When you buy a firearm from a gun store, a NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) check is done. Checks are usually determined within minutes of initiation, but occasionally a check might result in a delay while examiners spend more time researching the check. A proceed will probably come after a few days, but if it doesn’t, the law allows for it to be picked up after three business days. But if a customer buys a gun on a Friday, that might not be until Thursday of the following week.

What are NICS business days? A business day is any 24-hour period beginning at 12:01 a.m. the day after the check was initiated, in which state offices are open. A business day does not include Saturday, Sunday or state Holidays. The table below advises when the firearm can be transferred (since we’re closed Sundays and Mondays, we leave that off the chart):

DAY OF CHECK -> STANDARD DAY OF PICKUP
Tuesday -> Saturday
Wednesday -> Tuesday
Thursday -> Wednesday
Friday -> Thursday
Saturday -> Thursday

If you get a delay, and we get a determination before the standard day of pickup, we’ll give you a call to come take it home!