NICS Firearms Background Checks Increase Slightly In April

The April 2023 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1.37 million represented an increase of 0.7 percent compared to the April 2022 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1.36 million a year ago.

For comparison, the unadjusted April 2023 FBI NICS figure of 2.62 million reflects a 3.3 percent increase from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2.53 million in April 2022.

April 2023 marks the 45th month in a row that has exceeded 1 million adjusted background checks in a single month and the third-highest reported figure for April.

The April gain followed declines of 6.8 percent in March and 0.6 percent in February. January saw an increase of 6.5 percent. In 2022, NSSF’s adjusted NICS checks declined 11 percent to 16.43 million.