· The Economic Census aggregates data about our nation’s

        26 million businesses to provide the most comprehensive,

        detailed, and authoritative facts about the American

        Economy.

·   Every 5 years, firms like yours receive a form for each U.S.

        location of their company.

·   There are over 500 versions of the census report form, each

        tailored to particular industries or types of activity.

·   Yes. Your response is required by law.

·   Title 13, U.S. Code, requires firms to complete and return

        Economic Census report forms.

·   Yes. Your response is confidential. We use your information

        solely to develop summary statistics. Your responses can

        only be seen by persons sworn to uphold the confidentiality

        provisions of the law and are exempt from the Freedom of

        Information Act.

·   Title 13 prohibits the census Bureau from publishing any

     data that could reveal the identity or activities of an

     individual firm.

·   The law protects from disclosure any copies of census

     reports that you retain in your records.

· Your forms will be mailed to the address you confirm or

   correct on the Contact Exchange Card between October and

   December of 2012.

·   Mail packages will include:

             —  An inventory list of forms you will receive for each

                  location of your company and its subsidiaries. The list

                  will identify the specific report forms required.

             —  A paper report form for each location of your company.

                  The number and types of report forms your company

                  receives will depend on its size and diversity, and its

                  based on the information you reported to us in

                  previous annual Reports of Organization

                  (Form NC-99001).

             —  Please check on the Contact Exchange Card if you plan

                  to report electronically.

·   Completed forms are due February 12, 2013.

·   Yes.  Download our Surveyor software

     from the internet or request it on CD-ROM.

·   Report each location individually or use the

     software to create or import a spreadsheet for

     all locations.

Good news! Not much has changed since 2007.

However, we have made several improvements

that should make  filing easier, including:

1. Electronic reporting is easier

      Over the past 5 years we have incorporated

      any features requested by companies into our

      Surveyor software.

2. More relevant content

      Items related to Leased Employment, Supply 

      Chain, and E-Commerce were deleted.

      Inquiries on franchising, outsourcing, and

      health and pension benefit expenses were

      added to selected forms to better measure

      changing business characteristics.

3. More standardized product detail

      All industries will report sales lines and

      revenue sources according to the new North

      American Product Classification System

      (NAPCS).

      This will allow us to produce product data that

      is comparable across industries.