America's crime record
Firearms
Firearm background checks
26,123,215
background checks (not sales), 2025 · Down 7.0% from 2024
Timeline
Background checks run through the FBI's NICS: checks, not sales, since permit checks, permit rechecks, and pawn checks count too.
Source and method
One check can cover several guns, and state permit laws move the count as much as buying does. The national count includes checks the FBI assigns to no state, so the states add up to a little less.
No rate. A check is not a person or a gun: permit rechecks, pawn checks, and returns count, one check can cover several guns, and state permit rules move the count, so a rate over residents would mislead.
FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) · Calendar year · 1999 to 2025
Breakdown
Background checks (not sales) by type of check, 2025
| Sale or transfer at a dealer | 52%13,639,905 | 13,639,905 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permit recheck | 24%6,127,894 | 6,127,894 | |
| Permit | 17%4,424,049 | 4,424,049 | |
| Pawn redemption | 2%594,689 | 594,689 | |
| Private sale | 1%203,988 | 203,988 | |
| Returned or disposed of | 1%160,059 | 160,059 | |
| Administrative | 0%5,621 | 5,621 | |
| Return to seller, private sale | 0%4,031 | 4,031 | |
| Before pawning | 0%3,742 | 3,742 | |
| Rental | 0%279 | 279 | |
| Not reported by state or type | 4%958,958 | 958,958 |
All 26,123,215 background checks (not sales) in 2025; 958,958 are in the national count but in no state's row of the FBI's tables, and are their own row, so every share is of the full total. Each type is the FBI's own column; a dealer's sale is its handgun, long gun, other, and multiple columns together.
FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)
Every figure as a table
Firearm background checks, background checks (not sales), by year
| Year | Count | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 26,123,215 | |
| 2024 | 28,097,205 | |
| 2023 | 29,854,176 | |
| 2022 | 31,596,646 | |
| 2021 | 38,876,673 | |
| 2020 | 39,695,315 | |
| 2019 | 28,369,750 | |
| 2018 | 26,181,936 | |
| 2017 | 25,235,215 | |
| 2016 | 27,538,673 | |
| 2015 | 23,141,970 | |
| 2014 | 20,968,547 | |
| 2013 | 21,093,273 | |
| 2012 | 19,592,303 | |
| 2011 | 16,454,951 | |
| 2010 | 14,409,616 | |
| 2009 | 14,033,824 | |
| 2008 | 12,709,023 | |
| 2007 | 11,177,335 | |
| 2006 | 10,036,933 | |
| 2005 | 8,952,945 | |
| 2004 | 8,687,671 | |
| 2003 | 8,481,588 | |
| 2002 | 8,454,322 | |
| 2001 | 8,910,191 | |
| 2000 | 8,543,037 | |
| 1999 | 9,138,123 |
No rate. A check is not a person or a gun: permit rechecks, pawn checks, and returns count, one check can cover several guns, and state permit rules move the count, so a rate over residents would mislead.
FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) · Calendar year
Background checks (not sales) by type of check, 2025
| Type of check | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Sale or transfer at a dealer | 13,639,905 | 52% |
| Permit recheck | 6,127,894 | 24% |
| Permit | 4,424,049 | 17% |
| Pawn redemption | 594,689 | 2% |
| Private sale | 203,988 | 1% |
| Returned or disposed of | 160,059 | 1% |
| Administrative | 5,621 | 0% |
| Return to seller, private sale | 4,031 | 0% |
| Before pawning | 3,742 | 0% |
| Rental | 279 | 0% |
| Not reported by state or type | 958,958 | 4% |
All 26,123,215 background checks (not sales) in 2025; 958,958 are in the national count but in no state's row of the FBI's tables, and are their own row, so every share is of the full total. Each type is the FBI's own column; a dealer's sale is its handgun, long gun, other, and multiple columns together.
FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)
Background checks (not sales) by state, 2025
| State | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 2,546,739 | 10% |
| Kentucky | 2,522,704 | 10% |
| Texas | 1,739,790 | 7% |
| California | 1,455,424 | 6% |
| Florida | 1,258,156 | 5% |
| Pennsylvania | 1,083,778 | 4% |
| Utah | 886,098 | 3% |
| Minnesota | 820,140 | 3% |
| Michigan | 763,177 | 3% |
| Tennessee | 750,392 | 3% |
| Indiana | 719,422 | 3% |
| North Carolina | 681,093 | 3% |
| Ohio | 621,569 | 2% |
| Wisconsin | 608,028 | 2% |
| Georgia | 580,394 | 2% |
| Alabama | 535,889 | 2% |
| Virginia | 521,283 | 2% |
| Arizona | 485,112 | 2% |
| Missouri | 475,729 | 2% |
| Colorado | 468,031 | 2% |
| Washington | 426,468 | 2% |
| Oregon | 417,592 | 2% |
| Maryland | 377,381 | 1% |
| New York | 362,451 | 1% |
| South Carolina | 350,316 | 1% |
| Oklahoma | 346,651 | 1% |
| Louisiana | 266,525 | 1% |
| Massachusetts | 261,773 | 1% |
| Mississippi | 241,223 | 1% |
| Arkansas | 231,203 | 1% |
| Idaho | 228,863 | 1% |
| Connecticut | 192,358 | 1% |
| Iowa | 185,566 | 1% |
| Kansas | 179,606 | 1% |
| West Virginia | 177,103 | 1% |
| Nevada | 143,098 | 1% |
| New Jersey | 140,492 | 1% |
| New Hampshire | 133,973 | 1% |
| Montana | 133,144 | 1% |
| New Mexico | 126,146 | 1% |
| Maine | 97,173 | <1% |
| North Dakota | 90,491 | <1% |
| Puerto Rico | 86,458 | <1% |
| Alaska | 76,590 | <1% |
| Nebraska | 74,452 | <1% |
| South Dakota | 69,679 | <1% |
| Wyoming | 65,538 | <1% |
| Delaware | 51,705 | <1% |
| Vermont | 35,179 | <1% |
| Rhode Island | 31,153 | <1% |
| District of Columbia | 18,182 | <1% |
| Hawaii | 15,844 | <1% |
| Guam | 3,652 | 0% |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 3,007 | 0% |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 274 | 0% |
| Not reported by state | 958,958 | 4% |
All 26,123,215 background checks (not sales) in 2025; 958,958 are in the national count but in no state's row of the FBI's tables, and are their own row, so every share is of the full total.
FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)