The National Crime Information Center is the FBI’s nationwide electronic database of criminal justice records, used by more than 90,000 law enforcement and criminal justice agencies to share information about wanted people, missing persons, stolen property, protection orders, and other flags in real time.1Federal Bureau of Investigation. NCIC Turns 50 It is run by the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division in Clarksburg, West Virginia, and has operated since January 1967.2Federal Bureau of Investigation. Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) When an officer runs your name or your license plate during a traffic stop, this is the system the query hits.
What Records the System Holds
NCIC records fall into two broad categories: person files and property files. Each entry is submitted by the originating agency, which is also responsible for keeping it current.
Person Files
The person files include people with active federal, state, or local warrants; missing persons of any age; unidentified human remains and living people who cannot identify themselves; confirmed violent gang members; known or suspected terrorists entered through the federal Terrorist Screening Center; active protection orders; registered sex offenders; certain immigration violators entered by ICE; individuals on supervised release, probation, or parole where the terms warrant a flag; and identity theft victims who ask to have their information flagged so officers can distinguish them from someone using their stolen identity.3Federation of American Scientists. National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
Retention varies by file. Wanted person records stay in the system indefinitely until the originating agency clears them, though temporary felony wants are automatically purged after 48 hours.3Federation of American Scientists. National Crime Information Center (NCIC) As of December 31, 2024, the missing person file held 93,447 active records and the unidentified person file held 8,546.4Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2024 NCIC Missing and Unidentified Person Statistics
Property Files
Property files catalog stolen or otherwise flagged items. Unrecovered stolen vehicles with a VIN stay in the system for the year of entry plus four years, while vehicles without a VIN are purged after 90 days. Unrecovered stolen firearms remain indefinitely until the originating agency clears them; recovered weapons stay for the year of entry plus two. Stolen license plates remain for one year after the plate’s expiration date. Boats with a hull serial number are kept for the year of entry plus four, and without one, for 90 days. Stolen or counterfeited securities stay for the year of entry plus four; traveler’s checks and money orders, for the year of entry plus two. Other stolen articles are kept for the balance of the year entered plus one year.3Federation of American Scientists. National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
Items with unique serial numbers stay in the system longer because they can be matched reliably. Items described only by general characteristics get purged quickly because stale descriptions produce false hits.
Who Can Query the Database
Access is restricted to criminal justice agencies performing functions like policing, prosecution, corrections, and court administration. Every agency must sign a formal agreement with its state’s CJIS Systems Agency and follow the CJIS Security Policy, and every person who touches the system must pass a fingerprint-based background check before receiving credentials.5eCFR. 28 CFR Part 20 – Criminal Justice Information Systems
Non-criminal justice agencies can get limited access only when a specific federal or state statute authorizes it, typically for background screening in regulated industries. Private contractors can handle criminal justice data only under a written agreement with a criminal justice agency that includes a security addendum approved by the Attorney General.5eCFR. 28 CFR Part 20 – Criminal Justice Information Systems
Private Employers and Landlords Cannot Search NCIC
This is a common misconception. Private employers, landlords, and other non-government entities have no direct access to NCIC. The commercial “background check” a landlord or employer runs uses separate consumer reporting databases and public court records. Federal regulations limit NCIC access to authorized officers and employees of criminal justice agencies, plus designated personnel essential to operating the system, and any agency that violates the dissemination rules faces cancellation of its access.5eCFR. 28 CFR Part 20 – Criminal Justice Information Systems
What Happens When an Officer Gets a Hit
When a query produces a match, the system calls it a “hit.” A hit by itself is not enough to arrest you or seize your property. Before acting, the officer’s agency must contact the originating agency to confirm the record is still valid.
The FBI requires that confirmation on set timelines. An urgent hit, where the officer needs probable cause immediately for an arrest, must be confirmed within ten minutes. Routine hits, where the subject is already detained on local charges or property has been recovered without a suspect present, must be confirmed within one hour.6U.S. Department of Justice. Fact Sheet 24×7 Hit Confirmation Requirements
This step exists because records sometimes linger after their basis has expired. A warrant may have been recalled, a stolen vehicle found, a missing person located. Acting on a stale record can mean wrongful detention, so originating agencies are expected to staff their communications centers around the clock to handle confirmation requests.
Data quality is enforced through federal regulation. Under 28 CFR Part 20, criminal history records must be both complete and accurate: any arrest record available for dissemination must include disposition information within 90 days of the disposition, and when material inaccuracies are found, the agency must notify every other agency known to have received the flawed data.7eCFR. 28 CFR 20.21 – Preparation and Submission of a Criminal History Record Information Plan The FBI audits state and local agencies every three years for compliance.8FBI.gov. Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Security Policy
NCIC and Firearm Background Checks
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System is a separate system from NCIC, but it draws on NCIC data. Under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, licensed firearm dealers must run a NICS check before transferring a firearm to an unlicensed buyer.9Federal Bureau of Investigation. About NICS Most checks return an immediate “proceed” or “denied.” When the system can’t make an instant call, the case goes into delayed status for review.
