Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Massachusetts Firearms Licensing: Overview
Updated
Massachusetts Firearms Licensing: Overview
Massachusetts licenses firearms at two levels. One credential covers rifles and shotguns that are neither large capacity nor semi-automatic, including carrying them. A separate credential covers everything else: any handgun, and any large capacity or semi-automatic firearm. That split does not track handgun against long gun. "Firearm" is a defined term in MGL c. 140, § 121, and it includes rifles and shotguns, so a semi-automatic rifle sits on the carry-license side of the line. The licensing rules sit in MGL c. 140. The penalties for going without a license sit in MGL c. 269, § 10.
The structure changed in 2024. Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024, "An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws," struck MGL c. 140, § 131 outright and inserted a replacement at SECTION 49 of the act. The same act created MGL c. 140, § 121F, a consolidated section that now carries the eligibility rules, the denial framework, and the appeal route for licenses, cards, and permits issued under §§ 122, 122B, 122D, 129B, 131, and 131F. It does not reach the § 131A permit to purchase, rent, or lease a firearm, which a licensing authority under § 131 may grant to a person qualified to be granted a license by that authority if it appears the purchase, rental, or lease is for a proper purpose, and may revoke at will. Any description of Massachusetts licensing should be checked against that restructure, because the substantive eligibility test no longer lives in § 131. Current § 131 runs only to subsection (h).
Who Issues the License
The decision-maker is local. MGL c. 140, § 121 defines "Licensing authority" as "the chief of police or the board or officer having control of the police in a city or town, or persons authorized by them," and provides that if no such chief or officer exists, the colonel of the state police or their designee acts as the licensing authority.
An applicant therefore applies to the police department of the city or town where the applicant resides, not to a statewide licensing agency. Under § 131(d), a lawful resident 21 years of age or older residing within the jurisdiction of the licensing authority may apply, as may a law enforcement officer employed by that licensing authority and a person residing in an area of exclusive federal jurisdiction within a city or town. The colonel of the state police runs the record check and certifies the result, and the department of criminal justice information services maintains the electronic firearms registration system and the standard forms.
Two Credentials: FID and LTC
Firearm Identification card (FID), MGL c. 140, § 129B. Under § 129B(c), an FID entitles the holder to purchase, transfer, possess, and carry rifles and shotguns that are not large capacity or semi-automatic, and the ammunition for them. It does not entitle the holder to transfer, possess, or carry any other firearm, including any large capacity firearm and any large capacity or semiautomatic rifle or shotgun, except under the direct supervision of a holder of a license to carry at an incorporated shooting club or a licensed shooting range.
The FID reaches younger applicants. Under § 129B(a), a lawful resident 18 or older may apply. A person aged 15 or older but under 18 may be issued a card only on meeting the requirements of § 121F and submitting a certificate of a parent or guardian granting permission. A 14-year-old may apply but is not issued the card until reaching 15.
License to Carry (LTC), MGL c. 140, § 131. Under § 131(a), an LTC entitles the holder to purchase, rent, lease, borrow, possess, and carry firearms, including large capacity firearms and the ammunition for them. It does not entitle the holder to transfer, possess, or carry large capacity feeding devices or assault-style firearms unless MGL c. 140, § 131M permits it. Section 131(c) adds that an LTC is valid to own, possess, purchase, and transfer rifles and shotguns that are not large capacity or semi-automatic, consistent with the entitlements an FID confers. The LTC therefore subsumes the FID's entitlements while adding every other firearm, which is to say any handgun and any large capacity or semi-automatic firearm. Machine guns sit outside it: under § 131(f), no person shall be issued a license to carry a machine gun, except for a certified instructor teaching police personnel or a bona fide collector of firearms as defined in § 121.
