Block Boundary Suggestion Project - Delineation

The Redistricting Data Program

2026BBSP_NonGUPS_UserGuide_NSC_final_approved

Block Boundary Suggestion Project - Delineation

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2026BBSP_NonGUPS_UserGuide_NSC_final_approved

Shape1 Non-GUPS Guide – Instructions for Participating in BBSP with User Supplied GIS Software


January 2026

Last updated August 2025

Table of Contents

Introduction vi

SECTION 1. Planned 2030 Census Tabulation Block Boundaries 1

SECTION 2. Suggested Workflow 3

2.1 Obtaining Census Partnership and Prototype Shapefiles 3

2.1.1 Shapefile Projection 4

2.2 Updating Census Bureau Shapefiles 5

2.3 Linear Feature Review 5

2.3.1 Creating the Update Shapefile for Linear Features 7

2.3.2 Required Attribution for Linear Features 8

2.4 Area Landmark Review 9

2.4.1 Creating the Update Layer for Area Landmarks 9

2.4.2 Required Attributes for Area Landmarks 10

2.5 Legal Boundary Updates 10

2.5.1 Required Attributes for Annexations and Deannexations 11

2.5.2 Boundary Correction Criteria 12

2.5.3 Required Attributes for Boundary Corrections 12

2.6 2020 Census Linear Feature Extension Review 13

2.7 Prototype Block Review 14

2.7.1 Block Size Review 14

2.7.2 Block Shape Review 15

2.8 Block Boundary Suggestion Flagging 15

2.8.1 Assigning a “Must Hold” Flag 16

2.8.2 Assigning a “Do Not Hold” Flag 17

2.9 Block Area Grouping Delineation 18

2.9.1 Creating the Block Area Grouping 18

2.9.2 Required Attribution for Block Area Groupings, 18

2.10 Validation Checks 18

2.11 Submitting Updates to the Census Bureau 19

SECTION 3. Creating Data Submissions 20

3.1 Submitting Linear Feature Updates/Block Boundary Suggestions 20

3.2 Submitting Area Landmark Updates 21

3.3 Submitting Legal Boundary Updates 21

3.3.1 BAS Partnership Toolbox Submission Files 21

3.3.2 Minor Civil Division Change Polygon Shapefile (Manual) 21

3.3.3 Incorporated Place Change Polygon Shapefile (Manual) 22

3.4 Submitting Block Area Grouping Updates 22

3.5 Creating .ZIP File Containing All Change Files 22

SECTION 4. File Submission through the Secure Web Incoming Module (SWIM) 23

4.1 Submitting Files Through SWIM 23

Appendix A Partnership Shapefile Data Dictionary A-1

A1 Shapefile Names A-1

A2 Shapefile Layouts A-4

Appendix B MTFCC Descriptions B-1





List of tables

Table 1: 2030 Census Planned Block Boundaries by MAF/TIGER Feature Class Code (MTFCC) 1

Table 2: Partnership Shapefiles for Submissions 5

Table 3: MTFCCs for Linear Feature Updates 6

Table 4: Required Attributes for Linear Feature Updates 8

Table 5: MTFCCs for Area Landmark Updates 9

Table 6: Required Attributes for Area Landmark Updates 10

Table 7: Required Attributes for Annexations and Deannexations 12

Table 8: Required Attributes for Boundary Corrections 13

Table 9: Block Size Indicator Values 15

Table 10: Description of Block Boundary Flagging Fields 16

Table 11: Required Attributes for Block Area Groupings 18

Table 12: State Shapefile Names A-1

Table 13: County Shapefile Names A-2

Table 14: All Lines (Edges) Shapefile (PVS_25_v2_edges) A-4

Table 15: Area Landmark Shapefile (PVS_25_v2_arealm) A-5

Table 16: Block Area Grouping Shapefile (PVS_25_v2_bag) A-6

Table 17: Census Blocks- Current (PVS_25_v2_tabblock) A-6

Table 18: Census Blocks- 2020 (PVS_25_v2_tabblock2020) A-7

Table 19: Congressional Districts (PVS_25_v2_cd) A-7

Table 20: Counties and Equivalent Areas (PVS_25_v2_county) A-8

Table 21: County Subdivisions with Legal Subdivisions (PVS_25_v2_mcd) A-9

Table 22: Faces (PVS_25_v2_faces) A-10

Table 23: Hydrography (PVS_25_v2_water) A-11

Table 24: Incorporated Place (PVS_25_v2_place) A-12

Table 25: State Legislative Districts (Upper/Senate) (PVS_25_v2_sldu) A-13

Table 26: State Legislative Districts (Lower/House) (PVS_25_v2_sldl) A-14

Table 27: Alaska Native Regional Corporation (PVS_25_v2_anrc) A-15

Table 28: American Indian/Alaska Native Areas- Statistical (PVS_25_v2_aias) A-16

Table 29: American Indian/Alaska Native Areas- Legal (PVS_25_v2_aial) A-17

Table 30: American Indian Tribal Subdivisions- Legal (PVS_25_v2_aitsl) A-18

Table 31: American Indian Tribal Subdivisions- Statistical (PVS_25_v2_aitss) A-19

Table 32: Core Based Statistical Areas (PVS_25_v2_cbsa) A-19

Table 33: Hawaiian Home Lands (PVS_25_v2_hhl) A-20

Table 34: School Districts - Elementary (PVS_25_v2_elsd) A-21

Table 35: School Districts- Secondary (PVS_25_v2_scsd) A-21

Table 36: School Districts- Unified (PVS_25_v2_unsd) A-22

Table 37: Public Microdata Areas - 2020 (PVS_25_v2_puma2020) A-23

Table 38: Urban Growth Areas (PVS_25_v2_uga) A-23

Table 39: Census Block Groups (PVS_25_v2_bg) A-24

Table 40: Census Tracts- Current (PVS_25_v2_curtracts) A-25

Table 41: Census Tracts- 2020 (PVS_25_v2_tracts2020) A-25

Table 42: Census Designated Places (PVS_25_v2_cdp) A-26

Table 43: Consolidated Cities (PVS_25_v2_concity) A-27

Table 44: County Subdivisions for counties with statistical subdivisions (PVS_25_v2_ccd) A-27

Table 45: Point Landmarks (PVS_25_v2_pointlm) A-28

Table 46: Subbarios (PVS_25_v2_submcd) A-29

Table 47: Tribal Block Groups (PVS_25_v2_tbg) A-29

Table 48: Tribal Block Tracts ((PVS_25_v2_tct) A-30

Table 49: Urban Areas- 2020 (PVS_25_v2_uac) A-31

Table 50: Geographic Offsets (PVS_25_v2_offset) A-31

Table 51: Area Landmark Relationship Table (PVS_25_v2_areafaces) A-32

Table 52: Area Hydrography Relationship Table (PVS_25_v2_hydrofaces) A-32

Table 53: Address Range Relationship Table (PVS_25_v2_addr) A-32

Table 54: Linear Feature Names- Fielded Relationship Table (PVS_25_v2_allnames) A-33



List of Figures



Introduction

Public Law (P.L.) 94-171 stipulates that the U.S. Census Bureau work in a non-partisan manner with the states to identify and provide the small-area population counts necessary for legislative redistricting. The Census Bureau is required to provide these counts within one year of Census Day, to the governor and the officers or public bodies responsible for redistricting in each state. For the 2030 Census, the Census Bureau must deliver the counts by April 1, 2031.

The Redistricting & Voting rights Data Office (RVDO) implements the requirements of P.L. 94-171 through the Redistricting Data Program (RDP) which is organized into five phases for the 2030 Census:

Phase 1: Block Boundary Suggestion Project (BBSP)

Phase 2: Voting District Project (VTDP)

Phase 3: Delivery of the 2030 Redistricting Data

Phase 4: Collection of Post-2030 Census Congressional and State Legislative District Plans

Phase 5: Review of the 2030 Census Redistricting Data Program and Recommendations for the 2040 Census

This document pertains to Phase 1: Block Boundary Suggestion Project (BBSP) of the RDP. Through the BBSP, nonpartisan liaisons designated by the governors and legislative leadership in each state, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, can influence the delineation of the 2030 Census tabulation blocks (i.e., blocks).

Participants influence block delineation by suggesting linear features (e.g., roads, rivers, railroads, property lines, etc.) or edges to be held or not held as block boundaries. The Census Bureau refers to this as suggesting block boundaries, or setting or flagging ‘Must Hold’ or ‘Do Not Hold’ on the features. Participants can also influence block boundaries by adding and deleting linear features or edges, and by suggesting updates to boundaries for other census geographies including incorporated places, minor civil divisions (MCDs), counties, and area landmarks, all of which are potential block boundaries.

This guide is intended for states participating in the program using their own geographic information system (GIS) software.

  • SECTION 1 of the document provides a conceptual overview of the planned 2030 Census tabulation block boundaries.

  • SECTION 2 of the document contains the suggested workflow, update activities, and quality control activities.

  • SECTION 3 of the document contains the instructions for creating the submission to the Census Bureau.

  • SECTION 4 of the document contains the instructions for using the Secure Web Incoming Module (SWIM) for submitting BBSP updates.



  1. Planned 2030 Census Tabulation Block Boundaries

Block boundaries primarily follow visible features, such as roads and rivers, as well as any edges that bound legal, administrative, or statistical geographic areas or selected area landmarks stored in the Master Address File/Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) System. Census blocks nest within tabulated census geographic entities and are the smallest tabulation geography published by the decennial census.

Table 1 lists the feature and boundary types currently planned as 2030 Census block boundaries. If state participants flag these features as a “Do Not Hold” (i.e., request that the feature or boundary type not become a 2030 block boundary), the Census Bureau may not accept the “Do Not Hold” suggestion.

