This platform may provide access to ships and boats, or it 

may be used for recreational purposes.

K2451 Airport or Airfield A manmade facility maintained for the use of aircraft. [including 

airstrip, landing field and landing strip]

K2452 Train Station, Trolley or 

Mass Transit Rail 

Station

A place where travelers can board and exit rail transit lines, 

including associated ticketing, freight, and other commercial 

offices.

K2453 Bus Terminal A place where travelers can board and exit mass motor vehicle 

transit, including associated ticketing, freight, and other 

commercial offices.

K2454 Marine Terminal A place where travelers can board and exit water transit or where 

cargo is handled, including associated ticketing, freight, and other 

commercial offices.

K2455 Seaplane Anchorage A place where an airplane equipped with floats for landing on or 

taking off from a body of water can debark and load.

K2456 Airport—Intermodal 

Transportation 

Hub/Terminal

A major air transportation facility where travelers can board and 

exit airplanes and connect with other (i.e. non-air) modes of 

transportation.

K2457 Airport—Statistical 

Representation

The area of an airport adjusted to include whole 2000 census 

blocks used for the delineation of urban areas

K2458 Park and Ride 

Facility/Parking Lot

A place where motorists can park their cars and transfer to other 

modes of transportation.

K2459 Runway/Taxiway A fairly level and usually paved expanse used by airplanes for 

taking off and landing at an airport.

K2460 Helicopter Landing Pad A fairly level and usually paved expanse used by helicopters for 

taking off and landing.

K2540 University or College A building or group of buildings used as an institution for postsecondary study, teaching, and learning. [including seminary]

K2543 School or Academy A building or group of buildings used as an institution for 

preschool, elementary or secondary study, teaching, and learning. 

[including elementary school and high school]

K2545 Museum, Visitor 

Center, Cultural Center, 

or Tourist Attraction

An attraction of historical, cultural, educational or other interest 

that provides information or displays artifacts.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page C-8

MTFCC FEATURE CLASS FEATURE CLASS DESCRIPTION

K2561 Golf Course A place designed for playing golf.

K2582 Cemetery A place or area for burying the dead. [including burying ground 

and memorial garden]

K2586 Zoo A facility in which terrestrial and/or marine animals are confined 

within enclosures and displayed to the public for educational, 

preservation, and research purposes.

K3544 Place of Worship A sanctified place or structure where people gather for religious 

worship; examples include church, synagogue, temple, and 

mosque.

L4010 Pipeline A long tubular conduit or series of pipes, often underground, with 

pumps and valves for flow control, used to transport fluid (e.g., 

crude oil, natural gas), especially over great distances.

L4020 Powerline One or more wires, often on elevated towers, used for conducting 

high-voltage electric power.

L4031 Aerial Tramway/Ski Lift A conveyance that transports passengers or freight in carriers 

suspended from cables and supported by a series of towers.

L4110 Fence Line A man-made barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., 

usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, 

to confine, or to mark a boundary.

L4121 Ridge Line The line of highest elevation along a ridge.

L4125 Cliff/Escarpment A very steep or vertical slope. [including bluff, crag, head, 

headland, nose, palisades, precipice, promontory, rim and rimrock]

L4130 Point-to-Point Line A line defined as beginning at one location point and ending at 

another, both of which are in sight.

L4140 Property/Parcel Line 

(Including PLSS)

This feature class may denote a nonvisible boundary of either 

public or private lands (e.g., a park boundary) or it may denote a 

Public Land Survey System or equivalent survey line.

L4150 Coastline The line that separates either land or Inland water from Coastal, 

Territorial or Great Lakes water. Where land directly borders 

Coastal, Territorial or Great Lakes water, the shoreline represents 

the Coastline. Where Inland water (such as a river) flows into 

Coastal, Territorial or Great Lakes water, the closure line 

separating the Inland water from the other class of water 

represents the Coastline.

L4165 Ferry Crossing The route used to carry or convey people or cargo back and forth 

over a waterbody in a boat.

