St. 2024, c. 135, "An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws," approved July 25, 2024, struck MGL c. 140, s. 131 and replaced it with a section running only from...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
St. 2024, c. 135, "An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws," approved July 25, 2024, struck MGL c. 140, s. 131 and replaced it with a section running only from subsection (a) through subsection (h), and inserted a new s. 121F carrying eligibility, denial, suitability, appeals, fees and renewal. A citation to a s. 131 subsection past (h) is dead, and the Class A and B split is gone. SECTION 153 keeps a license to carry, FID or license to sell valid until its "expiration, suspension or revocation," entitling the holder to "possess the firearms authorized by the license at the time it was last issued or renewed."
No to both. MGL c. 269, s. 10(a) reaches whoever "knowingly has in his possession; or knowingly has under his control in a vehicle; a firearm, loaded or unloaded" without one of its enumerated alternatives, which on the firearm branch are presence "in or on his residence or place of business," an in-effect license under MGL c. 140, s. 131, an in-effect license under s. 131F, compliance with "sections one hundred and twenty-nine C and one hundred and thirty-one G," a dead half-reference since SECTION 64 of the 2024 act repealed s. 131G, and compliance as to an air rifle or BB gun under s. 12B. An out-of-state permit is not among them, and neither s. 131(d), s. 131F nor s. 129C makes one valid here. Section 129C(i) gives a nonresident at least 18 with a substantially similar home-state credential only "rifles and shotguns that are not large capacity or semi-automatic." Section 129C(k) is the carve-out to watch: a nonresident "may carry a firearm on their person while in a vehicle lawfully traveling through the commonwealth; provided, however, that the firearm shall remain in the vehicle and if the firearm is outside its owner's direct control it shall be stored in the vehicle in accordance with section 131C." Because s. 121 defines "Firearm" to include a pistol and a revolver, that route reaches a handgun, and it answers s. 10(a) through alternative (4), compliance with s. 129C. EOPSS Guidance #4 Q36 limits it: going to your workplace would not be traveling through the commonwealth under Commonwealth v. Marquis, 494 Mass. 434 (2025). Section 129C(a) adds 60-day possession windows, one for a new resident or a resident returning after at least 180 consecutive days away, limited to firearms held before the move or return, and one for an heir or devisee running from the transfer into their possession. A s. 10(a) violation draws state prison for not less than two and one-half years nor more than five, or 18 months to two and one-half years in a jail or house of correction, not reducible below 18 months and not suspendable.
Handguns and large capacity firearms. MGL c. 140, s. 131(a) entitles the holder "to purchase, rent, lease, borrow, possess and carry firearms, including large capacity firearms and ammunition therefor," but not large capacity feeding devices or assault-style firearms unless s. 131M permits it. Section 131(c) makes the LTC valid for rifles and shotguns that are not large capacity or semi-automatic, so the cards need not be held together. Section 129B(c) caps the FID at that same class and bars the holder from carrying "any other firearm including any large capacity firearm" outside supervised use at an incorporated shooting club or licensed range. Section 121 defines "Firearm" to include a stun gun, rifle, shotgun, sawed-off shotgun, assault-style firearm and machine gun, plus the frame or receiver, so a stun gun sits outside the FID entitlement.
Twenty-one for the LTC, eighteen for the FID. MGL c. 140, s. 131(d) opens the LTC application to "[a] lawful resident 21 years of age or older residing within the jurisdiction of the licensing authority or any law enforcement officer employed by the licensing authority or any person residing in an area of exclusive federal jurisdiction located within a city or town." Section 129B(a) opens the FID to a lawful resident 18 or older on the same residency footing minus the officer route. A person aged 15 or older but under 18 may be issued a card only on meeting s. 121F and filing a parent or guardian certificate granting permission to apply, and a person 14 may apply but is not issued one until 15.
To the licensing authority for the city or town where you reside. MGL c. 140, s. 121 defines that officer 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." Section 121F(a) gives the authority 40 days from a completed application to approve and issue or deny in writing, and bars issuance "unless the colonel of the state police has certified that the information available indicates that issuing the permit, card or license is not in violation of state or federal law." Section 131(d) requires a personal interview on an initial LTC application.
