Form 1 NIAA State Estimates

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The NICS Improvement Amendments Act:
State Estimates of Available Records Information Collection
I. INTRODUCTION
This form has been developed pursuant to the National
Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)
Improvement Amendments Act (P.L. 110-180) (“the
NICS Improvement Act”), enacted January 8, 2008, and
reflects the Attorney General’s methodology established
to calculate the number of reportable records for the
purposes of the Act.
In accordance with Section 102 (b)(2) of the Act, states
are to provide the Attorney General with reasonable
estimates of certain categories of available records in the
state “concerning any event occurring within the prior 20
years.” Therefore, the estimates requested herein – with
the exception of two categories dealing with “active”
records - pertain to the period from January 1, 1988,
through December 31, 2007.
For the purposes of these estimates, the term “event”
means an action by a government agency that results in
the creation of one or more of the following categories
of records pertaining to persons prohibited from
purchasing a firearm pursuant to the Federal Gun
Control Act of 1968, as amended, 18 U.S.C. 921 et. seq.
including the following:
•

Category 1: Records that identify a person who has
been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by
imprisonment for a term exceeding one year (e.g.,
federal or state felonies), and of any state
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for more
than 2 years.

•

Category 2: Records that identify a person who is
under an indictment or information returned or filed
with a court, or a criminal complaint issued or
verified by a prosecutor, for the crimes described in
Category 1.

•

Category 3: Records that identify a person who is a
fugitive from justice, as demonstrated by an active
felony or misdemeanor want or warrant.

•

Category 4: Records that identify a person who is
an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled
substance, as demonstrated by specified arrests,
convictions and adjudications, not protected from

disclosure to the Attorney General by federal or state
law.
•

Category 5: Records that identify a person who has
been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been
formally and involuntarily committed to any mental
institution, not protected from disclosure to the
Attorney General by federal or state law.

•

Category 6: Records that are electronically available
and identify a person subject to an active court order
(e.g., issued by a criminal court or any civil court,
such as divorce court, family court, magistrate or
general jurisdiction court) which restrains a person
from committing acts of violence against another
person.

•

Category 7: Records that are electronically available
and identify a person convicted in any court of a
misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

Please note that in developing the record estimates,
states are not required to assess individual records to
determine whether or not it would disqualify an
individual from the receipt of a firearm under federal
law. Rather, the form seeks estimates of the categories
of records typically used by the NICS and ATF in
determining whether available information demonstrates
that a prospective purchaser is prohibited from receiving
a firearm. In other words, inclusion of a record in a state
count for estimation purposes only is not a determination
that the subject of the record either is or is not prohibited
from firearm possession under federal law. That
determination requires additional research and analysis
which typically is performed by FBI NICS and ATF.
Collaboration In Developing Estimates and Certification
It is expected that state agency executives, judicial
agencies, and other entities will need to collaborate in
developing the estimates required to complete this form.
In some cases, a state court may have information about
events in a certain time period that are only in a paper or
manual format, or may have destroyed the records
pursuant to a record retention policy, while a police
agency or prosecutor’s office may have electronic
records about those events during that time period, or
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may have provided the information to the state central
record repository. Collaboration between these agencies
can assist in developing a more complete and
informative estimate.
For these reasons, this form requires a certification that
such collaboration has occurred to be signed by both the
state’s NCHIP grant administering agency and the State
Court Administrator.
Narrative Description of Record Systems and
Explanation of Approach to Arriving at the Estimates

At the same time, each state has a central record
repository for criminal justice information and some
may have central record repositories for mental health
adjudications and commitments. It is through the state
central record repositories that automated information
about these events is electronically entered into the
national repositories maintained by the FBI and used for
NICS checks. Estimates are requested for records
available at the state repository, data warehouses, or
other locations in each record category.
What the Estimates Cover

