National Instant Criminal Background Check System information
U.S. system for determining if prospective firearms or explosives buyers are eligible to buy
Firearm legal topics of the
United States
Amendment II
Assault weapon
Assault weapons legislation
Bipartisan Safer Communities Act
Bump stocks
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act
Campus carry in the U.S.
Concealed carry in the U.S.
Connecticut Children's Safety Act
Constitutional carry
Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban
Federal Assault Weapons Ban
Federal Firearms Act of 1938
Federal Firearms License
Firearm case law
Firearm Owners Protection Act
Gun Control Act of 1968
Gun-Free School Zones Act (GFSZA)
Gun law in the U.S.
Gun laws in the U.S. by state
Gun politics in the U.S.
High-capacity magazine ban
History of concealed carry in the U.S.
International treaties for arms control
National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)
National Firearms Act (NFA)
NY SAFE Act
Open carry in the U.S.
Right to keep and bear arms in the U.S.
Second Amendment sanctuary
Sullivan Act (New York)
Suppressor
Tiahrt Amendment
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act
United States portal
v
t
e
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) is a background check system in the United States created by the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Brady Law) of 1993 to prevent firearm sales to people prohibited under the Act. The system was launched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1998. Under the system, firearm dealers, manufacturers or importers who hold a Federal Firearms License (FFL) are required to undertake a NICS background check on prospective buyers before transferring a firearm. The NICS is not intended to be a gun registry,[1] but is a list of persons prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. By law, upon successfully passing the background check, the buyer’s details are to be discarded and a record on NICS of the firearm purchase is not to be made, though the seller as a FFL holder is required to keep a record of the transaction.
Access to NICS is limited to FFL holders. A prospective buyer is required to complete ATF Form 4473 after which a FFL seller initiates a NICS background check by phone or computer. Most checks are determined within minutes, and if a determination is not obtained within three business days then the transfer may legally be completed.
While background checks under federal law are not required for intrastate firearm transfers between private parties, federal law states that only FFL-holders may transport a firearm across state lines for the purpose of sale. Sales between two private parties may be conducted without a background check, so long as both the buyer and seller are both residents of the state that the transfer is being conducted. Some states require background checks for firearm transfers not covered by the federal system. These states either require gun sales to be processed through a FFL holder, or they may require the buyer obtain a license or permit from the state.
Over 39.6 million NICS background checks were performed in 2020.[2] NICS experienced an unprecedented surge in the number of gun background checks in March and June 2020, tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide protests following the murder of George Floyd.[3]
^Terkel, Amanda; Stein, Sam (April 11, 2013). "National Gun Registry Creation Carries 15-Year Sentence Under Joe Manchin, Pat Toomey Deal" – via Huff Post.
^NICS Firearm Background Checks, November 30, 1998 - December 31, 2020 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^Joshua Eaton (July 30, 2020). "Gun Sales Are Surging, But Background Checks Aren't Keeping Up". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
and 28 Related for: National Instant Criminal Background Check System information
The NationalInstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem (NICS) is a backgroundchecksystem in the United States created by the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention...
universal backgroundchecks would require almost all firearms transactions in the United States to be recorded and go through the NationalInstantCriminal Background...
approval by the NationalInstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem (NICS) maintained by the FBI. In some states, proof of a previous backgroundcheck can be used...
9/11. There are 17 common types of backgroundchecks employers use to verify a new hire. The checks can include: Criminal history Past employment verification...
on the individual. Mandated by the Brady Bill, the NationalInstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem (NICS) is used by the FBI to screen potential firearms...
(LEO-EP), National InstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem (NICS), Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR), and the Law Enforcement National Data Exchange (N-DEx)...
Schools NationalInstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem in the United States Northern Ireland Civil Service Nucleus-independent chemical shift National Insurance...
Tech shootings in order to address loopholes in the NationalInstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem, commonly known as NICS, which enabled Seung-Hui Cho...
Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 created the NationalInstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem (NICS) to prevent firearms sales to such prohibited...
unsound to purchase handguns without detection by the NationalInstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem (NICS). It also led to the passage of the first major...
ammunition to conduct background checks (through the National InstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem, or NICS) of the prospective purchaser or other transferees...
in a jurisdiction's sex offender registry. National Instant CriminalBackgroundCheckSystem (NICS) Denied Transaction File: Records on people who have...
penalties to government agencies for not reporting to the NationalInstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem (NICS). It was introduced in the 115th United States...
Department of Justice's participation in the federal NationalInstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem. Supporters of the measure stated that it would "fix...
Edmondson, Catie (March 23, 2021). "Biden Seeks Assault Weapons Ban and BackgroundChecks". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 25, 2021. "House...
upgrades to the FBI's NationalInstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem (NICS). In 2021, the FBI agreed to implement changes in their system. In 2024, state...
survivors of intimate partner violence, and created the NationalInstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem Denial Notification Act, which was intended to help...
permit renewals for the purpose of reinstating the National InstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem (NICS) exemption for Nevada, thus ensuring that permit...
court (Printz v. United States), and the government now uses an instantchecksystem instead of a five-day wait, but otherwise it survived and is still...
Congress passed the Brady Act in 1993, creating the NationalInstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem, or NICS, and requiring FFLs to submit potential firearms...
the most restrictive in the country. Connecticut requires training, backgroundcheck and permitting requirements for the purchase of firearms and ammunition;...
citizenship to the NationalInstantCriminalBackgroundCheckSystem (NICS). Consular Consolidated Database "Consular Lookout and Support System (CLASS) PIA"...