501 CMR 7.00:
Approved Firearms Roster Regulations

501 CMR 7.00^[1], which sets the rules for the rosters referred to in MGL Chapter 140, Sections 123 and 131 3/4, covers three rosters: the Approved Handgun Roster (handguns meeting testing requirements), the Large Capacity Weapons Roster, and the Formal Target Shooting Firearms Roster. Last amended by Mass Register Issue 1309, effective March 25, 2016.

How Handguns Get Listed

The entity seeking to have a firearm placed on the roster has it tested, at its expense, by an approved independent testing laboratory, which shall not be owned or operated by a firearms manufacturer or by an organization that seeks to promote or restrict firearms ownership. The lab conducts tests per Section 123, clauses Eighteenth through Twenty-first in the regulation's numbering, now Section 123(o). The lab submits a final report to the Secretary and to the advisory board. The regulation names the Gun Control Advisory Board, and section 50 of Chapter 135^[2] replaced it with the Firearm Control Advisory Board. The board reviews and recommends. The Secretary makes the final determination. Roster placement serves as notice of compliance with Section 123.

Testing Requirements

• Materials quality: The dealer-transfer restriction covers firearms whose frame, barrel, cylinder, slide or breechblock is made of metal with a melting point under 900 degrees Fahrenheit, a tensile strength under 55,000 psi or, for powdered metal, a density under 7.5 g/cm3, unless 3 new-condition samples each pass the 600-round firing test
• Drop test: 5 samples dropped from 1 meter in 6 positions (normal, inverted, on grip, on muzzle, on either side, on exposed hammer/striker or, if there is none, the rearmost part of the firearm) with no discharge
• Mechanical safety: No multiple discharge per trigger pull; no explosion
• Accuracy: Barrels under 3 inches require disclosure of average group diameter at 7, 14, and 21 yards

Alternative Pathways

A firearm model may be deemed to satisfy the testing requirements if an approved independent testing laboratory certifies, with a written explanation, that it is the functional design equivalent of another model from the same manufacturer that has already passed the tests. A final test report from a laboratory approved by the Secretary, showing the firearm passed identical testing required by another state, may be submitted to the board without repeating the tests.

Removal

The Secretary, on own initiative or upon advice of the Firearm Control Advisory Board, or through petition, may remove a firearm from the Roster with written notice to the manufacturer. Under 501 CMR 7.06, a person may petition the Secretary to place a firearm on or remove a firearm from the roster within 90 days of the Secretary's original denial or approval, and the Secretary must notify the petitioner by certified mail within 45 days whether the petition is approved or denied. A petition for inclusion must include clear and convincing evidence from an approved independent testing laboratory.

Dealer Compliance

Under 501 CMR 7.05, a licensee that sells, rents, leases, delivers or offers for sale, rent, lease, transfer or delivery any firearm not an approved firearm is in violation of Section 123, except for an individual firearm lawfully owned or possessed under a license prior to October 21, 1998, the delivery of a firearm to a licensed gunsmith for service or repair or its return to its lawful owner after service or repair, the return of a consigned firearm by a licensee to its lawful owner, and a firearm listed on the Formal Target Shooting Firearms Roster. Section 123(p) of the statute exempts a firearm lawfully owned or possessed under a license issued on or before October 21, 1998.

Important Caveat

The Roster does not guarantee compliance with the Attorney General's separate handgun sales regulations at 940 CMR 16.00. The August 2026 "Approved Handgun Roster" states that it supersedes all previous rosters.^[3]

Granata v. Campbell: Constitutional Challenge

The Approved Handgun Roster is subject to an active constitutional challenge. In Granata v. Campbell (formerly Granata v. Healey), the Firearms Policy Coalition, the firearms retailer The Gunrunner, LLC and individual plaintiffs challenge the restriction on which handguns dealers may sell.^[5]

On August 29, 2025, the District Court allowed the defendants' motion for summary judgment and entered judgment. Plaintiffs appealed to the First Circuit, where the appeal was docketed as No. 25-1918 on September 26, 2025. On January 28, 2026, the United States tendered an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs, which the court docketed as filed on February 9, 2026.^[5]

The First Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument on September 9, 2026.^[6]

See also: AG Handgun Sales Enforcement Notice