The notice published August 25, 2026, gives the public until September 24, 2026, to submit comments through RegInfo.gov. The action concerns renewal of a federal information collection; it is not a final redesign, and the Office of Management and Budget has not yet approved the renewed collection.

What the survey measures

The Current Population Survey Civic Engagement and Volunteering Supplement is conducted through a partnership between the Corporation for National and Community Service, which operates as AmeriCorps, and the U.S. Census Bureau. Related civic-engagement supplements date back to 2002, and the current survey has been conducted biennially since 2017.

The survey measures more than whether someone volunteers through an organization. It also covers informal help among family, friends and neighbors; participation in associations; charitable giving; learning about and engaging with issues of public concern; and interactions with public and private institutions.

That broader scope matters because formal volunteering and informal help are different forms of civic participation. A change in one does not necessarily represent the same change in the other.

Why the renewal is happening now

The current approval for the information collection is scheduled to expire on August 31, 2026. AmeriCorps has asked to continue using the currently approved collection while the renewal request remains pending before OMB.

An earlier 60-day comment period ended July 13, 2026. The August notice says two comments were received. Both emphasized the survey’s value for research and practice and the importance of continued analysis and reporting. The main concern was that the current questionnaire contains fewer formal-volunteering questions than the 2017 version.

AmeriCorps said it cannot currently add questions that would lengthen the survey because of a Census Bureau policy introduced in 2022 to reduce respondent burden. If Census recommendations change and resources allow, the agency said it could seek to restore two questions from the 2017 survey about the types of organizations where people volunteered and the activities they performed.

Possible questionnaire changes

The proposed revision would rephrase some questions to support possible testing of internet self-response as the Census Bureau modernizes the Current Population Survey. The notice describes that testing as a possibility, not as a confirmed nationwide change in how people will complete the survey.

The agencies are also seeking comments on whether the collection is useful and necessary, whether the burden estimates are accurate, how the questions could be clearer, and whether technology could reduce the burden or improve the collection process. The comments will be summarized or included in AmeriCorps’ request for OMB approval.

What the latest data show

The latest published baseline comes from the 2023 supplement, not from a new 2026 measurement. Census and AmeriCorps reported that 28.3% of Americans age 16 and older—more than 75.7 million people—formally volunteered through an organization between September 2022 and September 2023, up from 23.2% in 2021.

The same research found that 54.2% of Americans helped or exchanged favors with neighbors during that period, including activities such as running errands, lending tools or house sitting. The 2023 survey also measured virtual volunteering for the first time and found that 18% of formal volunteers served completely or partly online.

Those figures show why the questionnaire matters to researchers, nonprofits and policymakers: it provides a recurring, nationally representative way to track how people participate in community life, both through organizations and through everyday help to others.

How to comment

People who want to weigh in should find the Current Population Survey Civic Engagement and Volunteering Supplement under the “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” section at RegInfo.gov. Comments can address the collection’s usefulness, accuracy, clarity, estimated burden and use of technology.

This is a public-comment process about the federal information collection, not an invitation for ordinary respondents to complete the volunteering survey. Comments submitted through the federal process may become part of the public record, including identifying information, so people should avoid including sensitive personal details.

The deadline is September 24, 2026.

Sources

• Federal Register notice, August 25, 2026
• U.S. Census Bureau: New Research Tracks Virtual Volunteering for First Time