P0001 Nonvisible Linear 

Legal/Statistical 

Boundary

A legal/statistical boundary line that does not correspond to a 

shoreline or other visible feature on the ground.

P0002 Perennial Shoreline The more-or-less permanent boundary between land and water for 

a water feature that exists year-round.

P0003 Intermittent Shoreline The boundary between land and water (when water is present) for 

a water feature that does not exist year-round.

P0004 Other non-visible 

bounding Edge (e.g., 

Census water 

boundary, boundary of 

an areal feature)

A bounding Edge that does not represent a legal/statistical 

boundary, and does not correspond to a shoreline or other visible 

feature on the ground. Many such Edges bound area landmarks, 

while many others separate water features from each other (e.g., 

where a bay meets the ocean).
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page C-9

MTFCC FEATURE CLASS FEATURE CLASS DESCRIPTION

R1011 Railroad Feature (Main, 

Spur, or Yard)

A line of fixed rails or tracks that carries mainstream railroad 

traffic. Such a rail line can be a main line or spur line, or part of a 

rail yard.

R1051 Carline, Streetcar 

Track, Monorail, Other 

Mass Transit

Mass transit rail lines (including lines for rapid transit, monorails, 

streetcars, light rail, etc.) that are typically inaccessible to 

mainstream railroad traffic and whose tracks are not part of a road 

right-of-way.

R1052 Cog Rail Line, Incline 

Rail Line, Tram

A special purpose rail line for climbing steep grades that is 

typically inaccessible to mainstream railroad traffic. Note that 

aerial tramways and streetcars (which may also be called “trams”) 

are accounted for by other MTFCCs and do not belong in R1052

S1100 Primary Road Primary roads are generally divided, limited-access highways 

within the interstate highway system or under state management, 

and are distinguished by the presence of interchanges. These 

highways are accessible by ramps and may include some toll 

highways.

S1200 Secondary Road Secondary roads are main arteries, usually in the U.S. Highway, 

State Highway or County Highway system. These roads have one 

or more lanes of traffic in each direction, may or may not be 

divided, and usually have at-grade intersections with many other 

roads and driveways. They often have both a local name and a 

route number.

S1400 Local Neighborhood 

Road, Rural Road, City 

Street

Generally a paved non-arterial street, road, or byway that usually 

has a single lane of traffic in each direction. Roads in this feature 

class may be privately or publicly maintained. Scenic park roads 

would be included in this feature class, as would (depending on 

the region of the country) some unpaved roads.

S1500 Vehicular Trail (4WD) An unpaved dirt trail where a four-wheel drive vehicle is required. 

These vehicular trails are found almost exclusively in very rural 

areas. Minor, unpaved roads usable by ordinary cars and trucks 

belong in the S1400 category.

S1630 Ramp A road that allows controlled access from adjacent roads onto a 

limited access highway, often in the form of a cloverleaf 

interchange. These roads are unaddressable and do not carry a 

name in the MAF/TIGER System.

S1640 Service Drive usually 

along a limited access 

highway

A road, usually paralleling a limited access highway, that provides 

access to structures along the highway. These roads can be 

named and may intersect with other roads.

S1710 Walkway/Pedestrian 

Trail

A path that is used for walking, being either too narrow for or 

legally restricted from vehicular traffic.

S1720 Stairway A pedestrian passageway from one level to another by a series of 

steps.

S1730 Alley A service road that does not generally have associated addressed 

structures and is usually unnamed. It is located at the rear of 

buildings and properties and is used for deliveries.

S1740 Private Road for 

service vehicles 

(logging, oil fields, 

ranches, etc.)

A road within private property that is privately maintained for 

service, extractive, or other purposes. These roads are often 

unnamed.

S1750 Internal U.S. Census 

Bureau use

Internal U.S. Census Bureau use.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page C-10

MTFCC FEATURE CLASS FEATURE CLASS DESCRIPTION

S1780 Parking Lot Road The main travel route for vehicles through a paved parking area.