The § 121 definition of "Firearm" reaches a stun gun, pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, sawed-off shotgun, large capacity firearm, assault-style firearm, and machine gun, loaded or unloaded, "which is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a shot or bullet," plus the frame or receiver of any such firearm and the unfinished frame or receiver of any such firearm. The definition closes with a proviso that "firearm" does not include any antique firearm or permanently inoperable firearm. Because it is not limited to handguns, the operative question for a long gun is whether it is large capacity or semi-automatic. Section 121 defines "Large capacity firearm" to reach a firearm that is semiautomatic with a fixed large capacity feeding device, is semiautomatic and capable of accepting, or readily modifiable to accept, a detachable large capacity feeding device when both are in the same person's possession or under their control in a vehicle, employs a rotating cylinder capable of accepting more than 10 rounds of ammunition or more than 5 shotgun shells, or is an assault-style firearm. That definition adds a proviso: large capacity is a secondary designation that applies in addition to the firearm's primary designation, and it does not include a firearm that operates by manual bolt, pump, lever, or slide action, is a single-shot firearm, has been modified so as to render it permanently inoperable or otherwise permanently unable to be designated a large capacity firearm, or is an antique or relic, theatrical prop, or other firearm not capable of firing a projectile that is not intended for use as a functional firearm and cannot be readily modified through a combination of available parts into an operable large capacity firearm. The "Firearm" definition does double duty: criminal exposure under MGL c. 269, § 10 runs on it.
The Eligibility Gateway: § 121F
Section 131(d) does not state who qualifies. It routes the question elsewhere. The licensing authority "shall issue as provided under section 121F only if it appears that the applicant is neither a prohibited person nor determined to be unsuitable to be issued a license as set forth in said section 121F," and on an initial LTC application the licensing authority shall conduct a personal interview with the applicant. Section 129B(a) routes FID applications to the same place, as does § 122 for dealer licenses.
Section 121F states two independent grounds for denial.
Prohibited person, § 121F(j). A licensing authority shall deny an application or renewal to a person it determines to be a prohibited person. The subsection reaches a person ever convicted or adjudicated as a youthful offender or delinquent child for a felony, a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for more than 2 years, a violent crime as defined in § 121, a firearms or ammunition offense for which a term of imprisonment may be imposed, a controlled substances offense, or a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence as defined in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33). It reaches a person committed to a hospital or institution for mental illness or alcohol or substance use disorder, committed by court order, or subject to a probate court guardianship or conservatorship order for lacking mental capacity, each with its own stated relief path. It reaches a person currently subject to a suspension or surrender order under MGL c. 209A, §§ 3B or 3C, a protection order under that chapter, an order described in 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8), a harassment prevention order under MGL c. 258E, or an extreme risk protection order under MGL c. 140, §§ 131R to 131Y. It also reaches a person subject to an outstanding arrest warrant, a person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and does not maintain lawful permanent residency, and a person discharged from the armed forces under dishonorable conditions.
Clause (j)(i) carries a timing rule specific to the FID. A crime described in its clauses (B), (D), or (E) disqualifies an FID applicant under § 129B for 5 years after conviction or adjudication, or release from confinement, probation, or parole supervision for it, whichever occurs later.
Unsuitability, § 121F(k). A licensing authority shall deny an application or renewal to a person it determines to be unsuitable. The statute states the test: a determination of unsuitability "shall be based on reliable, articulable and credible information that the applicant has exhibited or engaged in behavior that suggests that, if issued a permit, card or license, the applicant may create a risk to public safety or a risk of danger to themselves or others." On denial for unsuitability, the licensing authority shall notify the applicant in writing setting forth the specific reasons.
The FID is treated differently. Under § 121F(l), a licensing authority has no authority to deny an FID application for unsuitability. It may instead petition the district court to deny the application on that basis, which stays the application. The court must hold a hearing within 90 days of receiving the petition and enter judgment on suitability, and the standard is "a preponderance of the evidence that there is reliable, articulable and credible information" of the same risk-creating behavior. If no judgment of unsuitability is entered within 90 days of the petition, judgment that the applicant is suitable is automatically entered.
Processing and Appeals
Section 121F(a) gives the licensing authority 40 days from receipt of a completed application to approve and issue, or deny and notify the applicant of the reason in writing. Nothing issues unless the colonel of the state police has certified that the available information indicates issuance would not violate state or federal law. Section 121F(d) gives the colonel 30 days to report any disqualifying record.
The application itself carries an offense. Under § 121F(f), whoever knowingly files an application for a permit, card, or license under §§ 122, 122B, 122D, 129B, 131, or 131F containing false information, or knowingly issues any such permit, card, or license in violation of the chapter, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000, or by imprisonment for not less than 6 months nor more than 2 years in a house of correction, or by both. Section 121F(g) requires the applicant, or the parent or guardian of a minor, to state under the pains and penalties of perjury that the applicant is not disqualified on any of the grounds the section enumerates.
