When do Americans run firearm background checks? Black Friday was the year’s busiest day in 14 of the 27 years from 1999 to 2025. December is the busiest month and Friday the busiest day of the week. The busiest day on record was not a Black Friday, though: March 17, 2021, with 236,295 checks.
2026 edition · data through August 31, 2026 · next update January 2027
A background check is not a gun sale. These are the FBI’s national daily NICS counts, which include permit checks and re-checks; the daily file does not separate them.
The data · How we calculated this · Cite this study Key findings 236,295checks The FBI ran 236,295 NICS firearm background checks on March 17, 2021, the most of any day from November 30, 1998 to August 31, 2026.
See the chart Cite USA Arms, “When do Americans run firearm background checks?” (2026 edition): The FBI ran 236,295 NICS firearm background checks on March 17, 2021, the most of any day from November 30, 1998 to August 31, 2026. https://usaarms.com/research/when-americans-run-firearm-background-checks/#finding-busiest-day (source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook)
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Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook 1,218,002checks The busiest week for FBI NICS firearm background checks was March 15 to 21, 2021: 1,218,002 checks, the most of any Monday-to-Sunday week since 1998.
See the chart Cite USA Arms, “When do Americans run firearm background checks?” (2026 edition): The busiest week for FBI NICS firearm background checks was March 15 to 21, 2021: 1,218,002 checks, the most of any Monday-to-Sunday week since 1998. https://usaarms.com/research/when-americans-run-firearm-background-checks/#finding-busiest-week (source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook)
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Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook 214,913checks The busiest Black Friday was November 24, 2023, with 214,913 FBI NICS firearm background checks, the third-busiest day of all 10,137 days on record.
See the chart Cite USA Arms, “When do Americans run firearm background checks?” (2026 edition): The busiest Black Friday was November 24, 2023, with 214,913 FBI NICS firearm background checks, the third-busiest day of all 10,137 days on record. https://usaarms.com/research/when-americans-run-firearm-background-checks/#finding-black-friday-record (source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook)
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Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook 14years Black Friday was the year’s busiest day for FBI NICS firearm background checks in 14 of the 27 years from 1999 to 2025.
See the chart Cite USA Arms, “When do Americans run firearm background checks?” (2026 edition): Black Friday was the year’s busiest day for FBI NICS firearm background checks in 14 of the 27 years from 1999 to 2025. https://usaarms.com/research/when-americans-run-firearm-background-checks/#finding-black-friday-years (source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook)
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Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook 11.1% December is the busiest month for FBI NICS firearm background checks: from 1999 to 2025 it averaged 11.1% of each year’s checks, against 6.9% in July, the quietest.
See the chart Cite USA Arms, “When do Americans run firearm background checks?” (2026 edition): December is the busiest month for FBI NICS firearm background checks: from 1999 to 2025 it averaged 11.1% of each year’s checks, against 6.9% in July, the quietest. https://usaarms.com/research/when-americans-run-firearm-background-checks/#finding-month-pattern (source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook)
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Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook 67,653checks a day, on average Friday is the busiest day of the week for FBI NICS firearm background checks: from 1999 to 2025, Fridays averaged 67,653 checks and Sundays, the quietest, 27,983.
See the chart Cite USA Arms, “When do Americans run firearm background checks?” (2026 edition): Friday is the busiest day of the week for FBI NICS firearm background checks: from 1999 to 2025, Fridays averaged 67,653 checks and Sundays, the quietest, 27,983. https://usaarms.com/research/when-americans-run-firearm-background-checks/#finding-weekday-pattern (source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook)
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Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook 26,095,388checks The FBI ran 26,095,388 NICS firearm background checks in the twelve months from September 2025 to August 2026, 4.6% fewer than the 27,348,847 in the twelve months before.
See the chart Cite USA Arms, “When do Americans run firearm background checks?” (2026 edition): The FBI ran 26,095,388 NICS firearm background checks in the twelve months from September 2025 to August 2026, 4.6% fewer than the 27,348,847 in the twelve months before. https://usaarms.com/research/when-americans-run-firearm-background-checks/#finding-latest-twelve-months (source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook)
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Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook Every day of 2021, the year of the record day Each square is one day; darker days had more checks. March 17, 2021 was the busiest day on record. The data file has all 10,137 days since November 30, 1998, each with its rank in its year and its change from the same weekday a year earlier.
