The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) reported that its NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure for August 2026 increased 2.2 percent, marking the seventh consecutive month of gains.
NSSF-adjusted checks grew 8.5 percent year-over-year in July, 11.7 percent in June, 3.2 percent in May, 1.6 percent in April, 1.9 percent in March, and 3.5 percent in February. NSSF-adjusted checks have declined for the past five years after seeing a surge in the early months of the pandemic.
- Top-5 States for Adjusted NICS Checks: TX, CO, FL, CA, PA
- Top-5 States for FBI NICS Handgun Checks: TX, FL, PA, CO, CA
- Top-5 States for FBI NICS Long Gun Checks: CO, TX, PA, FL, CA
Methodology: Twenty-eight states have at least one qualified alternative permit, which, under the Brady Act, allows the permit-holder, who has undergone a background check, to obtain the permit and to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer without an additional background check for that transfer. The number of NICS checks in these states does not include legal transfers made with qualifying permits, and the NSSF does not account for them.
The adjusted NICS data is 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. Although not directly correlated with firearms sales, the NSSF-adjusted NICS data provide an additional picture of current market conditions.
In addition to other purposes, NICS is used to check transactions involving the sale or transfer of new or used firearms. NSSF notes that these statistics represent the number of firearm background checks initiated through the NICS. They do not represent the number of firearms sold or sales dollars. Given varying state laws, local market conditions, and purchase scenarios, a one-to-one correlation cannot be established between a firearm background check and a firearm sale.
Image courtesy Savage Arms
