How to complete the 2021 census online

THE 2021 census will be the first time that the massive survey is conducted primarily online. Hundreds of buildings and landmarks throughout England and Wales will be lit up in purple this weekend to mark the census. How do I fill out the census online? The census is a questionnaire about your household, covering topics such […]

THE 2021 census will be the first time that the massive survey is conducted primarily online.

Hundreds of buildings and landmarks throughout England and Wales will be lit up in purple this weekend to mark the census.

Read our Census 2021 live blog for the latest news, updates and useful tips…

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How do I fill out the census online?

The census is a questionnaire about your household, covering topics such as who you live with, the type of property you live in and your employment status.

The next census takes place in England, Northern Ireland and Wales on Sunday March 21, 2021. Scotland is delaying its survey until March 2022 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

1. Use access code

To start your survey online, you will need your 16‑character access code – which should have been delivered in the post.

You can complete your census as soon as you receive your letter.

But, don’t panic if the access code has been lost, or you’ve not received one as yet – just request a new code, which can be sent to you by text (or post) from Census2021.

When you’re ready to start filling in your details online, go to the census 2021 website, and you’ll see this page here:

Click on ‘start census‘ to land on this page, which is where you enter the 16-character access code:

Once that’s done, you can start filling in the answers.

• You don’t have to fill in the form all at once.
• Save your progress at any time by clicking “save and sign out”.
• Don’t forget to press “submit” when you’re finished.

Almost all of the topics asked about in 2011 appear again in 2021, but the way in which some questions are asked have been tweaked.

£1k fine warning

You must complete the census by law or you could be fined up to £1,000.

Some questions are labelled as voluntary. So, it is not an offence if you do not answer these.

Covid impact

The Covid pandemic has resulted in “operational challenges for preparing and carrying out a census”, the government says.

So the 2021 census will be the first to be carried out primarily online.

It’s being administered by the National Statistics (ONS), which aims to have 75 per cent of census returns completed online, with the remainder completed on traditional paper forms.

The ONS also plans to provide in-person support sessions in some locations, such as in public libraries.

New questions

There will be three new questions in the 2021 census, covering:

• Veteran status: whether the respondent has ever served in the UK Armed Forces.
• Sexual orientation: whether the respondent identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, heterosexual or some other sexual orientation.
• Gender identity: whether the respondent’s gender is different from the sex they were registered as at birth.
• The ethnicity question includes a new tick-box for people of Roma ethnicity, alongside the existing ‘Gypsy or Irish Traveller’ tick-box.

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When do I have to complete the census by?

Every household should complete the census on Sunday, March 21, 2021 or as soon as possible after.

How long will the census take?

The census should take about 10 minutes for the household questions and 10 minutes per person.