Table 1: 2030 Census Planned Block Boundaries by MAF/TIGER Feature Class Code (MTFCC)

MTFCC

Description

MTFCC

Description

G2120

Hawaiian Home Land

G5200

Congressional District

G2130

Alaska Native Village Statistical Area

G5210

State Legislative District (Upper Chamber)

G2140

Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Area

G5220

State Legislative District (Lower Chamber)

G2150

State-designated Tribal Statistical Area

G5240

Voting District

G2160

Tribal Designated Statistical Area

G5400

Elementary School District

G2170

American Indian Joint Use Area

G5410

Secondary School District

G2200

Alaska Native Regional Corporation

G5420

Unified School District

G2300

Tribal Subdivision

G6330

Urban Growth Area

G2400

Tribal Census Tract

G6500

Military Installation

G2410

Tribal Block Group

K2181

National Park Service Land

G4000

State or State Equivalent

K2182

National Forest or Other Federal Land

G4020

County or County Equivalent

K2540

University or College

G4040

County Subdivision

K1235

Juvenile Institution

G4060

Sub-Minor Civil Divisions

K1236

Local Jail or Detention Center

G4110

Incorporated Place

K1237

Federal Penitentiary, State Prison, or Prison Farm

G4120

Consolidated City

K1238

Other Correctional Institution

G5020

Census Tract

S1100

Primary Road

G5035

Block Area Grouping

S1200

Secondary Road

While primary and secondary roads (i.e., MTFCCs S1100 and S1200) are planned block boundaries, other linear features, such as local roads, alleys, railroads, and perennial water, may or may not qualify as block boundaries based on the established criteria. These features can be flagged as “Must Hold” or “Do Not Hold” block boundaries.

Participants can determine whether a feature is a planned block boundary by the feature’s value in the Census Block Boundary Flag (CBBFLG) field in the attribute table of the All Lines (edges) shapefile. A CBBFLG value of “4” indicates the feature is a planned 2030 block boundary, while a CBBFLG value of “9” indicates the feature is ineligible as a 2030 block boundary. When the CBBFLG field is null, its status has not yet been determined. This indicates that it is a good candidate for a “Must Hold” or a “Do Not Hold” flag.

  1. Suggested Workflow

Figure 1 depicts the suggested workflow for reviewing and updating Census Bureau data for the BBSP. This section outlines the activities associated with each of the workflow process boxes.

Work is performed at a county level and should be submitted to the Census Bureau on a flow basis, as each county is completed. Submitting work on a flow permits the RVDO and the Census Bureau to review the files early in the process, provide feedback as necessary, and facilitates file processing.

Figure 1: Suggested Workflow

Note: The review process may be different for each state. The number in parentheses refers to the section where the action is described.

    1. Obtaining Census Partnership and Prototype Shapefiles

To submit block boundary suggestions and other geographic updates, the Census Bureau requires participants to review and update Census Bureau-supplied partnership shapefiles. Participants can access the partnership shapefiles from two locations:



In addition, all participants should download the prototype block shapefiles (described in section 2.7, Prototype Block Review) to use in conjunction with the partnership shapefiles.

The partnership shapefiles are downloaded in a .zip file and reflect the legal boundaries of governments as reported through the 2025 BAS. The .zip file name begins with “partnership_shapefiles_ 25v2_<ssccc>,” where ss represents the two-digit state code and ccc represents the three-digit county code. When unzipped, the names of the shapefiles begin with the prefix “PVS_25_v2”. For example, the edges shapefile is named PVS_25_v2_edges_<ssccc>.

Note: The FTP site may contain different vintages of partnership shapefiles. For BBSP, make sure to use the vintage 2 shapefiles that begin with “PVS_25_v2.”

The prototype block shapefiles are downloaded in a .zip file and are created annually. The .zip file name begins with “bbsp_2026_prototype_blocks_SS<##>" (where ss represents the two-digit state code). When unzipped, the names of the shapefiles begin with the prefix bbsp_2026_block_<ssccc>. There is a prototype block shapefile for every county within the state.

Note: The FTP site may contain different vintages of the prototype block shapefiles. For BBSP, make sure to use the shapefiles that begin with “bbsp_2026.”

      1. Shapefile Projection

For participants using their own shapefiles for reference, the Census Bureau recommends re-projecting participant shapefiles to match those provided by the Census Bureau to ensure correct alignment of the data. However, returned shapefiles may be in any projection as long as the projection information and the *.prj file are provided. A partnership shapefile data dictionary is provided in Appendix A.

All shapefiles provided by the Census Bureau are in the following unprojected geographic based coordinate system:

  • GCS_NAD83

  • Angular Unit: Degree (0.017453292519943299)

  • Prime Meridian: Greenwich (0.000000000000000000)

  • Datum: D_North_American_1983

  • Spheroid: GRS_1980

  • Semi-major Axis: 6378137.000000000000000

  • Semi-minor Axis: 6356752.314140356100000000

  • Inverse Flattening: 298.257222101000020000

    1. Updating Census Bureau Shapefiles

Participants must use the following provided partnership shapefiles for their submissions. The Census Bureau requires that the returned shapefiles have specific names, attributes, and characteristics to be accepted as BBSP submissions. The attribute table layout will vary depending on the type of submission and is specifically described in that geography type’s section below.

Table 2: Partnership Shapefiles for Submissions

File name

Used For

PVS_25_v2_edges_<ssccc>

Linear feature review and updates (adds, deletes, attribute updates), linear feature extension review, and block boundary suggestion flagging.

PVS_25_v2_arealm_<ssccc>

Area landmark review and updates.

PVS_25_v2_place_<ssccc>

Incorporated place legal boundary updates.

PVS_25_v2_mcd_<ssccc>

MCD legal boundary updates.

PVS_25_v2_bag_<ssccc>

Block area grouping (BAG) review and updates.

Note: The MCD and BAG shapefiles will not be present in all counties

Because the Census Bureau requires that participants update Census Bureau shapefiles with changes rather than submitting their own shapefile from their GIS, all participants must have the ability to edit a Census Bureau shapefile. Participants must create a separate linear feature update layer and change polygon layer for each updated entity type: area landmarks, places, MCDs, and block area groupings (BAG). Please create linear feature update layers and change polygon layers using only the current partnership shapefiles. The Census Bureau recommends the following steps to make any updates:

  1. Create a copy of the provided partnership shapefile to edit.

  1. Make updates to that copy as described in sections 2.3 through 2.9.

  2. Export the updates into a “changes” shapefile, following the naming conventions, and zip the shapefiles as described in Section 3.

  3. Submit the zipped shapefiles as described in Section 4.

    1. Linear Feature Review

All linear feature updates must be submitted back to the Census Bureau by updating the PVS_25_v2_edges_<ssccc> shapefile and exporting all changes into a participant created shapefile named bbsp26_<ssccc>_ln_changes. See section 3.1 for details on submitting the file.

Review the Census Bureau’s linear features (edges shapefile) to determine whether there are features needing to be added or deleted. Pay particular attention to any areas that have experienced population growth, and where there may be new housing or subdivisions not reflected in the Census Bureau’s geospatial data. To review the linear features, the Census Bureau suggests symbolizing the linear feature update shapefile based on the MTFCC.

Table 3: MTFCCs for Linear Feature Updates

MTFCC

Description

MTFCC

Description

C3024

Levee

L4165

Ferry Crossing

C3027

Dam

P0001

Nonvisible Legal/Statistical Boundary

H3010

Stream/River

P0002

Perennial Shoreline

H3013

Braided Stream

P0003

Intermittent Shoreline

H3020

Canal, Ditch, or Aqueduct

P0004

Other non-visible bounding edge (e.g., Census water boundary, boundary of area feature)

K2432

Pier/Dock

S1100

Primary Road

K2459

Runway/Taxiway

S1200

Secondary Road

L4010

Pipeline

S1400

Local Neighborhood Road, Rural Road, City Street

L4020

Power Line

S1500

Vehicular Trail (4WD)

L4110

Fence Line

S1630

Ramp

L4121

Ridge Line

S1640

Service Drive usually along a limited access highway

L4125

Cliff/Escarpment

S1730

Alley

L4130

Point-to-Point Line

S1740

Private Road for service vehicles (logging, oil fields, ranches, etc.)

L4140

Property/Parcel Line

S1820

Bike Path or Trail

R1011

Railroad Feature (Main, Spur, or Yard)

R1051

Carline, Streetcar Track, Monorail, Other Mass Transit Rail

R1052

Cog Rail Line, Incline Rail Line, Tram



The basic groupings of the MTFCCs are as follows:

  • S-class = Roads.

  • R-class = Railroads.*

  • P-class = Nonvisible Features.*

  • L-class, K-class, and C-class = Other Linear Features.*

  • H-class = Hydrography.*

The Census Bureau will also accept attribute updates (name and classification code) for MTFCCs in the S-class (roads). Added road features (except for highway ramps) require a feature name.

*These types of linear features should only be added if desired as a block boundary and therefore must have a “Must Hold” flag assigned to them when submitted to the Census Bureau.

Note: Please be aware that the Census Bureau will not process the wholesale spatial realignment of features merely to conform to an alternate spatial accuracy. If a feature is in the incorrect location in the Census Bureau’s feature network, mark the feature for deletion and then add it in the correct location. Take this action only if most of the realigned feature is more than 7.6 meters from the existing feature or interferes (is topologically incorrect) with relationships to other features.

All linear feature updates, including linear feature extensions and block boundary suggestion flagging (“Must Holds” and “Do Not Holds”), and area landmark changes that require edge updates must be saved to the linear feature update layer.

      1. Creating the Update Shapefile for Linear Features

To submit linear feature updates, it is recommended that to begin by making make a copy of the PVS_25_v2_edges_<ssccc> for editing and creating updates for submission. This is also referred to as the linear feature update shapefile in this document. Then, when done editing, export the changes from this update shapefile to create your submission file, as described in section 3.1.

Once the edges shapefile is copied and symbolized, add the other partnership shapefiles (e.g., Congressional Districts, State Legislative District – Lower, State Legislative Districts – Upper, incorporated places, etc.), prototype block shapefile, and any local data shapefiles that may be helpful. During review, please note the following:

  1. Missing Road Features – If a road, subdivision, etc. is missing from the Census Bureau’s edges shapefile, add the feature(s) and provide the name and MTFCC in the attribute table. Feature name is required for any added roads except for highway ramps. The CHNG_TYPE field also needs to be updated to “AL” (AL stands for Add Line).