MeasureDaily background checks Rank within observed year Change versus 52 weeks earlier Period1998 · partial coverage 1999 · complete year 2000 · complete year 2001 · complete year 2002 · complete year 2003 · complete year 2004 · complete year 2005 · complete year 2006 · complete year 2007 · complete year 2008 · complete year 2009 · complete year 2010 · complete year 2011 · complete year 2012 · complete year 2013 · complete year 2014 · complete year 2015 · complete year 2016 · complete year 2017 · complete year 2018 · complete year 2019 · complete year 2020 · complete year 2021 · complete year 2022 · complete year 2023 · complete year 2024 · complete year 2025 · complete year 2026 · partial coverage Inspect a day Back to wider view
2021 · complete year · Daily background checks · NICS checks
Daily background checks (2021 · complete year) Less More Unavailable
January M T W T F S S
January 1, 2021: 94,383 NICS checks · 2021-01-01 1 January 2, 2021: 141,585 NICS checks · 2021-01-02 2 January 3, 2021: 63,957 NICS checks · 2021-01-03 3 January 4, 2021: 140,523 NICS checks · 2021-01-04 4 January 5, 2021: 146,604 NICS checks · 2021-01-05 5 January 6, 2021: 170,041 NICS checks · 2021-01-06 6 January 7, 2021: 164,364 NICS checks · 2021-01-07 7 January 8, 2021: 180,805 NICS checks · 2021-01-08 8 January 9, 2021: 180,081 NICS checks · 2021-01-09 9 January 10, 2021: 89,402 NICS checks · 2021-01-10 10 January 11, 2021: 155,104 NICS checks · 2021-01-11 11 January 12, 2021: 163,376 NICS checks · 2021-01-12 12 January 13, 2021: 170,240 NICS checks · 2021-01-13 13 January 14, 2021: 156,142 NICS checks · 2021-01-14 14 January 15, 2021: 183,264 NICS checks · 2021-01-15 15 January 16, 2021: 171,806 NICS checks · 2021-01-16 16 January 17, 2021: 82,517 NICS checks · 2021-01-17 17 January 18, 2021: 129,054 NICS checks · 2021-01-18 18 January 19, 2021: 144,099 NICS checks · 2021-01-19 19 January 20, 2021: 152,383 NICS checks · 2021-01-20 20 January 21, 2021: 162,694 NICS checks · 2021-01-21 21 January 22, 2021: 170,521 NICS checks · 2021-01-22 22 January 23, 2021: 153,787 NICS checks · 2021-01-23 23 January 24, 2021: 64,099 NICS checks · 2021-01-24 24 January 25, 2021: 140,027 NICS checks · 2021-01-25 25 January 26, 2021: 138,221 NICS checks · 2021-01-26 26 January 27, 2021: 128,853 NICS checks · 2021-01-27 27 January 28, 2021: 139,537 NICS checks · 2021-01-28 28 January 29, 2021: 154,386 NICS checks · 2021-01-29 29 January 30, 2021: 132,966 NICS checks · 2021-01-30 30 January 31, 2021: 52,983 NICS checks · 2021-01-31 31 February M T W T F S S
February 1, 2021: 121,725 NICS checks · 2021-02-01 1 February 2, 2021: 125,067 NICS checks · 2021-02-02 2 February 3, 2021: 124,914 NICS checks · 2021-02-03 3 February 4, 2021: 134,351 NICS checks · 2021-02-04 4 February 5, 2021: 141,893 NICS checks · 2021-02-05 5 February 6, 2021: 146,233 NICS checks · 2021-02-06 6 February 7, 2021: 61,284 NICS checks · 2021-02-07 7 February 8, 2021: 127,961 NICS checks · 2021-02-08 8 February 9, 2021: 136,900 NICS checks · 2021-02-09 9 February 10, 2021: 140,769 NICS checks · 2021-02-10 10 February 11, 2021: 138,330 NICS checks · 2021-02-11 11 February 12, 2021: 154,663 NICS checks · 2021-02-12 12 February 13, 2021: 133,378 NICS checks · 2021-02-13 13 February 14, 2021: 69,693 NICS checks · 2021-02-14 14 February 15, 2021: 94,087 NICS checks · 2021-02-15 15 February 16, 2021: 119,186 NICS checks · 2021-02-16 16 February 17, 2021: 116,186 NICS checks · 2021-02-17 17 February 18, 2021: 119,023 NICS checks · 2021-02-18 18 February 19, 2021: 135,412 NICS checks · 2021-02-19 19 February 20, 2021: 125,524 NICS checks · 2021-02-20 20 February 21, 2021: 75,300 NICS checks · 2021-02-21 21 February 22, 2021: 129,561 NICS checks · 2021-02-22 22 February 23, 2021: 124,722 NICS checks · 2021-02-23 23 February 24, 2021: 137,072 NICS checks · 2021-02-24 24 February 25, 2021: 143,616 NICS checks · 2021-02-25 25 February 26, 2021: 161,567 NICS checks · 2021-02-26 26 February 27, 2021: 138,387 NICS checks · 2021-02-27 27 February 28, 2021: 65,973 NICS checks · 2021-02-28 28 March M T W T F S S