The state’s assessment of record availability will
undoubtedly involve several considerations, including
what agencies or entities originate the records, the
number of these agencies, the number of available
records, the format of the records, and how long
agencies may retain such records.
The reporting form solicits some information about these
issues in an effort to help guide the state’s development
of record estimates. (This information may also help
states formulate record improvement plans and could be
useful in evaluating whether eventual grant proposals
satisfy the authorized uses for funds).
Because each state’s record system is unique, the
reporting form calls for a narrative description of how
records on the relevant events are maintained in the
state. It also calls for an explanation of the approach
taken in using these information sources to develop the
estimates. This part of the form is also the place where
an explanation should be provided for any missing data
or failure to provide breakdowns of the estimates as
requested.
The narrative will be used by the Attorney General as a
basis for evaluating the reasonableness of the estimates,
as required under the Act.
Originating Agencies vs. Record Repositories
The primary sources of information about these events
are the originating agencies, i.e., the agencies that make
the arrests, issue the warrants, indictments, or
informations, or enter the convictions or orders. These
agencies will typically have “original” records about
these events, although other agencies involved may also
have records of the event. For example, a court will
have a record of a conviction it enters, but so may the
arresting agency or prosecutor’s office involved in the
case. Estimates are requested for records available at
appropriate originating agencies in each record category.

The basic issue of record completeness being addressed
by the NICS Improvement Act is the fact that not all
relevant events, even though recorded in some fashion at
the originating agency, are being recorded at the state
central record repositories and/or provided to the FBI’s
national automated record systems that are used for
NICS checks. Therefore, the record estimates seek to
obtain a count of the number of unique records of the
events, i.e., the number of convictions, adjudications,
commitments, orders, outstanding indictments, etc., and,
for comparison purposes, the number of those events
reflected in records that are electronically available
through state record repositories.
These comparisons will allow an assessment of the
percentage of automated records of the events that are or
can be made available for use by the NICS.
Disqualifying Events and Records that Reflect Them
It is recognized that the disqualifying events reflected in
the categories of records specified in the Act may be
available from more than one agency in the state. For
example, a record of a single arrest or conviction may
appear in the record systems of a police agency, a
prosecutor’s office, the courts, and the state central
record repository. It is not intended that each record
associated with a single event be counted but rather that
a single report of the event be identified in the estimates.
The estimates of available records should be based on
the number of unique records available at the state
repository (or equivalent statewide database) and at
an originating agency.
A Court’s Judgment and Conviction Order, whether it
involves multiple counts or one count, represents a
single record of a disqualifying event for purposes of
these estimates. Conversely, several events may be
included on a single, consolidated record about a person
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in a central record system, such as the “Record of Arrest
and Prosecution” or “RAP Sheet,” reflecting that the
person has two or more felony convictions or other
disqualifying events. That consolidated record should
not be counted as a “single” disqualifying event, if the
convictions are the subject of separate Judgment and
Conviction Orders as stated above. Each conviction on a
consolidated record or RAP sheet should be counted as a
separate conviction if it meets the definition of a
conviction or disqualifying event.
Definitions
“Conviction” – A Court’s Judgment and Conviction
Order, whether it involves multiple counts or a single
count, represents a “conviction.” Example: When a
defendant’s criminal court case results in convictions on
separate charges of burglary, assault, and armed robbery,
it should be counted as one conviction.
“Records that identify a person” are: (1) fingerprintbased records which may be made available to the
Interstate Identification Index (“III”) or name-based
records which may be made available to the files in
(a) the National Crime Information Center (“NCIC”) or
(b) the National Instant Criminal Background Check
System (NICS) Index Files (“NICS Index”). Such

records may be available in state or local agency or court
files and systems.
“Active records” – In the case of felony and/or
misdemeanor wants or warrants, the term “active” means
the want or warrant has not expired or been satisfied,
removed, retired, deleted, or otherwise invalidated in
terms of its status, and it retains its authority for a police
officer to arrest the subject of the want or warrant.
In the case of protection or restraining orders, the term
“active” means the order has not expired or been
removed, retired, deleted, or otherwise invalidated in
terms of its status, and it retains its authority to be
enforced by a court and/or the police.
“Available” – A record is deemed available if it contains
the minimum data required for entry into the III, NCIC
or the NICS Index.
A record is deemed “electronically available” if it
contains the minimum data required for entry into the
III, NCIC or the NICS Index, and currently resides in a
database, spreadsheet, data file, or other electronic
structure from which an automated transfer of the
relevant data can be made. Paper or manual records are
not considered “electronically available.”