Yes, through the colonel of the state police rather than a local department. Under MGL c. 140, s. 131F a temporary license to carry issues "to a nonresident or any person not falling within the jurisdiction of a local licensing authority," and to a citizen or national of the United States or a person who maintains legal permanent residency "for purposes of firearms competition," on the same s. 121F test. It "shall be valid for a period of one year but the colonel may renew such license if such renewal is necessary," may not be used to purchase firearms in the commonwealth, and reaches a large capacity firearm only where that entitlement "shall be clearly indicated on the license." Section 131F allows a term of up to two years for certain employer-endorsed and armed services applicants.
One hundred dollars, up to six years. MGL c. 140, s. 121F(o) sets the fee for an application or renewal of "any license, card or permit" at $100, split between the licensing authority, the General Fund and the Firearms Fingerprint Identity Verification Trust Fund. It drops to $25 for an LTC for active and retired law enforcement officials or government entities acting on their behalf, and for an FID for a person under 18. Section 121F(p) exempts "[a]ny person over the age of 70 and any law enforcement officer applying through their employing agency" from paying a renewal fee, and s. 131F sets the same $100 for the nonresident license. Section 131(e) makes an LTC valid, unless revoked or suspended, "for a period of not more than 6 years from the date of issue," expiring on the birthday anniversary falling 5 to 6 years out, and s. 129B(d) runs the FID on the same clock. Section 121F(r) requires DCJIS to send expiration notice at least 90 days ahead with a renewal form and a lost-or-stolen affidavit, and s. 131(g) and s. 129B(e) require reporting an address change within 30 days.
Yes to both, with narrow exceptions. MGL c. 140, s. 131(b) bars issuing an LTC without "a basic firearms safety certificate meeting the requirements of section 131P," and s. 129B(b) says the same for the FID. Section 131P(a) bars processing an application without the certificate attached, and excepts an officer, agent or employee of the commonwealth or any state of the United States, a member of the military or other service of any state or of the United States, and a duly authorized municipal law enforcement officer, agent or employee, each only where 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." A hunter education certificate under c. 131, s. 14 substitutes on an FID application, not an LTC application, and persons lawfully possessing an FID or LTC on August 1, 2024 are exempt on expiration and renewal. The same sentence carries a second proviso reaching the live fire half directly: "persons possessing a firearms identification card or license to carry firearms prior to the implementation of live firearms trainings as required in this section shall also be exempt from such requirement." Section 131P(b), as rewritten by St. 2024, c. 135, SECTION 74, adds "(H) live firearms training" to the curriculum and directs the colonel to create a statewide written examination. Two commencement dates are published, January 25, 2026 on malegislature.gov and April 2, 2026 in EOPSS Guidance #4, and both have passed.
Yes, and yes. MGL c. 140, s. 121F(j) requires denial to a prohibited person, a category built on disqualifying convictions and youthful offender or delinquency adjudications, specified mental health and substance use commitments, listed protective and extreme risk orders, an outstanding arrest warrant, absence of United States citizenship or nationality without lawful permanent residency, and dishonorable discharge. The codified text ends at that discharge clause; St. 2024, c. 135, SECTION 32 as enacted closes the enumeration with "(vii) is a fugitive from justice." Section 121F(k) needs no conviction: unsuitability rests on "reliable, articulable and credible information that the applicant has exhibited or engaged in behavior that suggests" they "may create a risk to public safety or a risk of danger to themselves or others." On an FID, s. 121F(l) sends that call to the district court. Section 121F(v)(2) allows judicial review within 90 days, unless a hearing was already held under s. 131S or 131T, c. 209A or c. 258E.