If the FBI cannot complete its review within three business days, the dealer is legally permitted to go ahead with the sale. The Brady Act allows the transfer after three business days even without a final determination.9Federal Bureau of Investigation. About NICS The dealer isn’t required to complete the sale at that point, but federal law doesn’t prohibit it either. This is known as the “default proceed” provision.
Categories That Trigger a Denial
Federal law prohibits several categories of people from purchasing or possessing firearms, and a NICS check screens against all of them:
- Anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment.
- Fugitives with outstanding warrants, which appear directly in NCIC’s wanted person file.
- Unlawful users of, or people addicted to, controlled substances.
- Individuals formally adjudicated as mentally defective or involuntarily committed to a mental institution by a court or other lawful authority.
- People subject to qualifying domestic violence protection orders, or convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
- Anyone discharged from the armed forces under dishonorable conditions.
- Former U.S. citizens who have formally renounced citizenship.
- Certain noncitizens, including those unlawfully present in the United States or admitted on a nonimmigrant visa, with limited exceptions.
The mental health category is narrower than many people assume. A voluntary admission to a psychiatric facility does not disqualify someone, and neither does a medical finding of disability without a hearing. Only a formal adjudication by a court, board, or commission, finding the person a danger to themselves or others or lacking the mental capacity to manage their own affairs, triggers the prohibition. If that adjudication is later set aside, the prohibition lifts and the record should be removed from NICS.
How to See and Correct Your Own Record
You have the right to see what the FBI has on file about you. Under Department of Justice Order 556-73, the FBI must release copies of identification records to the subjects of those records upon a written request, proof of identity, and payment of a processing fee.11Federal Bureau of Investigation. U.S. Department of Justice Order 556-73 The underlying authority is 28 U.S.C. § 534, which governs the FBI’s collection and exchange of criminal identification records.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 534
Requesting Your Identity History Summary
To get your record, submit a request for an Identity History Summary to the FBI’s CJIS Division. It requires a completed application, a set of fingerprints for identity verification, and an $18 processing fee.13Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions The fingerprints are what prevent someone else from pulling your record. Local law enforcement agencies and private fingerprinting services can take your prints; the fee for that service varies by location and provider, on top of the FBI’s $18.
Challenging an Inaccurate Record
If your Identity History Summary is wrong or incomplete, you can challenge it at no cost. Identify the information you believe is wrong and include supporting documentation, such as court dispositions showing a charge was dismissed or reduced. Send the challenge to identity@fbi.gov or call 304-625-5590. The FBI processes challenges in the order received, with an average response time of about 45 days.13Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions The most direct route to a correction is to contact the agency that originally submitted the data. That agency reviews its own records and forwards updates or deletions to the FBI. If you can’t reach the originating agency, the FBI will coordinate with the relevant authorities on your behalf.
Expungement Doesn’t Update the Federal Record Automatically
Getting a state court to expunge or seal your record doesn’t automatically remove it from the FBI’s system. The FBI cannot delete a record without a request from the State Identification Bureau or the authorized agency that originally contributed the data. If a state court grants you an expungement and nobody notifies the FBI, your record will keep appearing on Identity History Summary checks. People are tripped up by this constantly: they win an expungement, assume they’re clear, and then get flagged months later because the federal record was never updated.
If that happens, you can challenge the record directly with the FBI. For state-level expungements, the FBI directs you to your state’s identification bureau, since expungement laws and procedures differ by state. For federal arrest data, removal requires either a request from the submitting agency or a federal court order that specifically directs expungement.13Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions After any expungement, follow up to confirm the record has actually been removed from both state and federal databases.
Penalties When Someone Misuses the System
Running an NCIC query without an authorized law enforcement purpose is a serious offense, even for an officer with valid credentials. Looking up an ex-partner, checking a neighbor, or running a personal name for curiosity is improper regardless of the user’s authority for official queries. The CJIS Security Policy states that improper access, use, or dissemination of criminal history and NCIC data can result in administrative sanctions up to termination of the agency’s access to the system, and users can be required to justify any query when asked.8FBI.gov. Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Security Policy
Federal criminal exposure exists too. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1030, unauthorized access to a protected government computer system, which includes terminals connected to NCIC, carries penalties of up to one year in prison for basic unauthorized access, up to five years when the access is for personal gain or in furtherance of another crime, and up to ten years for repeat offenders.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1030 – Fraud and Related Activity in Connection With Computers Agencies periodically audit query logs, and officers have been fired and prosecuted for this kind of misuse.