Reading Room Document
Application of Record Destruction Requirements to Information Received From the National Instant Criminal Background Check System
Under the laws governing destruction of background check information, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives—which routinely receives and retains certain information from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System whenever the NICS determines that an individual seeking to purchase a firearm may not lawfully receive a firearm—does not have to destroy that information if the NICS later overturns that determination. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/op-olc-v029-p0017pdf/download.
The OLC's Opinions
Opinions published by the OLC, including those released in response to our FOIA lawsuit