The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) reported that the August 2024 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure increased 8.3 percent year-over-year to 1,210,995, compared to the July 2023 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,117,821. The August gain in background checks is a sequential increase from the July positive 4.0 percent trend.
The July figure had marked the first year-over-year monthly increase since December 2023, but the numbers still pale in comparison to the last general election year increase in 2020 and also fall short of the 2016 level.
August marks 61st consecutive month of over one million monthly NSSF-Adjusted FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) verifications for the sale of a firearm at retail.
The NSSF said, “This milestone is demonstrative of Americans’ desire to lawfully exercise their Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms for lawful purposes.”
The last time monthly background checks associated with the sale of a firearm at retail were below one million was July 2019, when the FBI recorded 830,579 background checks for firearm sales. Since then, NICS has recorded over one million background checks associated with the sale of at least one firearm at retail each month.
The adjusted NICS data tally is calculated 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.
For comparison, the unadjusted August 2024 FBI NICS figure of 2,163,540 reflects a 5.7 percent increase from the unadjusted August 2023 FBI NICS figure of 2,047,512.
NSSF said in its report that 24 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, to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer without a separate additional background check for that transfer.” The number of NICS checks in these states “does not include these legal transfers based on qualifying permits, and NSSF does not adjust for these transfers.”
The adjusted NICS data, as explained by NSSF, were derived by a specific process 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 initiated the practice of subtracting permit rechecks in February 2016.
While the NSSF-adjusted NICS data may not directly reflect firearms sales, it does offer a comprehensive view of current market conditions. NICS, in addition to its other functions, is a tool for checking transactions involving the sale or transfer of new or used firearms.
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. Based on varying state laws, local market conditions and purchase scenarios, a one-to-one correlation cannot be made between a firearm background check and a firearm sale.
Data and graphic courtesy National Shooting Sports Foundation