March 1, 2021: 134,000 NICS checks · 2021-03-01 1 March 2, 2021: 133,926 NICS checks · 2021-03-02 2 March 3, 2021: 142,045 NICS checks · 2021-03-03 3 March 4, 2021: 137,242 NICS checks · 2021-03-04 4 March 5, 2021: 147,124 NICS checks · 2021-03-05 5 March 6, 2021: 126,769 NICS checks · 2021-03-06 6 March 7, 2021: 70,332 NICS checks · 2021-03-07 7 March 8, 2021: 120,327 NICS checks · 2021-03-08 8 March 9, 2021: 129,006 NICS checks · 2021-03-09 9 March 10, 2021: 133,519 NICS checks · 2021-03-10 10 March 11, 2021: 131,471 NICS checks · 2021-03-11 11 March 12, 2021: 153,085 NICS checks · 2021-03-12 12 March 13, 2021: 160,725 NICS checks · 2021-03-13 13 March 14, 2021: 77,282 NICS checks · 2021-03-14 14 March 15, 2021: 120,599 NICS checks · 2021-03-15 15 March 16, 2021: 141,317 NICS checks · 2021-03-16 16 March 17, 2021: 236,295 NICS checks · 2021-03-17 17 March 18, 2021: 209,332 NICS checks · 2021-03-18 18 March 19, 2021: 195,983 NICS checks · 2021-03-19 19 March 20, 2021: 165,563 NICS checks · 2021-03-20 20 March 21, 2021: 148,913 NICS checks · 2021-03-21 21 March 22, 2021: 159,761 NICS checks · 2021-03-22 22 March 23, 2021: 170,813 NICS checks · 2021-03-23 23 March 24, 2021: 156,730 NICS checks · 2021-03-24 24 March 25, 2021: 212,008 NICS checks · 2021-03-25 25 March 26, 2021: 173,988 NICS checks · 2021-03-26 26 March 27, 2021: 146,625 NICS checks · 2021-03-27 27 March 28, 2021: 60,320 NICS checks · 2021-03-28 28 March 29, 2021: 208,002 NICS checks · 2021-03-29 29 March 30, 2021: 220,655 NICS checks · 2021-03-30 30 March 31, 2021: 167,981 NICS checks · 2021-03-31 31 April M T W T F S S
April 1, 2021: 120,576 NICS checks · 2021-04-01 1 April 2, 2021: 136,205 NICS checks · 2021-04-02 2 April 3, 2021: 132,776 NICS checks · 2021-04-03 3 April 4, 2021: 51,149 NICS checks · 2021-04-04 4 April 5, 2021: 97,088 NICS checks · 2021-04-05 5 April 6, 2021: 135,157 NICS checks · 2021-04-06 6 April 7, 2021: 166,798 NICS checks · 2021-04-07 7 April 8, 2021: 148,843 NICS checks · 2021-04-08 8 April 9, 2021: 126,945 NICS checks · 2021-04-09 9 April 10, 2021: 124,469 NICS checks · 2021-04-10 10 April 11, 2021: 89,220 NICS checks · 2021-04-11 11 April 12, 2021: 123,652 NICS checks · 2021-04-12 12 April 13, 2021: 108,888 NICS checks · 2021-04-13 13 April 14, 2021: 111,794 NICS checks · 2021-04-14 14 April 15, 2021: 147,371 NICS checks · 2021-04-15 15 April 16, 2021: 149,611 NICS checks · 2021-04-16 16 April 17, 2021: 105,793 NICS checks · 2021-04-17 17 April 18, 2021: 60,857 NICS checks · 2021-04-18 18 April 19, 2021: 124,947 NICS checks · 2021-04-19 19 April 20, 2021: 132,784 NICS checks · 2021-04-20 20 April 21, 2021: 105,209 NICS checks · 2021-04-21 21 April 22, 2021: 114,559 NICS checks · 2021-04-22 22 April 23, 2021: 145,922 NICS checks · 2021-04-23 23 April 24, 2021: 129,768 NICS checks · 2021-04-24 24 April 25, 2021: 45,592 NICS checks · 2021-04-25 25 April 26, 2021: 101,119 NICS checks · 2021-04-26 26 April 27, 2021: 129,356 NICS checks · 2021-04-27 27 April 28, 2021: 130,612 NICS checks · 2021-04-28 28 April 29, 2021: 102,698 NICS checks · 2021-04-29 29 April 30, 2021: 114,312 NICS checks · 2021-04-30 30 May M T W T F S S