  1. Deleting Linear Features – If a feature in the Census Bureau’s edges shapefile does not exist, flag the feature by updating the attribute table with “DL” in the CHNG_TYPE field. Do not actually delete the feature in the shapefile (DL stands for Delete Line). Some linear features cannot be deleted from the MTS. If your goal is to ensure that the edge is not used as a block boundary, flag the edge(s) as a Do Not Hold, see section 2.8.2.

  2. Spatial Inaccuracies – For our purposes, a feature is considered spatially inaccurate only if it is represented in the shapefile more than 7.6 meters from its actual location or it is positionally inaccurate in relation to other features and boundaries (e.g. a stream appears on the east side of the road, when it should be on the west side) in a way that would affect the assignment of housing units to legal entities, census tracts, and/or census blocks. If a feature is in the incorrect location in the Census Bureau’s edges shapefile, flag the feature for deletion (CHNG_TYPE=DL) in the attribute table, and add it as a new line (CHNG_TYPE=AL) in the correct location attributed with the TIGER/Line ID (TLID) value of the associated feature marked for deletion.

  3. Incorrect or Missing Names or MTFCCs – Correct or add the name and/or MTFCC in the attribute table and add “CA” in the CHNG_TYPE field (CA stands for Change Attribute). It is recommended to search the PVS_26_v2_allnames_SSCCC.dbf file by TLID. If there are multiple names for the feature, the TLID will be listed more than once.

Note: In addition to not being able to accept wholescale realignments of features, there are other updates the Census Bureau cannot accept due to our representation requirements. For example, if a participant deletes both lanes of an interstate and adds a single line to replace the deleted interstate, the Census Bureau will not accept these changes.

      1. Required Attribution for Linear Features

Each linear feature update must have the required attributes and corresponding change type populated in the attribute table. The change type field (CHNG_TYPE) must be populated with either “AL”, indicating an added line, “DL”, indicating a deleted line, or “CA”, indicating the feature was renamed or given a different MTFCC. Table 4 lists the four potential actions and denotes the required attribution with an “X”.

In addition, the following applies:

  • If adding a new line and deleting an existing line to make a spatial correction, add the value in the TLID field of the deleted line to the TLID field of the added line.

  • If adding a new linear feature, provide the feature name and MTFCC code in the FULLNAME and MTFCC fields. Linear features with MTFCCs of P-class, R-class, or L-class, should only be added if needed as block boundaries, so in addition to updating the CHNG_TYPE field, add the “1” (Must Hold) attribute to the BBSP_2030 field if adding one of these MTFCC types.

  • If adding S-class features, updating the BBSP_2030 field with a “1” (Must Hold) is not required but is allowed if the feature is desired as a block boundary.

  • If a P-class, R-class or L-class is being reshaped using added and deleted features, the added feature does not require a Must Hold flag; however, the Census Bureau does not encourage widescale cleanup of these features unless it affects the BBSP updates.



Note: Due to internal address update processes, the Census Bureau no longer collects address range updates through the RDP.

Table 4: Required Attributes for Linear Feature Updates

Action

CHNG_TYPE

TLID

FULLNAME

MTFCC

BBSP_2030

Add Feature

X (AL)


Required for all Sxxxx features except S1640 (ramps).

X

X (1) if new linear feature should be a “Must Hold”

Delete Feature

X (DL)

X


X


Rename Feature

X (CA)

X

X

X


Reclassify Feature

X (CA)

X


X


    1. Area Landmark Review

All area landmark updates must be submitted back to the Census Bureau in a participant created shapefile named “bbsp26_<ssccc>_changes_alndk”. See section 3.2 for details on submitting the file.

The Census Bureau accepts updates to area landmarks (such as prisons, state parks, and cemeteries) as part of the BBSP. Allowable updates include:

  • Boundary corrections (adding and removing area).

  • Creating a new area landmark.

  • Removing an area landmark.

  • Changing or adding a name to an area landmark.

  • Changing/updating the MTFCC of an area landmark.

If the state plans to reallocate prisoners during redistricting, consider reviewing the existing area landmarks with MTFCCs K1235, K1236, K1237, and K1238, which represent areas with prison populations, or create new ones for those types of areas.

To report updates to water area features, such as lakes or reservoirs, please contact the RVDO at 301-763-4039 or email <rdo@census.gov>.

      1. Creating the Update Layer for Area Landmarks

To submit area landmark updates, participants must create a separate change polygon shapefile. It is recommended to make a copy of the area landmarks shapefile (PVS_25_v2_arealm_<ssccc>) for editing and then, when done editing, export all changes into the “bbsp26_<ssccc>_ changes_alndk” shapefile.

If adding a new area landmark, the Census Bureau will process the submission in conjunction with other sources to add the area to the MAF/TIGER System. Table 5 shows the MTFCCs for the types of area landmarks that can be updated.

Table 5: MTFCCs for Area Landmark Updates

MTFCC

Description

MTFCC

Description

C3023

Island

K2182

National Forest or Other Federal Land

H2030

Lake/Pond

K2184

State Park, Forest, or Recreation Area

H2040

Reservoir

K2185

Regional Park, Forest, or Recreation Area

H2041

Treatment Pond

K2186

County Park, Forest, or Recreation Area

H2051

Bay/Estuary/Gulf/Sound

K2187

County Subdivision Park, Forest, or Recreation Area

H2081

Glacier

K2188

Incorporated Place Park, Forest, or Recreation Area

K1231

Hospital

K2189

Private Park, Forest, or Recreation Area

K1235

Juvenile Institution

K2190

Other Park, Forest, or Recreation Area (quasi-public, independent park, commission, etc.)

K1236

Local Jail or Detention Center

K2424

Marina

K1237

Federal Penitentiary, State Prison, or Prison Farm

K2457

Airport – Area Representation

K2131

Hospital/Hospice/Urgent Care Facility

K2540

University or College

K2180

Park

K2561

Golf Course

K2181

National Park Service Land

K2582

Cemetery

      1. Required Attributes for Area Landmarks

Each area landmark update must have the required attributes and corresponding change type populated. If participants are modifying an existing area landmark, they must preserve the existing AREAID for the feature in the AREAID field of the attribute table. Table 6 lists the five potential actions and denotes the required attribution with an “X”.

Table 6: Required Attributes for Area Landmark Updates

Action

FULLNAME

CHNG_TYPE

RELATE

MTFCC

AREAID

Boundary Correction (Add Area)

X

X (B)

X (IN)


X

Boundary Correction (Remove Area)

X

X (B)

X (OUT)


X

Delete Area Landmark

X

X (X)



X

Change Area Landmark Name or MTFCC

X

X (G)


X

X

New Area Landmark

X

X (E)


X


    1. Legal Boundary Updates

All legal boundary updates must be submitted back to the Census Bureau in a participant created shapefile. The shapefile name depends on the type of updated geography. See section 3.3 for details on submitting the file.

During the initial delineation phase and the subsequent verification phase of the BBSP, participants may provide legal boundary updates (annexations, deannexations, incorporations and disincorporations), along with their supporting documentation, or boundary corrections. The Census Bureau will assume the responsibility for reconciling the updates with the appropriate governments as part of the Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS).

Participants may submit legal boundary updates for counties, MCDs, incorporated places, and consolidated cities. Although legal documentation (effective date, authority type, and documentation number) is not required for boundary updates submitted through the BBSP, the Census Bureau strongly encourages the submission of documentation to expedite our ability to reconcile and process any legal updates reported. Annexations, deannexations, incorporations, and disincorporations without supporting documentation should be submitted as boundary corrections. To report a new county, MCD, incorporated place, or consolidated city, or to delete an existing one, please call the RVDO at 301-763-4039, or email <rdo@census.gov>.

There are two ways that legal boundary updates can be created and submitted to the Census Bureau: using the BAS Partnership Toolbox in ArcGIS Pro or manually creating updates.

The BAS Partnership Toolbox was developed to facilitate creating a Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) submission. This toolbox simplifies the update process for participants by automating the download of data, change creation, sliver removal, attribution formatting and checks, and the export of files for submission. This allows the Census Bureau to easily process returned BAS files. The BAS Partnership Toolbox is also programmed to accept Tribal BAS updates; however, these updates cannot be submitted via BBSP. For more information, please refer to <https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/bas/geographies/map-tools/arcmap-tools.html>. To download the Toolbox, visit <https://www2.census.gov/geo/pvs/bas/BAS_Partnership_Toolbox_Pro.zip>

To submit legal boundary updates manually, participants must create a separate change polygon shapefile showing the spatial differences between the boundary represented in the Census Bureau-provided partnership shapefile and the updated boundary. The Census Bureau recommends making a copy of the relevant entity’s partnership shapefile for editing and then, when done editing, exporting all the changes into the submission changes shapefile. Refer to Section 3 for the submission file naming requirements. The submission file must include all required attributes and corresponding change type populated, as detailed in sections 2.5.2 and 2.5.3.

If manual legal boundary updates are created, the Census Bureau requests that participants supply, in addition to the changes file, a whole entity file to accompany the legal boundary updates or boundary corrections made. A whole entity file is a shapefile that shows the entity being modified in its entirety (i.e., the new after editing boundary). It is not required but assists in the Census Bureau’s research on the change or correction.

Note: The Census Bureau cannot guarantee these updates will be made, as we must adjudicate and receive concurrence for the updates from the official BAS contact.

      1. Required Attributes for Annexations and Deannexations

The name field (NAME) in the attribute table should be populated with the name of the geographic entity affected. The change type field (CHNG_TYPE) should indicate whether the change is an annexation (A) or deannexation (D).

The effective date field (EFF_DATE) should be populated with the date of the ordinance, resolution, or local law authorizing the annexation or deannexation. If available, the authorization type field (AUTHTYPE) should be populated with the type of documentation authorizing the change (i.e., ordinance, resolution, local law, other). The documentation field (DOCU) should be populated with the documentation number. Table 7 lists the two acceptable legal boundary update actions and denotes the required attribution with an “X”.

Table 7: Required Attributes for Annexations and Deannexations

Action

NAME

CHNG_TYPE

EFF_DATE

DOCU

Annexation

X

X (A)

X

X

Deannexation

X

X (D)

X

X

As a reminder, annexations, deannexations, incorporations, and disincorporations submitted without documentation should be submitted as boundary corrections.

