[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 92 (Wednesday, May 13, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27082-27085]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-09522]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
[CPCLO Order No. 005-2026]
Privacy Act of 1974; Systems of Records
AGENCY: Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Department of
Justice.
[[Page 27083]]
ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 and Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-108, notice is hereby given that the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a component within the United
States Department of Justice (DOJ or Department), proposes to modify a
system of records notice titled National Crime Information Center
(NCIC), JUSTICE/FBI-001, 84 FR 47533 (Sep. 10, 2019). The NCIC serves
as a central information repository to assist criminal justice
professionals in apprehending fugitives, locating missing persons,
recovering stolen property, and identifying known or suspected
terrorists. Law enforcement officers also use the information within
the NCIC to help protect the general public and themselves when
carrying out their official duties. This system of records notice is
being updated to better inform the public about the types of
information within the NCIC and the uses of this information to further
criminal justice purposes.
DATES: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (11), this notice is
effective upon publication, subject to a 30-day period in which to
comment on the routine uses, described below. Therefore, please submit
any comments by June 12, 2026.
ADDRESSES: The public, OMB, and Congress are invited to submit any
comments: by mail to the United States Department of Justice, Office of
Privacy and Civil Liberties, ATTN: Privacy Analyst, National Place
Building, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC
20530; by facsimile at 202-307-0693; or by email at
[email protected]. To ensure proper handling, please
reference the above CPCLO Order No. on your correspondence.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine M. Bond, Assistant General
Counsel, Privacy and Civil Liberties Unit, Office of the General
Counsel, FBI, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20535-0001;
telephone 202-324-3000.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FBI has revised this system of records
notice to update information about this system. Established in 1967,
the NCIC is a national criminal justice information system linking
criminal (and authorized non-criminal) justice agencies located in the
50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and possessions,
as well as selected foreign countries to facilitate the cooperative
sharing of criminal justice information. See 28 CFR. Sections 20.3(b) &
(g) for definitions of ``administration of criminal justice'' and
``criminal justice agency.'' The NCIC provides a system to receive and
maintain information contributed by participating agencies relating to
criminal justice and national security missions. Information maintained
in the NCIC is readily accessible for authorized purposes by authorized
users via text-based queries (i.e., using names and other descriptive
data). The purposes of maintaining records in the NCIC include
combatting acts of terrorism; apprehending fugitives; solving crimes;
locating missing persons; locating and returning stolen property;
protecting individuals during declared emergency situations; protecting
victims of domestic violence; monitoring registered sex offenders;
conducting firearms, licensee, and explosive background checks; and
enhancing the safety of law enforcement officers.
This Notice modifies the previous publication of the NCIC System of
Records Notice to (1) include new categories of records and
individuals, (2) update routine uses, and (3) update the system
location and the policies and practice for storage of records.
Since the September 10, 2019, publication of notice of this System
of Records, 84 FR 47533, criminal justice agencies have requested that
additional information be included in the NCIC to meet their needs. In
recent years, mass shootings and other types of gun violence have
prompted states to enact legislation attempting to prevent gun
tragedies before they occur. Many states have passed ``red flag'' laws
which permit law enforcement or family members to petition state courts
to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person based on the
belief they may present a danger to themselves or others. Many states
have identified these orders as Extreme Risk Protection Orders. At the
request of the law enforcement community, the FBI established the
Extreme Risk Protection Order File within the NCIC to facilitate the
nationwide sharing of such orders for officer and public safety
purposes. The FBI is updating the category of individuals and category
of records sections in this System of Records Notice to provide greater
transparency that, in addition to individuals named in traditional
protection orders, the NCIC also contains information about individuals
named in extreme risk protection and similar type orders.
In addition, the FBI is updating the description of individuals in
category of individuals ``A(3)'' to expand the category of Temporary
Wants to include individuals subject to temporary wants for misdemeanor
crimes of violence. The NCIC Wanted Person File was established in 1967
as part of the original NCIC. As initially implemented, the NCIC
included the ability to enter temporary felony want records in the
Wanted Person File. The FBI has updated the policy regarding the types
of records that may be entered into the Wanted Person File many times
throughout the years. However, when the FBI modified NCIC policy to
allow the entry of all misdemeanor warrants into the Wanted Person
File, the corresponding policy restricting temporary wants to felony
crimes was not modified to include misdemeanor crimes of violence.
Therefore, current policy restricts temporary wants to felony crimes.
The law enforcement community has expressed concerns that the absence
of temporary want records for misdemeanor crimes of violence in the
NCIC creates a gap which could ultimately endanger lives. Consequently,
at the request of the law enforcement community, the FBI has modified
the policy for the NCIC Wanted Person File to include the entry of
temporary wants for misdemeanor crimes of violence.
The FBI is also modifying the description of individuals in
category of individuals ``P'' to clarify that any individual for whom
the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) records a
``denied'' response may be included in the NICS Denied Transaction File
within the NCIC.
The FBI is revising the description of the individuals in category
of individuals ``R'' to remove ``FBI.'' Criminal justice agencies at
all levels of government (e.g., federal, state, local, tribal,
territorial) use the NCIC to assist with their investigative efforts.
Consequently, to support criminal justice agencies' investigative
efforts, the FBI is expanding the language of category of individuals
``R'' to provide clarity that NCIC may contain information about any
individual named in active investigations by authorized NCIC users.
This System of Records Notice also updates the routine uses for the
information contained within the NCIC. Specifically, the FBI is
updating the routine uses to reflect the change to 28 U.S.C. 534 that
permits individuals licensed as an importer, manufacturer, or dealer of
firearms to receive NCIC information when necessary to verify whether a
firearm offered for sale to such licensee has been stolen. This routine
use applies only to information from the NCIC Gun File.
