Legislation enacted in 2021 requires that whenever a law enforcement agency recovers a fired cartridge case at a crime scene or has reason to believe that the recovered fired cartridge case is related to or associated with the commission of a crime, the law enforcement agency must submit the evidence to the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) or an Illinois State Police laboratory for NIBIN processing.1 Similarly, this law requires that whenever a law enforcement agency seizes or recovers a semiautomatic firearm that is deemed suitable to be entered into the NIBIN that was: (i) unlawfully possessed, (ii) used for any unlawful purpose, (iii) recovered from the scene of a crime, (iv) is reasonably believed to have been used or associated with the commission of a crime, or (v) is acquired by the law enforcement agency as an abandoned or discarded firearm, the law enforcement agency must submit the evidence to the NIBIN or an Illinois State Police laboratory for NIBIN processing. When practicable, all NIBIN-suitable evidence and NIBIN-suitable test fires from recovered firearms shall be entered into the NIBIN within 2 business days of submission to Illinois State Police laboratories that have NIBIN access or another NIBIN site. Upon receipt at the laboratory with NIBIN access, when practicable, the evidence and test fires must generally be entered into the NIBIN within 2 business days.2
When appropriate, local law enforcement are required to use ATF’s National Tracing Center and the National Crime Information Center of the FBI for these purposes.3
Illinois has no laws regarding firearm microstamping.
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