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II. INITIAL STATE ESTIMATES
Category 1. Felony Convictions - Records that identify a person who has been convicted in any court of a crime
punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year (e.g., state ‘felonies’), and state misdemeanors punishable by a
term of more than 2 years.
Please estimate the number of available records in the state covering the twenty-year period (January 1, 1988 through
December 31, 2007).

RECORD TYPE

NUMBER OF
CONVICTION RECORDS
AT THE COURTS

NUMBER OF RECORDS IN THE STATE
REPOSITORY
The number already
linked or associated with
criminal history records:

Felony Convictions

The number not linked or
associated with criminal
history records (e.g.
records in a pending or
suspense file, etc.):

1C

1B

1A

Category 2. Indictments/Informations/Verified Complaints - Records that identify a person who is under an
indictment or information returned or filed with a court, or a criminal complaint issued or verified by a prosecutor, for the
crimes described in Category 1.
Please estimate the number of available records in the state covering the twenty-year period (January 1, 1988 through
December 31, 2007).

RECORD TYPE

NUMBER OF RECORDS IN THE
STATE REPOSITORY

NUMBER OF RECORDS AT
THE COURTS OR
PROSECUTORS’ OFFICES

Indictments returned or filed
Informations returned or filed
Criminal complaints issued or
verified by a prosecutor
2A

2B

TOTAL

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Category 3. Active Wants/Warrants - Records that identify a person who is a fugitive from justice, as demonstrated by
an active felony or misdemeanor want or warrant. The term “active” means the want or warrant has not expired or been
satisfied, removed, retired, deleted, or otherwise invalidated in terms of its status, and it retains its authority for a police
officer to arrest the subject of the want or warrant.
Please indicate how many active records were available in the state as of December 31, 2007.

RECORD TYPE

NUMBER OF RECORDS IN
THE STATE REPOSITORY

NUMBER OF RECORDS AT
THE COURTS

(State equivalent to the NCIC
Wanted Persons File)
3A

3B

Active Wants/Warrants

Category 4. Unlawful Drug Use Records - Records that identify a person unlawfully using or addicted to a controlled
substance, as demonstrated by specified arrests, convictions and adjudications, not protected from disclosure to the
Attorney General by federal or state law. The term “arrests” means arrests for use or possession of a controlled substance.
“Adjudications” include orders imposing: pretrial diversion, drug diversion, probation without judgment, adjudication
withheld, probation or parole conditions or sentencing conditions which include mandatory drug treatment programs.
“Convictions” mean convictions for use or possession of a controlled substance, which are not included in the estimates of
felony convictions included under Category 1.
For the purposes of these record estimates, we are requesting only the following: (1) the number of arrests and
adjudications for felony offenses (excludes convictions which have already been counted under Category 1), and (2) the
number of arrests, adjudications, and convictions for all other drug offenses. This is to avoid duplication with records
identified in Category 1.
Please estimate the number of available records in the state covering the twenty-year period (January 1, 1988 through
December 31, 2007).

For drug offenses punishable by imprisonment
for a term exceeding one year (i.e., felonies) or
state misdemeanors punishable by imprisonment
for more than 2 years.

NUMBER OF
RECORDS AT
ORIGINATING
AGENCIES

NUMBER OF
RECORDS IN THE
STATE REPOSITORY

RECORD TYPE

Arrests
Adjudications
Arrests

For all other drug offenses.

