FAQ (2024)

The Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS) is a legitimate survey of the U.S. Census Bureau. The VIUS is conducted every 5 years ending in 2 and 7.

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

1. Ensure the Web address provided in the letter or email is a "census.gov" domain.
2. Correspondence will contain reporting instructions and a toll-free number for survey assistance.
3. On the log-in screen, a warning message should be present stating the respondent is accessing a U.S. Government computer.
4. After clicking on the “Report Now” button in the Respondent Portal, the OMB Number and OMB Approval Expiration information will appear in the lower left on all screens of the electronic reporting instrument. The bottom of the screen should have a link for the “Burden Statement” which also contains the OMB eight-digit number.

We estimate the VIUS will about 65 minutes to complete. Factors such as company size, complexity and activity will affect your actual time to complete the survey. This estimate includes the time to review instructions, search existing data sources, gather, and maintain the data needed, and complete and review the survey.

From 1963 through 2002, VIUS was conducted every five years as part of the Economic Census. VIUS was discontinued after 2002 due to lack of funding. With the reinstatement of the 2021 VIUS, the survey will return to a five-year cycle.

Yes, your response is required by law. Title 13 United States Code, Sections 131 and 182, authorizes this collection. Sections 221, 224, and 225 require your response.

The census law (Title 13, United States Code, Sections 221 and 224), coupled with the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 (Title 18, Sections 3551, 3559, and 3571), provides for penalties of up to $5,000 for failure to respond.

Historical VIUS data can be accessed from our VIUS webpage as well as from www.bts.gov/vius

The Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS) is sponsored by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the Federal Highway Administration, and the U.S. Department of Energy, and is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. VIUS provides data on the physical and operational characteristics of the nation’s truck population. The primary goal of this survey is to produce national and state-level estimates of the total number of trucks and truck miles.

VIUS data is useful for a wide range of studies including: vehicle size and weight policy analyses, input to freight demand models and air quality models, investment and performance analysis, safety analysis, fuel efficiency analysis, forecasts on truck population and economic activity served, vehicle emission estimates, highway planning, planning for ports and intermodal center development, market analyses, assessment of technology penetration, and determining future fuel demands.

VIUS selects a sample of about 150,000 Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) from a commercial database of trucks registered (or licensed) in the 50 states and District of Columbia. All registered private and commercial trucks, from pickups to truck tractors, are eligible for selection into the sample. Government-owned trucks, ambulances, fire engines, buses, farm tractors, passenger cars, and motor homes are not eligible for selection.

Your participation is important because without it, we have no other complete source of information on the truck inventory and usage in the United States. VIUS data are used to produce national and state-level estimates of the total number of trucks and truck miles. VIUS data are also needed for many types of transportation studies, such as analysis of freight movement, allocating funds for highways, evaluating the impact of truck size and weight on roads and bridges, vehicle safety analysis, energy consumption and many other studies.

The U.S. Census Bureau is required by Section 9 of Title 13 United States Code to keep your information confidential and can use your responses only to produce statistics. The published data for VIUS will not include any information that can be used to identify individual vehicles or their owners. Owner's names cannot be released or disclosed.

If you are unable to report on the characteristics and usage of the selected vehicle(s) because of a leasing arrangement with another individual or business, please call our customer help line at 1-844-395-4085, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. If you are able to provide alternative contact information for the individual or business that operates the vehicle, we can forward our survey request directly to them. If you are unable to provide this information, you will continue to receive follow-up attempts asking you to complete the questionnaire to the best of your ability.

Registering for an account will give you access to a Respondent Portal, which provides a secure means of reporting. The portal is a more seamless manner in which you can communicate with the Census Bureau.

Since you were the registered owner of the vehicle at the time we selected the sample for VIUS, we need to collect as much information as you can provide about the vehicle and how it was used during the time you owned it in 2021.

Yes. The VIUS survey instrument is optimized for mobile devices.

If you are unable to report online, please call our customer help line at 1-844-395-4085, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. We can provide you with a paper version of the questionnaire.

Please verify if the truck listed on your invitation letter or in the survey instrument is in your possession by using the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) listed on the letter. Do not rely only on the make, model, and year. If the VIN is not in your possession now but was in your possession for part of 2021, please log into the survey instrument and respond to all applicable questions. If you do not own this VIN, you do not need to respond for any other vehicle.