The February 2026 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System(NICS) figure of 1,265,320 is an increase of 3.5 percent compared to the February 2025 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,222,980.
For comparison, the unadjusted February 2026 FBI NICS figure of 1,933,972 reflects a 13.5 percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2,236,637 in February 2025.
“February’s adjusted background checks show that the desire for lawful gun ownership is alive and well,” said NSSF Public Affairs Director Mark Oliva. “When instances of lawlessness and concerns for personal safety arise, Americans will respond by exercising their Second Amendment rights to both keep and bear arms. We continue to see the trend of gun owners buying the firearms of their choosing in states where Second Amendment rights are threatened and before that right is unconstitutionally deprived of them. Virginia’s background checks were more than 23,000 higher in February than they were a year ago. That’s an increase of more than 55 percent, which followed a nearly 26 percent increase last month in the face of a looming ban on the most popular centerfire rifle in America – the Modern Sporting Rifle.”
- The February 2026 NFA figure of 209,023 is an increase of 167 percent compared to the February 2025 figure of 78,295.
Additional insights on the month-over-month NICS data from GunBroker, NICS Reporting & Analysis (January 2026 data), available in the member portal under Industry Research.
- Top-5 States for Adjusted NICS Checks: TX, FL, CA, PA, VA
- Top-5 States for FBI NICS Handgun Checks: TX, FL, CA, PA, VA
- Top-5 States for FBI NICS Long Gun Checks: TX, FL, PA, CA, VA
Twenty-eight states currently 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 were derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks and permit rechecks used by states for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases. NSSF started subtracting permit rechecks in February 2016.
Though not a direct correlation to 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 for sales or transfers of new or used firearms.
It should be noted 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. 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.