S1820 Bike Path or Trail A path that is used for manual or small, motorized bicycles, being 

either too narrow for or legally restricted from vehicular traffic.

S1830 Bridle Path A path that is used for horses, being either too narrow for or legally 

restricted from vehicular traffic.

S2000 Road Median The unpaved area or barrier between the carriageways of a 

divided road.

Note: The information in this table was last updated in November 2017.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page D-1

APPENDIX D STANDARD STREET TYPE ABBREVIATIONS

STREET NAME TYPE STANDARD ABBREVIATION

ALLEY ALY

ANEX ANX

ARCADE ARC

AVENUE AVE

BAYOU BYU

BEACH BCH

BEND BND

BLUFF BLF

BLUFFS BLFS

BOTTOM BTM

BOULEVARD BLVD

BRANCH BR

BRIDGE BRG

BROOK BRK

BROOKS BRKS

BURG BG

BURGS BGS

BYPASS BYP

CAMP CP

CANYON CYN

CAPE CPE

CAUSEWAY CSWY

CENTER CTR

CENTERS CTRS

CIRCLE CIR

CIRCLES CIRS

CLIFF CLF

CLIFFS CLFS

CLUB CLB

COMMON CMN

COMMONS CMNS

CORNER COR

CORNERS CORS

COURSE CRSE

COURT CT

COURTS CTS

COVE CV

COVES CVS

CREEK CRK

CRESCENT CRES

CREST CRST

CROSSING XING

CROSSROAD XRD

CROSSROADS XRDS

CURVE CURV

DALE DL
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page D-2

STREET NAME TYPE STANDARD ABBREVIATION

DAM DM

DIVIDE DV

DRIVE DR

DRIVES DRS

ESTATE EST

ESTATES ESTS

EXPRESSWAY EXPY

EXTENSION EXT

EXTENSIONS EXTS

FALL FALL

FALLS FLS

FERRY FRY

FIELD FLD

FIELDS FLDS

FLAT FLT

FLATS FLTS

FORD FRD

FORDS FRDS

FOREST FRST

FORGE FRG

FORGES FRGS

FORK FRK

FORKS FRKS

FORT FT

FREEWAY FWY

GARDEN GDN

GARDENS GDNS

GATEWAY GTWY

GLEN GLN

GLENS GLNS

GREEN GRN

GREENS GRNS

GROVE GRV

GROVES GRVS

HARBOR HBR

HARBORS HBRS

HAVEN HVN

HEIGHTS HTS

HIGHWAY HWY

HILL HL

HILLS HLS

HOLLOW HOLW

INLET INLT

ISLAND IS

ISLANDS ISS

ISLE ISLE

JUNCTION JCT

JUNCTIONS JCTS

KEY KY

KEYS KYS

KNOLL KNL
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page D-3

STREET NAME TYPE STANDARD ABBREVIATION

KNOLLS KNLS

LAKE LK

LAKES LKS

LAND LAND

LANDING LNDG

LANE LN

LIGHT LGT

LIGHTS LGTS

LOAF LF

LOCK LCK

LOCKS LCKS

LODGE LDG

LOOP LOOP

MALL MALL

MANOR MNR

MANORS MNRS

MEADOW MDW

MEADOWS MDWS

MEWS MEWS

MILL ML

MILLS MLS

MISSION MSN

MOTORWAY MTWY

MOUNT MT

MOUNTAIN MTN

MOUNTAINS MTNS

NECK NCK

ORCHARD ORCH

OVAL OVAL

OVERPASS OPAS

PARK PARK

PARKS PARK

PARKWAY PKWY

PARKWAYS PKWY

PASS PASS

PASSAGE PSGE

PATH PATH

PIKE PIKE

PINE PNE

PINES PNES

PLACE PL

PLAIN PLN

PLAINS PLNS

PLAZA PLZ

POINT PT

POINTS PTS

PORT PRT

PORTS PRTS

PRAIRIE PR

RADIAL RADL

RAMP RAMP
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page D-4

STREET NAME TYPE STANDARD ABBREVIATION

RANCH RNCH

RAPID RPD

RAPIDS RPDS

REST RST

RIDGE RDG

RIDGES RDGS

RIVER RIV

ROAD RD

ROADS RDS

ROUTE RTE

ROW ROW

RUE RUE

RUN RUN

SHOAL SHL

SHOALS SHLS

SHORE SHR

SHORES SHRS

SKYWAY SKWY

SPRING SPG

SPRINGS SPGS

SPUR SPUR

SPURS SPUR

SQUARE SQ

SQUARES SQS

STATION STA

STRAVENUE STRA

STREAM STRM

STREET ST

STREETS STS

SUMMIT SMT

TERRACE TER

THROUGHWAY TRWY

TRACE TRCE

TRACK TRAK

TRAFFICWAY TRFY

TRAIL TRL

TRAILER TRLR

TUNNEL TUNL

TURNPIKE TPKE

UNDERPASS UPAS

UNION UN

UNIONS UNS

VALLEY VLY

VALLEYS VLYS

VIADUCT VIA

VIEW VW

VIEWS VWS

VILLAGE VLG

VILLAGES VLGS

VILLE VL

VISTA VIS
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page D-5

STREET NAME TYPE STANDARD ABBREVIATION

WALK WALK

WALKS WALK

WALL WALL

WAY WAY

