NICS Delay Status

emt0229 · December 3, 2010, 11:51 AM

So here is the deal. I ordered a long gun off of a website and they ship it to their physical store free of charge for ya. I did the EXACT same thing three weeks ago and filled out my yellow and about an hour and a half later, I took my gun home.

So I ordered another gun of their website, I went in to do the check and I got a Delayed Status. What would cause that? I've NEVER had anything like this before. What is a Delay status and why did it happen to me. I have a pretty common name (most common in the US) but like I said, I've never had a problem before. I am in the process of a divorce but, I was in the process of divorce last time I bought a gun and everything was fine...I was approved within 5 minutes after waiting in que.

Can anyone shed any light on the subject?

vranasaurus · December 3, 2010, 02:58 PM

Did your soon to be ex get a restraining or no contact order against you? If so you would be prohibited from purchasing a firearm while the order is in effect.

If such an order were in effect it could cause a delay so that the NICS could look at it to determine if it was in fact a disqualifying order.

emt0229 · December 3, 2010, 03:47 PM

Na nothing like that happened. It's been a pretty easy divorce thus far; being that she split town and I was the one that filed the divorce and all. Like I said, I bought a long gun three weeks ago and never had a problem. Besides waiting in que for about two hrs, my check was over and done with within five minutes.

divil · December 3, 2010, 04:20 PM

Did you supply your ssn on the form? If not, maybe someone with your name was recently entered into the database as a prohibited person, some time in the last few weeks.

Also,

Quote:

What is a Delay status

It means they want more time to investigate you - it does not mean you will be denied - it could go either way, but you will more than likely be approved within a few days. If the dealer does not hear back from NICS within 3 days, they can go ahead with the transfer, at their discretion.

aceflyer001 · December 3, 2010, 04:38 PM

I was delayed by a few minutes when purchasing my XD recently. I've been told this can mean really nothing at all. They could be busy, someone who matches close enough to dig further did some bad things, or the sky was purple that day instead of blue. A delay, followed by a proceed really doesn't mean anything really. Just that someone needs to make sure they have the right information.

After looking into it more, it also seems that if you have an open FBI investigation, (background check, security clearance investigation, concealed carry permit, etc) it will flag you for a delay. For me, I have an open investigation for a security clearance at work, so I was delayed a bit. No biggie, just a minor inconvenience. The person who initially answers the call from the FFL has no access to determine why there is an open file, so they get a delay and transfer it to someone who can find out. The length of the delay is determined by how quickly they can find out why you were flagged in the first place. In my case, it was minutes while the FFL was on the phone. If it's a weekend, it might take longer if they need to contact a local LE agency to verify.

emt0229 · December 3, 2010, 06:23 PM

Yeah, I've always used my SSN when doing the yellow. I suppose it's just a little frustrating. I was planning on taking this thing plinking this weekend. They guy at the shop told me that the system did go down earlier that day; maybe that has something to do with it. I dunno...I'll keep you posted.

December 3, 2010, 11:51 AM	#1
emt0229 Junior Member Join Date: September 23, 2010 Posts: 12	NICS Delay Status So here is the deal. I ordered a long gun off of a website and they ship it to their physical store free of charge for ya. I did the EXACT same thing three weeks ago and filled out my yellow and about an hour and a half later, I took my gun home. So I ordered another gun of their website, I went in to do the check and I got a Delayed Status. What would cause that? I've NEVER had anything like this before. What is a Delay status and why did it happen to me. I have a pretty common name (most common in the US) but like I said, I've never had a problem before. I am in the process of a divorce but, I was in the process of divorce last time I bought a gun and everything was fine...I was approved within 5 minutes after waiting in que. Can anyone shed any light on the subject?

December 3, 2010, 02:58 PM	#2
vranasaurus Senior Member Join Date: November 16, 2008 Posts: 1,184	Did your soon to be ex get a restraining or no contact order against you? If so you would be prohibited from purchasing a firearm while the order is in effect. If such an order were in effect it could cause a delay so that the NICS could look at it to determine if it was in fact a disqualifying order.

December 3, 2010, 03:47 PM	#3
emt0229 Junior Member Join Date: September 23, 2010 Posts: 12	Na nothing like that happened. It's been a pretty easy divorce thus far; being that she split town and I was the one that filed the divorce and all. Like I said, I bought a long gun three weeks ago and never had a problem. Besides waiting in que for about two hrs, my check was over and done with within five minutes.

December 3, 2010, 04:38 PM	#5
aceflyer001 Junior Member Join Date: December 3, 2010 Location: Owasso, OK Posts: 1	I was delayed by a few minutes when purchasing my XD recently. I've been told this can mean really nothing at all. They could be busy, someone who matches close enough to dig further did some bad things, or the sky was purple that day instead of blue. A delay, followed by a proceed really doesn't mean anything really. Just that someone needs to make sure they have the right information. After looking into it more, it also seems that if you have an open FBI investigation, (background check, security clearance investigation, concealed carry permit, etc) it will flag you for a delay. For me, I have an open investigation for a security clearance at work, so I was delayed a bit. No biggie, just a minor inconvenience. The person who initially answers the call from the FFL has no access to determine why there is an open file, so they get a delay and transfer it to someone who can find out. The length of the delay is determined by how quickly they can find out why you were flagged in the first place. In my case, it was minutes while the FFL was on the phone. If it's a weekend, it might take longer if they need to contact a local LE agency to verify.

December 3, 2010, 06:23 PM	#6
emt0229 Junior Member Join Date: September 23, 2010 Posts: 12	Yeah, I've always used my SSN when doing the yellow. I suppose it's just a little frustrating. I was planning on taking this thing plinking this weekend. They guy at the shop told me that the system did go down earlier that day; maybe that has something to do with it. I dunno...I'll keep you posted.