May 1, 2021: 118,589 NICS checks · 2021-05-01 1 May 2, 2021: 74,784 NICS checks · 2021-05-02 2 May 3, 2021: 87,132 NICS checks · 2021-05-03 3 May 4, 2021: 113,946 NICS checks · 2021-05-04 4 May 5, 2021: 125,286 NICS checks · 2021-05-05 5 May 6, 2021: 128,608 NICS checks · 2021-05-06 6 May 7, 2021: 103,790 NICS checks · 2021-05-07 7 May 8, 2021: 88,163 NICS checks · 2021-05-08 8 May 9, 2021: 68,301 NICS checks · 2021-05-09 9 May 10, 2021: 114,931 NICS checks · 2021-05-10 10 May 11, 2021: 99,690 NICS checks · 2021-05-11 11 May 12, 2021: 92,792 NICS checks · 2021-05-12 12 May 13, 2021: 126,389 NICS checks · 2021-05-13 13 May 14, 2021: 140,508 NICS checks · 2021-05-14 14 May 15, 2021: 109,506 NICS checks · 2021-05-15 15 May 16, 2021: 65,713 NICS checks · 2021-05-16 16 May 17, 2021: 122,637 NICS checks · 2021-05-17 17 May 18, 2021: 125,680 NICS checks · 2021-05-18 18 May 19, 2021: 90,556 NICS checks · 2021-05-19 19 May 20, 2021: 92,876 NICS checks · 2021-05-20 20 May 21, 2021: 125,825 NICS checks · 2021-05-21 21 May 22, 2021: 109,754 NICS checks · 2021-05-22 22 May 23, 2021: 45,531 NICS checks · 2021-05-23 23 May 24, 2021: 91,388 NICS checks · 2021-05-24 24 May 25, 2021: 129,933 NICS checks · 2021-05-25 25 May 26, 2021: 143,914 NICS checks · 2021-05-26 26 May 27, 2021: 109,460 NICS checks · 2021-05-27 27 May 28, 2021: 118,699 NICS checks · 2021-05-28 28 May 29, 2021: 114,035 NICS checks · 2021-05-29 29 May 30, 2021: 87,901 NICS checks · 2021-05-30 30 May 31, 2021: 55,788 NICS checks · 2021-05-31 31 June M T W T F S S
June 1, 2021: 103,093 NICS checks · 2021-06-01 1 June 2, 2021: 118,847 NICS checks · 2021-06-02 2 June 3, 2021: 137,559 NICS checks · 2021-06-03 3 June 4, 2021: 108,020 NICS checks · 2021-06-04 4 June 5, 2021: 91,386 NICS checks · 2021-06-05 5 June 6, 2021: 70,227 NICS checks · 2021-06-06 6 June 7, 2021: 125,301 NICS checks · 2021-06-07 7 June 8, 2021: 95,689 NICS checks · 2021-06-08 8 June 9, 2021: 104,715 NICS checks · 2021-06-09 9 June 10, 2021: 103,442 NICS checks · 2021-06-10 10 June 11, 2021: 115,255 NICS checks · 2021-06-11 11 June 12, 2021: 87,132 NICS checks · 2021-06-12 12 June 13, 2021: 39,124 NICS checks · 2021-06-13 13 June 14, 2021: 91,968 NICS checks · 2021-06-14 14 June 15, 2021: 121,453 NICS checks · 2021-06-15 15 June 16, 2021: 91,161 NICS checks · 2021-06-16 16 June 17, 2021: 93,079 NICS checks · 2021-06-17 17 June 18, 2021: 118,583 NICS checks · 2021-06-18 18 June 19, 2021: 130,527 NICS checks · 2021-06-19 19 June 20, 2021: 59,880 NICS checks · 2021-06-20 20 June 21, 2021: 97,985 NICS checks · 2021-06-21 21 June 22, 2021: 107,445 NICS checks · 2021-06-22 22 June 23, 2021: 138,544 NICS checks · 2021-06-23 23 June 24, 2021: 108,199 NICS checks · 2021-06-24 24 June 25, 2021: 116,044 NICS checks · 2021-06-25 25 June 26, 2021: 92,773 NICS checks · 2021-06-26 26 June 27, 2021: 89,161 NICS checks · 2021-06-27 27 June 28, 2021: 95,062 NICS checks · 2021-06-28 28 June 29, 2021: 104,680 NICS checks · 2021-06-29 29 June 30, 2021: 98,392 NICS checks · 2021-06-30 30 July M T W T F S S
July 1, 2021: 142,020 NICS checks · 2021-07-01 1 July 2, 2021: 119,079 NICS checks · 2021-07-02 2 July 3, 2021: 88,271 NICS checks · 2021-07-03 3 July 4, 2021: 39,554 NICS checks · 2021-07-04 4 July 5, 2021: 93,925 NICS checks · 2021-07-05 5 July 6, 2021: 98,864 NICS checks · 2021-07-06 6 July 7, 2021: 96,103 NICS checks · 2021-07-07 7 July 8, 2021: 98,056 NICS checks · 2021-07-08 8 July 9, 2021: 138,980 NICS checks · 2021-07-09 9 July 10, 2021: 93,780 NICS checks · 2021-07-10 10 July 11, 2021: 51,283 NICS checks · 2021-07-11 11 July 12, 2021: 75,206 NICS checks · 2021-07-12 12 July 13, 2021: 104,586 NICS checks · 2021-07-13 13 July 14, 2021: 99,505 NICS checks · 2021-07-14 14 July 15, 2021: 88,925 NICS checks · 2021-07-15 15 July 16, 2021: 100,352 NICS checks · 2021-07-16 16 July 17, 2021: 97,479 NICS checks · 2021-07-17 17 July 18, 2021: 63,946 NICS checks · 2021-07-18 18 July 19, 2021: 92,521 NICS checks · 2021-07-19 19 July 20, 2021: 89,407 NICS checks · 2021-07-20 20 July 21, 2021: 97,881 NICS checks · 2021-07-21 21 July 22, 2021: 112,040 NICS checks · 2021-07-22 22 July 23, 2021: 105,611 NICS checks · 2021-07-23 23 July 24, 2021: 82,978 NICS checks · 2021-07-24 24 July 25, 2021: 40,963 NICS checks · 2021-07-25 25 July 26, 2021: 98,789 NICS checks · 2021-07-26 26 July 27, 2021: 98,183 NICS checks · 2021-07-27 27 July 28, 2021: 88,058 NICS checks · 2021-07-28 28 July 29, 2021: 89,219 NICS checks · 2021-07-29 29 July 30, 2021: 102,796 NICS checks · 2021-07-30 30 July 31, 2021: 94,316 NICS checks · 2021-07-31 31 August M T W T F S S
