Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022-Criteria for National Instant Criminal Background Check System (“NICS”) Background Checks of Firearm Handlers

What it does

The United States Department of Justice ("Department") is amending several of its regulations pertaining to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System ("NICS" or "system") of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") to authorize Federal Firearm Licensees ("FFLs" or "licensees") to use NICS for purposes of voluntarily conducting employment background checks relating to certain current or prospective FFL employees. This final rule describes in more detail how, upon its effective date, FFLs will be able to conduct "firearm handler background checks" ("FHCs") of "eligible employees."

The Justice Department's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What changed in the regulation

1 part of Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

28 CFR 25

Compared with

The Justice Department has published 10 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 10 in all of 2025.

Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.

Before this

No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 1110-AA35 since Jan. 1, 2025.

What happens next and when

This final rule is effective November 27, 2026.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Title 28 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register