Schools and government buildings, among other places. MGL c. 269, s. 10(j), as amended effective August 5, 2025, applies "notwithstanding any license obtained by the person pursuant to chapter 140" to carrying a firearm or other dangerous weapon "in any building or on the grounds of any elementary or secondary school, college or university, including transport used for students of said institution" without written authorization from the board or officer in charge, punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 2 years, or both. Section 10(k)(1) punishes possessing a firearm "in a prohibited area, and knows or reasonably should know such location is a prohibited area," by a fine of not more than $1,000 or house of correction imprisonment for not more than 2 1/2 years, or both. Section 10(k)(2) reaches government administration, judicial and correctional locations "including in or upon any part of the buildings, grounds, or parking areas thereof," while excluding "any state-owned public land available to the public for hunting" and letting a municipality vote under MGL c. 4, s. 4 to exclude its administrative buildings, and a polling place or early voting site while open for voting "or within 150 feet of the building entrance door." Section 10(k)(4) gives licensees a defense, not an exemption: secure vehicle storage under ss. 131C and 131L.
Each runs on its own rule. Under 18 U.S.C. 930(a), and except as subsection (d) provides, knowingly possessing a firearm or other dangerous weapon in a Federal facility other than a Federal court facility draws a fine or imprisonment of not more than 1 year, or both, rising under 930(e)(1) to not more than 2 years in a Federal court facility. Subsection (d) covers the lawful performance of official duties by an officer, agent or employee of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision thereof who is authorized by law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of any violation of law, possession by a Federal official or member of the Armed Forces where authorized by law, and "the lawful carrying of firearms or other dangerous weapons in a Federal facility incident to hunting or other lawful purposes." Section 930(h) requires notice of subsections (a) and (b) to be "posted conspicuously at each public entrance to each Federal facility," and it carries its own consequence for missing notice: "no person shall be convicted of an offense under subsection (a) or (e) with respect to a Federal facility if such notice is not so posted at such facility, unless such person had actual notice of subsection (a) or (e), as the case may be." Do not read that as permission. It limits who may be convicted, not what the statute prohibits. Section 930(g)(1) defines a Federal facility as "a building or part thereof owned or leased by the Federal Government, where Federal employees are regularly present for the purpose of performing their official duties." Post offices are stricter: 39 C.F.R. 232.1(l) bars any person on postal property from carrying weapons "either openly or concealed, or store the same on postal property, except for official purposes," punishable by a fine under 18 U.S.C. 3571 or imprisonment of not more than 30 days, or both, so the locked-in-the-trunk answer fails there. National parks point back at state law: 36 C.F.R. 2.4(a) disables enforcement of provisions in that section or chapter on two conditions read together, that "[t]he individual is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing the firearm" and that possession "is in compliance with the law of the State" where the unit sits, and 2.4(g) still prohibits carrying a weapon "in violation of applicable Federal and State laws."
Yes under your direct control, and no. MGL c. 140, s. 131C(a) provides that no person carrying a loaded firearm under a license issued pursuant to s. 129B, s. 131 or s. 131F, or through a s. 129C exemption, "shall carry the loaded firearm in a vehicle unless the loaded firearm while carried in the vehicle is under the direct control of the person," with a violation punished "by a fine of $500." Subsection (b) reaches only "a large capacity rifle or shotgun," which must be "unloaded and secured in a locked container as defined in section 121," at a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000. Because s. 121 defines "Firearm" to include rifle and shotgun, and opens "As used in sections 122 to 131Y, inclusive," a loaded long gun that is not large capacity falls under subsection (a)'s direct-control condition rather than subsection (b). Section 121 defines "Secured in a locked container" to include "in an unoccupied motor vehicle, a locked trunk not accessible from the passenger compartment, a locked console or locked glovebox." EOPSS Guidance #4 Q22, asked whether that definition includes a locked vehicle, answers no. Section 131C(d) adds the larger consequence: on a conviction under that section the licensing authority "shall immediately revoke the firearm identification card or license," and no new card or license may issue until 1 year after the date of revocation.
