To Create SMC Account

1. Click "Secure Messaging Center."
2. Click Create New Account link.
3. Enter User ID and Password, and select the survey name from the drop down menu.
4. Click the "Submit" button.
5. Enter your email address in text box and click the "Register" button.
6. Fill in all required fields, and then click the "Register" button.
7. You will receive a message from Census Bureau SMC at the email address you used to register. Be sure to check your spam folder.
8. Click the hyperlink in the body of the message to validate your account.

To Access Existing Account with Password

1. Click "Secure Messaging Center."
2. Type your email address and password. (Not the user ID name found on your letter/form)
3. Click the "Log in" button.
4. Select your survey or "Request for Previously Submitted Data".
5. Click the "Go to Message Center/Request Data" button to proceed to the SMC.

To Access Existing Account without Password

1. Click "Secure Messaging Center."
2. Click the "Forgot your password?" link.
3. Enter your e-mail address, and then click "Continue". A password reset email will be sent to your registered email address. Follow the instructions within that email.
4. Enter your new password, and then click the "Next" button.
5. Click the "SMC Login" button and log in using your new password.

To Add a New Survey to an Existing SMC Account

1. Click "Secure Messaging Center."
2. Type your email address and password. (Not the user ID name found on your letter/form)
3. Click the "Log in" button.
4. Click "Register for Another Survey/Company"
5. Enter User ID and Password, and select the survey name from the drop down menu.
6. Click the "Submit" button.
7. Click "Main Menu". Selected survey will be listed on the main page.

To Compose a Message

1. Click the "Compose" button.
2. Select the appropriate company from the Select Company & Survey drop down menu.
3. Select To: drop down menu and select the appropriate contact.
4. Enter text in the Subject field.
5. Enter the message in the Message field.
6. Click "Send".

To Attach a File

1. Select/Enter appropriate information in the Select Company & Survey, To, and Subject fields before trying to attach a document.
2. From the composition screen, click "Browse."
3. Select the appropriate file from its location, and then click the "Open" button. To remove this file from the browse box, press "Delete Attachment."
   
   Note: The requirements for sending a file as an attachment are that the file name must not contain any spaces, the file size cannot be greater than 50,000,000 bytes, and the file type must be one of the following: .CSV, .DAT, .DB, .DOC, .DOCX, .LOG, .PDF, .SQLITE, .TXT, .XLS, .XLSX, .XML, .ZIP or Census Bureau Manifest.

To Send a Message

1. After composing the message and attaching all necessary documents, press "Send" (for composed messages) or "Send Reply" (for reply messages) to deliver the message.
2. A copy of this message will appear in the Sent folder on the Message Center page.
3. A notification message will be sent to the recipient's email address telling them that they have a secure message waiting for them in the SMC system.