The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) reported that the August 2025 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure decreased by 9.9 percent year-over-year. This marks the seventh consecutive month of declines.
NSSF-adjusted NICS were 1,091,342, compared to the August 2024 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,210,995. The decline has continued a downward trend since October 2024, except for a slight increase in January 2025. July marked the first time in 71 months that sales-related background checks came in below one million.
The adjusted NICS data subtracts out NICS purpose code permit checks and permit rechecks, which are used by states for CCW permit applications and ongoing checks of active CCW permit databases. NSSF began subtracting permit rechecks in February 2016.
For comparison, the unadjusted August 2025 FBI NICS figure of 1,743,509 reflects a 19.4% percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2,163,540 in August 2024.
Additional insights into the month-over-month NICS data from GunBroker, as well as NICS Reporting and Analysis (July 2025 data), include:
- Top 5 states for Adjusted NICS checks: TX, FL, CA, PA, VA
- Top 5 states for FBI NICS handgun checks: TX, FL, CA, PA, TN
- Top 5 states for FBI NICS long gun checks: TX, FL, CA, PA, VA
Image courtesy Sig Sauer / Chart courtesy NSSF
