Law n° 2002-276 of February 27, 2002 (articles 156 to 158) establishes the principles for conducting the census and disseminating the annual official population of every commune.

Council of State Decree n°2003-485, published in the Official Journal of June 8, 2003, defines the terms and conditions for the enforcement of the law.

The Order of July 19, 2007 establishes the framework for the dissemination of the population census results.

Survey of general interest and statistical quality, with compulsory nature