[1][2] The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) conducted a pilot run of the census from May 20 to June 17, 2019 covering eight areas.

The census was planned to be held sometime after the lifting of the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon which was imposed as a response to the health crisis.

[4] All persons to be enumerated as members of a household or as residents of an institutional living quarter were those alive as of 12:01 a.m. of May 1, 2020[6] The 2020 census coincided with the rollout of the PhilSys national ID program but the PSA could not legally collect data from the national ID system for the census.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they were required to wear face masks and shields and observe social distancing when conducting the census as precaution against COVID-19.

[10] The Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) maintained that the Philippines could achieve a stable replacement rate by 2025 following the confirmation of the census results.