To fill out USDA Form AD-2047, the Customer Data Worksheet, complete Part A with your legal name, mailing address, phone and email, taxpayer identification number, citizenship status, optional demographic information, and the USDA agencies you want to work with, then sign, date, and submit it to your local Farm Service Agency office. Part B is left blank for FSA staff. The form is free, and filing it is the first step to getting a USDA customer record, which is what you need before FSA can create a farm record and give you access to commodity programs, conservation assistance, disaster payments, and farm loans.
What to Have Ready Before You Start
AD-2047 is short. Gathering a few things first keeps you from stopping halfway through.
- Your Taxpayer Identification Number. New customers enter a full nine-digit SSN, EIN, or ITIN. If you already have a USDA customer record and are updating it, only the last four digits are required.
- Your legal name and mailing address exactly as they appear on your government-issued ID. For a business, use the legal name on your organizing documents.
- Your business type: individual, corporation, LLC, estate, trust, or another entity type. This classification affects how FSA tracks payments attributed to you and any members of your organization.
- Citizenship status. Individuals select U.S. citizen, resident alien (an I-551 permanent resident card is required), or neither. Foreign entities identify their originating country.
- Phone numbers and an email address. The form has fields for home, business, and mobile numbers.
If you plan to establish a farm record at the same visit, which most new producers do, bring documentation showing your interest in the land, such as a recorded deed or a signed lease. Those documents belong to the farm record process, not to AD-2047 itself.
Filling Out Part A, Item by Item
The form has two parts. You complete Part A. Part B is for FSA staff.
Item 1: New or Update
Check “New Customer” if you have never registered with USDA. Check “Update Existing Customer Record” if your name, address, or other details have changed.
Item 2: Name, Address, and Contact
Item 2A is your full legal name (or business name) and mailing address including zip code. Items 2C through 2F are your home, business, and mobile numbers and your email. Item 2G asks whether you want to receive non-personally-identifiable but operation-specific emails from USDA. Checking “Yes” keeps you in the loop on program deadlines and local office announcements.
Item 3: Taxpayer ID and Citizenship
Item 3A is your Taxpayer Identification Number. New customers write the full number and mark whether it is an SSN, EIN, or ITIN. Existing customers enter only the last four digits. Item 3B, birthdate, applies only if the customer is a minor. Item 3C is citizenship status for individuals. Item 3D captures the originating country for foreign entities.
Items 4A and 4B: Demographic Data
These collect race, ethnicity, and sex. Providing this information is voluntary. USDA uses it for civil rights compliance and to track whether programs are reaching underserved communities.
Item 5: Which USDA Agencies
Check every agency whose programs you might use: FSA, NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service), RMA (Risk Management Agency), RD (Rural Development), or AMS (Agricultural Marketing Service). It costs nothing to check more than one, and it saves you from having to re-register later.
Item 6: Multi-County Operations
If you farm in more than one county, list the states and counties involved.
Item 7: Signature
Sign and date at the bottom of Part A. If you are signing on behalf of an entity, note your title or relationship in Item 7B.
Part B Is Not Yours to Fill In
Leave Part B blank. The FSA employee who processes your form fills in the receiving agency, the date, and the method of receipt (office visit, telephone, fax, mail, or electronic submission).
Where and How to Submit the Form
Return the completed worksheet to the FSA office that serves the county where your operation is headquartered or where most of your land is located. Use the Service Center Locator at farmers.gov to find that office.1Farmers.gov. Find Your Local USDA Service Center FSA accepts the form through several channels:
- In person during regular business hours. Call or email ahead to schedule an appointment. FSA offices get busy around program sign-up and reporting deadlines, and an appointment ensures faster service.2Farmers.gov. Get Started at Your USDA Service Center
- By mail, sent to the county FSA office address listed on the Service Center Locator.
- By email, fax, or secure electronic upload. The form instructions list Box and OneSpan as accepted electronic delivery methods. Ask your local office which option it prefers.3U.S. Department of Agriculture. Instructions for AD-2047 Customer Data Worksheet
A blank copy of AD-2047 is available as a PDF from the FSA website and the farmers.gov documents library.4Farm Service Agency. AD-2047 Customer Data Worksheet You can also pick one up in person at any USDA Service Center. If you want to handle USDA business online after registering, you will need a Login.gov account linked to your USDA profile. The older eAuthentication login system has been phased out.5Farmers.gov. Do Business Online with USDA
What Happens After You Submit
FSA staff verify your identity by cross-referencing your taxpayer identification number against federal records. Once confirmed, they create your customer record in USDA’s database.
Providing the information on AD-2047 is technically voluntary. In practice, though, if you decline to furnish the requested data, FSA will determine you ineligible to establish or update a business partner record.4Farm Service Agency. AD-2047 Customer Data Worksheet The one exception is the demographic data in Items 4A and 4B, which is genuinely optional.
With the customer record in place, the next step is establishing your farm record. If you are a new producer, your FSA team member will usually walk you through this at the same appointment.2Farmers.gov. Get Started at Your USDA Service Center Your land is assigned a unique farm number and tract number that become the permanent identifiers for all future USDA interactions.6Farm Service Agency. Establishing a Customer Record and Farm Record Once you have a farm number, you can apply for FSA farm loans, disaster assistance, crop insurance, and NRCS conservation programs.
AD-2047 gets you into the system, but most producers file several companion forms before they can actually receive program benefits. Expect to be asked for a Farm Operating Plan (CCC-902), a Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation Certification (AD-1026), and an Average Adjusted Gross Income Certification (CCC-941). If you are not a U.S. citizen, or your entity has foreign ownership, acquiring or holding an interest in agricultural land may also require you to file Form FSA-153 under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act.7Farm Service Agency. Instructions for Completing Form FSA-153 None of those forms is part of AD-2047, but FSA will hand them to you soon after.
Keeping Your Record Current
Your customer record is not a one-and-done filing. Report changes in writing to FSA whenever you add a farm by lease or purchase, change your address or phone number, correct your name, or reorganize into a trust, LLC, or other legal entity. To make those updates, file AD-2047 again with the “Update Existing Customer Record” box checked in Item 1 and only the last four digits of your TIN in Item 3A.
When your operation’s structure changes, you will also need to update your Farm Operating Plan on CCC-902. Producers who change their structure without notifying FSA risk losing eligibility for program payments.
If a registered producer dies, an authorized representative, typically the executor of the estate or an heir, should contact the local FSA office as soon as possible. FSA may require a copy of the will, court orders, an affidavit of heirship, or trust agreements to establish signatory authority. To claim program payments owed to the deceased, the representative files Form FSA-325.8Farm Service Agency. Deceased Person