If you want to download data from an IPUMS project, then you need an approved account. However, you can browse and select variables to build data extracts without being logged in, which will help you determine if the data can assist in answering your research question.
Registering for accounts is fairly straight-forward. IPUMS uses a common user management system for several data projects: IPUMS International, IPUMS USA, IPUMS CPS, IPUMS Higher Ed, NHGIS, IPUMS Health Surveys, and IPUMS Time Use. This means if you already have an approved account for one of those projects, the system will port over your information to the new registration. You must agree to the terms and conditions for each separate project. A video of the account registration process is below.
IPUMS International, PMA, and MTUS require additional information including a research description. The length of license for those projects is also limited to 1 year, and must be renewed after. A video of the IPUMS PMA registration process and adding additional countries to a current account is below. There will be some delay in account registration (it took about a week for my account to be approved for IPUMS International).
IPUMS MICS and DHS accounts are approved by outside agencies, Unicef and The DHS Program, respectively. There will be some delay before account requests can be reviewed.