WAYS WAYS

WELL WL

WELLS WLS
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page E-1

APPENDIX E GUPS TOOLS

E.1 Set Layer Symbology

GUPS loads a default layer symbology established for each Census Bureau geographic 

partnership program. You can change the default symbology to suit your preferences. To 

change the default symbology for a layer in GUPS, follow the instructions in Table 46.

Table 46: Reset Layer Symbology

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Right-click on the layer in the Table of Contents (in this example, we selected the Edges 

layer). The Layers drop-down menu opens.

Step 2 In the drop-down menu, choose ‘Properties’. The Layer Properties screen opens. 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page E-2

Step Action and Result

Step 3 In the left-hand pane, click on Style, then double-click the symbol you want to edit in the 

layers list. In this example, we will double-click on ‘Roads, substr (“MTFCC, 1,1) = S1100’ to 

select it. 

The Rule Properties dialog box opens and the Label and Filter fields display the item 

chosen. The Symbol pane shows the current symbology (yellow line).

Step 4 Choose a new color from the Color drop-down menu, or select a different symbol for the layer 

altogether by double-clicking any symbol in the Symbols in Group field. Click OK. The new 

symbology will display in the Table of Contents and in Map View.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page E-3

Step Action and Result

E.2 Change Label Display

You can change the default GUPS labeling display and also restore it to the original setting. To 

change the default labeling for a layer, follow the steps in Table 47.

Table 47: Change Default Labeling

Step Action and Result 

Step 1 Right click on the layer (we have selected the edges layer) in the Table of Contents. The 

Layers drop-down menu opens.

Step 2 In the drop-down menu, choose ‘Properties’. The Layer Properties dialog box opens.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page E-4

Step Action and Result 

Step 3 In the far left-hand pane, click Labels. The options to change the label display properties 

open in the main window.

Step 4 To change the attribute field, click on the drop-down menu for ‘Label this layer with’ at the top 

of the screen, and select the desired option. 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page E-5

Step Action and Result 

Text style options allow you to change the font, style, size, color, transparency, type case, 

and spacing of layer labels. Shown below are the drop-down options for style.

E.3 Restoring Default Label Display Settings

To restore the default labeling for a layer, follow the steps in Table 48.

Table 48: Restoring Default Labeling

Step Action and Result

Step 1 Right-click on the layer you changed in the Table of Contents. The layer’s drop-down 

menu opens. 

Step 2 In this example, we have selected the Edges layer. In the drop-down menu, click on the 

arrow to the right of ‘GUPS Layer’. Four options appear: ‘Load default style’, ‘Load all 

default style’, ‘Load BBSP Edges style’, and ‘Load Low profile Edges style’. 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page E-6

Step Action and Result

Step 3 Select ‘Load default style’ to restore the selected layer’s original properties OR select ‘Load 

all default style’ to reset ALL the layers to their original settings. 

