The October 2025 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,299,312 is a decrease of 0.3 percent compared to the October 2024 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,302,857.
For comparison, the unadjusted October 2025 FBI NICS figure of 2,289,774 reflects a 0.4 percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2,298,383 in October 2024.
According to NSSF’s Mark Oliva, “October’s figures of nearly 1.3 million background checks for the sale of a firearm at retail is an encouraging sign that America’s desire to exercise Second Amendment rights remains strong. Historically, firearms sales during the Fall hunting seasons are robust and October’s figures hold true that trend. Firearm manufacturers continue to produce the high quality tools that today’s gun buyers have come to expect and these figures bear that out.”
Additional insights on the month-over-month NICS data from GunBroker, NICS Reporting & Analysis (September 2025 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: FL, TX, CA, PA, TN
- Top-5 States for FBI NICS Long Gun Checks: TX, FL, PA, CA, VA
Please note: 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.
