Massachusetts allows a person to carry a firearm in public if the person has the appropriate license.¹ A License to Carry generally entitles a person to carry handguns and other firearms in public spaces.² Prior to June 2022, Massachusetts law provided local law enforcement with broad discretion to issue or deny Licenses to Carry. However, the US Supreme Court’s June 23, 2022, decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association (“NYSRPA”) v. Bruen has been interpreted as invalidating these specific aspects of Massachusetts’s public carry licensing laws. Massachusetts passed legislation to update its licensing standards accordingly in 2022.³

Under current Massachusetts law, people may apply to local law enforcement agencies for licenses to carry. These licensing authorities are directed to issue or renew a license to carry to a qualified applicant if they are at least 21 years of age and it appears that the applicant is not a “prohibited person” (who is legally disqualified from obtaining a license to carry firearms based on criminal history, age under 21, and is not otherwise determined to be unsuitable to be issued a license.⁴ For an initial application for a license to carry, the licensing authority is required to conduct a personal interview with the applicant.⁵ The licensing authority generally has 40 days from the date an application is submitted to approve or deny the application.⁶

An applicant must generally reside or have a place of business within the jurisdiction of the licensing authority,⁷ although the colonel of state police may issue a temporary license to carry firearms to a nonresident of Massachusetts or any person not falling within the jurisdiction of a local licensing authority for purposes of firearms competition.⁸

People are generally “prohibited” and categorically disqualified from obtaining licenses to carry if they:⁹

In addition to these categorical disqualifications, licensing authorities must also deny or revoke licenses to carry upon making a determination that a person is unsuitable. A determination of unsuitability must be based on “reliable, articulable, and credible information that the applicant has exhibited or engaged in behavior that suggests that, if issued a license, the applicant or may create a risk to public safety or a risk of danger to themselves or others.”¹⁰ A license to carry will be revoked or suspended by the licensing authority upon the occurrence of any event that would have disqualified the holder from being issued the license, or if it appears to the licensing authority that the holder is no longer suitable to possess the license.¹¹ Upon the denial of an application or renewal, or the suspension or revocation, of a license to carry based on unsuitability, the licensing authority must notify the applicant or licensee of the specific reasons for the determination.

See the Licensing in Massachusetts page for further information.

Persons applying for a license to carry must submit a basic firearms safety certificate to the licensing authority.¹² No application for the issuance of a license to carry will be accepted or processed by the licensing authority without this certificate.¹³ The colonel of the state police must certify firearms safety course curriculum and its instructors. For more information on the safety training requirements, see Licensing in Massachusetts.

Once issued, a Massachusetts license to carry firearms is valid for up to six years from the date of issue.¹⁴

Massachusetts does not allow the names and addresses of license holders to be made public.¹⁵ Names and addresses that are exempt from the definition of “public records” include those that:

The executive director of the criminal history systems board is required to promulgate rules and regulations “to ensure the prompt collection, exchange, dissemination and distribution of firearms record information…”¹⁷