Context FBI NICS Firearm Background Check Data This dataset is from the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

Mandated by the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 and launched by the FBI on November 30, 1998, NICS is used by Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) to instantly determine whether a prospective buyer is eligible to buy firearms or explosives. Before ringing up the sale, cashiers call in a check to the FBI or to other designated agencies to ensure that each customer does not have a criminal record or isn’t otherwise ineligible to make a purchase. More than 100 million such checks have been made in the last decade, leading to more than 700,000 denials.

Content The dataset contains the number of FBI NICS firearm background checks by month, state, and type between November 1998 and now. The FBI provides it in PDF at https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/nics_firearm_checks_-_month_year_by_state_type.pdf/view. Jeremy Singer-Vine at BuzzFeed News has developed a parser to convert the PDF to CSV and made it available at https://github.com/BuzzFeedNews/nics-firearm-background-checks.

License The MIT License (MIT)

Copyright (c) 2015, Jeremy Singer-Vine, BuzzFeed News

The Data

Following the implementation of the Brady act in 1994, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) developed a system to conduct background checks on individuals wanting to obtain a firearm. The system known as the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) was created in collaboration with the Buereu of Alcohol, Tabacco and Firearms and local law enforcement agencies. Since it's inception in November 1998, the FBI has released monthly data from each state and U.S territory. The FBI claims that over 300 million requests have been aprroved, and 1.5 million have been denied.

Source

The FBI releases the monthly data in pdf format. Thanks to Buzzfeed's Jeremy Singer Vine, a public repository on resides on GitHub containing the pdf data parsed into a csv file. The data csv file can be accessed here: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BuzzFeedNews/nics-firearm-background-checks/master/data/nics-firearm-background-checks.csv The pdf version of the data can be found here: https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/nics_firearm_checks_-_month_year_by_state_type.pdf/view

Important Considerations About the Data

The data simply collects the quantity of background checks conducted. The FBI advices agaisnt the use of this data to analyze gun sales, as conducting a background check does not implictly mean that a firearm was purchased. For example, some states require monthly background checks on all their current conceal carry permit holders. Additionally, some states participate in the program more agressively than others. A map displaying the level of compliance by state can be found here: https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/nics-participation-map.pdf/view