[[Page 27084]]
In addition, the FBI is adding a routine use to account for
providing missing and unidentified person information to the National
Institute of Justice and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons
System (NamUs), as required by Public Law 117-327, for the purposes of
case validation and data reconciliation with the NamUs system, which
serves as a national information clearinghouse and resource center for
missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases across the United
States.
Finally, this modified System of Record Notice updates the system
location and policies and practice for storage of records sections to
reflect the transition of the NCIC to a FedRAMP approved cloud
environment, updates the language in categories of records ``Q'' to
reflect a name change to the Known or Suspected Terrorist File, and
updates the language of categories of records ``AA'' to provide more
precise notice about the NCIC transaction log.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), the Department has provided a
report to OMB and Congress on this notice of a modified system of
records.
Dated: May 7, 2026.
Peter A. Winn,
Chief Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer, United States Department of
Justice.
Justice/FBI-001
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
National Crime Information Center (NCIC), JUSTICE/FBI-001
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20535-0001; 202-324-3000.
* * * * *
SYSTEM LOCATION:
[Delete existing paragraph and replace with the following:]
Records may be maintained in secure cloud computing environments.
The cloud computing service provider on the date of this publication is
Amazon Web Services, located at 12900 Worldgate Drive, Herndon, VA
20170. Cloud computing service providers may change. For information
about the current cloud computing service provider, please contact the
Unit Chief, Privacy and Civil Liberties Unit, Office of the General
Counsel, FBI, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20535-0001;
telephone 202-324-3000. Records may also be maintained at all locations
at which the FBI operates or at which FBI operations are supported,
including: J. Edgar Hoover Building, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20535-0001; FBI Academy and FBI Laboratory, Quantico, VA
22135; FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division, 1000
Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, WV 26306; FBI Information Management
Division, 170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843; and FBI field
offices, legal attaches, information technology centers, and other
components listed on the FBI's website, https://www.fbi.gov. Some or
all system information may also be duplicated at other locations where
the FBI has granted direct access for support of FBI missions, for
purposes of system backup, emergency preparedness, and/or continuity of
operations.
* * * * *
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
* * * * *
[Delete existing paragraph A(3) and replace with the following:]
Individuals for whom a ``Temporary Want'' has been entered.
Temporary want records allow a law enforcement agency to take prompt
action to apprehend a person suspected of committing a felony or
violent misdemeanor when circumstances prevent the agency from
immediately obtaining a warrant. Procedural safeguards for these
Temporary Wants include that they may only be entered in NCIC for the
apprehension of a person who has committed, or the officer has
reasonable grounds to believe has committed, a felony or violent
misdemeanor; the person may seek refuge by fleeing across
jurisdictional boundaries; and (as noted) circumstances preclude the
immediate procurement of an arrest warrant. A Temporary Want shall be
specifically identified as such and automatically expires 48 hours
after entry.
* * * * *
[Delete existing paragraph P and replace with the following:]
Individuals who have been denied as a result of a National Instant
Criminal Background Check System (NICS) check.
* * * * *
[Delete existing paragraph R and replace with the following:]
Individuals associated with active investigations such as suspects,
subjects of interest, witnesses, or victims.
* * * * *
[Add the following paragraph]
Y. Individuals subject to orders issued by a criminal or civil
court temporarily restricting an individual from purchasing or
possessing a firearm, ammunition, or other related items, based on a
finding that they may pose a significant danger of personal injury to
themselves or others, and individuals petitioning for such orders.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
* * * * *
[Delete existing paragraph ``Q'' and replace with the following:]
Threat Screening Center File: Described in ``Categories of
Individuals Covered by the System: I, J, and K.''
* * * * *
[Delete existing paragraph ``AA'' and replace with the following:]
Transaction Log: All transactions that enter, update, query,
access, clear, or cancel the records described above; rejected
transactions; and system administrative messages. The Transaction Log
now maintains the transaction history for the life of the system;
however, the transaction history prior to 1990 was maintained for 10
years. Transaction logs may contain information regarding all
``Categories of Individuals.'' Search criteria from queries initiated
by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS),
JUSTICE/FBI-018 for background checks, are not logged.
[Add the following paragraph]
BB. Extreme Risk Protection Order File: Described in ``Categories
of Individuals Covered by the System: Y.''
* * * * *
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSE OF SUCH USES:
* * * * *
[Add the following paragraphs]
SS. To the National Institute of Justice (or any successor agency)
or its designee administering the National Missing and Unidentified
Persons (NamUs) program for the purpose of reviewing missing and
unidentified person records in NCIC for case validation and NamUs data
reconciliation, and to the NamUs system (or any successor system) for
the purpose of, among other uses, serving as a national information
clearinghouse and resource center for missing, unidentified, and
unclaimed person cases across the United States. This routine use
applies only to records in the Missing Persons File and the
Unidentified Persons File.
TT. To a person licensed as an importer, manufacturer, or dealer of
firearms when necessary to verify whether a firearm offered for sale to
such licensee has been stolen. This routine use applies only to
information in the NCIC Gun File.
[[Page 27085]]
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
[Delete existing paragraph and replace with the following:]
Computerized records are stored electronically in a government
approved cloud computing infrastructure (e.g., FedRAMP approved)
offered by a cloud service provider (e.g., Amazon Web Services), on
hard disk, removable storage devices, or other digital media. Some
information may be retained in hard copy format and stored in
individual file folders and file cabinets with controlled access, and/
or other appropriate GSA-approved security containers.
* * * * *
HISTORY:
National Crime Information Center (NCIC), JUSTICE/FBI-001, 84 FR
47533 (Sep. 10, 2019).
[FR Doc. 2026-09522 Filed 5-12-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-02-P