Massachusetts Carry Laws
✓ Verified against official sources · August 18, 2026
Reciprocity, prohibited places, transport & storage rules. 8 state-level rules for Massachusetts, each linked to its official government source.
Prohibited
License to Carry Required - 10-Round Magazine Limit (pre-1994 grandfathered)
Massachusetts requires a License to Carry for handgun ownership and carry (shall-issue with suitability review since the post-Bruen 2022/2024 reforms - no longer may-issue); magazines over 10 rounds are banned to possess, sell, or transfer unless lawfully possessed on September 13, 1994, and grandfathered devices are restricted to private property, ranges, gunsmiths, and transit (M.G.L. c. 140 s. 131M; first offense $1,000-$10,000 and/or 1-10 years).
MAGAZINE CAPACITY
MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts requires a License to Carry for handgun ownership and carry (shall-issue with suitability review since the post-Bruen 2022/2024 reforms - no longer may-issue); magazines over 10 rounds are banned to possess, sell, or transfer unless lawfully possessed on September 13, 1994, and grandfathered devices are restricted to private property, ranges, gunsmiths, and transit (M.G.L. c. 140 s. 131M; first offense $1,000-$10,000 and/or 1-10 years).
Authority: M.G.L. c. 140 s. 131M (as amended by ch. 135 of the Acts of 2024, effective Aug. 1 2024 baseline / Aug. 5 2025 text); LCM defined >10 rounds in c. 140 s. 121.
Official sources (verified August 18, 2026)
Warning
Magazine Limit - 10 Rounds Maximum
Massachusetts bans possession, sale and transfer of magazines over 10 rounds (large capacity feeding devices, MGL c.140 s.121); since the 2024 gun law, even devices lawfully possessed on September 13, 1994 may be possessed only in limited places (own private property, a dealer/gunsmith, a licensed range or competition, and travel between them, stored locked and unloaded) — bringing standard-capacity magazines from other states is a crime.
MAGAZINE LIMIT - 10 ROUNDS MAXIMUM
Massachusetts
Massachusetts bans possession, sale and transfer of magazines over 10 rounds (large capacity feeding devices, MGL c.140 s.121); since the 2024 gun law, even devices lawfully possessed on September 13, 1994 may be possessed only in limited places (own private property, a dealer/gunsmith, a licensed range or competition, and travel between them, stored locked and unloaded) — bringing standard-capacity magazines from other states is a crime.
Authority: Mass. Gen. Laws c. 140, § 131M (as rewritten by Ch. 135 of the Acts of 2024 — heading: 'not lawfully possessed on August 1, 2024') and c. 140, § 121 ('large capacity feeding device' = >10 rounds / >5 shotgun shells).
Official sources (verified August 18, 2026)
Warning
Prohibited Places - Where You Cannot Carry
Massachusetts (MGL c.269 §10): carrying -- even with a License to Carry -- is prohibited in any building or on the grounds of any elementary or secondary school, college or university without written authorization of the school (§10(j), up to 2 years); and in statutory 'prohibited areas' (§10(k), added by the 2024 gun law): buildings, grounds and parking areas used for government administration, judicial or court administrative proceedings, or correctional services (public hunting land excluded; a municipality may vote to exclude its administrative buildings), plus polling places and early-voting sites while open, within 150 feet of their entrances, and ballot storage/tabulation locations in use; securely storing the firearm in a vehicle per c.140 §§131C/131L is a statutory defense (§10(k)(4)); a private 'no firearms' sign is not itself a firearms offense -- liability runs through trespass (MGL c.266 §120), which a posted notice can trigger.
PROHIBITED PLACES - WHERE YOU CANNOT CARRY
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (MGL c.269 §10): carrying -- even with a License to Carry -- is prohibited in any building or on the grounds of any elementary or secondary school, college or university without written authorization of the school (§10(j), up to 2 years); and in statutory 'prohibited areas' (§10(k), added by the 2024 gun law): buildings, grounds and parking areas used for government administration, judicial or court administrative proceedings, or correctional services (public hunting land excluded; a municipality may vote to exclude its administrative buildings), plus polling places and early-voting sites while open, within 150 feet of their entrances, and ballot storage/tabulation locations in use; securely storing the firearm in a vehicle per c.140 §§131C/131L is a statutory defense (§10(k)(4)); a private 'no firearms' sign is not itself a firearms offense -- liability runs through trespass (MGL c.266 §120), which a posted notice can trigger.
Authority: MGL c.269 §10(j) and §10(k) (as amended by St.2024 c.135 and St.2025 c.14, eff. Aug 5, 2025).
