Federal law requires residents to participate in the U.S. governmentu2019s American Community Surveyu2022 better known as the Census.Under Title 13 of the U.S. Code, you could have been fined up to $100 for refusing to complete a census form and $500 for answering questions falsely.However, the U.S. Census Bureau website points out that the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 effectively increased each of these minimum fines to $5,000. No prison sentence is specified.