We're in!

OMB Standards for Data on Race and Ethnicity

These are the standards for the classification of federal data on race and ethnicity from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Development of these data standards stemmed in large measure from new responsibilities to enforce civil rights laws. Data were needed to monitor equal access in housing, education, employment, and other areas, for populations that historically had experienced discrimination and differential treatment because of their race or ethnicity. The categories represent a social-political construct designed for collecting data on the race and ethnicity of broad population groups in this country, and are not anthropologically or scientifically based.

• Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (January 1, 2003)
  
  
• OMB Bulletin No. 00-02, Guidance on Aggregation and Allocation of Data on Race for Use in Civil Rights Monitoring and Enforcement (March 9, 2000)
  
  
• Provisional Guidance on the Implementation of the 1997 Standards for Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (December 15, 2000) [PDF | 204KB]
  
  
• Provisional Guidance Appendices:
  
  • Appendix A, Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity [PDF | 13KB]
    
  • Appendix B, Guidance on Aggregation and Allocation of Data on Race for Use in Civil Rights Monitoring and Enforcement [PDF | 12KB]
    
  • Appendix C, The Bridge Report: Tabulation Options for Trend Analysis [PDF | 215KB]
  
  
• Background Documents:
  
  • Recommendations from the Interagency Committee for the Review of the Racial and Ethnic Standards (July 9, 1997)
    
  • Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (August 1995)
    
  • Advance Notice of Proposed Review and Possible Revision of OMB's Statistical Policy Directive No. 15, Race and Ethnic Standards for Federal Statistics and Administrative Reporting (June 1994)