This recurring survey primarily deals with the finances of the state governments and is also a supplement of the Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. The survey covers the fifty state governments as well as all dependent state-level governmental entities.

Title 13, United States Code (U.S.C.), Sections 131 and 182, require businesses and other organizations included in the survey to answer the questions and submit a response.

Title 13, United States Code, Section 9, requires the Census Bureau to keep your information CONFIDENTIAL and can use your responses only to produce statistics.  The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your responses in a way that could identify your business, organization, or institution.  Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that transmit your data.

Below are a few common items you can use to verify the legitimacy of this survey:

1. Ensure the Web address provided in the letter/and or email is a "census.gov" domain.

2. Reporting information is provided in the letter/and or email.

3. The initial letter and/or or email will include the OMB eight-digit number. This number indicates that the OMB has approved the survey and has confirmed there is a need to collect the information.