August 1, 2021: 53,385 NICS checks · 2021-08-01 1 August 2, 2021: 85,036 NICS checks · 2021-08-02 2 August 3, 2021: 99,887 NICS checks · 2021-08-03 3 August 4, 2021: 99,096 NICS checks · 2021-08-04 4 August 5, 2021: 98,800 NICS checks · 2021-08-05 5 August 6, 2021: 101,721 NICS checks · 2021-08-06 6 August 7, 2021: 94,787 NICS checks · 2021-08-07 7 August 8, 2021: 47,258 NICS checks · 2021-08-08 8 August 9, 2021: 85,847 NICS checks · 2021-08-09 9 August 10, 2021: 91,570 NICS checks · 2021-08-10 10 August 11, 2021: 84,205 NICS checks · 2021-08-11 11 August 12, 2021: 88,211 NICS checks · 2021-08-12 12 August 13, 2021: 101,865 NICS checks · 2021-08-13 13 August 14, 2021: 90,860 NICS checks · 2021-08-14 14 August 15, 2021: 39,761 NICS checks · 2021-08-15 15 August 16, 2021: 81,837 NICS checks · 2021-08-16 16 August 17, 2021: 89,345 NICS checks · 2021-08-17 17 August 18, 2021: 91,446 NICS checks · 2021-08-18 18 August 19, 2021: 97,740 NICS checks · 2021-08-19 19 August 20, 2021: 103,983 NICS checks · 2021-08-20 20 August 21, 2021: 80,493 NICS checks · 2021-08-21 21 August 22, 2021: 48,575 NICS checks · 2021-08-22 22 August 23, 2021: 118,110 NICS checks · 2021-08-23 23 August 24, 2021: 145,801 NICS checks · 2021-08-24 24 August 25, 2021: 91,462 NICS checks · 2021-08-25 25 August 26, 2021: 85,241 NICS checks · 2021-08-26 26 August 27, 2021: 106,032 NICS checks · 2021-08-27 27 August 28, 2021: 93,562 NICS checks · 2021-08-28 28 August 29, 2021: 46,484 NICS checks · 2021-08-29 29 August 30, 2021: 83,761 NICS checks · 2021-08-30 30 August 31, 2021: 89,062 NICS checks · 2021-08-31 31 September M T W T F S S
September 1, 2021: 135,437 NICS checks · 2021-09-01 1 September 2, 2021: 127,592 NICS checks · 2021-09-02 2 September 3, 2021: 118,756 NICS checks · 2021-09-03 3 September 4, 2021: 99,971 NICS checks · 2021-09-04 4 September 5, 2021: 63,298 NICS checks · 2021-09-05 5 September 6, 2021: 57,862 NICS checks · 2021-09-06 6 September 7, 2021: 95,091 NICS checks · 2021-09-07 7 September 8, 2021: 88,907 NICS checks · 2021-09-08 8 September 9, 2021: 83,890 NICS checks · 2021-09-09 9 September 10, 2021: 109,640 NICS checks · 2021-09-10 10 September 11, 2021: 88,826 NICS checks · 2021-09-11 11 September 12, 2021: 48,470 NICS checks · 2021-09-12 12 September 13, 2021: 74,174 NICS checks · 2021-09-13 13 September 14, 2021: 81,480 NICS checks · 2021-09-14 14 September 15, 2021: 84,624 NICS checks · 2021-09-15 15 September 16, 2021: 91,991 NICS checks · 2021-09-16 16 September 17, 2021: 103,716 NICS checks · 2021-09-17 17 September 18, 2021: 91,211 NICS checks · 2021-09-18 18 September 19, 2021: 46,922 NICS checks · 2021-09-19 19 September 20, 2021: 74,906 NICS checks · 2021-09-20 20 September 21, 2021: 91,805 NICS checks · 2021-09-21 21 September 22, 2021: 87,496 NICS checks · 2021-09-22 22 September 23, 2021: 94,141 NICS checks · 2021-09-23 23 September 24, 2021: 104,597 NICS checks · 2021-09-24 24 September 25, 2021: 86,104 NICS checks · 2021-09-25 25 September 26, 2021: 45,025 NICS checks · 2021-09-26 26 September 27, 2021: 81,331 NICS checks · 2021-09-27 27 September 28, 2021: 93,202 NICS checks · 2021-09-28 28 September 29, 2021: 91,932 NICS checks · 2021-09-29 29 September 30, 2021: 83,992 NICS checks · 2021-09-30 30 October M T W T F S S