Section 121F(o) sets the fees. Unless the section states otherwise, an application or renewal for any license, card, or permit is $100. An LTC under § 131 for active and retired law enforcement officials, or for local, state, or federal government entities acting on their behalf, is $25. An FID under § 129B for a person under 18 years of age, and a self-defense spray permit under § 122D, are $25 each. Under § 121F(p), a person over the age of 70 and a law enforcement officer applying through their employing agency for renewal of an LTC or FID are exempt from the renewal fee. Under § 121F(n), application fees for licenses, cards, and permits issued under §§ 122, 122D, 129B, or 131 are payable to the issuing licensing authority and are neither prorated nor refunded in case of revocation or denial.
Revocation and suspension run through § 121F(u). Under § 121F(u)(1), a licensing authority shall revoke or suspend a license, card, or permit issued under §§ 122, 122B, 122D, 129B, 131, or 131F on the occurrence of any event that makes the holder a prohibited person as defined in subsection (j). It may also revoke or suspend on a subsequent determination of unsuitability under subsection (k), or on satisfactory proof that the holder has violated or permitted any violation of the chapter. On those discretionary grounds, an FID issued under § 129B is handled differently: the licensing authority shall file a petition in the district court, and that petition effects the suspension or revocation pending a judicial determination of sufficient evidence of unsuitability, which the court shall make within 15 days of filing. That petition route attaches to the discretionary grounds in this paragraph, not to the mandatory prohibited-person revocation above. A license issued under § 122 or § 122B may be revoked or suspended only after due notice to the licensee and a reasonable opportunity to be heard. Under § 121F(u)(2), a revocation or suspension shall be in writing and state the reasons, no pendency of proceedings before the court operates to stay it, and a revoked or suspended permit, card, or license may be reinstated only on the termination of all disqualifying conditions.
Appeals run through § 121F(m) and § 121F(v). An applicant or holder aggrieved by a denial, revocation, or suspension may petition for judicial review in the district court with jurisdiction where the application was filed or the license issued, within 90 days after notice of the action or 90 days after the expiration of the time limit for the licensing authority to respond. Section 121F(v)(2) conditions that route: it is available only where a hearing has not previously been held pursuant to § 131S or § 131T, MGL c. 209A, or MGL c. 258E. Under § 121F(v)(3), the court may order the license issued or reinstated on finding there was no reasonable ground for the action and that the petitioner is not prohibited by law from possessing it.
The Safety Certificate Requirement
Neither credential issues without training documentation unless the applicant falls within a stated exemption. Section 131(b) states that no license shall be issued under that section unless the applicant submits a basic firearms safety certificate meeting the requirements of MGL c. 140, § 131P, and § 129B(b) imposes the parallel requirement for the FID.
Section 131P(a) requires any person applying under §§ 129B, 131, or 131F to submit that certificate, and bars the licensing authority from accepting or processing an application without it attached. A hunter education certificate issued under MGL c. 131, § 14 is a valid substitute for purposes of an FID under § 129B. Persons lawfully possessing an FID or LTC on August 1, 2024 are exempt on expiration of that card or license and when applying for renewal, and a further proviso exempts persons who possessed a card or license before the implementation of the live firearms trainings the section requires. The section also does not apply to an officer, agent, or employee of the Commonwealth or of any state of the United States, a member of the military or other service of any state or of the United States, or a duly authorized law enforcement officer, agent, or employee of any municipality of the Commonwealth, provided the person is authorized by a competent authority to carry or possess the firearm so carried or possessed and is acting within the scope of their duties.
The 2024 act rewrote § 131P at SECTION 74, on a delayed effective date. As enacted, SECTION 159 of chapter 135 read "Sections 38 and 75 shall take effect 18 months after the effective date of this act." Chapter 206 of the Acts of 2024, SECTION 51, struck that section and inserted in its place "SECTION 159. Sections 38 and 74 shall take effect 18 months after the effective date of this act," which moved the delay onto the § 131P rewrite. The Massachusetts Legislature's General Laws site dates the amended § 131P text to January 25, 2026. The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, in Guidance #4 dated November 13, 2025, told licensing authorities that a licensing authority may keep accepting a certificate issued under the requirements of the prior law "until section 74 takes effect, on April 2, 2026." Both dates have now passed, so the rewritten text governs applications filed today. Under the amended § 131P(b), the colonel of state police, in consultation with the municipal police training committee, governs issuance of the certificate, creates the written examination, and sets the curriculum, which includes live firearms training.