      1. Boundary Correction Criteria

Because the Census Bureau uses a topologically integrated database, not all boundary corrections can be processed for incorporation in the MAF/TIGER System. The Census Bureau will accept, adjudicate, and process boundary corrections that meet both of the following conditions:

  • The existing boundary has been digitized incorrectly or appears in a significantly incorrect location.

  • The overall shape of the geographic entity is maintained and no feature-to- boundary relationships are dissolved.

The Census Bureau will not accept boundary corrections that:

  • Are along county boundaries unless there is a written agreement between the two counties that documents the correct location of the boundary.

  • Dissolve boundary-to-feature relationships (roads, rivers, railroads, etc.) if the difference is less than thirty feet.

Have a width of less than thirty feet over the entire polygon.

Note: The Census Bureau will typically snap any entity boundary correction to a feature in the MAF/TIGER System when it exists within thirty feet of that feature.

      1. Required Attributes for Boundary Corrections

The name field (NAME) must be populated with the name of the geographic entity whose boundary is being corrected. The change type field (CHNG_TYPE) must be populated with a “B” to indicated boundary correction. The relate field (RELATE) must be populated with “IN”, indicating the corrected area is to be added into the named legal entity, or “OUT”, indicating the corrected area is to be removed from the named legal entity. Table 8 lists the two acceptable boundary correction actions and denotes the required attribution with an “X”.

Table 8: Required Attributes for Boundary Corrections

Action

NAME

CHNG_TYPE

RELATE

Boundary Correction (Add Area)

X

X (B)

X (IN)

Boundary Correction (Remove Area)

X

X (B)

X (OUT)

Please review all changes to ensure that the correct boundary-to-feature relationships are being created or maintained. For example, if a road and boundary are aligned as a single linear feature, the road and boundary should still be aligned as a single linear feature after the boundary correction. The Census Bureau is aware that many governments base their legal boundaries on cadastral (parcel-based) right-of-way mapping; however, the Census Bureau bases maps on spatial data that is topologically integrated. Therefore, when housing units are not affected, the Census Bureau suggests snapping the boundaries to nearby street centerlines (or rivers, railroads, etc.) wherever applicable. This will help establish a more accurate population count for entities.

    1. 2020 Census Linear Feature Extension Review

All linear feature updates must be submitted back to the Census Bureau in a participant created shapefile named “bbsp26_<ssccc>_ln_changes”. See section 3.1 for details on submitting the file. This is the same submission file that would contain any updates to other linear features (adds, deletes, name changes, etc.) covered in section 2.3.

All block boundary suggestions are contingent upon the lines intersecting to form a closed polygon at the time the Census Bureau creates blocks. As a result, all block boundary “Must Hold” flags, when combined with the features identified as planned holds, should form a closed polygon.

For the 2020 Census, BBSP participants could place a “Must Hold “ flag on an existing feature that did not form a closed a polygon. To do this, the participant also added a feature extension to close the polygon and create a potential new block. Those 2020 feature extensions are included in the 2030 BBSP files for review and update.

The Census Bureau requests that participants review the 2020 linear feature extensions to determine if they are still needed. Please be aware that to hold an old 2020 feature extension as a 2030 block boundary, participants must take an action to again classify that extension with a “Must Hold” flag, as described in section 2.8.

IMPORTANT: The 2020 linear feature extensions can be identified by selecting all edges with attributes of BBSPFLG = 1, EXTTYP=I, and an MTFCC = P0001 in the PVS_25_v2_edges_<ssccc> shapefile.



During the linear feature extension review, participants may:

  • Hold the old 2020 linear feature extension as a 2030 block boundary suggestion along with the feature from which the extension originates by assigning BBSP_2030 with a value of 1 and a CHNG_TYPE = CA. If possible, when applying a Must Hold to a feature extension, review the extension against cadastral data or imagery to ensure it is in the most appropriate location.

  • Flag the old 2020 feature extension as a "Do Not Hold." Some linear features cannot be deleted from the MTS. By flagging the old 2020 linear feature extensions as "Do Not Holds," it will help the Census Bureau ensure the feature extension no longer serves as a block boundary. If it is determined that the 2020 linear feature extension is no longer needed as a feature extension, flag the extension with a BBSP_2030 = 2.

  • Ignore the 2020 linear feature extension. Be aware that the Census Bureau may not use the 2020 feature extensions, and the features with which they are associated, as 2030 tabulation block boundaries. If no action is taken on a 2020 linear feature extension, the Census Bureau may delete the old extension or if kept, decide whether to hold the extension and the feature associated with it as a 2030 block boundary or not.

All updates should be saved in the linear feature update shapefile (bbsp26_<ssccc>_ln_changes). Refer to section 2.3 for details on creating this file.

    1. Prototype Block Review

The prototype block shapefile shows what the planned 2030 blocks would look like if created using the geography as it exists at this time. The prototype block shapefile is a useful tool for participants to review their potential block geography and then use the “Must Hold” and “Do Not Hold” flags to make targeted updates.

Note: The prototype block shapefile was created specifically for BBSP participants and is not included in the normal suite of partnership shapefiles. Download it from <https://www2.census.gov/geo/pvs/bbsp/>.

      1. Block Size Review

In the prototype block shapefile, the Census Bureau assigned a block size indicator (BLKZIND field) to each block based on the range of the estimated number of housing units in the prototype block. These values can be used to identify both potentially small population blocks or large population blocks to split or merge using the “Must Hold” and Do Not Hold” flags.

Note: Although discrete numbers have been established to assign each block a size value, the actual number of housing units in a block is approximate.

Block size indicators range from “A” through “I,” with “A” blocks having the most housing units and “I” having the least. Prototype blocks estimated to contain no housing units are assigned an indicator letter of “Z.”

Table 9: Block Size Indicator Values

Indicator

Approximate Number of Housing Units

A

Greater than 2,000

B

1,600-1,999

C

1,200-1,599

D

1,000-1,199

E

700-999

F

480-699

G

400-479

H

240-399

I

1-239

Z

Potential “0” housing unit block

      1. Block Shape Review

In the prototype block shapefile, the Census Bureau also calculated a shape index (SHAPEIDX) using a simple area to perimeter ratio method. The shape index value will be between 0 and 1. The closer the value to 1, the more compact the block. The closer the value to 0 the less compact the block. These values can be used to help identify less compact blocks to see if their shape would interfere with the ability to conduct redistricting (e.g. long sinuous water bodies). Then, the “Must Hold” and “Do Not Hold” flags can be used to remedy this if it is an issue.

    1. Block Boundary Suggestion Flagging

All block boundary suggestions are considered linear feature updates and must be submitted back to the Census Bureau in a participant created shapefile named bbsp26_<ssccc>_ln_changes. See section 3.1 for details on submitting the file. This is the same submission file that would contain any updates to other linear features (adds, deletes, name changes, etc.). Refer to section 2.3 for details on creating this file.

The Census Bureau has identified features planned as 2030 block boundaries, which have a CBBFLG value of “4” in the edges shapefile (PVS_25_v2_edges). Refer to Table 1 for the complete planned feature list. The planned block boundaries may change if the criteria change, or if a feature’s attributes are updated through other Census programs.



The Census Bureau has also identified features that are ineligible to be 2030 block boundaries, shown with a CBBFLG value of “9” in the edges shapefile. There are also features with no block boundary status assigned (CBBFLG value is null). Participants are not required to assign a BBSP flag (e.g., “Must Hold” or “Do Not Hold”) to every feature in the file, nor should they.

Table 10: Description of Block Boundary Flagging Fields

Values

Description

BBSPFLG=1

2020 Participant Identified “Must Hold” Block Boundary

BBSPFLG=2

2020 Participant Identified” Do Not Hold” Block Boundary

BBSPFLG=4

2020 Census Identified Planned Block Boundary

BBSPFLG=9

2020 Census Identified Ineligible Block Boundary

BBSP_2030=1

2030 Participant Identified “Must Hold” Block Boundary (Will be null until set by participant)

BBSP_2030=2

2030 Participant Identified “Do Not Hold” Block Boundary (Will be null until set by participant)

CBBFLG=1

2030 Participant Identified “Must Hold” Block Boundary (Populated by Census Bureau during processing of BBSP submission. Corresponds to value from the BBSP_2030 field.)

CBBFLG=2

2030 Participant Identified “Do Not Hold” Block Boundary (Populated by Census Bureau during processing of BBSP submission. Corresponds to value from the BBSP_2030 field.)

CBBFLG=4

2030 Census Identified Planned Block Boundary

CBBFLG=9

2030 Census Identified Ineligible Block Boundary

      1. Assigning a “Must Hold” Flag

Participants may assign a “Must Hold” flag to features to suggest them as 2030 block boundaries. Candidates for assigning a “Must Hold” flag are:

  • Newly added features.

  • Features not currently planned as block boundaries.

  • To ensure features planned as 2030 block boundaries are held should the Census Bureau change their “planned” status.

Participants may wish to assign a “Must Hold” flag to features that are planned 2030 block boundaries in case the block definition criteria or feature classification codes change between when BBSP occurs and when the Census Bureau creates the 2030 Census blocks. Assigning a “Must Hold” flag to a planned block boundary feature will increase the likelihood that the feature will become a 2030 block boundary.

Be aware that assigning a “Must Hold” flag to a feature that is ineligible to be a block boundary or assigning a “Do Not Hold” flag to a feature that is planned to be a 2030 block boundary does not ensure that the Census Bureau will honor the request. The Census Bureau will re-evaluate the feature’s status based on the participant’s suggestion.

All “Must Hold” block boundary flags are contingent upon the features intersecting to form a closed polygon at the time the Census Bureau creates the 2030 blocks.

To assign a “Must Hold” flag, participants must edit the attributes of the linear feature update shapefile, as described in section 2.3:

  • To assign a “Must Hold” flag on an existing feature: BBSP_2030=1, CHNG_TYPE=CA.

  • To assign a “Must Hold” flag on a new feature: BBSP_2030=1, CHNG_TYPE=AL.

