Compliance Guides
Step-by-step guides to help you navigate Massachusetts firearms compliance.
Purchase Compliance
4Buying a Handgun in Massachusetts: Step-by-Step Compliance Guide
A comprehensive guide to legally purchasing a handgun in Massachusetts, including the approved firearms roster, the electronic FA-10 registration process, private sale requirements, and common compliance pitfalls. Updated for Chapter 135.
Frame Transfers: How to Buy Off-Roster Handguns in Massachusetts
Massachusetts restricts dealer handgun sales through a three-layer system: the EOPSS Approved Firearms Roster, the AG's 940 CMR 16.00 consumer protection regulations, and AG enforcement notices. Frame transfers allow LTC holders to legally obtain handguns that are blocked at the dealer level by purchasing a serialized frame and parts separately, then assembling and registering the completed firearm.
Massachusetts Ammunition Laws: Purchase, Storage, and Transport
Massachusetts requires a firearms license to buy or possess ammunition. This guide covers who can purchase, what types are legal, reloading components, out-of-state purchases, online sales restrictions, and storage rules.
Private Firearms Sales in Massachusetts: Complete Legal Guide
Massachusetts law allows licensed individuals to sell firearms privately, but strict rules apply. This guide covers the 4-transfer annual limit, eFA-10 filing requirements, Chapter 135 changes, and what both buyers and sellers must know.
Storage Requirements
1Transportation
2Transporting Firearms in Massachusetts: Legal Requirements
Massachusetts has specific requirements for transporting firearms in vehicles. This guide covers the rules for LTC holders, FID holders (whose scope has been narrowed under Chapter 135), and the federal protections under FOPA for interstate travel.
Vehicle Carry in Massachusetts: Passengers, Storage, and Rideshare
Massachusetts permits LTC holders to carry loaded handguns in vehicles under MGL c. 140, Section 131C if the firearm is under direct control. No law prohibits carrying because a non-LTC passenger is present. Chapter 135 expanded vehicle carry rules to FID holders and clarified locked container definitions.
Reciprocity
1Serialization & Registration
3eFA-10 Registration Guide: When and How to File in Massachusetts
Every firearms transaction in Massachusetts must be recorded through the electronic registration system. This guide explains when to file, the deadlines for each scenario, common mistakes, and how Chapter 135 changed the registration landscape.
Massachusetts Firearms Registration Deadline: What to Do Before October 28, 2026
Every firearms owner in Massachusetts must register all firearms through the MIRCS Unified Gun Portal by October 28, 2026. This guide explains the registration process, who must register, what firearms are covered, and the penalties for non-compliance.
Untraceable Firearms (Ghost Guns) in Massachusetts: What the Law Says
Massachusetts has some of the strictest laws in the country regarding unserialized firearms, commonly known as ghost guns. Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024 added new sections to the firearms code that criminalize the possession, manufacture, and distribution of unserialized firearms and regulate the equipment used to produce them. These laws took effect on October 2, 2024.
Self-Defense
2Home Defense by Unlicensed Residents in Massachusetts
The Castle Doctrine protects the act of defending your home but not the unlicensed possession of the weapon used. A non-LTC resident who uses a firearm in home defense may face misdemeanor possession charges under Section 10(h) even if the self-defense claim succeeds. Chapter 135 did not create a home defense exception.
Self-Defense Law in Massachusetts: Duty to Retreat and Castle Doctrine
Massachusetts requires retreat before force in all public locations. The Castle Doctrine (MGL c. 278, Section 8A) eliminates the duty to retreat only inside the dwelling against an unlawful intruder. The burden of proof falls on the Commonwealth to disprove a self-defense claim. Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024 did not change self-defense law.
Legal Analysis
11"Readily Converted": The Undefined Middle Ground in Massachusetts Firearms Law
Chapter 135 replaced the decades-old operability requirement ("can be discharged") with a new "designed to or may readily be converted" standard. Massachusetts does not define "readily" anywhere in the statute, nor does it define "permanently inoperable." No Massachusetts court has interpreted this new language.
