Massachusetts: Statewide Firearm Statutes, Local Licensing Authorities, and Municipal Authority

Massachusetts: Statewide Firearm Statutes, Local Licensing Authorities, and Municipal Authority

If you carry in Massachusetts, you deal with two levels of government at once. The license, the standard for getting it, the standard for losing it and the criminal offenses are written into the General Laws. The official who takes your application, decides it and can revoke it is a local officer, and the General Laws say so by name. Several statutes also identify specific points where a city, town or other body may act on its own.

Who your licensing authority is

MGL c. 140, s. 121 supplies the definition that everything else runs on:

"Licensing authority", the chief of police or the board or officer having control of the police in a city or town, or persons authorized by them; provided, however, that should no such chief or officer exist the colonel of the state police or their designee shall act as the licensing authority.

The decision-maker is local by definition, with a statewide fallback to the colonel of the state police. The reach of that officer's decision is wide, because s. 121 defines "Firearm" as "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, excluding antique and permanently inoperable firearms. Long guns are inside that definition, not outside it.

The standard the local authority applies is written statewide

St. 2024, c. 135 restructured MGL c. 140, s. 131, which now runs from (a) through (h). The process, eligibility, denial, appeal and fee provisions live in MGL c. 140, s. 121F. Subsection (a) is the operative timing and outcome rule:

Section 121F. (a) A licensing authority shall, within 40 days from the date of receipt of a completed application for any firearm license, card or permit issued under sections 122, 122B, 122D, 129B, 131 or 131F, or renewal of the same, either approve the application and issue the permit, card or license or deny the application and notify the applicant of the reason for such denial in writing; provided, however, that no permit, card or license shall be issued 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.

The denial grounds are statutory too. Section 121F(j) requires denial to a person the licensing authority determines to be a "prohibited person," and defines that term. Section 121F(k) sets the unsuitability standard:

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.

That subsection also requires the licensing authority, on a denial for unsuitability, to "notify the applicant in writing setting forth the specific reasons for the determination." For the firearm identification card, s. 121F(l) takes the unsuitability call away from the local officer: the licensing authority "shall not have the authority to deny an application on the grounds of unsuitability but may file a petition requesting that the district court having jurisdiction deny said application on unsuitability grounds," with a hearing within 90 days of the filed petition.

Review of a local decision runs to a state court. Under s. 121F(v)(2), a person aggrieved by a denial, revocation or suspension may, "unless a hearing has previously been held pursuant to section 131S or 131T, chapter 209A or chapter 258E," and within 90 days after notice or after the response deadline expires, "file a petition to obtain judicial review in the district court having jurisdiction in the city or town in which the applicant filed the application or in which the permit, card or license was issued."

Which local authority you file with

MGL c. 140, s. 131(d) sets the routes into the process for a license to carry:

(d) 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 may submit to the licensing authority an application for a license to carry firearms, or renewal of the same, which 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, provided that upon an initial application for a license to carry firearms, the licensing authority shall conduct a personal interview with the applicant.

Residency in the jurisdiction is not the only door. Employment as a law enforcement officer with that licensing authority, and residence in an area of exclusive federal jurisdiction located within a city or town, are their own routes. MGL c. 140, s. 129B(a) opens the firearm identification card to a lawful resident 18 years of age or older residing within the jurisdiction, or in such a federal-jurisdiction area.

The state application page anticipates local paperwork. It lists among the submission items "Additional documentation as required by your local licensing authority," and it tells resident applicants to "Contact your local firearms licensing officer for additional information prior to submitting your application."

Fees are fixed by statute, and split between the local authority and the state

Section 121F(o)(i) sets the ordinary fee at $100, "of which the licensing authority shall retain $25 of the fee; $50 of the fee shall be deposited into the General Fund," with the remaining $25 deposited in the Firearms Fingerprint Identity Verification Trust Fund. Under s. 121F(n), fees "shall be payable to the issuing licensing authority and shall not be prorated or refunded in case of revocation or denial." Dealer licensing runs through the same local officer: under MGL c. 140, s. 122(a), "[a] licensing authority, in accordance with section 121F, may grant or renew a license to sell, rent, lease, purchase or otherwise transfer firearms and ammunition therefore, or to be in business as a gunsmith, to any person 21 years of age or older who is neither a prohibited person nor deemed unsuitable to be issued said license pursuant to said section 121F and who completes the online dealer training classes mandated under section 125."

Where municipal power comes from, and what caps it

The power of a Massachusetts city or town to adopt ordinances and by-laws at all comes from the state constitution, not from the firearm statutes. Amendments Article LXXXIX, the Home Rule Amendment, states its purpose in Section 1 as granting and confirming "to the people of every city and town the right of self-government in local matters, subject to the provisions of this article and to such standards and requirements as the general court may establish by law in accordance with the provisions of this article." Section 6 is the working grant:

Any city or town may, by the adoption, amendment, or repeal of local ordinances or by-laws, exercise any power or function which the general court has power to confer upon it, which is not inconsistent with the constitution or laws enacted by the general court in conformity with powers reserved to the general court by section eight, and which is not denied, either expressly or by clear implication, to the city or town by its charter. This section shall apply to every city and town, whether or not it has adopted a charter pursuant to section three.