Adjudications
Convictions

TOTAL

4A

4B

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Category 5. Mental Health Adjudications or Commitments - Records not protected from disclosure to the Attorney
General by federal or state law that identify persons who have been:
(1) Adjudicated mentally defective, meaning that a court, board, commission or other lawful authority has determined
that the person as a result of marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease:
(a) is a danger to himself or others, or (b) lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage his own affairs. This
category also includes records of persons found incompetent to stand trial or found insane by a court in a criminal
case.
(2) Formally and involuntarily committed to a mental institution. This category of records does not include persons
committed to a mental institution voluntarily or merely for observation or evaluation.
Please estimate the number of electronically available records in the state covering the twenty-year period (January 1,
1988, through December 31, 2007).

RECORD TYPE

NUMBER OF
RECORDS IN
THE STATE
REPOSITORY

NUMBER OF
RECORDS AT
THE COURTS

NUMBER OF
RECORDS AT A
BOARD OR
COMMISSION1

NUMBER OF
RECORDS AT
OTHER LAWFUL
AUTHORITY1,2

Adjudications of mental defect.
Findings of incompetency to stand
trial.
Findings of insanity by a court in a
criminal case.
Formal involuntary commitments to
a mental institution.
5A

5B

5C

5D

TOTAL

1

Please identify the board, commission, or other lawful authority making the determination: ___________________

________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
2

Other lawful authority can include a state mental health authority database.

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Category 6. Protection or Restraining Orders - Records that are electronically available and identify a person subject
to an active court order (including criminal or any civil court such as divorce court, family court, magistrate or general
jurisdiction court) which restrains a person from committing acts of violence against another person. The term “active”
means the order has not expired or been removed, retired, deleted, or otherwise invalidated in terms of its status, and it
retains its authority to be enforced by a court and/or the police.
Please indicate how many of the following active records were available in the state as of December 31, 2007.
NUMBER OF RECORDS IN
THE STATE REPOSITORY

NUMBER OF RECORDS AT
THE COURTS

RECORD TYPE
(State equivalent to the NCIC
Protection Order File)
6A

6B

Active Protection or Restraining
Orders

Note: Criminal court orders would include bail, probation, and parole conditions imposed by a court.

Category 7. Convictions for Potential Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence (MCDV) - Records that are
electronically available and that may identify a person convicted of misdemeanor offenses such as battery, assault,
disorderly conduct, breach of peace, family violence/domestic violence, family assault or battery/domestic assault or
battery, stalking, harassment.
Note: This category utilizes a list of the most common offenses which qualify as MCDVs. Inclusion of a record in a
state count for estimation purposes only is not a determination that the subject of the record either is or is not prohibited
from firearm possession under federal law. That determination requires additional research and analysis which typically
is performed by FBI NICS and ATF.
Please estimate the number of electronically available records in the state covering the twenty-year period (January 1,
1988 through December 31, 2007).

RECORD TYPE

NUMBER OF RECORDS IN
THE STATE REPOSITORY
7A

NUMBER OF RECORDS AT
THE COURTS
7B

Potential MCDV Convictions

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SUMMARY OF RECORD ESTIMATES
Please transfer the state estimates from individual categories to the table below.

(A)

(B)

(C)

RECORD CATEGORY

NUMBER OF RECORDS IN
THE STATE REPOSITORY

NUMBER OF RECORDS AT
ORIGINATING AGENCIES

From 1A + 1B

From 1C

2A

2B

3A

3B

4A

4B

5A

5-B + 5-C + 5-D

6A

6B

7A

7B

Sum of Column B

Sum of Column C

Category 1
Felony Convictions
Category 2
Indictments/Informations/Complaints
Category 3
Active Wants/Warrants
Category 4
Unlawful Drug Use Records
Category 5
Mental Health Adjudications or
Commitments
Category 6
Active Protection/Restraining Orders
Category 7
Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic
Violence Convictions
TOTAL

(Sum of Column B) Divided by (Sum of Column C) * 100

PERCENTAGE OF
ALL RECORDS AVAILABLE

Note: The Attorney General’s evaluation of the estimates provided herein will include a comparison to the number of records
contained in certain FBI files as of December 31, 2007, including: the Interstate Identification Index, the NCIC Protection Order
File, the NCIC Convicted Sexual Offender Registry file, the Convicted Persons on Supervised Release file, the Wanted Persons file,
and the NICS Index.

