MGL Chapter 140, Section 131F:
Non-Resident Temporary License to Carry

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 140, Section 131F ^[1] provides the mechanism by which non-residents of Massachusetts may obtain a temporary License to Carry. Unlike the resident LTC under Section 131, the non-resident temporary LTC is issued by the Colonel of State Police through the Firearms Records Bureau (FRB), not by a local licensing authority.

Application and Issuance

Non-residents must apply directly to the Firearms Records Bureau. The application requires:

• A completed application form
• A Massachusetts Basic Firearms Safety Course certificate (first-time applicants)
• A list of any other state, territory or jurisdiction in which the applicant has held a firearms license
• Payment of the application fee
• Successful completion of a background check

Since Chapter 135, Section 131F provides that the non-resident temporary LTC shall be issued if it appears that the applicant is not a prohibited person and is not determined unsuitable to be issued a license as set forth in Section 121F. The Colonel of State Police must issue the license unless the applicant is a prohibited person or is determined unsuitable under the same Section 121F criteria that govern resident LTC applicants. An unsuitability denial must rest on reliable, articulable and credible information and is appealable to the district court under Section 121F(v). That district-court appeal is distinct from an eligible conviction-based petition to the Firearms Licensing Review Board. Beginning July 1, 2026, all Firearm Licensing Review Board petitions must be submitted online.^[5]

Scope and Duration

The non-resident temporary LTC authorizes the holder to carry firearms in Massachusetts on narrower terms than a resident LTC. It may not be used to purchase firearms in the Commonwealth, and it permits carrying a large-capacity firearm only when that entitlement is indicated on the license. The ordinary term is one year. A license for a non-resident employed by a bank, a public utility corporation, a firm engaged in the business of transferring monies or a business of similar nature, or a firm licensed as a private detective, whose application is endorsed by the employer, or for a member of the armed services stationed in Massachusetts with the written consent of the commanding officer, may be issued for any term not to exceed two years.

Chapter 135 Amendments

Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024 ^[2] amended Section 131F in sections 60 to 63 of the act. The suitability standard and disqualifying criteria now follow Section 121F, which Chapter 135 substituted for the former reference to Section 131.

Constitutional Challenges

The non-resident licensing framework was challenged in two related SJC cases, Commonwealth v. Donnell and Commonwealth v. Marquis. On March 11, 2025, the SJC ruled on both.^[3]

In Donnell, the SJC held that the former non-resident licensing scheme, under which a temporary license "may be issued" on terms the colonel deemed proper, violates the Second Amendment under the Bruen decision. In Marquis (SJC-13562), the SJC reversed the District Court's dismissal and held that the non-resident licensing scheme as amended in 2022, under which a qualifying applicant "shall be issued" a temporary license, was facially consistent with the Second Amendment. The former version let the colonel deny a license to a qualified applicant, and the SJC held that a non-resident licensing scheme cannot vest an official with that discretion. The 2022 version is a "shall issue" licensing regime.

Marquis petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for certiorari (Docket No. 25-5280) in July 2025. New Hampshire and 24 other states filed an amicus brief supporting the petition. In January 2026, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.^[4]

The Supreme Court denied the petition on January 12, 2026. Marquis addressed the non-resident scheme as amended in 2022, so it did not decide every change that Chapter 135 later made to Section 131F.

See also: Non-Resident Temporary License to Carry

See also: Analysis: Impact of Bruen on Massachusetts Firearms Licensing

See also: MGL Chapter 140, Section 130B: Firearms Licensing Review Board

See also: MGL Chapter 140, Section 131P: Basic Firearms Safety Certificate