Transporting Firearms in Massachusetts:
Legal Requirements

Massachusetts law sets requirements for carrying firearms in vehicles. The rules differ depending on your license type and whether you are traveling within the state or passing through.

LTC Holders

An LTC holder carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle must keep it under the holder's direct control. Section 131C(c) exempts specified public officers, employees and military personnel who are authorized by a competent authority to carry or possess the firearm and are acting within their official duties.^[1] Section 131C does not define a bright-line distance for direct control. A violation of subsection (a) carries a $500 fine; after a conviction under Section 131C, the licensing authority must revoke the person's card or license, and no new card or license may issue until one year after revocation. A firearm outside an authorized person's control must also comply with the applicable storage rules.

FID Holders

Under Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024^[2], an FID ordinarily authorizes non-large-capacity, nonsemiautomatic rifles and shotguns. Section 129B(c) permits possession of other firearms under the direct supervision of an LTC holder at an incorporated shooting club or licensed shooting range. Section 153 preserves possession authorized when a card valid at the Act's effective date was last issued or renewed, until that card expires, is suspended or is revoked. Chapter 131, Section 63 requires rifles and shotguns in a motor vehicle to be unloaded, subject to its exceptions.^[4] On a public way, Chapter 269, Section 12D generally requires an unloaded rifle or shotgun carried on the person to be enclosed in a case.^[5] Section 131L separately governs storage of a firearm that is not carried by or under the control of the owner or another lawfully authorized user. A locked-trunk rule does not apply to every FID firearm. Ordinary Massachusetts possession of a semiautomatic rifle or shotgun requires an LTC, while 18 U.S.C. Section 926A may protect qualifying interstate transport between places where possession and carry are lawful.

Prohibited Areas (New Under Chapter 135)

Chapter 135 added Section 10(k) to Chapter 269. Its prohibited areas include the listed government administrative, judicial, and correctional buildings together with their grounds and parking areas. The rule also covers a location in use for ballot storage or tabulation during voting or tabulation hours, a polling place or early voting site while open for voting, and points within 150 feet of its building entrance. State-owned public land open for hunting is excluded. The statute provides a vehicle-storage defense for qualifying licensees and allows municipalities to opt their administrative buildings out.

Federal Protections (FOPA)

FOPA's safe-passage provision, 18 USC 926A^[3], provides a federal safe harbor for a person not prohibited by federal firearms law from transporting, shipping or receiving a firearm who transports it for a lawful purpose between places where the person may lawfully possess and carry it. The firearm must be unloaded, and neither the firearm nor any ammunition may be readily or directly accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle with no separate trunk, both must be in a locked container that is not the glove compartment or console. Travelers should not make unnecessary stops in Massachusetts beyond fuel and emergencies.

Transporting to a Range or Hunting

The vehicle transport rules above also apply to trips to a shooting range or hunting. The public-way carrying rule does not apply to a person lawfully engaged in hunting who holds a valid hunting or sporting license. An LTC authorizes possession and carry of firearms, including large capacity firearms, subject to the restrictions in Section 131. FID holders should keep their non-semiautomatic rifles and shotguns unloaded during vehicle transport and enclosed in a case when carrying them on a public way, unless an exception applies.

Airport Travel

At Logan Airport, 740 CMR 30.04^[6] requires an ordinary passenger carrying a firearm under Massachusetts law to keep it unloaded and in a locked gun case while on airport property and to deliver it promptly to the airline agent for transport in the aircraft hold. Ammunition must be stored separately. TSA separately requires unloaded firearms in a locked hard-sided container as checked baggage and declaration to the airline at the ticket counter. Check the airline's current requirements before travel.

See also: Vehicle Carry in Massachusetts: Passengers, Storage, and Rideshare