Does A Concealed Carry Permit Allow You to Bypass a Background Check When Purchasing a Firearm?

We get a lot of permit related questions here at USA Carry. That is one of the reasons we started a new Concealed Carry Q&A Digest recently. A common question we get if a concealed carry permit exempts you from the background check when purchasing a firearm. In other words, does having a concealed carry permit allow you to bypass the background check, fill out the paperwork, pay, and walk out the door. Luckily it is relatively simple to answer this as the ATF provides a list of permits or licenses that qualify. To make it easy for our readers, we decided to add that list to our website as well.

If you would rather skip the history lesson click here to scroll right to the list of states that have permits that are exempt from the background checks.

We all know that when you purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer, you fill out the ATF Form 4473. Then the dealer calls the NICS or submits it through the online portal (NICS E-Check). They will generally either receive a “Proceed” or “Transfer”. Or they may receive a “Delay” status which means you will have to wait for them to finish looking into this check and provide a “Proceed,” “Transfer,” or “Deny” or wait the three-business days if your state allows that. But you may have a way to bypass the background check portion of buying a firearm if you have a valid concealed carry permit or license.

How NICS Background Check Exemptions Came About

I’m sure you have heard of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (aka Brady Act). If not you can read up on it at Wikipedia but basically, it required federal background checks on firearm purchases and a five-day waiting period on purchases until the FBI implemented the NICS system in 1998.

However, the ATF looks at the laws for obtaining a concealed carry permit or license in each state and deems whether or not having a valid concealed carry permit or license exempts you from having to go through the background check when purchasing a firearm.

As of this writing, 28 states have these exemptions. Some have a few caveats such as California only exempting Entertainment Firearms Permit holders. Also, some states permits or licenses are only exempt if the issue date is on or after a specific date due to states that have changed their laws. It also may depend on the type of permit or license. For example, my Louisiana Concealed Handgun Permit was up for renewal last year. I renewed a few months earlier since Louisiana Concealed Handgun Permits issued on or after March 9, 2015, qualify for the exemption. I also found out that only the 5-year permits are eligible for the exemption. Louisiana offers a lifetime permit, but it does not exempt you from the NICS background check when purchasing a firearm. So I naturally went with the 5-year permit.

Concealed Carry Permit NICS Exemption List

The ATF updated their list on May 10, 2017. We will constantly check their chart for changes to update ours.

Permanent Brady Permit Chart

* These states had permits or licenses that were grandfathered in when the Brady Act took place. But none of these permits or licenses are still valid.