E.4 Using the Table of Contents Toolbar to Manage Layers

Using the buttons on the toolbar located at the top of the Table of Contents, you can add and 

remove layers or groups, manage layer visibility, filter the legend by map content, expand or 

contract all sections of the Table of Contents list at once, and group layers. 

The Table of Contents Layers toolbar contains the items shown in the figure below describes 

the function of each of the buttons on the toolbar.

Figure 17. Table of Contents Layers Toolbar

Table 49: Table of Contents Layers Toolbar Buttons

Button Name Function / Description

Add Group Allows you to organize layers in the Table of Contents into 

groups.

Manage Layer 

Visibility

Allows you to preset views in the Table of Contents.

Filter Legend by 

Map Content

Removes from the Table of Contents display any layers that 

are not currently in the Map View extent. This feature ensures 

that the Table of Contents does not contain entries for items 

not currently in the map view. 

Expand All Expands the Table of Contents menus (+) to display all layers 

under each group’s menu.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page E-7

Button Name Function / Description

Collapse All Collapses the Table of Contents menus (-) to show only 

groups.

Remove 

Layer/Group

Allows you to remove a layer or group from the Table of 

Contents. 

E.5 Preset Views in the Manage Layer Visibility Table of Contents

You can add preset views in the Table of Contents by clicking on the Manage Layer 

Visibility button on the Table of Contents toolbar. You can choose to display a layer with specific 

categorization and add this view to the Presets list. To add a preset view click on the Manage 

Layer Visibility button and choose ‘Add Preset...’ from the drop-down menu. 

Figure 18. Add Preset Layer

When the Visibility Presets pop-up appears, enter the name of the new preset and click OK.

Figure 19. Visibility Presets Dialog Box

Note: By clicking on the Manage Layer Visibility button, you can view the list of all preset views that 

you have established and from which you can choose.
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page F-1

APPENDIX F MAF/TIGER FEATURE CLASSIFICATION

Table 50: MAF/TIGER Feature Classification

MTFCC FEATURE NAME

S1100 Interstate Highway or Primary Road with limited access

S1200 Primary Road without limited access, US Highway, State Highway, or County Highway, 

Secondary and connecting roads

S1400 Local Neighborhood Road, Rural Road, City Street

S1500 Vehicular Trail (4WD)

S1630 Ramp

S1640 Service Drive usually along a limited access highway

S1710 Walkway/Pedestrian Trail

S1720 Stairway

S1730 Alley

S1740 Private Road for service vehicles (logging, oil fields, ranches, etc.)

S1750 Private Driveway

H3010 Stream/River

H3013 Braided Stream

H3020 Canal, Ditch or Aqueduct

R1011 Railroad Feature (Main, Spur, or Yard)

R1051 Carline, Streetcar Track, Monorail, Other Mass Transit Rail

R1052 Cog Rail Line, Incline Rail Line, Tram

P0001 Nonvisible Legal/Statistical Boundary

L4010 Pipeline

L4020 Power Transmission Line

L4110 Fence Line

L4121 Ridge Line

L4031 Aerial Tramway/Ski Lift

K2451 Airport or Airfield

L4140 Property/Parcel Line

L4165 Ferry Crossing
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page G-1

APPENDIX G SHAPEFILE NAMES

State Shapefile Names 

PVS_17_v2_<layername>_<SS>.shp, where <SS> is the number corresponding to the state, 

for example, “24” and <layername> is the abbreviation for the shapefile layer, describe in 

detail below. 

