Interviewer instructions
Write the day, the month, and the year of birth.
Whether or not the day and month are known, you must enter a year of birth for all persons.
And for children born 2000-2005 you must try particularly hard to get at least the month and the year.
This question is one of the most important in the census and it may be the most difficult to answer. You will find many people who do not know their date of birth. In these cases you will have to estimate the age of the person and work backward to get the date of birth.
Many families have a bible in which birth dates are recorded. Sometimes people have birth or baptismal certificates. Ask about these documents if necessary.
Some people may not know their date of birth but may know their ages. Ask, “How old is this person?” If the age is known, calculate the date of birth.
If all else fails, make the best estimate you can by judging by such things as the person's appearance and position in the household, and by using your common sense knowledge that parents are seldom younger than 16 years of ages when their first child is born, that women do not usually bear children below the age of 12 years or over 50 years and so on. Check that the ages you enter are compatible with the person's relationship to others in the household. Or try any other source like 'People can sometimes remember their age when they first met.