The March 2022 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) slipped 18.3 percent to 2.04 million compared to the March 2021 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 3.01 million.
For comparison, the unadjusted March 2022 FBI NICS figure of 3.01 million reflects a 35.1 percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 4.65 million in March 2021. The adjusted NICS data were 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.
NSSF said the March 2022 figures are the third strongest for the month on record, surpassed by March 2021 and March 2020.
The first quarter 2022 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 4.2 million reflects a decrease of 23.2 percent compared to the 5.48 million figure for first quarter 2021, which remains the highest first-quarter on record.
NICS firearms background checks were down 2.5 percent in February and 40.9 percent in January.