Table 51: State Shapefiles Names

Shapefile Layer <layername>

American Indian Areas (AIA) – Legal aial

2010 American Indian Areas (AIA) – Legal aial2010

American Indian Areas (AIA) – Statistical aias

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions (AITS) - Legal aitsl

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions (AITS) - Statistical aitss

Block Area Group bag

Metropolitan Statistical Area/Metropolitan Statistical Area cbsa

Congressional Districts cd

Census Designated Place cdp

Counties and Equivalent Areas county

2010 Counties and Equivalent Areas county2010

Elementary School Districts elsd

County Subdivisions - Legal mcd

New England City and Town Areas necta

Incorporated Places place

2010 Public Use Microdata Areas puma2010

Secondary School Districts scsd

State Legislative Districts Lower sldl

State Legislative District Upper Chambers sldu

State state

Tribal Block Groups tbg

Tribal Census Tracts tct

2010 Census Tracts tracts2010

Urban Area uac

Unified School District State-Based unsd
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page G-2

County Shapefile Names

PVS_17_v2_<layername>_<SSCCC>.shp, where <SSCCC> is the number corresponding 

to the state and county, for example, “24001” and <layername> is the abbreviation for the 

shapefile layer, describe in detail below. 

Table 52: County Shapefiles Names

Shapefile Layer <layername>

American Indian Areas (AIA) – Legal aial

American Indian Areas (AIA) – Statistical aias

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions (AITS) - Legal aitsl

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions (AITS) - Statistical aitss

Alaska Native Regional Corporations (ANRC) anrc

Area Landmark arealm

Block Area Groups bag

Block Groups bg

Metropolitan Statistical Area/Metropolitan Statistical Area cbsa

Census County Division ccd

Congressional Districts cd

Census Designated Place cdp

Consolidated Cities concity

Counties and Equivalent Areas county

Census Tracts - Current curtracts

All Lines edges

Elementary School Districts elsd

Hawaiian Home Lands (HHL) hhl

County Subdivisions - Legal mcd

New England City and Town Areas necta

Offsets offset

Incorporated Places place

Point Landmarks pointlm

2010 Public Use Microdata Areas puma2010

Secondary School Districts scsd

State Legislative Districts Lower sldl

State Legislative Districts Upper sldu

Subbarrios submcd
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page G-3

Shapefile Layer <layername>

Census Blocks - Current tabblock

2010 Census Blocks tabblock2010

2010 Traffic Analysis Delineation tad2010

2010 Traffic Analysis Zones taz2010

Tribal Block Groups tbg

Tribal Census Tracts tct

2010 Census Tracts tracts2010

Census Urban Areas uac

Urban Growth Area uga

Hydrography - Area water

Unified School Districts unsd

Relationship Tables

Address Ranges addr

Topological Faces (2-cells with all geocodes) faces

Topological Faces - Area Landmark Relationship areafaces

Topological Faces - Area Hydrography Relationship hydrofaces

Linear Feature Names - Fielded allnames
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page H-1

APPENDIX H SHAPEFILE LAYOUTS

Table 53: Edges Shapefile (PVS_17_v2_edges) 

ATTRIBUTE FIELD LENGTH TYPE DESCRIPTION

STATEFP 2 String FIPS state code

COUNTYFP 3 String FIPS county code

TLID 10 Double Permanent edge ID

TFIDL 10 Double Permanent face ID (left)

TFIDR 10 Double Permanent face ID (right)

MTFCC 5 String MAF/TIGER Feature Class Code

FIDELITY 1 String Indication to a respondent when their entity boundary 

has changed through spatial enhancement

FULLNAME 40 String Decoded feature name with abbreviated qualifier, 

direction, and feature type

SMID 22 String Spatial Theta ID

SMIDTYPE 1 String SMIDTYPE code

BBSPFLG 1 String Redistricting data project participant’s submitted request 

of an EDGE for selection as a block boundary

CBBFLG 1 String Indicates the status of an EDGE for a selection as a 

block boundary

BBSP_2020 1 String New BBSP flag

CHNG_TYPE 4 String Type of linear feature update

JUSTIFY 150 String Justification of change

LTOADD 10 String Left To address

RTOADD 10 String Right To address

LFROMADD 10 String Left From address

RFROMADD 10 String Right From address

ZIPL 5 String Left zip code

ZIPR 5 String Right zip code

EXTTYP 1 Char Extension type

MTUPDATE 10 Date Date of last update to the edge
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page H-2

