Census 2027: House Listing Phase Scheduled for April-September 2026

New Delhi: The Union government on Wednesday (January 7) formally announced the commencement of Census 2027 by notifying its first phase, which will involve house listing and a housing census across the country. According to the notification, this phase will be conducted between April 1 and September 30, 2026, covering all the states and Union Territories.

The notification was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs through the Office of the Registrar General of India and was published in The Gazette of India (Extraordinary).

The initial phase, officially termed the House Listing and Housing Census (HLO), will be carried out ahead of the population enumeration. In this stage, information related to housing stock, household assets and basic amenities will be collected, without recording details of individuals.

As per the notification, the house listing exercise will not be spread continuously over the entire six-month window. Instead, each state and Union Territory will conduct the exercise over a fixed period of 30 days, which will be decided independently by the respective administrations.

"House listing operations will be conducted between 1 April 2026 and 30 September 2026 across all States and Union Territories, during a 30-day period specified by each State/UT. Provision for self-enumeration will be available for a period of 15 days prior to the commencement of house-to-house house listing, as per the schedule notified by each State/UT," the Census India 2027 official handle mentioned on X, along with a picture of the notification.

The government has also provided for a digital self-enumeration facility prior to the door-to-door survey. Households will be able to submit their details online during a 15-day window immediately before the start of the house-to-house listing in their area. This information will then be verified during visits by enumerators.

Notification for the Phase I of Census of India 2027 i.e. Houselisting & Housing Census (HLO) has been issued.

Houselisting operations will be conducted between 1 April 2026 and 30 September 2026 across all States and Union Territories, during a 30-day period specified by each… pic.twitter.com/Z7m9j7IaFL

— Census India 2027 (@CensusIndia2027) January 7, 2026

The notification was issued under Sections 3 and 17A of the Census Act, 1948, read along with the Census Rules, 1990, and replaces an earlier notification dated January 7, 2020.

The second phase of the census, known as Population Enumeration (PE), is scheduled to be conducted in February 2027. During this stage, demographic, socio-economic and cultural information of every individual will be collected. However, in Ladakh and snow-bound regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, population enumeration will be conducted earlier in September 2026, owing to climatic conditions.

The Union Cabinet has cleared an expenditure of Rs 11,718 crore for the census exercise. India last conducted a nationwide census in 2011, while the 2021 round was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government has also confirmed that the reference date for Census 2027 will be midnight on March 1, 2027.

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