This summary briefly describes the methods used and provides the results from pretesting the deadline messages proposed for the 2010 Census Program for Evaluations and Experiments (CPEX) panels mailing materials. Five deadline-message conditions will be tested in 2010.

The methods and results of two rounds of cognitive interviews are presented. In the first round, we pretested each of the deadline messages on each mailing piece (an advance letter, outgoing envelope, cover letter, and reminder postcard). We asked respondents to read each mailing piece separately for an assigned condition, and then we probed for their understanding and reactions to the various deadline statements. In the second round, we pretested the deadline message on the initial cover letter only, since the messages on the other mailing pieces had already been tested thoroughly.