TRENTON, N.J. — On July 20, the New Jersey State Police Firearms Investigation Unit sent a memo to New Jersey FFLs announcing a 200% increase in the NICS portal administration fee (from $2 to $6) to support “system enhancements” that will include a new portal for dealers and instructors, yet with no definitive rollout date for the portal (the fee became effective the week of August 17).
The state framed the initiative as an effort to “improve overall efficiency, reduce processing times, and provide dealers with faster turnaround on approved transactions,” adding that “a NICS fee increase is anticipated to help support the implementation and ongoing operation of the upgraded system.”
Dealers not only see little benefit, they observe increased confusion and financial burdens. Gregory Mazloom, owner of Hawkeye Firearms in Wayne, told News2A:
I see no reason for the changes to the portal. I also see no need for the portal at all. Dealers could use the standard method used by almost all other states to provide NICS checks and save people time and money. We only need the portal for Ammo registration fees and pistol permit executions – which are both not needed and do absolutely nothing to increase public safety. I see no additional assistance with the fee increases, only more regulation, confusion, and problems for law abiding gun owners only.
The increased NICS fee became effective earlier this week, a surprise to many. The fee is set by the Superintendent of the Division of State Police under the authority of the attorney general’s office. The cost for New Jersey residents to exercise their Second Amendment rights continues to rise, even as the state takes losses in court on key 2A issues, a wry fact observed by many dealers and gun owners in the state.
The FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) is free, with the agency providing full services to FFLs in 31 states, five territories and the District of Columbia (also known as non-Point-of-Contact states). Fifteen states, including New Jersey, are categorized as full Point-of-Contact states, conducting their own background checks through the state police, which queries its own database as well as the federal NICS database.
For the benefit of this redundant service, which the federal government provides for free, New Jersey charges gun dealers (who almost always pass the fee back to customers). Put another way, the state built a redundant system with inherent delays and charges gun owners for its use, and has now increased those charges with the vague promise of a new system at some unknown future point.
The announcement is peculiar given that the state has embraced fully digital applications for all firearms-related permits, and in many cases shifted the administrative burden to dealers who, for example, enter point-of-sale information for handguns in the state’s system and also electronically log ammunition purchases (which must be reported to the state), paying a fee to do so.
On the condition of anonymity, one FFL told News2A that the New Jersey State Police Firearms Unit has been “very helpful in ensuring we are compliant with the law, but working with the AG’s office is a different story.” The FFL’s owner noted in particular the AG’s undercover agents who attempt to make purchases to catch shops in illicit activity.
While it didn’t occur under this AG’s tenure, our publication reported in 2024 on then-AG Matthew Platkin’s attack on two FFLs for lawful ammo purchases to undercover agents, suing the FFLs under the state’s public nuisance law (rather than bringing criminal charges). The state later settled the suit with at least one FFL by imposing a fine, again, with no allegation of criminal wrongdoing.
New Jersey gun owners are drowning in fees, including:
- Firearms ID card application: Increased from $5 to $50 in 2022
- Pistol purchase permit application: Increased from $2 to $25 in 2022
- Permit to carry: Increased from $20 to $200 in 2022
- Dealer-facing NICS fee for long guns: Increased from $15 to $19 in 2026
- Dealer-facing NICS fee for handguns: Increased from $16 to $20 in 2026
- Convenience fee for using E-Permit system: $1 per transaction
- Ammunition point of sale fee: $1.50 – $5.00 per transaction
In 2025, then-Governor Phil Murphy sought to even further increase the costs of some of the permits in his 2025 proposed budget, a measure that would have doubled FID cards to $100, purchase permits to $50, and concealed carry permits to $400.
A 2024 lawsuit called Benton v. Platkin challenged many elements of New Jersey’s permitting scheme, including redundant background checks, delayed issuance, and the state’s one gun per month policy. In 2024, that suit was consolidated into another related case (Struck), and in June of 2026, the NRA joined as a plaintiff. With discovery over, a request for summary judgment is expected as the next step.
This publication asked the attorney general’s office for comment on the increased NICS portal fee but received no response.
The state framed the initiative as an effort to “improve overall efficiency, reduce processing times, and provide dealers with faster turnaround on approved transactions,”
😂😂😂
Ah yes. The new liberal name for taxes, Fee.
You know what would have been a useful piece of information in this article? The actual charge for the NICS portal fee, before and after. “200% increase” isn’t sufficient information.