To hold a feature as a 2030 block boundary when the feature does not form a closed polygon, add a feature extension to close the polygon. Feature extensions must meet the following criteria:

  • Extensions, combined with other features and planned holds, must form a closed polygon.

  • Extensions must be no longer than 300 feet (if an extension needs to be longer than 300 feet, participants must provide justification in the JUSTIFY field of the attribute table of the linear feature update shapefile).

  • Extensions must be a straight line originating from the end of a road feature.

  • Extensions must terminate on a non-road feature, except for highways (i.e., extensions may terminate on highways – MTFCC S1100).

Digitize new 2030 feature extensions in the linear feature update shapefile described in section 2.3 and code each feature with a CHNG_TYPE = AL, BBSP_2030 = 1, and MTFCC=P0001.

      1. Assigning a “Do Not Hold” Flag

Participants may assign “Do Not Hold” flags to features that they do not want to become 2030 block boundaries. Potential candidates for assigning a “Do Not Hold” flag may include:

  • Private roads, trails, and unimproved roads.

  • Hydrographic features with no area, shown as a single-line feature, such as streams or creeks.

  • Any feature creating unnecessary blocks, such as highway ramps, traffic circles, or cul-de-sacs shown as open circles or “lollipops” in the Census geospatial files, and similar features.

Be aware that assigning a “Do Not Hold” flag to a feature that is a 2030 planned block boundary may not be honored if that boundary is needed to meet other Census criteria or program needs. For example, if a “Do Not Hold” flag was placed on an incorporated place boundary, the “Do Not Hold” would not be honored.

To assign a “Do Not Hold” flag, participants must edit the linear feature update shapefile as described in section 2.3:

  • To assign a “Do Not Hold” on an existing feature: BBSP_2030=2, CHNG_TYPE=CA.

  • To assign a “Do Not Hold” flag on a feature that should be deleted: BBSP_2030=2, CHNG_TYPE=DL.

    1. Block Area Grouping Delineation

The Block Area Grouping (BAG) layer participants create must be submitted back to the Census Bureau in a participant created shapefile named bbsp26_<ssccc>_BAG_changes. See section 3.4 for details on submitting the file.

During the 2030 Census block creation, the Census Bureau will automatically group islands to form a single block if they have no road features and the islands fall within a 5-kilometer radius. Participants may also choose to group specific islands to create a single 2030 Census block, called a BAG. The criteria for creating a BAG are as follows:

  • BAG must consist of two or more islands.

  • BAG perimeter must be entirely over water.

  • BAGs cannot overlap.

  • BAGs cannot cross the boundary of other tabulation geographies, such as county or incorporated place boundaries.

BAG delineation is optional, and most appropriate for states with hydrographic areas that contain many islands.

      1. Creating the Block Area Grouping

Grouping selected islands to create a unique block identification is done by delineating a polygon around the selected islands. When creating a BAG, digitize the polygon around the set of desired islands making sure not to cross any land areas. If the polygon crosses any other tabulation areas, it will be split along that line as well.

To make BAG updates, participants must create a separate BAG update layer called bbsp26_<ssccc>_BAG_changes. The Census Bureau recommends making a copy of the Census Bureau BAG shapefile layer for editing and creating updates for submission.

      1. Required Attribution for Block Area Groupings,

The shapefile should have three text fields: BAGCE (length of 3), CHNG_TYPE and MTFCC (length of 5). When creating BAGs, provide each with a number in the BAGCE field. Start with 001 and increment by 1 for each BAG created. The change type field (CHNG_TYPE) must be populated with an “E” for each new BAG. The MTFCC should always be G5035.

Table 11: Required Attributes for Block Area Groupings

Action

BAGCE

CHNG_TYPE

MTFCC

New BAG

X (001, 002, …)

X (E)

X (G5035)

    1. Validation Checks

The Census Bureau recommends participants check for any non-closed polygons or dangling edges with “Must Hold” flags prior to submitting a county return. A non-closed polygon is a polygon where one or more “Must Hold” block boundary flags have been set on features but the features, when combined with the planned block boundaries, do not close to form a possible census block. A dangling edge is an edge with a “Must Hold” flag that does not connect to an edge at each end point.

If participants are editing area landmarks or legal entities, the Census Bureau also suggests reviewing the updates to ensure that there are no holes or very small area updates.

    1. Submitting Updates to the Census Bureau

The Census Bureau conducts the RDP activities through the official liaison appointed by the governor and legislative leadership of the state. The official liaisons are responsible for making BBSP updates and submitting the projects to the Census Bureau. However, the official liaisons have two options for designating technical liaisons to assist them in making BBSP updates on behalf of the state.

  • Option 1. Official liaisons can formally designate technical liaisons who are able to perform geographic updates and submit completed updates to the Census Bureau on their behalf. Official liaisons should reach out to the RVDO at 301-763-4039 or <rdo@census.gov> to make technical liaison designations.

  • Option 2. Official liaisons can delegate work to designees who perform the updates and submit the updates back to the official liaison. The official liaison will submit the work to the Census Bureau if they approve the work. If the official liaison determines that BBSP work completed by a designee requires changes or additional work, it is the official liaison's responsibility to decide whether to make the changes or return the project to their designee for further updates.

The liaison responsible for submitting updates to the Census Bureau should submit completed, county-level files on a flow basis to the Census Bureau through the Secure Web Incoming Module (SWIM). Do not hold files to submit all at once. Submit files as they are completed, especially at the beginning of the update period so that the Census Bureau can provide feedback if there are errors, omissions, or other concerns.

  1. Creating Data Submissions

The Census Bureau requires that the returned shapefiles have specific attributes and characteristics to accept them as legitimate submissions. Any changes made to the partnership shapefiles should be extracted and saved as a change shapefile. Below is a list of change shapefile types and specifications that should be included in the BBSP submission, depending on the type of updates made. A whole entity file is a shapefile that shows the entity being modified in its entirety, (i.e., the new after editing boundary). It is not required but assists in the Census Bureau’s research on the change or correction.

All returned shapefiles and whole entity shapefiles, as well as any supporting documentation, should be placed in a .zip file named “bbsp26_<ssccc>_return.zip” prior to submitting the return to the Census Bureau, where <ssccc> is the state and county FIPS code.

    1. Submitting Linear Feature Updates/Block Boundary Suggestions

Once all linear feature updates are complete, export the updated linear features (edges) to a shapefile named “bbsp26_<ssccc>_ln_changes.” Perform the following checks on the file.

  • Verify that all block boundary suggestions and feature extensions contain the correct attributes (e.g.., BBSP_2030 field populated).

  • Verify that any new linear features, especially S-class features have names.

  • Verify that any added lines contain the appropriate MTFCC code (e.g., P0001 for an invisible legal/statistical boundary) and the CHNG_TYPE field is populated.

The submission file should include:

  • All linear features (edges) where BBSP_2030 field is populated with one of the following:

    • 1 (“Must Hold”).

    • 2 (“Do Not Hold”).

AND

  • All linear features (edges) where CHNG_TYPE Field is populated with one of the following:

    • AL (Add Line).

    • DL (Delete Line).

    • CA (Change Attribute: for the BBSP_2030, Name, and/or MTFCC fields).

Return File Name: bbsp26_<ssccc>_ln_changes.shp.



    1. Submitting Area Landmark Updates

If any updates were completed for area landmarks, export the updated records to a shapefile named “bbsp26_<ssccc>_changes_alndk.” The file should include all area landmark polygons where CHNG_TYPE Field is populated with one of the following:

  • B (Boundary Correction).

  • E (New Landmark).

  • G (Change Name or MTFCC).

  • X (Delete).

Lastly, if there is a shapefile of the whole area landmark, the Census Bureau requests that participants supply a whole entity file to accompany any area landmark updates to assist in making the updates.

Return File Name: bbsp26_<ssccc> _changes_aldnk.shp.

Whole Entity File (if available) Name: bbsp26_<ssccc>_complete_alndk.shp.

    1. Submitting Legal Boundary Updates

If participants want to report a new county, MCD, incorporated place or consolidated city, or delete an existing one, please contact the RVDO at 301-763-4039 or <rdo@census.gov>.

If participants are reporting other legal boundary changes and/or corrections, there are two options to submit boundary updates to the Census Bureau: the BAS Partnership Toolbox for ArcGIS Pro or manually creating the boundary update(s).

If the updates are created manually, the Census Bureau requests that participants supply a whole entity file to accompany any legal boundary updates or boundary corrections that were made to assist in making the updates. If making legal boundary updates, then include the following files in the submission, as applicable to the type of legal boundary update made.

      1. BAS Partnership Toolbox Submission Files

The BAS Partnership Toolbox zips submission files for all entity types into a file named BAS<yy>_<BASID>_return.zip. Include this .zip file into the submission detailed in section 3.5.

      1. Minor Civil Division Change Polygon Shapefile (Manual)

If any updates were completed for MCDs, the changes file, “bbsp26_<ssccc>_changes_cousub.shp”, should include all change polygons where CHNG_TYPE field is populated with one of the following:

  • A (Annexation).

  • B (Boundary Correction).

  • D (Deannexation).

Return File Name: bbsp26_<ssccc>_changes_cousub.shp

Whole Entity File Name (if available): bbsp26_<ssccc>_wholeentity_cousub.shp

      1. Incorporated Place Change Polygon Shapefile (Manual)

If any updates were completed for incorporated places, the changes file, “bbsp26_<ssccc>_changes_incplace.shp”, should include all change polygons where CHNG_TYPE field is populated with one of the following:

  • A (Annexation).

  • B (Boundary Correction).

  • D (Deannexation).

Return File Names: bbsp26_<ssccc>_changes_incplace.shp

Whole Entity File Name (if available): bbsp26_<ssccc>_complete_incplace.shp

    1. Submitting Block Area Grouping Updates

If any BAGs were created, the file, “bbsp26_<ssccc>_bag_changes.shp”, should include all change polygons where MTFCC=G5035, and the CHNG_TYPE field is populated with:

  • E (New Block Area Grouping).

