The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP) was originally authorized under the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (NIAA), P.L. 110-180. The NIAA was enacted in the wake of the April 2007 shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech. The Virginia Tech shooter was able to purchase firearms from an FFL because information about his prohibiting mental health history was not available to the NICS, and the system was therefore unable to deny the transfer of the firearms used in the shootings. The NIAA seeks to address gaps in information available to NICS about such prohibiting mental health adjudications and commitments and other prohibiting backgrounds. Both the NCHIP and NARIP were reauthorized under Title VI (Fix NICS Act) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-141).
Please visit the State Profiles page to learn more about BJS criminal record improvement activities in the states and territories.
For information about current and past NCHIP funding announcements, see Funding & Awards.
The NICS is administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). A NICS check includes a check of three databases maintained by the FBI, including the—
- Interstate Identification Index (III), a database of criminal history record information
- National Crime Information Center (NCIC), which includes information on persons subject to civil protection orders and arrest warrants
- NICS Indices, which includes the information contributed by federal and state agencies identifying persons prohibited from possessing firearms who are not included in the III or NCIC, such as persons with a prohibiting mental health history or who are illegal or unlawful aliens.
If a NICS check identifies a person as falling within a prohibited category, the FBI advises the Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) that the transfer is "denied." Individuals can appeal denials and seek the correction of any inaccurate or incomplete information in the FBI databases by either applying to the FBI or the federal or state agency that contributed the information to the FBI.
The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (NIAA), P.L. 110-180, was signed into law by the President on January 8, 2008. The NIAA amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 (the Brady Act) P.L. 103-159, under which the Attorney General established the NICS. The Brady Act requires FFLs to contact the NICS before transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person for information on whether the proposed transferee is prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm under state or federal law.
The NIAA has provisions that require states to meet specific goals for completeness of the records submitted to the Attorney General identifying individuals prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms. The records include automated information needed by the NICS to identify felony convictions, felony indictments, fugitives from justice, drug arrests and convictions, prohibiting mental health adjudications and commitments, domestic violence protection orders, misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence, and other statutory obligations.
The NARIP was developed to improve the completeness, automation, and transmission of records to state and federal systems used by the NICS. These include records of criminal history, felony convictions, warrants, protective orders, convictions for misdemeanors involving domestic violence and stalking, drug arrests and convictions, mental health adjudications, and other information that may disqualify an individual from possessing or receiving a firearm under federal law.
NARIP awards made by BJS will include an award condition related to supplying records to the NICS. The condition will, generally speaking, require recipients that use the award for a project or program that results in court dispositions, information or other “eligible records” relevant to the NICS, or that has a purpose of establishing or improving any of the foregoing, to promptly make available (and, as appropriate, update, correct, modify, remove) to the NICS or the state repository accessed by the NICS all such dispositions, information, and other “eligible records.”
These reports are available in PDF format.
- State Progress in Record Reporting for Firearm-Related Background Checks: Unlawful Drug Users (2017)
- State Progress in Record Reporting for Firearm-Related Background Checks: Fugitives from Justice (2017)
- State Progress in Record Reporting for Firearm-Related Background Checks: Mental Health Submissions (2016)
- State Progress in Record Reporting for Firearm-Related Background Checks: Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence (2016)
- State Progress in Record Reporting for Firearm-Related Background Checks: Fingerprint Processing Advances Improve Background Checks (2016)
- State Progress in Record Reporting for Firearm-Related Background Checks: Protection Order Submissions (2016)
- NICS Improvement Amendments Act: State Records Estimates Development and Validation Project, Year Three Report (2012)
- NICS Improvement Amendments Act: State Record Estimates Development and Validation Project Year Two Report (2011)
- NICS Improvement Amendments Act: State Record Estimates Development and Validation Project Year One Report (2010)
Central repository
The database (or the agency housing the database) that maintains criminal history records on all state offenders. Records include fingerprint files and files containing identification segments and notations of arrests and dispositions. The central repository is generally responsible for state-level identification of arrestees, and commonly serves as the central control terminal for contact with FBI record systems. Inquiries from local agencies for a national record check (for criminal justice or firearm check purposes) are routed to the FBI via the central repository. Although usually housed in the Department of Public Safety, the central repository may be maintained in some states by the state police or some other state agency.
Criminal History Record Information (CHRI) or Criminal History Record Information System
A record (or the system maintaining such records) that includes individual identifiers and describes an individual's arrests and subsequent dispositions. Criminal history records do not include intelligence or investigative data or sociological data, such as drug use history. CHRI systems usually include information on juveniles if they are tried as adults in criminal courts. Most, however, do not include data describing involvement of an individual in the juvenile justice system. All data in CHRI systems are usually backed by fingerprints of the record subjects to provide positive identification. State legislation varies concerning disclosure of criminal history records for noncriminal justice purposes.
Criminal Justice Information Services Advisory Policy Board (APB)
Successor to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) APB, the CJIS APB is comprised of 30 criminal justice officials who provide policy input to guide the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the administration of its CJIS Division. The CJIS Division administers the NCIC, the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), and other information system programs determined by the FBI director to have some relationship with these programs.
Data quality
The extent to which criminal history records are complete, accurate, and timely. In addition, accessibility sometimes is considered a data quality factor. The key concern in data quality is the completeness of records and the extent to which records include dispositions as well as arrest and charge information. Other concerns include the timeliness of data reporting to state and federal repositories, the timeliness of data entry by the repositories, the readability of criminal history records, and the ability to have access to the records when necessary.
Federal Firearm Licensee (FFL)
A federally licensed firearms dealer is licensed by ATF to engage in the business of manufacturing, importing, or dealing in firearms. An FFL must be enrolled with the FBI NICS Section in order to request a NICS background check.