Locked, unless it is on you. MGL c. 140, s. 131L(a) makes it "unlawful to store or keep any firearm in any place unless such firearm is secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device, properly engaged," and adds that a firearm "shall not be deemed stored or kept if carried by or under the control of the owner or other lawfully authorized user." A stun gun gets no lock-device alternative: the same subsection requires it to be "secured in a locked container accessible only to the owner or other lawfully authorized user." Section 131L(b) punishes a violation, for a firearm that is not a large capacity firearm or machine gun, by a fine of $1,000 to $7,500 or imprisonment for not more than 1 1/2 years, or both, and for a large capacity or semiautomatic weapon or machine gun by a fine of $2,000 to $15,000 or imprisonment for 1 1/2 to 12 years, or both. Subsections (c) and (d) raise those tiers where a person younger than 18 "may have access without committing an unforeseeable trespass."
Not at or above a blood alcohol percentage by weight of eight one-hundredths, and not while under the influence. MGL c. 269, s. 10H is written against licensed carriers, reaching "[w]hoever, having in effect a license to carry firearms issued under section 131 or 131F of chapter 140, carries on his person, or has under his control in a vehicle, a loaded firearm," while at or above "a percentage, by weight, of alcohol in their blood of eight one-hundredths," or "while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or marijuana, narcotic drugs, depressants or stimulant substances, all as defined in section 1 of chapter 94C," or from inhaling toxic vapor fumes under MGL c. 270, s. 18. Punishment is a fine of not more than $5,000 or house of correction imprisonment for not more than two and one-half years, or both. The blood alcohol clause needs no proof of impaired faculties, and the section carves out no lawfully consumed marijuana.
Yes for an LTC holder. Nothing in MGL c. 140, ss. 121, 121F, 129B, 129C, 131, 131C or 131F, or in MGL c. 269, ss. 10 or 10H, conditions carry under a license to carry on concealment. Section 131(a) entitles the holder to "possess and carry firearms," and states its limits in terms of what may be carried rather than how. What is permitted is not beyond reach: s. 121F(k) rests unsuitability on "reliable, articulable and credible information that the applicant has exhibited or engaged in behavior that suggests" a risk to public safety or a risk of danger to themselves or others, and s. 121F(u)(1) lets a licensing authority revoke or suspend "upon a subsequent determination of unsuitability as defined in subsection (k)." Long guns are governed by a different section. MGL c. 269, s. 12D(a) bars carrying "on his person on any public way a loaded rifle or shotgun having cartridges or shells in either the magazine or chamber thereof," punishable by a fine of $500 to $5,000 or house of correction imprisonment for not more than two years, or both, rising to $1,000 to $10,000 or one to ten years for a large capacity weapon. Section 12D(b) bars an unloaded rifle or shotgun on a public way "unless such rifle or shotgun is enclosed in a case," at a fine of $100 to $1,000. The s. 10(a) license safe harbor answers a charge under that section only, and s. 12D is a different section with its own exceptions in s. 12D(d).
No. None of MGL c. 140, ss. 121, 121F, 129B, 129C, 131, 131C or 131F, or MGL c. 269, s. 10, requires a license holder to volunteer that they are armed or to exhibit a license to an officer on request. The catchline on the Legislature's s. 129C page still reads "exhibiting license to carry, etc. on demand," but St. 2024, c. 135, SECTION 45 struck that section and inserted a replacement, and no such duty survives in the text under the stale heading. The presentation duty in s. 129C(f) runs to a seller at purchase, and only for "a person exempted under this subsection," meaning the military and peace officer class that subsection covers, who must submit "full and clear proof of identification." The license does its work through the elements of the offense instead. Section 10(a) protects a person "having in effect" a license under s. 131 or s. 131F, so the operative fact is validity rather than possession of the card at that moment, though carrying it is the practical course. Conduct during an encounter still reaches the license through the s. 121F(k) unsuitability standard.
