What states require background checks for guns?

Because the federal government doesn't require background checks for private sales, transactions at gun shows don't need to be regulated. A few states expanded the checks to all private gun sales, and a few added them for all sales of handguns. read more

Some states have opted to go further than federal law by requiring background checks at gun shows for any gun transaction, federal license or not. The majority of these such states require background checks at the point of transfer for all firearms. read more

While background check statistics are commonly used to approximate firearm purchases, they do not represent actual numbers of guns sold. Federal law does not require checks for private sales between individuals, and multiple guns are often purchased after a single background check, for example. Select a state below for numbers of background checks requested each month since 2010. read more