Return File Name: bbsp26_<ssccc>_bag_changes.shp

    1. Creating .ZIP File Containing All Change Files

All returned changes shapefiles and whole entity shapefiles, as well as any supporting documentation, should be placed in a single .zip file prior to submitting the return to the Census Bureau. Name the file for submission “bbsp26_<ssccc>_return.zip”. If the return includes a BAS Partnership Toolbox submission, do not zip both files together. Submit both the bbsp26_<ssccc>_return.zip and the BAS<yy>_<BASID>_return.zip as two separate files within the same SWIM submission.



  1. File Submission through the Secure Web Incoming Module (SWIM)

The SWIM is a tool for Census Bureau partners to send their geospatial data to a secure Census Bureau server. For security reasons, the Census Bureau cannot accept files sent through email or through our former FTP site.

Participants for other Census Bureau geographic programs may use their existing SWIM account to submit files. If a liaison does not currently have a SWIM account, the Census Bureau will provide each official liaison (and technical liaison if applicable) a SWIM token to establish a SWIM account. Once registered, the token is no longer needed to log into the system.

Note: For all phases of the RDP, the Census Bureau will only accept files submitted by the official liaison or their designated technical liaison.

    1. Submitting Files Through SWIM

1. Open a web browser window and enter the SWIM URL: <https://respond.census.gov/swim>. SWIM runs on the two most recent versions of each of these major browsers:

Microsoft Edge®

Google Chrome®

Mozilla Firefox®

Apple Safari®

2. Participants who already have a SWIM account should proceed to step 4 to log in.

3. Participants who do not have a SWIM account should choose “Register Account:”

a. Enter the 12-digit token provided by the Census Bureau.

b. Create a password following the criteria below:

i. Username and password are case sensitive.

ii. It must be at least eight characters in length.

iii. It must have at least one upper case character.

iv. It must have at least one lower case character.

v. It must have at least one number.

vi. It must have at least one special character (valid characters are: #, !, $, &, ?, ~).

c. Complete the registration information form.

4. Log in to SWIM using the participant’s email address and password.

5. Upload a BBSP submission:

a. Select the “Start New Upload” button.

b. Select the “Redistricting Data Program – BBSP-VTD (RDP)” radio button.

c. Select the State and County.

d. Select the “+ Add File” button.

e. Select the .zip file to upload.

f. Double-click on the .zip file to upload. Add additional .zip files in the same manner.

g. Add any additional information to the “Comments” field.

6. Choose “Next.” A “Thank You” screen appears.

7. Logout of SWIM.



  1. Partnership Shapefile Data Dictionary

Partnership Shapefiles reflect the legal boundaries and names for all governments, as reported through the previous year’s BAS. Participants can access the partnership shapefiles from two locations:

  • Download the partnership shapefiles from the Geography Partnership website at:

    • <www.census.gov/geographies/mapping-files/time-series/geo/partnership.html>

  • Download the partnership shapefiles from the FTP site at:

    • <https://www2.census.gov/geo/pvs/>

Census Bureau files are in GCS NAD83 format and can be projected into any local coordinate system/project. Most GIS software packages will allow users to transform file coordinate systems and projections.

    1. Shapefile Names

State Level Shapefile Names – PVS_25_v2_<layername>_<SS>.shp where <SS> is the number corresponding to the state, for example, “24” and <shpname> is the abbreviation for the geography type represented in the shapefile.

Table 12: State Shapefile Names

Shapefile Layer

<layername>

Alaska Native Regional Corporation

anrc

American Indian / Alaska Native Areas Statistical

aias

American Indian Areas Legal

aial

American Indian Areas 2020 Legal

aial2020

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions Legal

aitsl

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions Statistical

aitss

Congressional Districts

cd

Core Based Statistical Areas

cbsa

Hawaiian Home Lands

hhl

School Districts (Elementary)

elsd

School Districts (Secondary)

scsd

School Districts (Unified)

unsd

School Districts Administrative Areas

sdadm

State Legislative Districts (Upper / Senate)

sldu

State Legislative Districts (Lower / House)

sldl

Public Use Microdata Areas 2020

puma2020

2020 Census Tracts

tracts2020

Census Designated Places

cdp

Counties and Equivalent Areas

county

Counties and Equivalent Areas 2020

county2020

County Subdivisions Legal

mcd

Incorporated Places

place

States and Equivalent Areas

state

Tribal Block Groups

tbg

Tribal Census Tracts

tct

Urban Areas Census 2020

uac

Block Area Grouping

bag



County Level Shapefile Names – PVS_25_v2_<layername>_<SSCCC>.shp, where <SSCCC> is the number corresponding to the state and county, for example, “24001” and <shpname> is the abbreviation for the geography type represented in the shapefile.


Table 13: County Shapefile Names

Shapefile Layer

<layername>

Alaska Native Regional Corporation

anrc

American Indian / Alaska Native Areas Statistical

aias

American Indian Areas Legal

aial

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions Legal

aitsl

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions Statistical

aitss

Congressional Districts

cd

Core Based Statistical Areas

cbsa

Hawaiian Home Lands

hhl

School Districts (Elementary)

elsd

School Districts (Secondary)

scsd

School Districts (Unified)

unsd

School Districts Administrative Areas

sdadm

State Legislative Districts (Upper / Senate)

sldu

State Legislative Districts (Lower / House)

sldl

Public Use Microdata Areas 2020

puma2020

Urban Growth Areas

uga

Census Block Groups

bg

Census Blocks Current

tabblock

Census Blocks 2020 Census

tabblock2020

Census Tracts Current

curtracts

2020 Census Tracts

tracts2020

Census Designated Places

cdp

Consolidated Cities

concity

Counties and Equivalent Areas

county

County Subdivisions for counties with Legal Subdivisions

mcd

County Subdivisions for counties with Legal Subdivisions

ccd

Incorporated Places

places

Subbarios

submcd

Tribal Block Groups

tbg

Tribal Census Tracts

tct

Urban Areas 2020 Census

uac

All Lines

edges

Area Landmarks

arealm

Hydrography Area

water

Point Landmarks

pointlm

Geographic Offsets

offset

Block Area Grouping

bag

Face Geometry with all geocodes

faces



    1. Shapefile Layouts

The tables in this section show the shapefile layouts for the county-level partnership shapefiles. More commonly used shapefiles will be listed first.

Table 14: All Lines (Edges) Shapefile (PVS_25_v2_edges)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

TLID

10,0

Number

Permanent Edge ID

TFIDL

10,0

Number

Permanent Face ID, Left

TFIDR

10,0

Number

Permanent Face ID, Right

MTFCC

5

Char

MAF/TIGER Feature Class Code

FIDELITY

1

Char

Indication to a respondent when their entity boundary has changed through spatial enhancement

FULLNAME

40

Char

Decoded Feature Name with abbreviated qualifier, direction, and feature type

SMID

22,0

Number

Spatial Tmeta ID

SMIDTYPE

1

VARCHAR2

Source attribution for boundary edges. PLSS, Parcels, Surveyed, etc.

RTTYP

1

VARCHAR2

Route type code

BBSPFLG

1

Char

Indicates the Redistricting Data Project participant's submitted request of an EDGE for selection for holding.

CBBFLG

1

Char

Indicates the status of an EDGE for a selection as tabulation block boundary

BBSP_2030

1

Char

New BBSP Flag

CHNG_TYPE

4

Char

Type of area update

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

LTOADD

10

Char

Left to address

RTOADD

10

Char

Right to address

LFROMADD

10

Char

Left from address

RFROMADD

10

Char

Right from address

ZIPL

5

Char

Left from ZIP Code

ZIPR

5

Char

Right from ZIP Code

EXTTYP

1

Char

Extension type

MTUPDATE

10

date

Date of last update to the edge


Table 15: Area Landmark Shapefile (PVS_25_v2_arealm)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

String

State code

COUNTYFP

3

String

County code

MTFCC

5

String

MAF/TIGER Feature Class Code

FULLNAME

120

String

Complete name associated with the area landmark

AREAID

22

String

Landmark identification number, or Object ID

ANSICODE

8

String

American National Standards Institute feature code for the county or equivalent area feature code for the area landmark

PARTFLG

1

String

Part flag indicator, indicates if only part of a feature is represented

CHNG_TYPE

2

String

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

10

Date

Effective date or vintage

RELATE

120

String

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

String

Justification

BAG

3

String

Block area grouping


Table 16: Block Area Grouping Shapefile (PVS_25_v2_bag)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

NEW_CODE

6

Char

New Census BAG Code

BAGCE

3

Char

Block Area Grouping

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage


Table 17: Census Blocks- Current (PVS_25_v2_tabblock)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

STATEFP20

2

Char

FIPS 2020 State Code

COUNTYFP20

3

Char

FIPS 2020 County Code

TRACTCE20

6

Char

Census Tract Code

BLOCKCE

4

Char

Tabulation block number

SUFFIX1CE

2

Char

Census Block Suffix 1

SUFFIX2CE

2

Char

Census Block Suffix 2

NCELIGIBLE

1

Char

Block Eligible for New Construction Y/N?

