A Massachusetts license to carry is not a license to own anything. MGL c. 140, s. 131(a) draws the line inside the license itself. A license entitles...
Written and reviewed by Will Luker
USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement
A Massachusetts license to carry is not a license to own anything. MGL c. 140, s. 131(a) draws the line inside the license itself. A license entitles the holder "to purchase, rent, lease, borrow, possess and carry firearms, including large capacity firearms and ammunition therefor," but "shall not entitle a holder thereof to transfer, possess or carry large capacity feeding devices or assault-style firearms unless such transfer, possession or carry is permitted under section 131M."
Large capacity feeding devices and assault-style firearms therefore sit outside the license. Whether a licensee may touch either turns on a date in MGL c. 140, s. 131M and on definitions in MGL c. 140, s. 121 that carry their own provisos and exclusions.
This section covers weapon classes. For where a licensee may and may not carry, see PROHIBITED_PLACES. For who is disqualified from holding a license at all, see PERMIT_BASICS.
St. 2024, c. 135, "An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws," was approved July 25, 2024. SECTION 49 struck MGL c. 140, s. 131 and replaced it with a section running (a) through (h), and SECTION 32 inserted a new s. 121F carrying eligibility and process. Any citation to an s. 131 subsection past (h) is therefore dead.
The operative prohibition is MGL c. 140, s. 131M(a): "No person shall possess, own, offer for sale, sell or otherwise transfer in the commonwealth or import into the commonwealth an assault-style firearm, or a large capacity feeding device."
The exceptions are dated, and the dates differ by item.
| Item | Grandfather date | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Assault-style firearm | Lawfully possessed in the commonwealth on August 1, 2024 | s. 131M(b): owner holds an s. 131 license to carry or an s. 122 license to sell, and "the assault-style firearm shall be registered in accordance with section 121B and serialized in accordance with section 121C" |
| Large capacity feeding device | Lawfully possessed on September 13, 1994 | s. 131M(c): possession allowed "only if" within the listed places and transport, and "stored unloaded and secured in a locked container in accordance with sections 131C and 131L" |
The feeding device carve-out is the narrower one. Section 131M(c) permits pre-1994 device possession 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, and while traveling to and from those locations. It then closes the resale market: such a possessor "may only transfer the device to an heir or devisee, a person residing outside the commonwealth, or a licensed dealer."
SECTION 153 of c. 135 protects the license, not the inventory rules. A valid license to carry, FID card or license to sell "shall remain valid until the expiration, suspension or revocation" and "shall entitle the holder to possess the firearms authorized by the license at the time it was last issued or renewed."
MGL c. 140, s. 121 defines "Assault-style firearm" as any firearm which is:
| Clause | Statutory text (condensed to the operative test) |
|---|---|
| (a) | "a semiautomatic, centerfire rifle with the capacity to accept a detachable feeding device and includes at least 2 of the following features": folding or telescopic stock; thumbhole stock or pistol grip; forward, second or protruding grip for the non-trigger hand; "a threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor or muzzle break or similar feature"; or a heat shroud encircling the barrel, "excluding a slide that encloses the barrel" |
| (b) | "a semiautomatic pistol with the capacity to accept a detachable feeding device and includes at least 2 of the following features": capacity to accept a feeding device attaching outside the pistol grip; second or protruding grip for the non-trigger hand; "a threaded barrel capable of accepting a flash suppressor, forward handgrip or silencer"; or a heat shroud encircling the barrel, "excluding a slide that encloses the barrel" |
| (c) | "a semiautomatic shotgun that includes at least 2 of the following features": folding or telescopic stock; thumbhole stock or pistol grip; protruding grip for the non-trigger hand; or "the capacity to accept a detachable feeding device" |
| (d) | "Any firearm listed on the assault-style firearm roster pursuant to section 131 3/4" |
| (e) | Firearms named in the statute "or copies or duplicates of these firearms, of any caliber": the Avtomat Kalashnikov in all models, IMI UZI and Galil, Beretta AR70, Colt AR-15, FN/FAL, FN/LAR and FNC, SWD M-10, M-11, M-11/9 and M-12, Steyr AUG, INTRATEC TEC-9, TEC-DC9 and TEC-22, and "revolving cylinder shotguns including, but not limited to, the Street Sweeper and Striker 12" |
| (f) | A copy or duplicate of anything in (d) or (e): a firearm "configured with an ability to accept a detachable magazine" whose internal components are "substantially similar" to, or whose receiver "is the same as or interchangeable with," an enumerated firearm, unless "sold, owned and registered prior to July 20, 2016" |
Clause (g) is the exclusion, and it removes whole categories of firearm from the definition:
"'Assault-style firearm' shall not include any: (i) firearm that is operated by manual bolt, pump, lever or slide action; (ii) firearm that has been rendered permanently inoperable or otherwise rendered permanently unable to be designated as a semiautomatic assault-style firearm; (iii) firearm that is an antique or relic, theatrical prop or other firearm that is not capable of firing a projectile and which is not intended for use as a functional firearm and cannot be readily modified through a combination of available parts into an assault-style firearm; (iv) any of the firearms, or replicas or duplicates of such firearms, specified in appendix A to 18 U.S.C. section 922 as appearing in such appendix on September 13, 1994, as such firearms were manufactured on October 1, 1993; or (v) semiautomatic shotgun that cannot hold more than 5 rounds of ammunition in a fixed or detachable feeding device."
