Census 2021

Census 2021 is an important survey. It asks everyone in England and Wales the same questions about the same day and paints a picture of how we live. It’s a vital tool to help decide where billions of pounds are spent, for instance on roads, schools or hospitals.

If you live in England and Wales, you must fill in the census form by law or you could be fined up to £1,000.  Census 2021 is the first digital-first census. You will get a letter in the post with a household access code, individual access code, or manager access code on it which you can use to log in to the website

The code is unique to each household and is private and secure. We at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) follow laws to keep your information safe.

The information you provide needs to be about who usually lives in the household on Census Day, which is Sunday 21 March 2021. You can complete your questionnaire before 21 March. If your household circumstances change on Census Day, you can let us know.

You can also submit your questionnaire on Census Day or as soon as possible after.  The time it will take to fill in the census will depend on the number of people in your household. It’s likely to take around 10 minutes per person. You will have to answer a few questions about your household before moving on to individual questions. Anyone living in the household who’s aged 16 years or over can fill in these questions on their own if they want to. You can save it and come back to it later to finish off as well.

There will be help on hand at our Census Support Centres to fill in your questionnaire. You can request a paper version if you prefer. There will also be support available in different languages and accessible formats.

The concise description – when you need to get the message across, but space is tight All households should complete the census on Sunday 21 March 2021 or as soon as possible after. You can complete your questionnaire before 21 March. If your household circumstances change on Census Day, you can let us know.

If you live in England and Wales, you must fill in the census form by law or you could be fined up to £1,000. You can fill in the questionnaire online. There will be help available at our Census Support Centres if you need it. You will have to answer some questions about your household and some individual questions. Anyone aged 16 years or over can fill these questions in on their own if they want to. You can request a paper version if you prefer. There will also be support and guidance available in different languages and accessible formats.

More information is available at www.census.gov.uk