BLKSZIND

1

Char

Block Size Indicator Field

BLOCK

8

Char

Tabulation Block Number, Census Block Suffix 1, Census Block Suffix 2

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

BLOCKID

19

Char

FIPS State Code, FIPS County Code, Census Tract Code, Tabulation Block Number, Census Block Suffix 1, Census Block Suffix 2


Table 18: Census Blocks- 2020 (PVS_25_v2_tabblock2020)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP20

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP20

3

Char

FIPS County Code

TRACTCE20

6

Char

Census Tract Code

BLOCKCE

4

Char

Tabulation block number

BLOCKID20

15

Char

FIPS State Code, FIPS County Code, Census Tract Code, Tabulation Block Number

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

HOUSING20

9,0

Number

2020 Housing

POP20

9,0

Number

2020 Population Count


Table 19: Congressional Districts (PVS_25_v2_cd)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

CDFP

2

Char

Congressional District Code

CDTYP

1

Char

Congressional District Type

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

NEW_CODE

2

Char

New Congressional District Code

RELTYPE1

2

Char

Relationship Type1

RELTYPE2

2

Char

Relationship Type2

RELTYPE3

2

Char

Relationship Type3

RELTYPE4

2

Char

Relationship Type4

RELTYPE5

2

Char

Relationship Type5

REL_ENT1

8

Char

Relationship Entity1

REL_ENT2

8

Char

Relationship Entity2

REL_ENT3

8

Char

Relationship Entity3

REL_ENT4

8

Char

Relationship Entity4

REL_ENT5

8

Char

Relationship Entity5

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

CDSESSN

3

Char

Congressional District Session Code

NAME

100

Char

Base Name portion of the Standardized Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status



Table 20: Counties and Equivalent Areas (PVS_25_v2_county)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS county code

BASID

11

Char

11-digit Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) ID

COUNTYNS

8

Char

ANSI feature code for county or equivalent feature

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status

CLASSFP

2

Char

FIPS 55 class code describing an entity

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

AUTHTYPE

1

Char

Authorization type for legal area updates

DOCU

120

Char

Supporting documentation

AREA

10,3

Number

Acreage of area update

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

NAME

100

Char

Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage



Table 21: County Subdivisions with Legal Subdivisions (PVS_25_v2_mcd)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS county code

COUSUBFP

5

Char

FIPS 55 County Subdivision code

BASID

11

Char

11-digit Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) ID

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

COUSUBNS

8

Char

ANSI feature code for the county subdivision

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status

CLASSFP

2

Char

FIPS 55 class code describing an entity

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

AUTHTYPE

1

Char

Authorization type for legal area updates

DOCU

120

Char

Supporting documentation

AREA

10,3

Number

Acreage of area update

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

NAME

100

Char

Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage



Table 22: Faces (PVS_25_v2_faces)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

TFID

20

Number

Permanent Face ID

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

TRIBSUBCE

3

Char

Census Tribal Subdivision Code

TTRACTCE

6

Char

Tribal Census tract Code

TBLKGRPCE

1

Char

Tribal Census Block Group Code

AIANNHCE

4

Char

Current Census AIANNH code

AIANNHCE20

4

Char

2020 Census AIANNH code

COMPTYP

1

Char

Indicates if reservation (or equivalent) or off-reservation trust land is present

ANRCFP

5

Char

FIPS ANRC Code

SLDUST

3

Char

SLD Upper Chamber Code

SLDLST

3

Char

SLD Lower Chamber Code

ELSD

5

Char

Current ELSD Local Education Agency (LEA) Code

SCSD

5

Char

Current SCSD Local Education Agency (LEA) Code

UNSD

5

Char

Current UNSD Local Education Agency (LEA) Code

SDADM

5

Char

Current SDADM Local Education Agency (LEA) Code

CDFP

2

Char

Congressional District Code

TRACTCE

6

Char

Census Tract Code

UACE

5

Char

Census Urban Area Code

CBSAFP

5

Char

FIPS CBSA Code

BLKGRPCE

1

Char

Census Block Group Code

BLOCKCE

4

Char

Tabulation block number

SUFFIX1CE

2

Char

Census Block Suffix 1

SUFFIX2CE

2

Char

Census Block Suffix 2

BAGCE

3

Char

Block Area Grouping

PUMACE20

5

Char

Public Use Microdata Area Code 2020

SUBMCDFP

5

Char

FIPS 55 Sub-Minor Civil Division Code

UGACE

5

Char

Urban Growth Area code

STATEFP20

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP20

3

Char

FIPS county code

TRACTCE20

6

Char

Census Tract Code

PLACEFP

5

Char

FIPS 55 Place Code

COUSUBFP

5

Char

FIPS 55 County Subdivision code

CONCITYFP

5

Char

FIPS 55 Place Code

CDSESSN

3

Char

Congressional District Session Code

LWFLG

1

Char

Land/Water Flag



Table 23: Hydrography (PVS_25_v2_water)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

ANSICODE

8

Char

Represents the official code for use by Federal agencies for data transfer and dissemination.

MTFCC

5

Char

MAF/TIGER Feature Class Code

FULLNAME

120

Char

Prefix Direction Code, Prefix Type code, Base Name, Suffix Type Code, Suffix Direction code

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

HYDROID

22

Char

Object ID

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification



Table 24: Incorporated Place (PVS_25_v2_place)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS county code

PLACEFP

5

Char

FIPS 55 Place Code

BASID

11

Char

11-digit Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) ID

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

PLACENS

8

Char

ANSI feature code for the place

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status

CLASSFP

2

Char

FIPS 55 class code describing an entity

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

AUTHTYPE

1

Char

Authorization type for legal area updates

DOCU

120

Char

Supporting documentation

AREA

10,3

Number

Acreage of area update

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

NAME

100

Char

Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage



Table 25: State Legislative Districts (Upper/Senate) (PVS_25_v2_sldu)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS county code

SLDUST

3

Char

SLD Upper Chamber Code

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

NEW_NAME

100

Char

New SLDU name

NEW_CODE

3

Char

New SLDU code

RELTYPE1

2

Char

Relationship Type1

RELTYPE2

2

Char

Relationship Type2

RELTYPE3

2

Char

Relationship Type3

RELTYPE4

2

Char

Relationship Type4

RELTYPE5

2

Char

Relationship Type5

REL_ENT1

8

Char

Relationship Entity1

REL_ENT2

8

Char

Relationship Entity2

REL_ENT3

8

Char

Relationship Entity3

REL_ENT4

8

Char

Relationship Entity4

REL_ENT5

8

Char

Relationship Entity5

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

LSY

4

Char

Legislative Session Year

NAME

100

Char

Base Name portion of the Standardized Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status


Table 26: State Legislative Districts (Lower/House) (PVS_25_v2_sldl)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS county code

SLDLST

3

Char

SLD Lower Chamber Code

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

NEW_NAME

100

Char

New SLDL name

NEW_CODE

3

Char

New SLDL code

RELTYPE1

2

Char

Relationship Type1

RELTYPE2

2

Char

Relationship Type2

RELTYPE3

2

Char

Relationship Type3

RELTYPE4

2

Char

Relationship Type4

RELTYPE5

2

Char

Relationship Type5

REL_ENT1

8

Char

Relationship Entity1

REL_ENT2

8

Char

Relationship Entity2

REL_ENT3

8

Char

Relationship Entity3

REL_ENT4

8

Char

Relationship Entity4

REL_ENT5

8

Char

Relationship Entity5

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

LSY

4

Char

Legislative Session Year

NAME

100

Char

Base Name portion of the Standardized Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status


Table 27: Alaska Native Regional Corporation (PVS_25_v2_anrc)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

ANRCFP

5

Char

FIPS ANRC Code (state based)

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

AIANNHNS

8

Char

ANSI numeric identifier for AIANNH Areas

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status

CLASSFP

2

Char

FIPS 55 class code describing an entity

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

AUTHTYPE

1

Char

Authorization type for legal area updates

DOCU

120

Char

Supporting documentation

AREA

10,3

Number

Acreage of area update

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

NAME

100

Char

Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage

AIANNHFSR

1

Char

Flag indicating level of recognition of an American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian tribe or group



Table 28: American Indian/Alaska Native Areas- Statistical (PVS_25_v2_aias)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

AIANNHCE

4

Char

Census AIANNH code

COMPTYP

1

Char

Indicates if reservation (or equivalent) or off-reservation trust land is present, or both

AIANNHFSR

1

Char

Flag indicating level of recognition of an American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian tribe or group

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

AIANNHNS

8

Char

ANSI numeric identifier for AIANNH Areas

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status

CLASSFP

2

Char

FIPS 55 class code describing an entity

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

NAME

100

Char

Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage



Table 29: American Indian/Alaska Native Areas- Legal (PVS_25_v2_aial)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

BASID

11

Char

11-digit Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) ID

AIANNHCE

4

Char

Census AIANNH code

COMPTYP

1

Char

Indicates if reservation (or equivalent) or off-reservation trust land is present, or both

AIANNHFSR

1

Char

Flag indicating level of recognition of an American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian tribe or group

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

AIANNHNS

8

Char

ANSI numeric identifier for AIANNH Areas

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status

CLASSFP

2

Char

FIPS 55 class code describing an entity

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

AUTHTYPE

1

Char

Authorization type for legal area updates

DOCU

120

Char

Supporting documentation

AREA

10,3

Number

Acreage of area update

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

NAME

100

Char

Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage





Table 30: American Indian Tribal Subdivisions- Legal (PVS_25_v2_aitsl)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

AIANNHCE

4

Char

Census AIANNH code

TRIBSUBCE

3

Char

Census Tribal Subdivision Code

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

TRIBSUBNS

8

Char

ANSI eight-digit feature code for the tribal subdivision

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status

CLASSFP

2

Char

FIPS 55 class code describing an entity

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

AUTHTYPE

1

Char

Authorization type for legal area updates

DOCU

120

Char

Supporting documentation

AREA

10,3

Number

Acreage of area update

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

NAME

100

Char

Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage

AIANNHFSR

1

Char

Flag indicating level of recognition of an American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian tribe or group





Table 31: American Indian Tribal Subdivisions- Statistical (PVS_25_v2_aitss)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

AIANNHCE

4

Char

Census AIANNH code

TRIBSUBCE

3

Char

Census Tribal Subdivision Code

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

TRIBSUBNS

8

Char

ANSI eight-digit feature code for the tribal subdivision

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status

CLASSFP

2

Char

FIPS 55 class code describing an entity

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

NAME

100

Char

Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage

AIANNHFSR

1

Char

Flag indicating level of recognition of an American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian tribe or group



Table 32: Core Based Statistical Areas (PVS_25_v2_cbsa)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

CBSAFP

5

Char

FIPS CBSA Code

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage



Table 33: Hawaiian Home Lands (PVS_25_v2_hhl)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

BASID

11

Char

11-digit Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) ID

AIANNHCE

4

Char

Census AIANNH code

COMPTYP

1

Char

Indicates if reservation (or equivalent) or off-reservation trust land is present