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III. RECORD AVAILABILITY
Please provide a description of how each category of available records is maintained in your state.
For each separate category of records please describe the following:
a. The type and number of state/local agencies that originally create such records;
b. The typical “lifecycle” of such original records (i.e. when and where the records are created; whether such
records are maintained in paper or electronic form; if and how such records are transmitted to state and national
files; and, when/how such records are ultimately disposed of, deleted, or otherwise made unavailable, etc.);
c. Any difficulties or impediments faced in accessing records or submitting records to state and national files; and
d. Other factors that may affect the availability of the records for state and national files, including whether
categories of records may be protected from disclosure to the Attorney General under a provision of state or
federal law. Please provide a citation or statutory reference for the applicable law or regulation.
Attach separate sheets if necessary - no more than five (5) total pages.

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IV. ESTIMATION PROCESS
For each separate category of records, please provide a detailed description of the research and/or analysis performed
to arrive at the individual record estimate(s) provided. For each separate category of records covered, this description
should include an explanation of how the specific estimates were developed including any analysis or assessment of
records in the state central record repository, surveys of local reporting agencies, analyses of state court statistics, data
collection from sample(s) of local agency records, estimates derived from audits of local reporting agencies, and/or any
other analytical work performed to support the development of the applicable record estimate.
If applicable, this section should also include an explanation for any missing information or record estimates required by
the reporting form.
Attach separate sheets if necessary - no more than five (5) total pages.

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V. CERTIFICATION

Submitting State

Submission Date

The undersigned hereby certifies to the Attorney General of the United States that:
(1) the estimates provided herein are consistent with the guidance provided with this form; and,
(2) the estimates provided were developed in collaboration with state court officials, the criminal history
record repository, and other officials with relevant information as appropriate, including the state firearm
licensing or permit program, state mental health program directors, state statistical analysis center, and
others.

State NCHIP Program Official

Signature

Date

Printed Name

Title

Address

Phone & Email address

State Court Administrator

Signature

Date

Printed Name

Title

Address

Phone & Email address

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VI. SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION COLLECTION
The completed form can be mailed to:

Gerard Ramker
Criminal Justice Data Improvement Program
Bureau of Justice Statistics
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs
810 7th Street, N.W., Room 2323
Washington, DC 20001

The completed form can be emailed to:

[email protected]

The completed form can be faxed to:

Gerard Ramker at (202) 616-1351

VII. QUESTIONS
•

For questions about this information collection, please contact Gerard Ramker, Chief of BJS’s Criminal Justice Data
Improvement Program, at (202) 307-0765 or [email protected].

•

For questions about the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, please contact Jennifer S. Korn, Director of the U.S.
Department of Justice, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison, at (202) 514-3465 or email [email protected].

•

Additional information about the Act and DOJ efforts to implement it can be found on the BJS website at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/niaa.htm.

•

For questions about NICS, please contact the NICS Liaison Specialist at (304) 625-7348 or email [email protected].
Additional information is available at www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/nics/index.htm.

•

For general questions relating to the categories of persons prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms under federal
law, please contact your local field division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, at 1-800-8003855, or the Chief, Firearms Enforcement Branch, at 202-648-7090, or [email protected]. Additional information is
available at www.atf.gov.

Required Burden Statement
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, we cannot ask you to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control
number. The data collection will be sent to NCHIP administering agencies in 56 jurisdictions including the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The
average time required for each agency to complete the reporting form is estimated at 40 hours. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or
th
any aspect of the data collection, including suggestions for reducing this burden to Gerard Ramker at the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 810 7 Street,
NW, Room 2323, Washington DC 20531.

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