2020 Sets Record for FBI Background Checks

As of Nov. 2, 2020, the FBI has conducted more background checks in 2020 than in any other year since 1998 when the agency began collecting data. The FBI reported 16.5 million background checks in the first 10 months of 2020, beating the prior record of 14.9 million checks in 2016, and up significantly from 2019 in which 12.3 million checks were performed.