The roster in clause (d) is not static. Under MGL c. 140, s. 131 3/4 as replaced by St. 2024, c. 135, SECTION 51, the secretary of public safety and security compiles "a roster of assault-style firearms banned under section 131M and a roster of firearms approved for sale and use in the commonwealth," reviewed, updated and published online "not less than 3 times annually." Licensing authorities pass roster information to holders "upon initial issuance and every renewal."
MGL c. 140, s. 121 defines "Large capacity firearm" as any firearm that "(i) is semiautomatic with a fixed large capacity feeding device; (ii) is semiautomatic and capable of accepting, or readily modifiable to accept, any detachable large capacity feeding device when both are in the same person's possession or under their control in a vehicle; (iii) employs a rotating cylinder capable of accepting more than 10 rounds of ammunition or more than 5 shotgun shells; or (iv) is an assault-style firearm."
The proviso that follows controls how the label operates: "provided, however, that 'large capacity firearm' shall be a secondary designation and shall apply to a firearm in addition to its primary designation as a firearm, and shall not include, any firearm that: (a) operates by manual bolt, pump, lever or slide action; (b) is a single-shot firearm; (c) has been modified so as to render it permanently inoperable or otherwise rendered permanently unable to be designated a large capacity firearm; or (d) is an antique or relic, theatrical prop or other firearm that is not capable of firing a projectile and which 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."
Clause (ii) turns on co-possession as well as hardware. A semiautomatic firearm that is "capable of accepting, or readily modifiable to accept," a detachable large capacity feeding device becomes a large capacity firearm when the firearm and the device are in the same person's possession or under their control in a vehicle. A semiautomatic firearm that cannot accept such a device and is not readily modifiable to accept one does not become a large capacity firearm because a device is nearby. The firearm stays inside the LTC under s. 131(a); the device that produced the designation does not.
The same section defines the device as "(i) a fixed or detachable magazine, belt, drum, feed strip or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition or more than 5 shotgun shells; or (ii) any part or combination of parts from which a device can be assembled if those parts are in the possession or control of the same person."
Its exclusions read: "provided, however, that 'large capacity feeding device' shall not include: (a) any device that has been permanently altered so that it cannot accommodate more than 10 rounds of ammunition or more than 5 shotgun shells; (b) an attached tubular device designed to accept and capable of operating only with .22 caliber rimfire ammunition; or (c) a tubular magazine that is contained in a lever-action firearm or on a pump shotgun."
There is no separate handgun threshold here, so a pistol magazine crosses the line at the same round count as a rifle magazine.
MGL c. 140, s. 121 defines "Machine gun" as a firearm "which may automatically discharge more than 1 shot by a continuous activation of the trigger, whether originally manufactured as such or modified by automatic conversion, including through the use of an automatic part," or one "modified by automatic conversion to alter or increase its rate of fire to mimic automatic fire," and it "shall include a submachine gun."
An ordinary license to carry does not reach one. MGL c. 140, s. 131(f) provides that "No person shall be issued a license to carry a machine gun in the commonwealth," excepting a machine gun license for an MPTC-certified instructor teaching police personnel or for "a bona fide collector of firearms as defined in section 121." Those exceptions "shall not apply to automatic devices or automatic parts."
