Instant Background Check

In a bid to maintain safety and prohibit the wrong people from holding firearms, the US law requires firearms dealers and sellers to conduct NICS background check on prospective buyers. Buying firearms therefore, is not as simple as buying anything else. The FBI maintains the NICS to conduct background check on people seeking to buy firearms.  

Here’s more about the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

Instant FBI background check, 2020

Manufacturers, importers and dealers hold an FFL (Federal Firearms License). When approached by a prospective buyer, they are required to conduct NICS background check to determine whether the buyer has a criminal record or is disqualified from holding firearms. The NICS is a list of people prohibited from buying firearms. For; people with a past criminal record are likely to pose a threat to public safety by possessing firearms. The name based background check is done across three national databases for probable matches.

The person seeking purchase of firearms is required to fill the ATF form 4473. The FFL then initiates the NICS background check. Results are received almost instantly. However, if results are not received within three business days, the FFL can go ahead with the transfer of firearms.

Although all prospective buyers of firearms are required to conduct NICS background check, it is not needed for interstate transfers between private parties. Well, this law varies from one state to another. So, some states require background checks of firearm transfer not covered in the federal law. Here, gun sales are required to go through an FFL to obtain a license or permit from the State.

Purpose of Background Check

The NICS is a background check created in 1993 to prohibit unscrupulous people from holding firearms. It is done by comparing the details of a buyer to the list possessed by the NICS. The FBI implemented this system back in 1998. NICS background checks are popularly followed to maintain safety. In fact, the figures are surprisingly huge. In 2019, 28.4 million background checks were conducted in the US. What’s even more surprising is the surge witnessed by the NICS in March and June 2020, owing to the pandemic and the case of George Floyd.

Well, besides name based NICS background check, other background check are also conducted by employers to look into the background of prospective employees. This helps them to ensure safety of all employees at the workplace. These are mostly fingerprint based which are conducted at live scan centers. Here, fingerprints are electronically captured and transmitted to the FBI, where they are matched against their extensive database of criminal records.

Fingerprint based background check is popularly used from more than a century for personal identification; especially in criminal cases. The difference across the years lies in the manual system used earlier to the electronic system used now.

Anshin Mobile Notary & Live Scan is an authorized live scan center where fingerprints are captured.

For further details, contact them at www.anshinotary.com