FY 2018 Firearm Inquiry Statistics (FIST) Program

In 1995, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) began the FIST program to provide national estimates of the total number of purchase applications and denials resulting from the Brady Act and similar state laws. The FIST program collects information on firearm-related background checks conducted by state and local agencies, and combines this information with FBI NICS transaction data to calculate national estimates. The FIST program also collects information on reasons for denial, and provides estimates of application by jurisdiction and by each type of approval system.