Rate-increasing hardware is defined separately in s. 121 and criminalized alongside sawed-off shotguns in MGL c. 269, s. 10(c). A "Bump stock" is a device that "increases the rate of fire achievable with such weapon by using energy from the recoil of the weapon to generate a reciprocating action that facilitates repeated activation of the trigger." A "Rapid-fire trigger activator" reaches any device "designed to increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm when attached" or parts "designed to substantially increase the rate of fire," with a proviso excluding adjustment of "the trigger pull weight of a firearm" and "adjusting or replacing a magazine spring." A "Trigger modifier" is "any modification that repeatedly activates the trigger of a firearm, including, but not limited to, trigger cranks, binary triggers and hellfire triggers."
MGL c. 140, s. 121 defines "Sawed-off shotgun" as "any firearm made from a shotgun, whether by alteration, modification or otherwise, if such firearm as modified has one or more barrels less than 18 inches in length or as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches." A lawful "Shotgun" needs a barrel "equal to or greater than 18 inches with an overall length equal to or greater than 26 inches"; a "Rifle" needs a rifled bore and a barrel "equal to or greater than 16 inches." Barrel length "shall include the chamber."
The s. 121 definition of "Firearm" itself names the sawed-off shotgun, large capacity firearm, assault-style firearm and machine gun, along with frames, receivers and unfinished frames or receivers, "provided, however, that 'firearm' shall not include any antique firearm or permanently inoperable firearm."
MGL c. 140, s. 121C(b), inserted by St. 2024, c. 135, SECTION 32, provides that "No person shall knowingly possess, manufacture or assemble, cause to be manufactured or assembled, purchase, offer for sale, sell or otherwise transfer or import an untraceable firearm in the commonwealth." New residents and estate recipients get 60 days to serialize; licensed dealers, gunsmiths, distributors and manufacturers get 7. Section 121C(c) requires a unique serial number from the department of criminal justice information services before any privately made firearm is manufactured, serialization during manufacture, and registration within 7 days. Section 121C carries no penalty subsection of its own, and the untraceable firearm grading in MGL c. 269, s. 11C keys to knowingly manufacturing, assembling, importing, selling or transferring ownership of an untraceable firearm, or purchasing or receiving one with knowledge that it is untraceable. Firearms "manufactured prior to October 22, 1968" are among the categories s. 121C(g) exempts. MGL c. 140, s. 121D(a) bars using "a 3-dimensional printer or computer numerical control milling machine to manufacture or assemble any firearm within the commonwealth" without a valid s. 131 license to carry.
St. 2024, c. 135, SECTION 72 rewrote the first sentence of MGL c. 140, s. 131N: "No person shall knowingly possess, own, sell, offer for sale, transfer, manufacture, assemble, repair or import any firearm capable of discharging a bullet or shot that is a covert firearm or an undetectable firearm all as defined in section 121." A "Covert firearm" reaches items "constructed in a shape that does not resemble a firearm or is not immediately recognizable as a firearm," such as zip guns and firearms resembling key-chains, pens or flashlights.
Sound suppressors sit outside the s. 121 "Firearm" definition; MGL c. 269, s. 10A is the Massachusetts provision. It is not a flat ban. The prohibition runs against "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," who "sells or keeps for sale, or offers, or gives or disposes of by any means other than submitting to an authorized law enforcement agency, or uses or possesses" a silencing instrument, attachment, weapon or appliance. Surrendering one to an authorized law enforcement agency is therefore carved out of the prohibited conduct. St. 2024, c. 135, SECTION 128 broadened the covered hardware to reach "any combination of parts designed or redesigned and intended for use in assembling or fabricating any such instrument, attachment, weapon or appliance and any part intended only for use in such assembly or fabrication." SECTION 129 made a separate edit, striking "or appliance" from the confiscation sentence and inserting ", appliance or parts."