The grant carries its boundaries on its face. A local ordinance or by-law may not be inconsistent with laws enacted by the general court, and it may not reach what the city or town's own charter denies it, expressly or by clear implication. The grant runs to every city and town whether or not it has adopted a charter. Section 8 works the other side of the relationship, confining the general court, when it acts in relation to cities and towns, to "general laws which apply alike to all cities or to all towns, or to all cities and towns, or to a class of not fewer than two," together with the special laws that section then enumerates.

Section 7 sets a hard cap that matters to anyone reading a local firearm ordinance:

Nothing in this article shall be deemed to grant to any city or town the power to ... (6) to define and provide for the punishment of a felony or to impose imprisonment as a punishment for any violation of law; provided, however, that the foregoing enumerated powers may be granted by the general court in conformity with the constitution and with the powers reserved to the general court by section eight

So a by-law or ordinance resting on the Article LXXXIX grant cannot make conduct a felony and cannot impose imprisonment as its punishment, unless the general court has granted that power. Note what Article LXXXIX does not do. It says nothing about firearms. It is the general home rule framework for every subject a city or town might touch, it states no firearms-specific rule allocating authority between the Commonwealth and a municipality, and it supplies no test for deciding whether a particular local firearm ordinance is inconsistent with c. 140 or c. 269. The state constitution addresses a right to arms at Part the First, Article XVII: "The people have a right to keep and to bear arms for the common defence." That sentence is framed to the common defence and says nothing about cities and towns.

Where the statutes on this page name municipal action

The prohibited-area opt-out vote

MGL c. 269, s. 10(k)(1) punishes whoever possesses a firearm, loaded or unloaded, as defined in c. 140, s. 121, 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 by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 2 1/2 years, or both. Subsection (k)(2)(i) defines a category of prohibited area and, in the same breath, gives a municipality a way out of it:

(i) a place owned, leased, or under the control of state, county or municipal government and used for the purpose of government administration, judicial or court administrative proceedings, or correctional services, including in or upon any part of the buildings, grounds, or parking areas thereof; provided, however, that a "prohibited area" shall not include any state-owned public land available to the public for hunting and provided further that a municipality may vote pursuant to section 4 of chapter 4 to exclude its administrative buildings from being a "prohibited area"

Clause (ii) of the same definition covers a different subject: a location in use at the time of possession for the storage or tabulation of ballots during the hours in which voting or tabulation is occurring, and a polling place or early voting site while open for voting or within 150 feet of the building entrance door. The municipal vote written into clause (i) reaches administrative buildings, and nothing in the definition lets a municipality vote a polling place out of clause (ii).

The cross-referenced vote mechanism is MGL c. 4, s. 4:

Section 4. Wherever a statute is to take effect upon its acceptance by a municipality or district, or is to be effective in municipalities or districts accepting its provisions, this acceptance shall be, except as otherwise provided in that statute, in a municipality, by vote of the legislative body, subject to the charter of the municipality, or, in a district, by vote of the district at a district meeting.

So whether administrative buildings in a given city or town are a prohibited area turns on whether that municipality's legislative body has voted, subject to its charter. Records of that vote are municipal records; start with the municipal clerk's office.

Section 10(k)(4) supplies a defense: that a person with the necessary license or card under c. 140, ss. 129B, 131 or 131F "securely stored said firearm in a vehicle while within the prohibited area in accordance with sections 131C and 131L of chapter 140."

The savings clause for property under local control

Clause (5) of paragraph (k) appears in the General Laws in bracketed versions. The version amended by St. 2025, c. 14, s. 52, effective August 5, 2025, is the operative text. The savings sentence that closes clause (5) reads the same in both bracketed versions, word for word. What the 2025 amendment changed is the exemption ahead of it, which the operative version extends to a law enforcement officer as defined in MGL c. 6E, s. 1 who is currently certified under s. 4 of that chapter, on the condition that the certification is not suspended, limited or restricted and the officer is permitted to perform police duties and functions involving firearms under c. 6E. The savings sentence closes the clause this way:

Nothing in this paragraph shall limit the authority of any municipality, county or department, division, commission, board, agency or court of the commonwealth to adopt policies further restricting the possession of firearms in areas under their control.

Read the words closely: the clause speaks of adopting policies, and of areas under the adopting body's control. It does not tell you what a given body has adopted.

