Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2025
Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2025 would modify how federal background checks (via the NICS system) work when a Federal firearms licensee (FFL) is transferring a firearm to a non-licensee. The bill adds a formal petition process for individuals whose background check has not produced a clear clearance, creates new duties for the Attorney General to implement and manage that process (including an online petition form and timely responses), and adjusts timing rules around when transfers may proceed if the system has not identified a disqualifying issue. It also removes a current cap that limits how long background checks can take and adds several reporting and oversight requirements, including assessing safety impacts for victims of domestic violence and related crimes. The act would take effect 210 days after enactment. In short, the bill aims to slow or manage gun transfers more carefully by creating a reviewed petition pathway, extending allowable timeframes for transfers under certain conditions, and increasing federal reporting and analysis on how these procedures affect safety and enforcement.
Key Points
- 1Petition-based review process when NICS hasn’t flagged a problem
- 2- If the NICS system has not notified the licensee that the recipient would violate law, the transferee may submit an electronic petition (or a mail-in petition) requesting a review. The petition must certify the recipient has no known prohibitions and requests a timely response (within 10 business days of submission).
- 3- After the petition is submitted and 10 business days have elapsed without a negative notification, the licensee may continue the transfer process under the bill’s rules.
- 4Explicit 21-year-old transfer possibility under certain conditions
- 5- The bill adds language indicating that a transfer could be completed lawfully under the petition framework if the recipient has reached 21 years of age, clarifying age as a factor in eligibility under the new process.
- 6Expanded time window for licensees to rely on NICS notification
- 7- If the NICS system notifies the licensee that the transfer would not violate applicable laws, the licensee may rely on that notification for the longer of: (a) 25 more calendar days after receiving the notification, or (b) 30 calendar days after the initial contact.
- 8- If the recipient met certain conditions before the system destroys transaction records, the licensee may rely on those conditions for an additional 25 days.
- 9AG responsibilities for the petition process
- 10- The Attorney General must prescribe and provide the petition form, make it available electronically, supply copies to licensees, notify both petitioner and licensee of receipt, and respond to petitions on an expedited basis.
- 11Conforming amendment to Brady Act timing
- 12- The bill would remove the current limit that background checks must be completed within 10 business days, signaling a longer permissible review period under the new process.
- 13Oversight, reporting, and safety analysis
- 14- GAO must issue annual or periodic reports (at 1, 3, and 5 years after the act’s effective date) on how the new subsections affect transfers, delays, and denials, including state-by-state data.
- 15- The Director of the FBI must publish annual reports detailing petitions not responded to within the 10-day window, including disaggregated data on petitioners and outcomes.
- 16- The Attorney General, in consultation with the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms, must report within 150 days on how the act affects safety for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, sexual assault, etc., and whether further amendments could reduce risk.
- 17- An Inspector General report due within 90 days after enactment will address the number of transactions referred for investigation to ATF.
- 18Effective date
- 19- The provisions take effect 210 days after enactment.