| Offense | Grading |
|---|---|
| MGL c. 269, s. 10(a): knowing possession or vehicle control of a firearm without license, FID or exemption | State prison 2.5 to 5 years, or house of correction 18 months to 2.5 years. Not "reduced to less than 18 months, nor suspended," and no probation, parole, work release, furlough or good conduct deduction until 18 months served |
| MGL c. 269, s. 10(c): possessing a machine gun without permission under s. 131, or owning, possessing or carrying a sawed-off shotgun, automatic part, bump stock, rapid-fire trigger activator or trigger modifier | Imprisonment in state prison for life, or for any term of years, "subject to the minimum requirements of paragraph (a)" |
| MGL c. 269, s. 10(m): possession or vehicle control of a large capacity firearm or large capacity feeding device without a valid LTC under s. 131 or s. 131F | State prison 2.5 to 10 years, not reduced below 1 year, not suspended, no probation, parole, furlough, work release or good conduct deduction until the minimum is served. An FID "shall not be a defense," but an FID holder "shall not be subject to any mandatory minimum sentence" |
| MGL c. 269, s. 10(n): violating (a) or (c) by means of a loaded firearm | House of correction up to 2.5 years, from and after the underlying sentence |
| MGL c. 269, s. 10(d): repeat s. 10(a), (b) or (c) offenses | Second offense state prison 5 to 7 years; third 7 to 10 years; fourth 10 to 15 years; not suspended, no probation or good conduct deduction |
| MGL c. 140, s. 131M(d): assault-style firearm or large capacity feeding device violation | First offense fine of $1,000 to $10,000 or imprisonment 1 to 10 years, or both; second offense fine of $5,000 to $15,000 or imprisonment 5 to 15 years, or both |
| MGL c. 140, s. 121B(e): failure to register a firearm or report a transaction, loss or theft | First offense fine up to $1,000; second up to $7,500 or 6 months, or both; third or subsequent up to $10,000 or 1 to 5 years, or both. Also cause for suspension or permanent revocation of the license, card or permit |
| MGL c. 140, s. 121D(d): unlicensed 3D printer or CNC firearm manufacture, or selling such a machine | Imprisonment up to 1 year or a fine up to $5,000 "per firearm per violation," or both |
| MGL c. 269, s. 11C: knowingly manufacturing, importing, selling, transferring or receiving an untraceable firearm | Imprisonment not less than 12 months and not more than 2.5 years; possession is prima facie evidence, rebuttable by lack of knowledge |
| MGL c. 140, s. 131N: knowingly possessing, owning, selling, offering for sale, transferring, manufacturing, assembling, repairing or importing a covert or undetectable firearm | First offense fine of $1,000 to $10,000 or imprisonment 1 to 10 years, or both; second offense fine of $5,000 to $15,000 or imprisonment 5 to 15 years, or both |
| MGL c. 269, s. 10A: selling, keeping for sale, offering, giving, disposing of by any means other than submitting to an authorized law enforcement agency, using or possessing a silencing instrument, attachment, weapon, appliance or its parts, outside the listed exceptions | Imprisonment not more than 5 years in state prison, or not more than 2.5 years in a jail or house of correction. On conviction the article is confiscated and forwarded to the colonel of the state police, "who shall destroy said article" |
| MGL c. 269, s. 10G: violating s. 10(a), (c) or (h) with prior convictions | One prior violent crime or serious drug offense, state prison 3 to 15 years; two priors from separate incidents, 10 to 15 years; three, 15 to 20 years. Not reduced below the minimum, not suspended, no probation, parole, furlough, work release or good conduct deduction |
Upon conviction under MGL c. 269, s. 10, "the firearm or other article shall, unless otherwise ordered by the court, be confiscated by the commonwealth," and one that "may not be lawfully sold in the commonwealth shall be destroyed."
Section 10(m) exempts government officers and employees, military members, municipal law enforcement, historical societies, museums and public institutional collections, and federally licensed gunsmiths, with the personnel clauses conditioned on being "authorized by a competent authority" and "acting within the scope of his duties." Section 131M(e), as amended by St. 2025, c. 14, s. 45 effective August 5, 2025, exempts qualified and qualified retired officers under 18 U.S.C. ss. 926B and 926C, currently certified MGL c. 6E officers, law enforcement agencies, and "a federally licensed manufacturer solely for sale or transfer in another state or for export."
Federal law restricts a narrower set of items, and compliance with it does not cure a Massachusetts violation.
Under 18 U.S.C. s. 922(o)(1), "it shall be unlawful for any person to transfer or possess a machinegun." Paragraph (2) preserves government possession and "any lawful transfer or lawful possession of a machinegun that was lawfully possessed before the date this subsection takes effect." A knowing violation draws a fine, imprisonment of not more than 10 years, or both under 18 U.S.C. s. 924(a)(2). A knowing violation of the undetectable firearm provision, s. 922(p), draws a fine, imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both under 18 U.S.C. s. 924(f).
National Firearms Act items carry a federal registration duty on top of the state rules. Under 26 U.S.C. s. 5861(d), a person may not receive or possess a firearm within that chapter unless it is registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. The federal definition of "firearm" in 18 U.S.C. s. 921(a)(3) reaches "any firearm muffler or firearm silencer," which s. 921(a)(25) extends to "any combination of parts" intended for assembling one.
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