Duration, Expiration, and Renewal
Both credentials run on the same clock. Under § 131(e), an LTC is valid, unless revoked or suspended, for not more than 6 years from issue, and expires on the anniversary of the licensee's date of birth occurring not less than 5 nor more than 6 years from issuance. Section 129B(d) states an identical duration and birthday-anniversary rule for the FID.
The February 29 rules are not identical, and they turn on different facts. Section 131(e) provides that "Any license issued to an applicant born on February 29 shall expire on March 1," which keys to the applicant's date of birth. Section 129B(d) provides that "A card issued on February 29 shall expire on March 1," which keys to the date of issuance.
Section 121F(r) directs notice of expiration not less than 90 days before it. Section 121F(s) keeps an expired LTC or FID valid for all lawful purposes in three situations. Where the holder applied for renewal before the expiration date, it stays valid until the renewal application is approved or denied. Where the holder was on active duty with the armed forces of the United States on the expiration date, it stays valid until the holder is released from active duty and for a period of not less than 180 days following release, and if the holder applied for renewal before the end of that period, it stays valid until the renewal application is approved or denied. Where the expiration period has not yet exceeded 90 days beyond the stated expiration date, it stays valid unless the license or card has been revoked or suspended.
Section 121F(t) covers the person whose license is invalid solely because it expired and who is not otherwise disqualified from renewal. That person is subject to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $5,000, and MGL c. 269, § 10 does not apply. That exemption does not reach a license revoked, suspended, facing pending revocation or suspension, or denied on renewal. Two of those three carve-outs carry a qualifier. Clauses (t)(i) and (t)(ii) each except a revocation or suspension "caused by failure to give notice of a change of address," so the exemption still applies where the change-of-address failure is what produced the revocation or suspension. The denied-renewal carve-out in clause (t)(iii) carries no such qualifier.
The fine is not the whole consequence. The same subsection directs that a law enforcement officer who discovers a person in possession of a firearm after the license or card has expired, meaning after 90 days beyond the stated expiration date, or after it has been revoked or suspended solely for failure to give notice of a change of address, shall confiscate the firearm and the expired or suspended license or card, forward the license or card to the issuing licensing authority as soon as practical, and provide the person a written inventory and receipt for everything confiscated. A confiscated firearm is considered surrendered and subject to the conditions of § 129D, and is returned to the owner only if proof of license or permit reinstatement is provided within 1 year of confiscation. Subsection (t) does not apply to temporary licenses to carry under § 131F.
Section 131(g) requires an LTC holder to report any change of address through the electronic firearm registration system within 30 days, and failure to do so is cause for revocation or suspension. Section 129B(e) imposes the same duty on FID holders.
Criminal Exposure for Carrying Without a License
MGL c. 269, § 10(a) is the core offense. It reaches whoever, except as provided or exempted by statute, knowingly has in his possession, or knowingly has under his control in a vehicle, a firearm as defined in MGL c. 140, § 121, loaded or unloaded, without either of five things: (1) being present in or on his residence or place of business; (2) having in effect an LTC issued under MGL c. 140, § 131; (3) having in effect a license issued under MGL c. 140, § 131F; (4) having complied with MGL c. 140, §§ 129C and 131G; or (5) having complied as to possession of an air rifle or BB gun with the requirements imposed by MGL c. 269, § 12B. Section 131G was repealed by SECTION 64 of Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024, leaving § 129C as the operative route within clause (4).
The subsection then reaches rifles and shotguns on a parallel list of six: being present in or on his residence or place of business; an LTC under § 131; a license under § 131F; an FID under § 129B; compliance with the requirements imposed by § 129C upon ownership or possession of not semiautomatic rifles and shotguns; or compliance as to an air rifle or BB gun with MGL c. 269, § 12B.
The first item on each list is narrower than it reads. Subsection (a) closes by providing that its provisions "shall not affect the licensing requirements of section one hundred and twenty-nine C of chapter one hundred and forty which require every person not otherwise duly licensed or exempted to have been issued a firearms identification card in order to possess a firearm, rifle or shotgun in his residence or place of business."
