What is Special Sworn Status (SSS)?
The Census Bureau’s Special Sworn Status (SSS) is a designation that grants approved researchers the legal authority to access confidential microdata housed within FSRDCs. Researchers are required to obtain SSS before they can access any FSRDC. Researchers who obtain SSS become sworn agents of the Census Bureau, subject to strict confidentiality requirements, penalties, and data-use restrictions. This status enables qualified individuals to work with sensitive data while ensuring the protection of respondent privacy.
Why is SSS important?
Access to restricted-use data is critical to advancing high-quality research, informing evidence-based policy decisions, and generating new insights that can drive economic and social improvements. Because these data contain identifiable or sensitive information about individuals, households, and businesses, the U.S. Census Bureau and the FSRDC program must ensure that only authorized personnel access them under secure conditions. SSS is a key mechanism that enables groundbreaking research while maintaining the public’s trust in the Census Bureau’s ability to protect private information.
What are the eligibility requirements?
To be eligible to apply for SSS, researchers must:
- Be associated with an approved project,
- Be a U.S. citizen or foreign national with 3 of the past 5 years of physical residency in the United States,
- Currently live in the United States, and
- Have a U.S. institutional affiliation.
How can a researcher obtain SSS?
The NWFSRDC Administrator Carlos Becerra will provide the application materials after the project has been approved and assist researchers with the process. Costs for the preparation of these materials are the responsibility of the researcher. Researchers requesting data not managed by the Census Bureau, such as NCHS, SAMHSA, and AHRQ data, will incur an application fee. The application process entails confidentiality training, a signed and sworn Oath of Confidentiality statement witnessed by a public notary, and a background investigation, including a fingerprint check and other security measures. The process typically takes about 2-3 months to complete for U.S. citizens and about 4-6 months for non-citizens.
What are a researcher’s responsibilities under SSS?
Researchers granted SSS are bound by strict rules and responsibilities:
- Data confidentiality. Any information accessed must be used exclusively for statistical research and must not be shared or disclosed in any way that could identify individuals, households, or businesses.
- Secure data handling. Researchers must work with the data only within the confines of the secure physical or remote FSRDC environment, adhering to all security protocols and guidelines.
- Reporting and documentation. Any dissemination of research findings must undergo a disclosure review process to ensure that the privacy of respondents is protected and no identifiable information is inadvertently released.
- Annual trainings. Researchers must complete every year a series of trainings provided by the Census Bureau to maintain active SSS.
What is the SSS Oath of Confidentiality statement?
Sworn for Life to Protect Confidentiality
The U.S. Census Bureau Oath of Nondisclosure
I will not disclose any information contained in the schedules, lists, or statements obtained for or prepared by the Bureau of the Census to any person or persons either during or after employment.
(Under federal law, the penalty for unlawful disclosure is a fine of not more than $250,000 or imprisonment for not more than 5 years or both.)