Building a Firearm from a Lower Receiver in Massachusetts
Chapter 135 expanded the definition of "firearm" to include frames, receivers, and unfinished frames or receivers. AR-15 platform builds are effectively prohibited after August 1, 2024. Ghost guns are per se illegal. New serialization and 3D printer regulations apply. Which grandfathering date applies to stripped lowers purchased before August 1, 2024 remains genuinely unclear.
FOPA Safe Passage Through Massachusetts: A Theory, Not a Shield
The Firearms Owners' Protection Act (18 U.S.C. Section 926A) promises safe passage for travelers transporting firearms through states where possession would otherwise be illegal. In practice, Massachusetts treats this as an affirmative defense raised after arrest, not immunity from prosecution. The SJC ruled in Commonwealth v. Marquis (2025) that commuting to a Massachusetts workplace is not "traveling through."
Inheriting Firearms in Massachusetts: Legal Guide for Heirs
Inheriting firearms in Massachusetts involves specific legal requirements including a 60-day grace period, licensing obligations, and registration through the eFA-10 system. This guide covers executor duties, out-of-state inheritance, non-compliant firearms, and step-by-step instructions.
Is My Rifle Legal in Massachusetts? A Compliance Guide
Massachusetts does not have a rifle roster. Unlike handguns, which must appear on the EOPSS Approved Firearms Roster to be sold, rifles are regulated through a prohibition framework defined by MGL c. 140, Section 121, Section 131M, and Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024. This guide walks through the features test, the named models ban, the AG's 2016 enforcement notice, and the grandfathering timeline to help you determine whether a specific rifle configuration is legal.
Marijuana and Firearms in Massachusetts: The Federal-State Conflict
Federal law prohibits marijuana users from possessing firearms under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3), even in states like Massachusetts where marijuana is legal. SCOTUS heard U.S. v. Hemani on March 2, 2026.
Open Carry in Massachusetts: Legal on Paper, Lethal to Your License
No Massachusetts statute prohibits open carry by a valid LTC holder. The statutory text authorizes LTC holders to carry firearms with no distinction between concealed and open carry. However, open carry is functionally suppressed through the suitability standard, which allows licensing authorities to revoke licenses based on behavior that causes public alarm.
Suppressors, New Hampshire, and Dual Residency: A Path That Stays in New Hampshire
Massachusetts prohibits suppressor possession absolutely, with no NFA exception. Federal law permits a person to have dual residency in two states simultaneously, and an NFA transfer can be completed in any state where the buyer is a resident. A Massachusetts resident who genuinely maintains a New Hampshire residence can legally purchase and own a suppressor through their NH residency — provided the suppressor never enters Massachusetts.
The Non-Resident Registration Gap: Mandated to Comply, Unable to Do So
Chapter 135 requires all firearms possessed in the commonwealth to be registered through the MIRCS Unified Gun Portal, but the portal does not support non-resident users. Non-resident Temporary LTC holders are legally required to register but technologically unable to do so. The compliance deadline is October 28, 2026, one week before voters decide whether to repeal Chapter 135 entirely.
Three Grandfathering Dates and the Burden of Proof
Massachusetts firearms owners now contend with three distinct grandfathering cutoff dates (September 13, 1994; July 20, 2016; August 1, 2024), each applying to different categories of items. No appellate decision has addressed who bears the burden of proving pre-ban status, and no evidentiary standard exists for proving magazine manufacture date.
What Counts as a "Locked Container" in Massachusetts
Chapter 135 added a statutory definition of "secured in a locked container" to Section 121 for the first time, explicitly including locked trunks, locked consoles, and locked glove boxes. Biometric safes have not been specifically addressed by any court but are likely compliant under the "key, combination or similar means" language.