The penalty is imprisonment in the state prison for not less than two and one-half years nor more than five years, or for not less than 18 months nor more than two and one-half years in a jail or house of correction. The sentence shall not be reduced below 18 months, nor suspended, and a person convicted under that subsection is not eligible for probation, parole, work release, or furlough, or any deduction for good conduct, until 18 months have been served. Prosecutions under the subsection may neither be continued without a finding nor placed on file. No person holding an LTC in effect for any purpose under § 131 or § 131F shall be deemed in violation of the section.
Other subsections carry their own thresholds. Section 10(h)(1) reaches whoever owns, possesses, or transfers a firearm or ammunition without complying with MGL c. 140, § 129C, punishable by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 years or a fine of not more than $500, with a second or subsequent violation punishable by not more than 2 years in a house of correction or a fine of not more than $1,000, or both. Section 10(m) covers knowing possession, or control in a vehicle, of a large capacity firearm or large capacity feeding device by a person without a valid LTC under § 131 or § 131F, punishable by imprisonment in a state prison for not less than two and one-half years nor more than ten years; a valid FID is not a defense, but a charged holder of one is not subject to the mandatory minimum. Section 10(c) reaches whoever, except as provided by law, possesses a machine gun as defined in MGL c. 140, § 121 without permission under § 131 of that chapter, and whoever owns, possesses, or carries on his person, or carries on his person or under his control in a vehicle, a sawed-off shotgun, automatic part, bump stock, rapid-fire trigger activator, or trigger modifier as those terms are defined in § 121; the penalty is imprisonment in the state prison for life, or for any term of years, and any sentence imposed under that paragraph is subject to the minimum requirements of paragraph (a). Section 10(n) adds a consecutive house of correction sentence of not more than two and one-half years where a violation of paragraph (a) or (c) is committed by means of a loaded firearm.
Where the Lines Fall
Massachusetts does not offer a permitless path to carrying a firearm. Which credential you need depends on what you are carrying. Carrying any handgun, and any large capacity or semi-automatic firearm, requires an LTC issued under MGL c. 140, § 131, or a temporary license under § 131F. Section 131F is not a general alternative for residents. The colonel of the state police, or persons authorized by the colonel, issues that temporary license to a nonresident or any person not falling within the jurisdiction of a local licensing authority, and issues it to a resident of the Commonwealth for the purposes of sports competition. It is marked "Temporary License to Carry Firearms" and cannot be used to purchase firearms in the Commonwealth. An FID issued under § 129B entitles the holder to carry rifles and shotguns that are neither large capacity nor semi-automatic, and nothing else. MGL c. 269, § 10(a) supplies the penalty when the credential the firearm requires is not in effect and no exemption applies. One exemption matters to visitors: under MGL c. 140, § 129C(k), a nonresident may carry a firearm on their person while in a vehicle lawfully traveling through the Commonwealth, provided the firearm remains in the vehicle and, when outside its owner's direct control, is stored in accordance with § 131C. That provision is not recognition of another state's permit, and the treatment of out-of-state licenses is covered separately. Section 129C(a) permits possession of a firearm or ammunition for a particular purpose and a limited time without a license, permit, or card issued under §§ 129B, 131, 131A, or 131F in three further situations: a person voluntarily surrendering the firearm or ammunition to the colonel of the state police under § 131O; a resident returning after an absence from the Commonwealth of not less than 180 consecutive days, or any new resident moving to the Commonwealth, as to firearms or ammunition already in their possession before the return or move and only for 60 days after the return or entry; and an heir or devisee on the death of the legal owner, for not more than 60 days after the firearm or ammunition is transferred into their possession, who may also sell or transfer it to a duly licensed person within that period under § 128A.
The pieces fit in a fixed order. The applicant obtains a basic firearms safety certificate under § 131P, applies to the local licensing authority defined in § 121, and is measured against the prohibited person and unsuitability tests in § 121F. Because eligibility, denial, renewal, and appeals now run through § 121F rather than § 131, check the current text of each section on the Massachusetts Legislature's General Laws site, and confirm local procedures with the police department serving as your licensing authority.
Last verified:2026-08-16