NICS Firearms Background Checks Slide 4.5 Percent In July

The July 2022 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) fell 4.5 percent to 1.23 million compared to the July 2021 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1.28 million.

For comparison, the unadjusted July 2022 FBI NICS figure of 2.36 million reflected a 17.6 percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2.86 million in July 2021.

NSSF said the adjusted July 2022 figures are over a million and are the third strongest for the month on record, surpassed by July 2020 and July 2021.

The data was compiled by subtracting the NICS purpose code permit checks and permit rechecks used by states for CCW permit application checks and checks on active CCW permit databases.

June’s NICS firearms background checks were up 8.1 percent, marking the first positive month of 2022.

NICS firearms background checks were down 11.3 percent in May, 19.7 percent in April, 18.3 percent in March, 2.5 percent in February, and 40.9 percent in January.