October 1, 2021: 109,498 NICS checks · 2021-10-01 1 October 2, 2021: 94,405 NICS checks · 2021-10-02 2 October 3, 2021: 49,995 NICS checks · 2021-10-03 3 October 4, 2021: 83,599 NICS checks · 2021-10-04 4 October 5, 2021: 89,619 NICS checks · 2021-10-05 5 October 6, 2021: 90,631 NICS checks · 2021-10-06 6 October 7, 2021: 91,902 NICS checks · 2021-10-07 7 October 8, 2021: 105,091 NICS checks · 2021-10-08 8 October 9, 2021: 88,281 NICS checks · 2021-10-09 9 October 10, 2021: 49,225 NICS checks · 2021-10-10 10 October 11, 2021: 70,026 NICS checks · 2021-10-11 11 October 12, 2021: 94,905 NICS checks · 2021-10-12 12 October 13, 2021: 80,966 NICS checks · 2021-10-13 13 October 14, 2021: 94,555 NICS checks · 2021-10-14 14 October 15, 2021: 112,139 NICS checks · 2021-10-15 15 October 16, 2021: 95,832 NICS checks · 2021-10-16 16 October 17, 2021: 47,218 NICS checks · 2021-10-17 17 October 18, 2021: 82,568 NICS checks · 2021-10-18 18 October 19, 2021: 88,546 NICS checks · 2021-10-19 19 October 20, 2021: 82,022 NICS checks · 2021-10-20 20 October 21, 2021: 93,571 NICS checks · 2021-10-21 21 October 22, 2021: 107,748 NICS checks · 2021-10-22 22 October 23, 2021: 92,867 NICS checks · 2021-10-23 23 October 24, 2021: 54,155 NICS checks · 2021-10-24 24 October 25, 2021: 81,571 NICS checks · 2021-10-25 25 October 26, 2021: 79,739 NICS checks · 2021-10-26 26 October 27, 2021: 74,836 NICS checks · 2021-10-27 27 October 28, 2021: 85,316 NICS checks · 2021-10-28 28 October 29, 2021: 107,016 NICS checks · 2021-10-29 29 October 30, 2021: 81,530 NICS checks · 2021-10-30 30 October 31, 2021: 33,796 NICS checks · 2021-10-31 31 November M T W T F S S
November 1, 2021: 83,953 NICS checks · 2021-11-01 1 November 2, 2021: 89,036 NICS checks · 2021-11-02 2 November 3, 2021: 92,561 NICS checks · 2021-11-03 3 November 4, 2021: 94,245 NICS checks · 2021-11-04 4 November 5, 2021: 103,668 NICS checks · 2021-11-05 5 November 6, 2021: 91,745 NICS checks · 2021-11-06 6 November 7, 2021: 51,473 NICS checks · 2021-11-07 7 November 8, 2021: 84,941 NICS checks · 2021-11-08 8 November 9, 2021: 92,849 NICS checks · 2021-11-09 9 November 10, 2021: 95,946 NICS checks · 2021-11-10 10 November 11, 2021: 85,113 NICS checks · 2021-11-11 11 November 12, 2021: 105,486 NICS checks · 2021-11-12 12 November 13, 2021: 99,041 NICS checks · 2021-11-13 13 November 14, 2021: 54,786 NICS checks · 2021-11-14 14 November 15, 2021: 88,357 NICS checks · 2021-11-15 15 November 16, 2021: 94,558 NICS checks · 2021-11-16 16 November 17, 2021: 95,776 NICS checks · 2021-11-17 17 November 18, 2021: 92,791 NICS checks · 2021-11-18 18 November 19, 2021: 114,121 NICS checks · 2021-11-19 19 November 20, 2021: 101,057 NICS checks · 2021-11-20 20 November 21, 2021: 58,059 NICS checks · 2021-11-21 21 November 22, 2021: 96,696 NICS checks · 2021-11-22 22 November 23, 2021: 105,815 NICS checks · 2021-11-23 23 November 24, 2021: 112,484 NICS checks · 2021-11-24 24 November 25, 2021: 26,092 NICS checks · 2021-11-25 25 November 26, 2021: 187,585 NICS checks · 2021-11-26 26 November 27, 2021: 99,354 NICS checks · 2021-11-27 27 November 28, 2021: 44,248 NICS checks · 2021-11-28 28 November 29, 2021: 82,284 NICS checks · 2021-11-29 29 November 30, 2021: 93,338 NICS checks · 2021-11-30 30 December M T W T F S S
December 1, 2021: 104,211 NICS checks · 2021-12-01 1 December 2, 2021: 107,041 NICS checks · 2021-12-02 2 December 3, 2021: 119,257 NICS checks · 2021-12-03 3 December 4, 2021: 108,642 NICS checks · 2021-12-04 4 December 5, 2021: 56,020 NICS checks · 2021-12-05 5 December 6, 2021: 97,796 NICS checks · 2021-12-06 6 December 7, 2021: 107,471 NICS checks · 2021-12-07 7 December 8, 2021: 102,503 NICS checks · 2021-12-08 8 December 9, 2021: 110,327 NICS checks · 2021-12-09 9 December 10, 2021: 121,748 NICS checks · 2021-12-10 10 December 11, 2021: 113,938 NICS checks · 2021-12-11 11 