Glossary

Key terms and abbreviations used in Massachusetts firearms law.

AWB: Assault Weapons Ban. Massachusetts state law (MGL Ch. 140 §131M) prohibiting the sale and possession of certain semi-automatic firearms and large-capacity feeding devices.
Class A LTC: Class A License to Carry. Massachusetts now issues a single license to carry under section 131. It allows the holder to purchase, rent, lease, borrow, possess and carry firearms, including large capacity firearms, but not large capacity feeding devices or assault-style firearms unless section 131M permits them.
Class B LTC: License to Carry Class B. A former license class. Chapter 284 of the Acts of 2014 ended the issuance and renewal of Class B licenses, and any remaining Class B license expired no later than July 31, 2020.
EOPSS: Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. The Massachusetts state agency responsible for maintaining the Approved Firearms Roster and overseeing public safety.
FA-10: The former firearms transaction report form. Massachusetts residents now report every private sale or transfer of a firearm electronically through the MIRCS Unified Gun Portal at or before the point of sale.
FID: Firearm Identification Card. Permits the holder to purchase, transfer, possess and carry rifles and shotguns that are neither large capacity nor semi-automatic, and ammunition for them.
FRB: Firearms Records Bureau. The division within DCJIS responsible for processing firearms licenses and maintaining records.
Large Capacity: A feeding device such as a magazine that holds, or can be readily converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition or more than 5 shotgun shells. A large capacity firearm includes a semiautomatic firearm with a fixed device of that size or one capable of accepting a detachable one.
LTC: License to Carry. The Massachusetts firearms license that permits the purchase, possession, and carrying of all legal firearms including handguns.
MGL: Massachusetts General Laws. The codified statutes of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
MIRCS: Massachusetts Instant Record Check System. The automated DCJIS system that provides online firearms licensing by licensing authorities and online reporting of gun transactions by dealers and private parties.
Pre-Ban: Refers to large capacity feeding devices lawfully possessed on September 13, 1994, which may still be possessed in limited places under section 131M. Assault-style firearms are exempt only if lawfully possessed on August 1, 2024 by a license to carry holder or dealer and registered and serialized.
Roster: The Approved Firearms Roster maintained by EOPSS listing handguns approved for sale by licensed dealers in Massachusetts.
Suitable Person: Suitability. A licensing authority must deny a license to a person it determines to be unsuitable, based on reliable, articulable and credible information that the applicant has engaged in behavior suggesting a risk to public safety or a risk of danger to themselves or others.