At the end of 1998, a new method of conducting federal background checks was created by the federal government in order to allow law enforcement officials to easily determine whether an individual is allowed to possess a firearm in the United States. Named the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS for short, the program provided a national database of individuals that were not allowed to possess weapons due to criminal convictions or other legal reasons. The database contains individuals that were convicted at either the state level or federal level of government.

Using the NICS to conduct federal background checks is not an option for most of the population. Access to the databases is restricted to individuals that need access to perform their jobs properly and select others are granted access on a need to know basis. The federal government has taken great care to ensure that only authorized personnel is allowed to access the records contained within the NICS databases, using multiple layers of security and encryption restrict access by unauthorized individuals.

Even the individuals that are granted access to use the NICS are working under a number of restrictions. Access to the system to perform federal background checks must adhere to stringent requirements and different types of tasks, such as changing or adding to information contained in the system, can only be conducted by certain personnel. Generally, information on a certain individual that is contained in the NICS is only accessed when the individual attempts to purchase a firearm or the individual is caught with a firearm by law enforcement officials.