December 12, 2021: 61,510 NICS checks · 2021-12-12 12 December 13, 2021: 100,709 NICS checks · 2021-12-13 13 December 14, 2021: 108,964 NICS checks · 2021-12-14 14 December 15, 2021: 111,946 NICS checks · 2021-12-15 15 December 16, 2021: 111,759 NICS checks · 2021-12-16 16 December 17, 2021: 132,525 NICS checks · 2021-12-17 17 December 18, 2021: 127,153 NICS checks · 2021-12-18 18 December 19, 2021: 68,580 NICS checks · 2021-12-19 19 December 20, 2021: 110,232 NICS checks · 2021-12-20 20 December 21, 2021: 128,601 NICS checks · 2021-12-21 21 December 22, 2021: 126,811 NICS checks · 2021-12-22 22 December 23, 2021: 139,078 NICS checks · 2021-12-23 23 December 24, 2021: 90,695 NICS checks · 2021-12-24 24 December 25, 2021: 17,157 NICS checks · 2021-12-25 25 December 26, 2021: 58,118 NICS checks · 2021-12-26 26 December 27, 2021: 98,229 NICS checks · 2021-12-27 27 December 28, 2021: 90,544 NICS checks · 2021-12-28 28 December 29, 2021: 91,740 NICS checks · 2021-12-29 29 December 30, 2021: 98,042 NICS checks · 2021-12-30 30 December 31, 2021: 77,192 NICS checks · 2021-12-31 31 January–December 2021. Darker squares have more NICS checks. Gray means unavailable, not zero.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook
Read the chart values Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook The ten busiest weeks Monday-to-Sunday weeks since 1998, counting only weeks with all seven days reported. The dates show when checks peaked, not why.
November 30, 1998 to August 31, 2026 · checks per week
March 15 to 21, 2021 1,218,002
March 16 to 22, 2020 1,197,788
January 11 to 17, 2021 1,082,449
March 22 to 28, 2021 1,080,245
January 4 to 10, 2021 1,071,820
March 29 to April 4, 2021 1,037,344
June 1 to 7, 2020 1,004,798
January 18 to 24, 2021 976,637
December 14 to 20, 2020 973,470
December 17 to 23, 2012 953,613
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook
Read the chart values Black Friday 2025, and a week either side Checks each day from a week before Black Friday, the Friday after the fourth Thursday in November, to a week after. The data file has every Black Friday since 1999 and its rank in its year.
ViewBlack Friday 1999, November 26, 1999 Black Friday 2000, November 24, 2000 Black Friday 2001, November 23, 2001 Black Friday 2002, November 29, 2002 Black Friday 2003, November 28, 2003 Black Friday 2004, November 26, 2004 Black Friday 2005, November 25, 2005 Black Friday 2006, November 24, 2006 Black Friday 2007, November 23, 2007 Black Friday 2008, November 28, 2008 Black Friday 2009, November 27, 2009 Black Friday 2010, November 26, 2010 Black Friday 2011, November 25, 2011 Black Friday 2012, November 23, 2012 Black Friday 2013, November 29, 2013 Black Friday 2014, November 28, 2014 Black Friday 2015, November 27, 2015 Black Friday 2016, November 25, 2016 Black Friday 2017, November 24, 2017 Black Friday 2018, November 23, 2018 Black Friday 2019, November 29, 2019 Black Friday 2020, November 27, 2020 Black Friday 2021, November 26, 2021 Black Friday 2022, November 25, 2022 Black Friday 2023, November 24, 2023 Black Friday 2024, November 29, 2024 Black Friday 2025, November 28, 2025 Year 2025 Back to wider view
Black Friday 2025, November 28, 2025 · checks
Fri, Nov 21 93,084
Sat, Nov 22 73,326
Sun, Nov 23 34,380
Mon, Nov 24 80,078
Tue, Nov 25 81,475
Wed, Nov 26 86,402
Thanksgiving, Nov 27 9,312
Black Friday, Nov 28 165,183
Sat, Nov 29 77,964
Sun, Nov 30 35,767
Mon, Dec 1 76,185
Tue, Dec 2 74,009
Wed, Dec 3 77,488
Thu, Dec 4 82,925
Fri, Dec 5 95,427
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook
Read the chart values Each month’s share of a year’s checks The average share of each year’s checks that fell in each month, 1999 to 2025. Every year counts equally, so the busiest years do not drown out the quieter ones.