Official sources (verified August 18, 2026)
Caution
Duty to Retreat - Castle Doctrine Only
Massachusetts: Castle Doctrine applies (home defense). In public, you may have a duty to retreat if safe before using force.
DUTY TO RETREAT - CASTLE DOCTRINE ONLY
Massachusetts
Massachusetts: Castle Doctrine applies (home defense). In public, you may have a duty to retreat if safe before using force.
Authority: Mass. G.L. c. 278, § 8A (castle doctrine); Commonwealth v. Shaffer, 367 Mass. 508 (1975) (public duty to retreat - named, text unfetchable this session).
Official sources (verified August 18, 2026)
Caution
Red Flag Law - ERPO in Effect
Massachusetts: An Extreme Risk Protection Order (red flag) law is in effect (M.G.L. c. 140, 131R).
RED FLAG / EXTREME RISK LAW
Massachusetts
Massachusetts: An Extreme Risk Protection Order (red flag) law is in effect (M.G.L. c. 140, 131R).
Authority: M.G.L. c. 140, 131R (extreme risk protection order petitions), verified on the official malegislature.gov page; amended/expanded by the 2024 gun law (St. 2024, c. 135).
Official sources (verified August 18, 2026)
Caution
Vehicle Carry - License Required; Loaded Only Under Direct Control
Massachusetts: a license holder may keep a loaded handgun in a vehicle only while it is under their direct control - otherwise it must be unloaded and secured (MGL c.140 s.131C(a), $500 fine and license revocation); large-capacity rifles and shotguns in a vehicle must always be unloaded and in a locked container (s.131C(b)); without a Massachusetts license or statutory exemption, carrying a handgun in a vehicle is a criminal offense - interstate travelers must satisfy FOPA's unloaded, inaccessible conditions.
VEHICLE CARRY - LICENSE REQUIRED; LOADED ONLY UNDER DIRECT CONTROL
Massachusetts
Massachusetts: a license holder may keep a loaded handgun in a vehicle only while it is under their direct control - otherwise it must be unloaded and secured (MGL c.140 s.131C(a), $500 fine and license revocation); large-capacity rifles and shotguns in a vehicle must always be unloaded and in a locked container (s.131C(b)); without a Massachusetts license or statutory exemption, carrying a handgun in a vehicle is a criminal offense - interstate travelers must satisfy FOPA's unloaded, inaccessible conditions.
Authority: Mass. Gen. Laws c.140 § 131C(a) (licensee's loaded firearm in vehicle must be under direct control; $500 fine); § 131C(b) (large-capacity rifles/shotguns unloaded + locked container; $500-$5,000); unlicensed handgun carry criminalized by c.269 § 10(a).
Official sources (verified August 18, 2026)
Info
Duty to Inform - No Current Statutory Requirement
Massachusetts: No current statute requires you to volunteer that you are carrying, answer an officer's questions about carrying, or exhibit your License to Carry on demand - the former exhibit-on-demand duty in G.L. c.140 § 129C was eliminated when the 2024 firearms law (St. 2024, c.135) rewrote the section; carrying the LTC remains required to carry lawfully at all.
DUTY TO INFORM LAW ENFORCEMENT
MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts: No current statute requires you to volunteer that you are carrying, answer an officer's questions about carrying, or exhibit your License to Carry on demand - the former exhibit-on-demand duty in G.L. c.140 § 129C was eliminated when the 2024 firearms law (St. 2024, c.135) rewrote the section; carrying the LTC remains required to carry lawfully at all.
Authority: Absence of any duty in current G.L. c.140 § 129C as rewritten by St. 2024, c.135 (An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws) - the former exhibit-on-demand paragraph was eliminated; no display/inform duty found in current c.140 §§ 129C or 131, c.269 § 10, or anywhere in the 2024 act.
Official sources (verified August 18, 2026)
Info
No-Carry Signs - Not Criminal to Ignore
Massachusetts has no firearms statute giving private 'no guns' signs independent force; exclusion is enforced as trespass under MGL c.266 § 120, where the forbidding can be given directly OR 'by notice posted thereon' — so entering against a compliant posted notice can itself be the offense (fine up to $100 and/or up to 30 days), and remaining after being told to leave is trespass in any case.
"NO FIREARMS" SIGN LAW
MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts has no firearms statute giving private 'no guns' signs independent force; exclusion is enforced as trespass under MGL c.266 § 120, where the forbidding can be given directly OR 'by notice posted thereon' — so entering against a compliant posted notice can itself be the offense (fine up to $100 and/or up to 30 days), and remaining after being told to leave is trespass in any case.
Authority: Mass. Gen. Laws c. 266, § 120 (trespass; notice directly or by posted notice).
Official sources (verified August 18, 2026)
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