An extreme risk protection order under MGL c. 140, ss. 131R to 131Y. Section 121 defines it as an order suspending the respondent's license to carry or FID, requiring surrender of "all firearms or ammunition that the respondent then controls, owns or possesses," and barring a new credential, "in effect for up to 1 year from the date of issuance and may be renewed upon petition." Section 121 restricts who may petition to a family or household member; the licensing authority where the respondent resides; a law enforcement agency or officer "that has interacted with the respondent in an official capacity within the preceding 30 days"; a health care provider "that provided health care services to the respondent within the preceding 6 months"; and a principal or assistant principal of an elementary or secondary school, or an administrator of a college or university where the respondent is enrolled. Section 131S(a) sets a hearing within 10 days, cut to 2 days under s. 131S(b) where the respondent files an affidavit that a firearm or ammunition is required in the performance of their employment, and s. 131S(c)(1) decides it by a preponderance. Section 131S(f) punishes violating the surrender duty by a fine of not more than $5,000 or imprisonment for not more than 2 1/2 years in a house of correction, or both.
Only inside the dated carve-outs. MGL c. 140, s. 131M(a) bars possessing, owning, offering for sale, selling, otherwise transferring or importing "an assault-style firearm, or a large capacity feeding device." Subsection (b) exempts an assault-style firearm "lawfully possessed within the commonwealth on August 1, 2024, by an owner in possession of a license to carry issued under section 131 or by a holder of a license to sell under section 122," provided it is registered under s. 121B and serialized under s. 121C. Subsection (c) exempts feeding devices "lawfully possessed on September 13, 1994 only if" possession is on private property the possessor owns or legally controls, on private property not open to the public with the owner's express permission, at a dealer or gunsmith for lawful repair, at a licensed range or competition venue, or traveling to and from those places, with the device "stored unloaded and secured in a locked container." Section 121 sets the threshold at "more than 10 rounds of ammunition or more than 5 shotgun shells," with no separate handgun figure. Section 131M(d) grades a first offense at $1,000 to $10,000 or 1 to 10 years, and a second at $5,000 to $15,000 or 5 to 15 years.
Only on narrow terms, and a federal registration is not among the exceptions either statute states. MGL c. 269, s. 10A prohibits any person, "other than a federally licensed firearms manufacturer, an authorized agent of the municipal police training committee, or a duly authorized sworn law enforcement officer while acting within the scope of official duties and under the direct authorization of the police chief or his designee, or the colonel of the state police," from selling, offering, giving, disposing of other than by submitting to an authorized law enforcement agency, using or possessing a silencing device or parts for assembling one, punishable by not more than five years in state prison or not more than two and one-half years in a jail or house of correction. MGL c. 140, s. 131(f) bars issuing a license to carry a machine gun, excepting a machine gun license for a municipal police training committee certified instructor teaching police personnel or a bona fide collector as defined in s. 121, neither exception reaching automatic devices or automatic parts. MGL c. 269, s. 10(c) punishes possessing a machine gun without permission under s. 131 "by imprisonment in the state prison for life, or for any term of years."
A fine and confiscation rather than prosecution, if the lapse is the only problem. MGL c. 140, s. 121F(s) keeps an expired LTC under s. 131 or FID under s. 129B valid "for all lawful purposes" where you applied for renewal before the expiration date, where you were on active duty with the armed forces of the United States on that date, or where "the expiration period has not yet exceeded 90 days beyond the stated date of expiration, unless such license to carry or firearm identification card has been revoked or suspended." Past those windows, s. 121F(t) removes the criminal exposure without removing every consequence: a holder whose credential "is invalid for the sole reason that it has expired" and who is "not otherwise disqualified from renewal upon application" faces "a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $5,000 and section 10 of chapter 269 shall not apply." The same subsection directs an officer who discovers a person in possession of a firearm after the license or card has expired, which that subsection defines as more than 90 days beyond the stated expiration date, or has been revoked or suspended solely for failure to give notice of a change of address, to confiscate the firearm and the expired or suspended credential. A confiscated firearm "shall be considered surrendered and subject to the conditions of section 129D," and is returned to the owner on proof of license or permit reinstatement within 1 year of confiscation. That relief is withheld where the credential was revoked or suspended, faces pending revocation, or had a renewal denied, unless the cause was failure to report a change of address, and it does not reach temporary licenses under s. 131F.
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