Discharge, and the express preservation of local ordinances and by-laws

MGL c. 269, s. 12E, as inserted by St. 2024, c. 135, s. 141, punishes discharge of a firearm as defined in c. 140, s. 121 within 500 feet of a dwelling or other building in use, except with the consent of the owner or legal occupant, by a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $100 or by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than 3 months, or both. Subsection (b) excepts, among other things, the lawful defense of life and property and a law enforcement officer acting in the discharge of their duties. Subsection (c) lifts the offense for a dwelling or building on the same property as persons using the listed target and test ranges with the required consent, or a shooting gallery licensed under MGL c. 140, s. 56A. It then adds:

Nothing in this section shall exempt any person from compliance with noise control laws, regulations, ordinances or by-laws in effect or from the prohibitions of section 58 of chapter 131.

MGL c. 269, s. 12G, inserted by St. 2024, c. 135, s. 143, punishes intentional or reckless discharge that strikes a dwelling or other building in use by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 2 1/2 years or in state prison for not more than 5 years or by a fine of not more than $10,000, or both. It closes with the same preservation of noise control laws, ordinances and by-laws.

The federal layer

18 U.S.C. 926A opens "[n]otwithstanding any other provision of any law or any rule or regulation of a State or any political subdivision thereof," and entitles a person not otherwise prohibited by the chapter to transport a firearm between places where they may lawfully possess and carry it, on conditions: unloaded, not readily or directly accessible from the passenger compartment, and in a vehicle without a separate compartment "contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console."

18 U.S.C. 926B opens the same way for a qualified law enforcement officer carrying the identification required by subsection (d), and 18 U.S.C. 926C does so for a qualified retired law enforcement officer. Both carry a limit pointing back at local property rules: s. 926B(b) states the section "shall not be construed to supersede or limit the laws of any State that ... prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property, installation, building, base, or park."

What these provisions do not settle

Start with the question most readers bring to this page: may a city or town regulate firearms more strictly than the General Laws do? None of the provisions on this page states a general rule either way. The provisions searched for this page were MGL c. 140, ss. 121, 121F, 122, 129B and 131, MGL c. 269, s. 10, s. 12E and s. 12G, MGL c. 4, s. 4, Amendments Article LXXXIX and Part the First, Article XVII of the state constitution, and 18 U.S.C. 926A, 926B and 926C. None of them declares a statewide preemption rule for firearms, and none of them sets a test for when a local firearm ordinance is inconsistent with state law. That is what this page searched and what it found. It is not a finding that no such rule exists anywhere in Massachusetts law, and it is not an answer about any particular ordinance. For whether a specific local ordinance is valid, ask a Massachusetts attorney.

What the provisions above do settle is narrower, and they run in different directions over the same kind of property. Section 10(k)(2)(i) lets a municipality vote under c. 4, s. 4 to pull its administrative buildings out of the prohibited-area definition, narrowing where the s. 10(k)(1) offense reaches. The operative s. 10(k)(5) preserves the authority of a municipality, county or listed Commonwealth entity to adopt policies further restricting possession in areas under its control. Both can be true in the same city on different properties, and neither tells you which votes or policies exist where you are going. Likewise, s. 12E(c) confirms that noise control laws, regulations, ordinances and by-laws apply alongside the s. 12E discharge offense, and s. 12G says the same of noise control laws, ordinances and by-laws, neither of them describing any town's rules.

Confirm the local pieces yourself:

• A vote under MGL c. 4, s. 4 is a municipal record. Start with the municipal clerk's office to learn whether the city or town has taken one on its administrative buildings under MGL c. 269, s. 10(k)(2)(i), and to get the text of local ordinances and by-laws, including noise control by-laws reaching discharge or range use.
• Ask the licensing authority, the chief of police or board or officer having control of the police under MGL c. 140, s. 121, about application documentation and the initial personal interview required by s. 131(d). Section 10(k)(5) gives the policy authority to the municipality rather than to the licensing authority by name, so ask the municipality about policies adopted for areas under its control.
• For a building controlled by a county, state agency, board or court, ask that body, since s. 10(k)(5) names those entities separately from municipalities.

Quick reference

Bottom line

Massachusetts writes the license, the standard and the offenses at the state level, and hands administration of the license to an officer of your city or town. Municipal power to adopt ordinances and by-laws comes from Amendments Article LXXXIX, which says nothing about firearms and denies a city or town the power to impose imprisonment for any violation of law. The statutes discussed above name particular places where local bodies act, among them the municipal vote under MGL c. 4, s. 4, policies for areas under a body's control under the operative MGL c. 269, s. 10(k)(5), and the noise ordinances and by-laws preserved by MGL c. 269, s. 12E and s. 12G. None of them tells you what your city or town has actually done. The municipal clerk's office and the licensing authority are where to ask.

This is general information about the statutes cited, not legal advice. For a decision affecting your license or your liberty, consult a Massachusetts attorney.