Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2025

This bill, called the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2025, tightens the rules for gun background checks when there’s a delay. If the federal system doesn’t answer within 10 business days, the buyer can file a petition online or by mail asking for a decision; if there’s still no answer 10 business days after the petition, the sale can only move ahead under these new steps. The Justice Department must create the petition form, make it easy to access, notify the buyer and dealer when it’s received, and respond quickly .

The bill also adds transparency. The Government Accountability Office must report at 1, 3, and 5 years on how well these rules kept guns from people who are not allowed to have them. The FBI must publish yearly numbers on petitions that weren’t decided in time. The Attorney General must report on how this law affects the safety of people facing domestic violence and related abuse. The Justice Department’s Inspector General must report on denied gun sales that were sent to ATF for investigation. The law takes effect 210 days after it becomes law .

• Who is affected: gun buyers, licensed gun dealers, and federal agencies that run and oversee background checks .
• What changes: a two-step, up-to-20-business-day process for delayed checks (with a buyer petition), plus required public and government reports on delays, denials, and safety impacts, especially related to domestic violence .
• When: effective 210 days after enactment; DOJ Inspector General report due within 90 days; Attorney General report due within 150 days; GAO reports at 1, 3, and 5 years; FBI reports annually .