Ninety-five percent or about 143 million households nationwide are soon receiving the initial invitation to respond to the 2020 Census in their mailboxes.

The U.S. Census Bureau sent those invitations in advance of Census Day, April 1, according to a release.

"Households are encouraged to respond when they receive their invitation. Depending on how likely the area is to respond online, households will receive either an invitation encouraging them to respond online or by phone or an invitation along with a paper questionnaire," the release states.

All invitations will include a short phrase in English and 12 additional languages inviting people to respond online or by phone in their language.

All households receiving an invitation in the mail will receive a second letter in the mail shortly after reminding them to respond. Then, households that still haven’t responded will receive a series of additional reminders, including a paper questionnaire in mid-April. Census takers will follow up with households that don’t respond to collect responses in person.

The 2020 Census counts every person living in the U.S. and five U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands)--- once, only once, and in the right place, as mandated by the U.S. Constitution, according to census.gov.

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