The Justice Department published the final rule implementing the Firearm Handler Check provision of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act on October 27, 2026, giving federal firearms licensees the legal authority to voluntarily run NICS background checks on employees and contractors who handle firearms or ammunition. The rule takes effect November 27, 2026.

Before the rule, ATF regulations expressly prohibited FFLs from using the NICS system for any employment purpose. The new regulation opens that door for the first time: an FFL may submit a Firearm Handler Check for any current or prospective employee or contractor who, in the ordinary course of employment, handles firearms or ammunition on the licensee's premises. The check requires the subject's informed, written consent before it can be submitted, and the FBI charges no fee. An FFL may run one check per eligible employee every 12 months.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation championed the Firearm Handler Check provision when Congress drafted the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022 and had been pressing for the implementing regulation since the law was signed. In a statement on the final rule, NSSF called the new authority a long-sought tool that lets dealers and manufacturers screen the people they trust with inventory and ensure the firearms community is policing itself from within. The rule does not preempt state and local laws that already mandate some form of employee background screening for FFL staff.

A few limits apply. The Firearm Handler Check cannot be run on any individual already listed as a responsible person on the FFL itself, since those individuals are covered by the existing licensing framework. The final rule also excludes back-office employees who have no regular access to firearms or ammunition. ATF has proposed complementary changes to Form 4473, including a new consent certification block, but those amendments have not yet been finalized.

Compliance consultants are already preparing guidance for FFLs on who falls within the rule's three-category eligible employee definition before the November 27 effective date. NSSF has indicated it will publish a member advisory covering enrollment procedures and record-keeping requirements ahead of the deadline.