Replies

10) What are the penalties if I do not respond to the survey?
Both Title 13 and Title 18, United States Code, provide for monetary penalties for failure
to respond. Title 18, U.S.C., Section 3551, et seq., the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984,
establishes uniform penalties for all federal crimes. Title 13 U.S.C., Section 221, makes
it a misdemeanor to refuse or willfully neglect to complete the questionnaire or answer
questions posed by census takers and imposes a fine of not more than $100. This fine is
changed by the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 from $100 to not more than $5,000.
The Census Bureau is not a prosecuting agency. Failure to provide information is not
likely to result in a fine. The Census Bureau staff work to achieve cooperation and high
response rates by helping the public understand that responding to the ACS is a matter
of civic responsibility, and prefers to encourage participation in this manner rather than
prosecution.

-CITE-
13 USC Sec. 221 01/08/2008

-EXPCITE-
TITLE 13 - CENSUS
CHAPTER 7 - OFFENSES AND PENALTIES
SUBCHAPTER II - OTHER PERSONS

-HEAD-
Sec. 221. Refusal or neglect to answer questions; false answers

-STATUTE-

(a) Whoever, being over eighteen years of age, refuses or
willfully neglects, when requested by the Secretary, or by any
other authorized officer or employee of the Department of Commerce
or bureau or agency thereof acting under the instructions of the
Secretary or authorized officer, to answer, to the best of his
knowledge, any of the questions on any schedule submitted to him in
connection with any census or survey provided for by subchapters I,
II, IV, and V of chapter 5 of this title, applying to himself or to
the family to which he belongs or is related, or to the farm or
farms of which he or his family is the occupant, shall be fined not
more than $100.

(b) Whoever, when answering questions described in subsection (a)
of this section, and under the conditions or circumstances
described in such subsection, willfully gives any answer that is
false, shall be fined not more than $500.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no person
shall be compelled to disclose information relative to his
religious beliefs or to membership in a religious body.

Complete txt here:

http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/13C7.txt