Brady Act Requirements
In November 1993, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 (Brady Act), Public Law 103-159, was signed into law requiring Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) to request background checks on individuals attempting to purchase a firearm. The permanent provisions of the Brady Act, which went into effect on November 30, 1998, required the Attorney General to establish the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) that any FFL may contact by telephone or by other electronic means for information, to be supplied immediately, on whether receipt of a firearm by a prospective transferee would violate section 922 (g) or (n) of title 18, United States Code, or state law.
The NICS is a national system that checks available records in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), Interstate Identification Index (III), and the NICS Index to determine if prospective purchasers are disqualified from receiving firearms.
The FBI developed the NICS through a cooperative effort with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and local and state law enforcement agencies. The NICS is designed to respond within 30 seconds to background inquiries to provide FFLs with an immediate answer as to whether the transfer of a firearm would violate state or federal law.
Definitions of Prohibiting Categories
The NICS Index contains records provided by state and federal agencies about persons prohibited from receiving firearms under federal law. All records in the NICS Index are dis-qualifying records and will prohibit the sale of a firearm. Most records in the NICS Index are obtained from federal agencies. However, authorized local and state law enforcement agencies may voluntarily contribute records to the NICS Index. The information in the NCIC and III systems searched during a background check has been or will be contributed voluntarily by local, state, federal, and international criminal justice agencies in accordance with the entry criteria and policies associated with those systems and records. The following definitions from the Federal Register, Vol. 62, No. 124, outline categories of persons prohibited from receiving firearms included in the NICS Index:
1) Persons who are aliens and are illegally or unlawfully in the United States
Criteria for Entry
The United States Immigration Naturalization Services (USINS) and state law enforcement have the authority to enter and update records for individuals who are aliens and are unlawfully and illegally in the United States.
2) Persons who have renounced their U.S. Citizenship
Criteria for Entry
The Department of State alone has the authority to enter and update records on persons who have renounced their United States citizenship.
3) Persons who have been adjudicated as a mental defective or have been committed to a mental institution
Criteria for Entry
The Department of Veteran Affairs, the Depart-ment of Defense, and state law enforcement have the authority to enter and update records on persons who have been adjudicated as mental defectives or have been committed to mental institutions.
4) Persons who have been discharged from the armed forces under dishonorable discharge conditions
Criteria for Entry
The Department of Defense and the U.S. Coast Guard have the authority to enter and update records on persons who have been discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces.
5) Persons who are unlawful users of or addicted to any controlled substance
Criteria for Entry
The Department of Defense, the U.S. Coast Guard, and state law enforcement have the authority to enter and update records on persons who have been unlawful users of or addicted to any controlled substance.
6) Persons who are federally disqualified when a record is not already included in NCIC, III, or the NICS Index
Criteria for Entry
State law enforcement has the authority to enter and update a record on persons who are federally disqualified when records are not already included in the NCIC, III, or the NICS Index.
If you have just been denied by a federally licensed firearms dealer from receiving a gun because of a record in the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), you may appeal as provided in this NICS Regulations, Correction of Erroneous of Information (28 CFR Part 25.10) and Subsection 103(f) and (g) and Section 104 of the permanent provision of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of the Brady Law.
This brochure is designed for appealing denials made by the FBI NICS Operations Center. (Procedures for appealing denials by the states acting as Points of Contact will be provided separately by those states.) The following procedures are steps you need to follow for a NICS appeal.
REQUESTING REASONS FOR YOUR DENIAL
STEP
1
1. You may request the reason(s) for your denial by writing to:
Federal Bureau of Investigation,
NICS Operations Center,
Research and Analysis,
P.O. Box 4278,
Clarksburg, West Virginia, 26302-4278.
You must include your complete mailing address in the request. If you do not include your mailing address, the NICS Operations Center will be unable to process your appeal.
