Federal law requires federally licensed firearms dealers (but not private sellers) to initiate a background check on the purchaser prior to thesale of a firearm. Federal law provides states with the option of serving as a state “point of contact” and conducting their own background checks using state, as well as federal, records and databases, or having the checks performed by the FBI using only the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) database. (Note that state files are not always included in the federal database.)

Nevada is a point of contact state for firearm purchaser background checks. In Nevada, the Nevada Department of Public Safety (NDPS), through its Brady Point of Sale program, serves as the state point of contact for implementation of the Brady Act.¹ Licensed dealers must process each firearm transfer through NDPS, which in turn uses NICS and other databases to verify that prospective purchasers are not prohibited from possessing a firearm.²

In early 2019, Nevada passed a law (effective January 2, 2020) that requires most sales and transfers between private individuals to be processed through a federally licensed dealer to ensure that a background check is conducted.³ For more information about private sale background check requirements see our page on Private Sales in Nevada.

Federal law does not require dealers to conduct a background check if a firearm purchaser presents a state permit to purchase or possess firearms that meets certain conditions.⁴ As a result, holders of Nevada concealed carry permits⁵ are exempt from the federal background check requirement.⁶ Note, however, that people who have become prohibited from possessing firearms may continue to hold state permits to purchase or permit firearms if the state fails to remove these permits in a timely fashion.

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1. “Permanent Brady State Lists,” Federal Bureau of Investigation, accessed April 29, 2019, https://www.atf.gov/rules-and-regulations/permanent-brady-state-lists.[↩]
2. For more information on the Point of Sale program, visit the Nevada Department of Public Safety’s Point of Sale program page.[↩]
3. 2019 NV S 143.[↩]
4. Federal law exempts persons who have been issued state permits to purchase or possess firearms from background checks if those permits were issued: 1) within the previous five years in the state in which the transfer is to take place; and 2) after an authorized government official has conducted a background investigation, including a search of the NICS database, to verify that possession of a firearm would not be unlawful. 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3), 27 C.F.R. § 478.102(d).[↩]
5. Only permits issued on or after July 1, 2011 qualify.[↩]
6. “Permanent Brady Chart,” Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, accessed April 29, 2019, https://www.atf.gov/rules-and-regulations/permanent-brady-permit-chart.[↩]