Sponsors (10)
The bill speeds lawful firearm transfers and creates formal appeals, fee relief, and oversight to fix NICS errors and protect good‑faith actors, but it increases public-safety and administrative risks by allowing deemed approvals, raising privacy and coordination challenges, and creating potential new workloads and costs.
People applying to buy or make a firearm can receive automatic approval if the government doesn't act within 3 business days, letting lawful applicants take possession sooner and reducing wait times.
People denied a firearm transfer get clearer information (a NICS transaction number) and a standardized appeals process to the Secretary — including a voluntary record-submission program to prevent future erroneous denials and reimbursement of attorney fees for prevailing appellants — improving routes to correct wrongful denials.
Transferors and transferees acting in good faith receive legal protection from criminal liability for transfers deemed approved (with limited return requirements), reducing the risk of prosecution for everyday buyers and sellers.
People and communities face increased safety risks because firearms can be transferred or made before background checks are completed (deemed approvals), raising the chance that prohibited persons obtain guns.
The combination of appeal rights, fee-shifting, and the potential for more litigation may increase administrative workload and backlogs for NICS/administrative agencies, delaying final resolutions of transfers and imposing costs on taxpayers.
Requiring submission and federal retention of personal records in a voluntary appeals file raises privacy concerns for applicants whose sensitive background information would be stored in federal systems.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Creates a 3-business-day automatic approval for firearm transfer/making applications, adds an administrative appeal with NICS transparency and fee-shifting, and requires NICS reports and an ATF–FBI MOU.
Official title: Amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to establish an administrative relief process for individuals whose applications for transfer and registration of a firearm were denied, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 6, 2025 by James Risch · Last progress March 6, 2025
Creates faster, clearer procedures for federal firearm transfer and making applications by (1) requiring the ATF to give denied transferees NICS transaction numbers, allow appeals and submissions through a voluntary-appeal system, and reimburse attorney fees for successful appeals; (2) treating a transfer or making application as approved if ATF/FBI does not act within 3 business days and protecting transferors/transferees from criminal liability in certain circumstances; and (3) requiring reports and an ATF–FBI MOU on NICS processing and unresolved checks within set timeframes.