The NICS Transaction Number (NTN) is a tracking number that is directly linked to your denial. You must include the NTN with your request. You should obtain the NTN from the dealer where you are purchasing the firearm.
2. The NICS Operations Center will respond to your request by providing the reason(s) for your denial within five business days after receiving your request. This response will indicate whether you must provide additional information to support any appeal.
TO BE PROVIDED BY THE FFL:
APPEALING YOUR DENIAL
STEP
2
The following outlines the steps you must take to either challenge your record or make a claim that the record pertains to someone other than you.
Questions of Identity
You may have your fingerprints recorded at your local law enforcement department. Submit your fingerprints and other requested information to the NICS Operations Center. In some cases involving criminal records, you may be asked to submit your fingerprints to establish if you are the person who was actually arrested/convicted.
Record Challenges
1. After receiving the reason for your denial, you may write to the NICS Operations Center to challenge the accuracy of the record or declare that your rights to obtain a firearm have been restored. If you have additional information to assist the NICS Operations Center in correcting the record, attach the information to your written response. The NICS Operations Center will correct the record and provide you with written approval to proceed with the transfer of your firearm.
2. If the NICS Operations Center is unable to resolve the appeal, you will be provided information to contact the agency which created the record. You may then apply for correction of the record directly with that agency. In this case, you must follow procedures established by the state or federal agency that maintains the original record. If your record is determined to be invalid or incorrect, the originating agency will correct your record and notify you. You must notify the NICS Operations Center of the record correction. The NICS Operations Center will verify the correction and provide you with written approval for the transfer of your firearm.
a. You may submit any information to the originating agency which would assist the agency in correcting, clarifying, or verifying your record.
b. If you have "multiple" disqualifying records you wish to challenge, you may submit an appeal to each originating agency.
SUCCESSFUL APPEAL
You must present your written approval to the firearms dealer who performed your initial background check. If less than 30 days have passed since the initial NICS check, and if there are no other disqualifying records on which the denial was based, the NICS Operations Center will notify the firearms dealer that the transfer may proceed. If more than 30 days have passed since the initial NICS check, the firearms dealer must recheck the NICS, without charging a fee, before allowing the sale to continue.
APPEAL ALTERNATIVE
You may contest the accuracy or validity of a disqualifying record by bringing an action against the state or political subdivision responsible for providing the information used to create a record or to add to an existing record, or responsible for denying the transfer, or against the United States, as the case may be, for an order directing that erroneous information be corrected or the transfer be approved.
Submitting Batch Files
The states have two modes to add, modify or cancel records from the NICS Index.
The first mode is an electronic connection between the NICS and the states using an application layer and the NCIC-Front End. The states use the interface to electronically add, modify, supplement, cancel or display a denied persons record in the NICS Index.
The second mode is batch data transfer on tape for the NICS Index record additions, modifications, supplements, and cancellations. Since the contributing states or agencies are responsible for the accuracy and validity of the NICS Index records, it is imperative to supplement or cancel records as needed.
* Additions, updates, and cancellations may be submitted to the NICS in batch mode as a series of records on an IBM standard 3480 magnetic cartridge tape, CD-ROM, or 3.5" diskette.
Voluntary Submissions
In addition to local and state law enforcement agencies voluntarily contributing records to the NICS Index, the FBI/NICS Program, Customer Service receives telephone calls from state mental institutions, psychiatrists, police departments and family members inquiring about placing individuals in the NICS Index. Frequently, these are emergency mental health issues. These situations require immediate action. Validation of the records is conducted prior to submission into the NICS Index.
* Since the data stored in the NICS are documented federal data, access is restricted to agencies authorized by the FBI.
NICS Information:
Customer Service
1-877-444-NICS (6427)
Facsimile
1-888-550-6427
Telecommunications Device for
the Deaf (TDD)
1-877-NICS-TTY
NICS Web Site
www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/nics/index.htm
NICS E-Mail Address a_nics@leo.gov