Will a couple in live-in relationship be considered married? Govt releases FAQs for first phase of Census

Portal opened for people opting for self-enumeration during Census

If a live-in couple considers their relationship as a stable union, they should be treated as a married couple for the Census, according to the FAQs given on the self-enumeration portal. This allows couples to be counted together in the "number of married couples living in the household" query.

The portal has been opened for people opting for self-enumeration during the Census. It will be available for both phases of the Census – Houselisting and Housing Census (HLO) and Population Enumeration.

The portal has a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to make it easy for the public to answer questions posed during the 16th Census of the country.

"Will a couple in a live-in relationship be considered a married couple? If they consider their relationship as a stable union, they should be treated as a married couple," the FAQ states

The government has notified 33 questions that will be put to citizens during the first phase of the Census houselisting and housing enumeration, starting April 1, 2026.

Questions such as the material used in house flooring and roof, number of married couples living there, sex of the head of the household, type of cereal consumed, access to basic and modern necessities, and types of vehicles owned shall be put forth during the first phase.

The questions will start with asking the building number (municipal or local authority or census number), census house number, predominant material used in the floor, wall and roof of the house.

The enumerators will then ask about the use of the house, its condition, and the number of persons normally residing in the household.

Officials will also collect information about the head of the household, like the name and sex, whether the head of the household belongs to the Scheduled Caste, the Scheduled Tribe or other communities and the ownership status.

The 2027 Census will be conducted in two phases. Phase 1 will include houselisting and housing census where house-to-house field work will be done in 30 days between April and September 2026 as decided by the respective State or Union Territory government.

The Phase 2, population enumeration will be done in February 2027.