The 1950 US Federal Census will be released on 1 April, 2022, and the Census Community Project will enlist an army of volunteers to help publish a free searchable index of all 151 million individuals included in this valuable record. Volunteers will review and improve an automated index created by Ancestry using handwriting recognition technology to ensure that it is complete and accurate.
Visit Get Involved on FamilySearch.org to try out the Review Names activity to help you prepare for the 1950 launch. This tool will also be used to review names from the 1950 census.
Is it true that we’re not using the FamilySearch indexing program to review the index?
That is correct. We have created a new review tool that allows us to review every field on the form by family or household.
Can I review a specific county or state?
For now, you can review a specific state along with a surname you would like to find. They are working on the ability to also be able to search by County as well.
Can I review an entire page?
When reviewing, after you’ve completed a family, you can choose to go to the next family on the same page. If any families have already been reviewed, the reviewing tool will skip those families.
What is the difference between what NARA is doing and what FamilySearch and Ancestry are doing?
NARA will release a name-only index on 1 April. They are asking for volunteers to help improve this index. You can learn more about this process at archives.gov/1950census.
Ancestry’s handwriting recognition technology will create a comprehensive index of the census records, including all the available fields.
The 1950 US Census Community Project hosted on FamilySearch.org will enable volunteers to help review and improve the comprehensive index. This review process is a separate project from the NARA project.
Will the work I do be added to my indexing statistics?
Review and Improve is a different activity and will be tracked separately. You will be able to see how much you do of this specific activity. All your volunteer statistics will soon be brought together in one place.
9 May 2022: Find Families to Review at the City and County Level
You can now find and review families at the city or county level! Select the state and then click on the option below the selected state to find families within a county or city. This also works with a specified surname, so finding specific families to review is easier than ever.
29 April 2022: Nevada Family Review Complete – Thank you!
The first state review for Nevada has been completed, including the name, header, and family review!
Look forward to Nevada being published soon, being the seventh state available for searching!
16 April 2022: The First Week of Family Review – Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who has been with us this week for the launch of Family Review. It’s had its ups and downs, and we appreciate your patience as we work through some early issues.
In Family Review, you can now see who has already been reviewed in the image. The green check shows who has already been reviewed, and the purple icon shows that is the family you should focus on.
Header Review, a simple way to review the top of each page, also launched. For the most part, you should type what you see and delete information that doesn’t belong. The computer standardized some of the place names, so those may not match exactly what you see on the image. Please keep place names that have been standardized as long as they are correct.
There are a few issues that we are working through—some have been resolved, and some are ongoing. We continue to work on the problem of not getting images for the state you select. If you look through the birthplaces on the image you receive, you will see the state somewhere in the list. Of course, we know you chose that state because you wanted it to be at the TOP of the page, not elsewhere, so we’re working on that. Other issues we continue to work through include updating the progress map (we really are making progress on Family Review, even though the map doesn’t show it yet!), showing individual and group contributions, and working through known issues with data and fields (particularly with the supplemental questions). These are all in development and will be available for everyone soon. We appreciate your patience as you join us on this journey!
13 April 2022: California, Texas, and other large states are now available for name review.
The Review Names experience is now available for California, Texas, Illinois, Louisiana, and Virginia. The name review for Florida is nearly complete, and Review Families will soon be available for the state. Review Families is currently available for Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, and New Mexico.
5 April 2022: Idaho, Arizona, and New Mexico are available for Name Review
Names from Nevada have been reviewed and Utah is nearing completion. Name Review is now available for Idaho, Arizona, and New Mexico, with additional states coming online soon. Much larger states, including New York and California, will be added in the coming days. Visit the project.
4 April 2022: More states are becoming available for Name Review.
Utah is now available for Name Review in the 1950 US Census Community Project, and more states will be available soon. Idaho and others should follow shortly. Much larger states, including New York and California, will be added in the coming days. Visit the project.
2 April 2022: Name Review is now live for Nevada and Oregon.
Periodic errors may result in states not being available for selection during this initial launch phase. You can refresh the page or try back later.
Please jump in and share your experience with others.
2 April 2022: The 1950 US Census Community Project is nearing launch.
FamilySearch and Ancestry continue to prepare to launch the first states for Name Review—Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Florida, and Arizona. FamilySearch will provide additional details as more information becomes available. We appreciate your ongoing patience and enthusiasm for the launch of this groundbreaking project.
2 April 2022: You can now explore images for the 1950 census on FamilySearch.
The census images from NARA continue to be loaded into FamilySearch.org for browsing. Images for all 48 states from 1950 are now available for browsing and exploration on FamilySearch, and additional territories are also available. Learn more about browsing the images of the 1950 US Census.
Once a group has been created, you can invite others to join your group. Click to view the group, click Invite Member, and then copy the URL to send an invitation to your group members.
Approve members as they join.
19 March 2022: Invitation to use the new Get Involved app to prepare for the 1950 US Census
Those who want to prepare to review indexed names as part of the 1950 US Census Community Project are invited to download and use the new Get Involved app (available for Apple iOS or Android) and participate in the US Wills and Deeds project. Names that have been automatically indexed as part of the 1950 census will be available for review through the Get Involved app. This activity is also available for those using a computer as the new Review Names activity on the Get Involved page.