2026 Boundary & Annexation Survey Guide for Local Governments

The Boundary & Annexation Survey is an annual federal survey of tribal, state, and general-purpose local governments (e.g., counties, cities, and towns). The survey permits each local government to review the information that the Census Bureau has about that entity’s legal boundaries and to submit updates related to recent changes like land annexations. 

Accurate legal boundary information is essential to correctly counting the population of each local jurisdiction. 

For example, if a boundary expansion tied to an annexation is missing, part of a town may be excluded from official counts. This could lead the town to appear less populous than it is. The undercount may cause the town to receive less formula-based federal and state funding, resulting in fewer public dollars to address local needs.  

State statute requires local governments to maintain current legal boundary information with their clerks. When a local government annexes land, it is required to prepare an updated map, register the annexation with the applicable register(s) of deeds, and report the change to the Land Records Management Section of the NC Secretary of State’s Office within 30 days. The Secretary of State then certifies the annexation and reports the change to the Census Bureau. 

However, there is no penalty for failing to report annexations. They sometimes go unreported. The Boundary & Annexation Survey allows local governments to verify directly the information on file. 

January 1, 2026: This is the survey’s reference date, or the date for which boundaries should be reported.

February 2 (tentative): The Census Bureau will send outreach materials to the highest elected official in each jurisdiction. There is no need to wait for this letter to reply!  

**** February 20: This is the state-set deadline by which local governments should verify their information using the new Municipal Boundaries Tool. Submissions received by this date will be part of the state’s priority submission to the Census Bureau. ****

March 1: This is the Census Bureau’s priority response deadline. Information submitted by March 1 will be reflected in the current year’s versions of statistical programs like the American Community Survey and in the next Boundary & Annexation Survey. 

May 31: This is the final response deadline. Boundaries reported after March 1 but by May 31 will appear in the next versions of statistical programs like the American Community Survey and the next Boundary & Annexation Survey, as time allows.

Local governments are responsible for reporting their own boundaries. The state and Census Bureau have made reporting easier for local governments with a consolidated reporting agreement, with the Division of Emergency Management as the lead state agency. A multi-stakeholder group tied to the NC Geographic Information Coordinating Council developed the reporting processes and created the online Municipal Boundaries Tool as part of the larger NC OneMap resource. 

The online Municipal Boundaries Tool is a single, authoritative source of municipal boundary data. Instead of submitting boundary information several times each year to different agencies with differing deadlines, a local government now can submit boundaries once for use in four federal and state programs: 

• Boundary & Annexation Survey (Census Bureau),
• Powell Bill Funding (NC Department of Transportation),
• State Demographer’s Population Program (NC Office of State Budget and Management),
• Floodplain Mapping Program (NC Department of Public Safety)

Each program differs in how it analyzes the submitted geographic information. For instance, while the Boundary & Annexation Survey uses the borders in effect on January 1, the State Demographer’s Population Estimates Programs uses borders in effect as of July 1. Variations in program designs may yield different results in different programs. 
 

The Municipal Boundaries Tool is available year-round. A local government official can access the tool, search for their jurisdiction, and then choose one of three options:

• Approve Boundary: If the geospatial boundaries on file are correct, the local government official clicks on the “Approve Boundary” tab to complete a short approval form.
• Submit Annexation: If the local government official needs to report a change in geospatial boundaries due to a land annexation, they click on the “Submit Annexation” tab to complete a short correction form and to upload the applicable ordinance, geodatabase or shapefile of the annexed area, and annexation survey.
• Submit Boundary Correction: If the geospatial boundaries on file are incorrect, the local government official clicks on the “Submit Boundary Correction” tab to complete a short correction form and upload the correct geodatabase or shapefile of the entire current boundary. Please do not submit annexations here! 
   

In rare instances, a local government may lose territory via deannexation. Deannexation requires passage of a local bill by the NC General Assembly. 

When a deannexation occurs, the affected local government must create an updated map, register the deannexation with the applicable register(s) of deeds, and report the deannexation to the Land Records Management Section of the NC Secretary of State’s Office. 

When using the Municipal Boundaries Tool, an affected local government should report a deannexation by using the “Submit Annexation” option to complete a short correction form and to upload the applicable legislation and geographic data.  

Beginning in 2026, the preferred way to reply to the Boundary & Annexation Survey is via the Municipal Boundaries Tool. To ensure inclusion in the state’s March 1 priority submission to the Census Bureau, local governments should approve their boundaries online by February 20! 

The Municipal Boundaries Tool contains a status tool that shows when a jurisdiction’s boundaries were last approved and when the last annexation was submitted.

The Municipal Boundaries Tool is now the preferred response method. Local governments may reply using traditional response methods available on the Census Bureau’s website. Responses submitted using a traditional method will be forwarded to the state to include in the statewide submission.

Many counties in North Carolina have consolidated agreements with local governments under which the county replies to the Census Bureau on behalf of all the contracting jurisdictions. Counties may still submit responses under consolidated agreements in 2026. Any such submissions to the Census Bureau will be forwarded to the state for inclusion in its statewide filing. 

Ultimate responsibility for data accuracy rests with each locality. Local governments are encouraged to use the online Municipal Boundaries Tool to check the accuracy of their information.

The Municipal Boundaries Tool was developed with extensive input from the Municipal Boundaries Working Group of the NC Geographic Information Coordinating Council and outreach to local governments. The state and the Census Bureau will have more educational and communication efforts in early 2026. 

Contact John Quinterno for general question/questions about this guide

Contact Colleen Kiley or Luca Venegoni for questions about the Municipal Boundaries Tool 

Contact Rich Elkins or Nathan Bland for questions about land records and (de)annexations at annexations@sosnc.gov