View1999 to 2025, average 1999 · complete year 2000 · complete year 2001 · complete year 2002 · complete year 2003 · complete year 2004 · complete year 2005 · complete year 2006 · complete year 2007 · complete year 2008 · complete year 2009 · complete year 2010 · complete year 2011 · complete year 2012 · complete year 2013 · complete year 2014 · complete year 2015 · complete year 2016 · complete year 2017 · complete year 2018 · complete year 2019 · complete year 2020 · complete year 2021 · complete year 2022 · complete year 2023 · complete year 2024 · complete year 2025 · complete year Year 2025 Back to wider view
1999 to 2025, average · % of the year’s checks
January 8.1
February 8.5
March 9.3
April 7.9
May 7.1
June 7.0
July 6.9
August 7.7
September 7.9
October 8.9
November 9.6
December 11.1
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook
Read the chart values Average checks by day of the week The average number of checks on each day of the week, 1999 to 2025. Holidays are included.
1999 to 2025, average · checks per day
Monday 50,652
Tuesday 55,347
Wednesday 56,095
Thursday 57,301
Friday 67,653
Saturday 58,575
Sunday 27,983
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook
Read the chart values The last twelve months against the twelve before Checks each month from September 2025 to August 2026, against the same months a year earlier. A month counts only when every day in it is reported.
View1999 vs 1998 2000 vs 1999 2001 vs 2000 2002 vs 2001 2003 vs 2002 2004 vs 2003 2005 vs 2004 2006 vs 2005 2007 vs 2006 2008 vs 2007 2009 vs 2008 2010 vs 2009 2011 vs 2010 2012 vs 2011 2013 vs 2012 2014 vs 2013 2015 vs 2014 2016 vs 2015 2017 vs 2016 2018 vs 2017 2019 vs 2018 2020 vs 2019 2021 vs 2020 2022 vs 2021 2023 vs 2022 2024 vs 2023 2025 vs 2024 2026 vs 2025 September 2025 to August 2026 and the twelve months before Year 2026 Back to wider view
September 2025 to August 2026 and the twelve months before · checks per month
1,811,947 2,111,146 1.81M 2.11M 1.81M 2.11M September November January March May July August September August September March August
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation · NICS national daily workbook
Read the chart values The findings, charts and tables are readable without JavaScript. Enable JavaScript to change views, search names, use the calculators and copy citations.
The numbers behind the findings Every day of FBI NICS checks from November 30, 1998 to August 31, 2026, with each total, share and rank on this page. Each row names its measure; rows of different measures do not add up.
Download all 32,628 rows (CSV) · JSON
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 : credit USA Arms and link to this study.
Preview the first 100 rows How we calculated this The data is the FBI’s national daily count of NICS firearm background checks: 10,137 days from November 30, 1998 to August 31, 2026, with no days missing.
Days are ranked by their count, highest first, and tied days share a rank. Each day also has a rank within its own year, and a change from the same weekday 52 weeks earlier (not the same date a year earlier, which falls on a different weekday).
A week runs Monday to Sunday and counts only when all seven days are reported; a month counts only when every day is. Black Friday is the Friday after the fourth Thursday in November.
Month shares and weekday averages use the complete years from 1999 to 2025. A month’s share is its checks divided by its year’s checks, averaged across the years with every year counted equally. A weekday’s average is its checks divided by its number of days.
The twelve-month comparison adds up the latest twelve complete months and the twelve before them. These national sums come from the daily file, not from the FBI’s separate monthly state totals.
The data file has every day and each total, share, average and rank on this page. The base column gives what a share, average or rank was taken from: a year’s checks, a number of days or a number of years.
Limits Checks are not sales, guns or people. The daily counts include permit checks and re-checks, which this file does not separate, and permit processing can move the peaks. The FBI publishes no daily counts by state. Each state’s monthly checks are on its statistics page. The dates show when checks were high, not why. Sources Cite this study USA Arms, “When do Americans run firearm background checks?” (2026 edition). https://usaarms.com/research/when-americans-run-firearm-background-checks/
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