Table 54: Address Ranges Attribute File (PVS_17_v2_addr) 

ATTRIBUTE FIELD LENGTH TYPE DESCRIPTION

OID 8 STRING Object ID

TLID 22 INTEGER TIGER Line ID 

STATEFP 2 STRING FIPS State Code 

COUNTYFP 3 STRING FIPS County Code 

FROMHN 12 STRING From House Number 

TOHN 12 STRING To House Number 

SIDE 1 STRING Side Indicator Flag 

ZIP 5 STRING 5-digit ZIP Code 

PLUS4 4 STRING ZIP+4 Code 

LFROMADD 10 STRING Left From Address 

LTOADD 10 STRING Left To Address 

RFROMADD 10 STRING Right From Address 

RTOADD 10 STRING Right To Address 

ZIPL 5 STRING Left 5-digit ZIP Code 

ZIPR 5 STRING Right 5-digit ZIP Code 

ZIP4L 4 STRING Left ZIP+4 Code 

ZIP4R 4 STRING Right ZIP+4 Code 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page H-3

Table 55: Census Block Shapefile (PVS_17_v2_tabblock2010) 

ATTRIBUTE FIELD LENGTH TYPE DESCRIPTION

BLKSZIND 1 String Block Size Indicator

BLOCK 4 String Block Number 

BLOCKCE 4 String Tabulation Block Number 

BLOCKID 15 String FIPS State Code, FIPS County Code, Census 

Tract Code, Block Number 

COUNTYFP 3 String Census County FIPS code 

COUNTYFP10 3 String FIPS County Code 

FID 10 Integer Permanent Face ID 

NCELIGBLE 1 String New Construction Program eligible

PARTFLG 1 String Part Flag Indicator

Shape 7 String Type of shape

STATEFP 2 String Census state FIPS code 

STATEFP10 2 String FIPS State Code

SUFFIX1CE 2 String Census Block Suffix 1 

SUFFIX2CE 2 String Census Block Suffix 2 

TRACTCE10 6 String Census tract code 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page H-4

Table 56: Census Tract Shapefile (PVS_17_v2_curtracts) 

ATTRIBUTE FIELD LENGTH TYPE DESCRIPTION

CHNG_TYPE 2 String Type of area update 

COUNTYFP 3 String FIPS County Code 

EFF_DATE 8 String Effective Date or Vintage 

FID 10 Integer Permanent Face ID 

JUSTIFY 150 Char Justification 

NAME 100 String Name 

NEW_CODE 2 String New Congressional District Code 

RELATE 120 String Relationship Description 

Shape 7 String Type of shape

STATEFP 2 String FIPS State Code 

TRACTCE 6 String Census Tract Code 

TRACTID 11 String FIPS State Code, FIPS County Code, Census Tract 

Code 

TRACTLABEL 7 String Tract number used for LUCA geocoding 

TRACTTYP 1 String Tract Characteristic Flag 

VINTAGE 2 String Vintage updated with returned data 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page H-5

Table 57: American Indian Areas Shapefile (PVS_17_v2_aial) 

ATTRIBUTE FIELD LENGTH TYPE DESCRIPTION

AIANNHCE 4 String Census AIANNH Code 

AIANNHFSR 1 String Flag Indicating Level of Recognition of an AIA 

AIANNHNS 8 String ANSI numeric identifier for AIA areas 

AREA 10 Double Acreage of Area Update 

AUTHTYPE 1String Authorization Type (O – Ordinance, R – Resolution, 

L – Local Law, S – State Level Action, X – Other) 

CHNG_TYPE 2 String Type of Area Update 

CLASSFP 2 String FIPS 55 Class Code Describing an Entity 

COMPTYP 1String Indicates if Reservation, Trust Land, or both are 

Present 

COUNTYFP 3 String FIPS County Code 

DOCU 120 String Supporting Documentation 

EFF_DATE 8 Date Effective Date 

FID 10 Integer Permanent Face ID 

FORM_ID 4 String (MTPS and Web BAS Only) 