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

AIANNHNS

8

Char

ANSI numeric identifier for AIANNH Areas

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status

CLASSFP

2

Char

FIPS 55 class code describing an entity

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

AUTHTYPE

1

Char

Authorization type for legal area updates

DOCU

120

Char

Supporting documentation

AREA

10,3

Number

Acreage of area update

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

NAME

100

Char

Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage

AIANNHFSR

1

Char

Flag indicating level of recognition of an American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian tribe or group



Table 34: School Districts - Elementary (PVS_25_v2_elsd)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS county code

SDLEA

5

Char

Current ELSD Local Education Agency (LEA) Code

NAME

100

Char

Base Name portion of the Standardized Name

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

LOGRADE

2

Char

Low grade

HIGRADE

2

Char

High grade

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

SDTYP

1

Char

Census School District Type

POLYID

4

Char

Record ID for each ELSD Update polygon for linking to the Submission Log

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage



Table 35: School Districts- Secondary (PVS_25_v2_scsd)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS county code

SDLEA

5

Char

Current SCSD Local Education Agency (LEA) Code

NAME

100

Char

Base Name portion of the Standardized Name

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

LOGRADE

2

Char

Low grade

HIGRADE

2

Char

High grade

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

SDTYP

1

Char

Census School District Type

POLYID

4

Char

Record ID for each SCSD update polygon for linking the Submission Log

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage



Table 36: School Districts- Unified (PVS_25_v2_unsd)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS county code

SDLEA

5

Char

Current UNSD Local Education Agency (LEA) Code

NAME

100

Char

Base Name portion of the Standardized Name

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

LOGRADE

2

Char

Low grade

HIGRADE

2

Char

High grade

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

SDTYP

1

Char

Census School District Type

POLYID

4

Char

Record ID for each UNSD update polygon for linking to the Submission Log

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage



Table 37: Public Microdata Areas - 2020 (PVS_25_v2_puma2020)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP20

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP20

3

Char

FIPS County Code

PUMACE20

5

Char

Public Use Microdata Area Code

NAME

100

Char

PUMA Name

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

POP20

9,0

Number

2020 Population



Table 38: Urban Growth Areas (PVS_25_v2_uga)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

UGACE

5

Char

Urban Growth Area code

UGATYP

1

Char

UGA Type

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

PARTFLG

1

 

Part flag indicator

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

AREA

10,3

Number

Acreage of area update

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

NAME

100

Char

Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage



Table 39: Census Block Groups (PVS_25_v2_bg)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

TRACTCE

6

Char

Census Tract Code

BLKGRPCE

1

Char

Block Group Code

BLKGRPID

12

Char

FIPS State code, FIPS County Code, Census Tract Code, Block Group Code

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

BGTYP

1

Char

Block Group Characteristic Flag

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage

Table 40: Census Tracts- Current (PVS_25_v2_curtracts)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

TRACTCE

6

Char

Census Tract Code

NAME

100

Char

Base Name portion of the Standardized Name

TRACTID

11

Char

FIPS State Code, FIPS County Code, Census Tract Code

NEW_CODE

6

Char

New Tract Code

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

TRACTTYP

1

Char

Tract Characteristic Flag

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

TRACTLABEL

7

Char

Tract number used for LUCA geocoding

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage



Table 41: Census Tracts- 2020 (PVS_25_v2_tracts2020)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

TRACTCE

6

Char

Census Tract Code

NAME

100

Char

Base Name portion of the Standardized Name

TRACTID

11

Char

FIPS State Code, FIPS County Code, Census Tract Code

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

TRACTTYP

1

Char

Tract Characteristic Flag

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

TRACTLABEL

7

Char

Tract number used for LUCA geocoding

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage

POP20

9,0

Number

2020 Population



Table 42: Census Designated Places (PVS_25_v2_cdp)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

PLACEFP

5

Char

FIPS 55 Place Code

PLACENS

8

Char

ANSI feature code for the place

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status

CLASSFP

2

Char

FIPS 55 class code describing an entity

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

NAME

100

Char

Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage





Table 43: Consolidated Cities (PVS_25_v2_concity)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS county code

CONCITYFP

5

Char

FIPS 55 Place Code

BASID

11

Char

11-digit Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) ID

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

PLACENS

8

Char

ANSI feature code for the place

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status

CLASSFP

2

Char

FIPS 55 class code describing an entity

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

AUTHTYPE

1

Char

Authorization type for legal area updates

DOCU

120

Char

Supporting documentation

AREA

10,3

Number

Acreage of area update

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

NAME

100

Char

Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage



Table 44: County Subdivisions for counties with statistical subdivisions (PVS_25_v2_ccd)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS county code

COUSUBFP

5

Char

FIPS 55 County Subdivision code

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

COUSUBNS

8

Char

ANSI feature code for the county subdivision

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status

CLASSFP

2

Char

FIPS 55 class code describing an entity

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of point update

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

NAME

100

Char

Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage



Table 45: Point Landmarks (PVS_25_v2_pointlm)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

POINTID

22

Char

Object ID

ANSICODE

8

Char

Represents the official code for use by Federal agencies for data transfer and dissemination.

MTFCC

5

Char

MAF/TIGER Class Code

FULLNAME

120

Char

Prefix Type code, Base Name, Suffix Type Code

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of point update

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

POINTID

22

Char

Object ID

ANSICODE

8

Char

Represents the official code for use by Federal agencies for data transfer and dissemination.



Table 46: Subbarios (PVS_25_v2_submcd)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

COUSUBFP

5

Char

FIPS 55 County Subdivision Code

SUBMCDFP

5

Char

FIPS Sub-minor Civil Division Code

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

SUBMCDNS

8

Char

ANSI feature code for the sub-minor civil division

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

AREA

10,3

Number

Acreage of area update

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

NAME

100

Char

Name

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage

FUNCSTAT

1

Char

Functional Status



Table 47: Tribal Block Groups (PVS_25_v2_tbg)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

TTRACTCE

6

Char

Tribal census tract code

TBLKGRPCE

1

Char

Tribal census block group code

TBLKGRPID

11

Char

Calculated concatenation of the Census AI/AN/NH Area Code, Tribal Census Tract Code, and the Tribal Census Block Group Code

NEW_CODE

6

Char

New Census Tract Code


CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

TBGTYP

1

Char

Tribal Block Group Characteristic Flag

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

AIANNHCE

4

Char

Census AIANNH code

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator

TBGTYP

1

Char

Tribal Block Group Characteristic Flag

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description



Table 48: Tribal Block Tracts ((PVS_25_v2_tct)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

TTRACTCE

6

Char

Tribal Census Tract Code

NAME

100

Char

Base Name portion of the Standardized Name

NEW_CODE

6

Char

New Tribal Tract Code

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

TRACTTYP

1

Char

Tribal Tract Characteristic Flag

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification

AIANNHCE

4

Char

Census AIANNH code

TRACTLABEL

7

Char

Tract number used for LUCA geocoding

VINTAGE

2

Char

Vintage

TBTRACTID

10

Char

Calculated concatenation of the Census AI/AN/NH Area Code and Tribal Census Tract Code

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator



Table 49: Urban Areas- 2020 (PVS_25_v2_uac)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

UACE

5

Char

Census Urban Area Code

NAMELSAD

100

Char

Name with translated LSAD

LSAD

2

Char

Legal/Statistical Area Description

PARTFLG

1

Char

Part flag indicator



Table 50: Geographic Offsets (PVS_25_v2_offset)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

TFID

20

Number

Permanent Face ID

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

OFFSET

1

Char

Geographic Corridor/Offset Flag

ADDEXCLUDE

1

Char

Address Exclusion Indicator

CHNG_TYPE

2

Char

Type of area update

EFF_DATE

8

Date

Effective date or vintage

RELATE

120

Char

Relationship description

JUSTIFY

150

Char

Justification





Table 51: Area Landmark Relationship Table (PVS_25_v2_areafaces)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

TFID

20

Number

Permanent Face ID

AREAID

22

Char

Object ID



Table 52: Area Hydrography Relationship Table (PVS_25_v2_hydrofaces)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

TFID

20

Number

Permanent Face ID

HYDROID

22

Char

Object ID

AREAID

22

Char

Object ID



Table 53: Address Range Relationship Table (PVS_25_v2_addr)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

TLID

10

Number

TIGER Line ID

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

FROMHN

12

Char

From House Number

TOHN

12

Char

To House Number

SIDE

1

Char

Side Indicator Flag

ZIP

5

Char

5-digit ZIP code

PLUS4

4

Char

ZIP +4 code

LFROMADD

10

Char

 

LTOADD

10

Char

 

RFROMADD

10

Char

 

RTOADD

10

Char

 

ZIPL

5

Char

 

ZIPR

5

Char

 

ZIP4L

4

Char

 

Table 54: Linear Feature Names- Fielded Relationship Table (PVS_25_v2_allnames)

Attribute Field

Length

Type

Description

OID_1

22

Char

Object ID

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

TLID

10

Number

TIGER Line ID

NAME

100

Char

Base Name portion of the Standardized Name

PREDIR

2

Char

Prefix Direction code component of the Feature Name

PRETYP

14

Char

Prefix Type Description component of the Feature Name

PREQUAL

5

Char

Prefix Qualifier code component of the feature Name

SUFDIR

2

Char

Suffix Direction code component of the feature Name

SUFTYP

14

Char

Suffix Type Description component of the Feature Name

SUFQUAL

5

Char

Suffix Qualifier Code component of the Feature Name

MTFCC

5

Char

MAF/TIGER Class Code

PAFLAG

1

Char

Primary/alternate flag

OID_1

22

Char

Object ID

STATEFP

2

Char

FIPS State Code

COUNTYFP

3

Char

FIPS County Code

TLID

10

Number

TIGER Line ID

NAME

100

Char

Base Name portion of the Standardized Name

PREDIR

2

Char

Prefix Direction code component of the Feature Name



  1. MTFCC Descriptions

The MTFCC is a 5-digit code assigned by the Census Bureau to classify and describe geographic objects or features. A full list of MTFCC codes and descriptions can be found at <www.census.gov/library/reference/code-lists/mt-feature-class-codes.html>.

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File Title2026BBSP_NonGUPS_UserGuide_NSC_final_approved
SubjectBBSPV Non-GUPS Guide
AuthorU.S. Census Bureau
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File Created2025-09-20

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