The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) reported that the April 2025 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure slipped 3.4 percent year-over-year.
NSSF-adjusted NICS were 1,174,29, compared to the October 2023 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,216,116.
The decline continues a downward trend since October 2024, except for a small bump in January 2025.
April represented the 69th consecutive month to exceed over one million sales-related background checks. NSSF argued that it is an indicator of how important Americans value their Second Amendment rights.
Additional insights on the month-over-month NICS data from GunBroker, NICS Reporting & Analysis (March 2025 data), available in the member portal under Industry Research, include:
- Top 5 states for adjusted NICS Checks: TX, FL, CA, PA, CO
- Top 5 states for FBI NICS Handgun Checks: TX, FL, PA, CA, CO
- Top 5 states for FBI NICS Long Gun Checks: TX, PA, FL, CA, CO
Twenty-four states have at least one qualified alternative permit, which, under the Brady Act, the permit holder who has undergone a background check can obtain the permit and purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer without a separate additional background check for that transfer. The number of NICS checks in these states does not include these legal transfers based on qualifying permits, and the NSSF does not adjust for these transfers.
The adjusted NICS data was derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks and permit rechecks used by states for CCW permit application checks and checks on active CCW permit databases. NSSF started subtracting permit rechecks in February 2016.
For comparison, the unadjusted April 2025 FBI NICS figure of 2,194,006 reflects a 2.1 percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2,240,434 in April 2024.
Image courtesy Smith & Wesson