FUNCSTAT 1 String Functional Status 

JUSTIFY 150 Char Justification 

LSAD 2 String Legal / Statistical Area Description 

NAME 100 String AIA name 

NAMELSAD 100 String Name with Translated LSAD 

PARTFLG 1 String Part Flag Indicator 

RELATE 120 String Relationship description 

SHAPE 7 String Type of shape

STATEFP 2 String FIPS State Code 

VINTAGE 2 String Vintage of the Data 
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page H-6

Table 58: County and Equivalent Areas Shapefile (PVS_17_v2_county) 

ATTRIBUTE FIELD LENGTH TYPE DESCRIPTION

STATEFP 2 String FIPS state code

COUNTYFP 3 String FIPS county code

COUNTYNS 8 String ANSI feature code for the county or 

equivalent feature

NAMELSAD 100 String Name with translated LSAD code

LSAD 2 String Legal/Statistical Area Description code

FUNCSTAT 1 String Functional status

CLASSFP 2 String FIPS 55 class code describing an entity

CHNG_TYPE 2 String Type of area update

EFF_DATE 8 Date Effective date or vintage

AUTHTYPE 1 String

Authorization type (O – Ordinance, R –

Resolution, L – Local Law, S – State Level 

Action, X – Other)

DOCU 120 String Supporting documentation

FORM_ID 4 String Record ID (GUPS only)

AREA 10 Double Area of update

RELATE 120 String Relationship description

JUSTIFY 150 String Justification of change

NAME 100 String Entity name

VINTAGE 2 String Vintage of the data
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page H-7

Table 59: County Subdivisions Shapefile (PVS_17_v2_mcd) 

ATTRIBUTE FIELD LENGTH TYPE DESCRIPTION

STATEFP 2 String FIPS state code

COUNTYFP 3 String FIPS county code

COUSUBFP 5 String FIPS 55 county subdivision code

NAMELSAD 100 String Name with translated LSAD

COUSUBNS 8 String ANSI feature code for the county subdivision

LSAD 2 String Legal/Statistical Area Description

FUNCSTAT 1 String Functional status

CLASSFP 2 String FIPS 55 class code describing an entity

CHNG_TYPE 2 String Type of area update

EFF_DATE 8 Date Effective date or vintage

AUTHTYPE 1 String Authorization type (O – Ordinance, R – Resolution, L –

Local Law, S – State Level Action, X – Other)

DOCU 120 String Supporting documentation

FORM_ID 4 String Record ID (GUPS only)

AREA 10 Double Area of update

RELATE 120 String Relationship description

JUSTIFY 150 String Justification of change

NAME 100 String Entity name

VINTAGE 2 String Vintage of the data
Boundary and Annexation Survey Tribal Respondent Guide: GUPS Page H-8

Table 60: Incorporated Place Shapefile (PVS_17_v2_place) 

ATTRIBUTE FIELD LENGTH TYPE DESCRIPTION

STATEFP 2 String FIPS state code

COUNTYFP 3 String FIPS county code

PLACEFP 5 String FIPS 55 place code

NAMELSAD 100 String Name with translated LSAD

PLACENS 8 String ANSI feature code for the place

LSAD 2 String Legal / Statistical Area Description

FUNCSTAT 1 String Functional status

CLASSFP 2 String FIPS 55 class code describing and entity

PARTFLG 1 String Indicates if only part of a feature is represented

CHNG_TYPE 2 String Type of area update

EFF_DATE 8 Date Effective date or vintage

AUTHTYPE 1 String

Authorization type (O – Ordinance, R – Resolution, L –

Local Law, S – State Level Action, X – Other)

DOCU 120 String Supporting documentation

FORM_ID 4 String Record ID (GUPS only)

AREA 10 Double Area of update

RELATE 120 String Relationship description

JUSTIFY 150 String Justification of change

NAME 100 String Entity name

VINTAGE 2 String Vintage of the data