Do You Have to Register a Gun in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts does not maintain a traditional gun registry, but in practical terms you do have to register a gun in Massachusetts: every acquisition, sale, transfer, inheritance, and loss must be reported to the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services through the state’s online transaction portal. Before any of that reporting applies to you, you need a valid Massachusetts firearms license.

What Counts as Registration in Massachusetts

The state’s system runs through the Massachusetts Gun Transaction Portal. You file an electronic form called the E-FA-10 (Electronic Firearms Transaction form) for private sales, transfers between individuals, inheritances, and firearms you bring with you when you move into the state. Paper forms are no longer accepted for these transactions.¹

To complete an E-FA-10, you need the firearms license information for both parties, plus a full description of the firearm: make, model, serial number, and caliber.² Print or save the completed form and the receipt right after you submit. The portal does not let you go back and pull them later, and that documentation is what you’ll want if a question ever comes up about when or how you acquired the gun.

One carve-out: antique firearms manufactured in or before 1899 do not require a license to possess, so long as the weapon is not designed or redesigned to fire conventional ammunition.³

You Need a License First

Massachusetts requires a license to possess any firearm, even inside your own home. You apply through the police department in the city or town where you live. The process includes a background check, fingerprinting, and completion of a state-approved firearms safety course.⁴

There are two license types. A Firearm Identification (FID) card covers non-large-capacity rifles and shotguns. A License to Carry (LTC) is required for handguns, large-capacity firearms, and stun guns, and it is the only license that permits concealed carry of a handgun.³

Both licenses cost $100 for applicants 18 and older. The fee drops to $25 for FID applicants under 18 and is waived for applicants 70 or older. Each license is valid for six years. Police chiefs retain discretion to deny an LTC on a “suitability” determination written into the statute, and that discretion is one reason the Massachusetts system is more restrictive than most.⁵

Deadlines by Situation

The deadline for reporting depends on how the firearm came into your hands.

Buying From a Licensed Dealer

When you buy from a licensed Massachusetts dealer, the dealer handles the reporting at the point of sale. You still need a valid FID or LTC in hand, and the dealer verifies it before completing the transaction.

Private Sales

In a private sale, both the buyer and the seller must report the transaction through the E-FA-10 portal at or before the time of the sale.³ Private sellers are capped at four firearm sales per calendar year; beyond that you would need a dealer’s license.¹

Before you hand over the gun, the state strongly recommends verifying that the buyer is actually licensed. The portal issues a License Validation Certificate that the buyer can generate and show you. Selling to someone not lawfully licensed in Massachusetts is illegal, and this check is the easiest way to protect yourself.²

Moving to Massachusetts

If you move to Massachusetts with firearms, you have 60 days from establishing residency to register each one through the E-FA-10 portal.⁶ You also need a valid Massachusetts license before you can legally possess those guns in the state, so starting the FID or LTC application should be one of the first things on your list after the move.

Be careful about what you bring. Massachusetts bans certain semiautomatic weapons that qualify as “copies or duplicates” of specifically listed assault weapons, even when they were legal in your previous state.⁷ Possessing a banned weapon carries a minimum $1,000 fine or up to 10 years of imprisonment for a first offense.⁸ If you aren’t sure about a specific gun, talk to a Massachusetts firearms attorney before crossing the border with it.

Inheriting a Firearm

If you inherit a firearm through an estate, you have 60 days from taking possession to register it through the E-FA-10 portal.⁶ You must also hold the right license for what you’re inheriting: an LTC for a handgun, an FID card for a non-large-capacity rifle or shotgun.

Non-residents inheriting a firearm located in Massachusetts have a more complicated path. Federal law allows a lawful heir to transport the firearm to a home state where it is legal to possess, provided the gun is unloaded and locked in a container out of reach of vehicle passengers during the trip. Working with the estate’s attorney is the practical way to make sure Massachusetts law and your home state’s law are both satisfied.

Lost or Stolen Firearms

If a firearm is lost or stolen, you have seven days to report it through the electronic registration system to both your licensing authority and the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services. Penalties for failing to report escalate: up to a $1,000 fine for a first offense, up to $7,500 or six months in jail for a second, and up to $10,000 or one to five years of imprisonment for a third. A failure to report can also lead to suspension or permanent revocation of your license.⁹

What Happens If You Don’t Register

Massachusetts treats a failure to register and a failure to report as two separate offenses, and the penalty structures look different.

If you acquire a firearm outside a licensed dealer and fail to register it as required under Section 128B, a first offense carries a fine of $500 to $1,000. A subsequent offense jumps to up to 10 years in state prison.¹⁰ The jump from a fine-only first offense to potential state prison time is one of the sharpest escalations in Massachusetts firearms law.

Failing to report a sale, transfer, loss, or theft runs on a more gradual ladder:

First offense: fine of up to $1,000.
Second offense: fine of up to $7,500 or up to six months of imprisonment, or both.
Third or subsequent offense: fine of up to $10,000 or one to five years of imprisonment, or both.⁹

Any failure to report also gives the licensing authority grounds to suspend or permanently revoke your firearms license, which effectively bars you from legally possessing a firearm in Massachusetts going forward.⁹

Privately Made Firearms

The 2024 Act Modernizing Firearms Laws makes it illegal to possess, sell, or import an unserialized firearm, including unfinished frames and receivers. Only a person holding a valid LTC may use a 3D printer or CNC milling machine to manufacture a firearm. If you make or assemble one, you must obtain a unique serial number from the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services, engrave it on the weapon, and register the firearm within seven days of completion. Individuals are not required to comply with the full registration and serialization requirements until October 28, 2026, under the transition timeline built into the law.¹¹ If you register just the frame or receiver, you will need to re-register the finished firearm once it is fully assembled.

Non-Residents

Non-residents cannot legally possess a firearm in Massachusetts without a Non-Resident Temporary License to Carry. The application costs $100, requires a firearms safety course certificate for first-time applicants, and the license is valid for one year with no grace period for renewal.¹² If you’re only passing through the state without stopping, the federal Firearm Owners’ Protection Act offers some cover, but only if the firearms are unloaded, locked in a container out of reach of passengers, and you are traveling between two states where you can legally possess them.

1
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Record a Private Firearms Sale or Registration
2
Massachusetts Department of Criminal Justice Information Services. Massachusetts Gun Transaction Portal
3
Mass.gov. Firearms License and Transaction Frequently Asked Questions
4
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Apply for or Renew a Firearms License
5
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part I, Title XX, Chapter 140, Section 131
6
Mass.gov. 501 CMR 19.00 Registration of Firearms
7
Mass.gov. Frequently Asked Questions About the Assault Weapons Ban Enforcement Notice
8
General Court of Massachusetts. Session Law – Acts of 2024 Chapter 135
9
Mass.gov. Mass. General Laws c.140 Section 121B
10
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 140 Section 128B
11
Mass.gov. An Act Modernizing Firearms Laws – Guidance 4
12
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Application for Non-Resident Temporary License to Carry Firearms