New AIM Act Eliminates 24-Hour NICS Record Destruction Rule, Centralizes Gun Data, and Lowers Standard for Dealer Revocations

The ATF Improvement and Modernization Act of 2025 (AIM Act) is essentially a legislative cleanup effort that strips away decades of restrictions placed on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The bill’s main purpose is to give the ATF far greater authority to collect, retain, analyze, and use firearms-related data, while simultaneously increasing their power to regulate and revoke the licenses of Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs).

The End of the 24-Hour Rule: Permanent Background Check Records

One of the biggest shifts in this bill happens in Section 5, which eliminates the requirement that records from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) be destroyed within 24 hours. For years, this requirement was a privacy safeguard, ensuring that the government didn't keep a permanent list of who bought what gun and when. By removing this destruction mandate across several past appropriations acts (dating back to 2004), the AIM Act effectively allows the ATF to retain NICS background check records indefinitely. For the average person who legally buys a firearm, this means the government now has the ability to maintain a permanent, searchable record of their transaction, raising serious concerns about the creation of a de facto national gun registry.

Centralizing Data and Broadening Investigations

Sections 2, 3, and 9 dramatically expand the ATF’s access to and use of firearms data. Section 3 removes the prohibition against the Department of Justice consolidating or centralizing the firearms acquisition and disposition records maintained by FFLs. Think of it like taking millions of paper records from gun stores across the country and putting them into one massive, searchable digital database. On top of that, Section 9 allows the ATF to electronically search computerized records from defunct gun dealers using a person's name or personal identification code—something previously prohibited. Section 2 further removes the legislative ban on the ATF drawing “broad conclusions about firearms-related crime” from trace data. These changes collectively mean the ATF can now access, link, and analyze data on gun transactions and ownership on a scale never before permitted, directly impacting the privacy expectations of every legal gun owner.

Lowering the Bar for Dealer Revocation

If you’re an FFL—a gun store owner, for example—Sections 12 and 13 are the provisions that will keep you up at night. Section 12 changes the standard for revoking an FFL from a “willful” violation to a “knowing” violation. In legal terms, “willful” means you deliberately broke the law; “knowing” just means you were aware of the action that constituted the violation, even if you didn't intend to break the rule. This is a massive shift that makes it significantly easier for the ATF to revoke a license over technical or administrative errors. To make matters worse for dealers, Section 13 limits judicial review of these revocation decisions. It removes the requirement for de novo review—a fresh look at the facts by a judge—and restricts the court to considering only the evidence previously submitted to the ATF. This means if the ATF makes a mistake or overreaches, the dealer’s ability to successfully appeal that decision in court is severely restricted, reducing oversight and protection against administrative error.

More Checks and Fewer Business Protections

The bill also tightens the regulatory screws on dealers in other ways. Section 11 removes the limit on how often the ATF can inspect an FFL’s inventory and records solely for record-keeping compliance. While increased compliance checks might sound good, for a small business owner, it means more time spent dealing with federal agents and less time running their store. Furthermore, Section 8 removes the prohibition against denying an FFL application solely because the applicant lacks a specific business activity. Previously, this rule protected hobbyists and small-scale dealers; removing it gives the ATF new grounds to deny licenses, potentially making it harder for new or smaller FFLs to enter or remain in the market.