“FDLE cannot represent that this information is current, active, or complete. For example, the Florida Crime Information Center maintains a website where an individual can search by serial number for many stolen or lost items, including cars, boats, personal property, and of course, firearms. Some states are exploring or attempting to build a state database of lost or stolen firearms that is searchable by the public, online. While there have been attempts at creating private searchable internet databases where individuals self-report their lost or stolen guns, these usually contain only a fraction of the number of actual stolen guns, and the information is not verifiable. Unfortunately for purchasers in private sales, only law enforcement agencies are allowed to request a gun serial number check or search of the lost and stolen gun database. These reported firearms are entered into a gun database maintained by the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (“NCIC”). In fact, if a gun is lost or stolen from an FFL, the law requires the FFL to report the missing firearm to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (“ATF”). When a firearm is lost or stolen, the owner should immediately report it to the police.
