Minnesota residents with a permit to carry may now purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer without the normally required background check, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced Friday.

The ATF has determined that the state’s requirement for getting a permit to carry complies with the background check requirements under federal law for purchasing a firearm.

Any carry permits with expiration dates of Aug. 1, 2019, or later now qualify as alternatives to the usual FBI instant background checks.

ATF Assistant Director Marvin Richardson wrote a letter to all state federal firearms licensees to announce the change.

In the letter, Richardson said the new change, however, does not apply to the Minnesota permit to purchase.

As of March 1, the total number of valid permits in Minnesota was 265,728, the highest total ever reported in the annual release from the Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Roughly one year ago, that total was 217,909.

KAREN ZAMORA