Is Open Carry Legal in Massachusetts? LTC, Limits, Penalties

Open carry is legal in Massachusetts if you hold a valid License to Carry (LTC) issued by your local police department. The state does not have a separate open carry statute; the LTC covers both open and concealed carry of a handgun in most public places. Without that license, carrying a firearm in public is a felony with a mandatory minimum sentence of 18 months. Even for license holders, visibly carrying a handgun is rare in practice and tends to attract police attention that can put the license itself at risk.

One License Covers Both Open and Concealed

Massachusetts issues a single License to Carry rather than separate permits for open and concealed carry. With a valid LTC, you can legally carry a handgun openly or concealed in most public places.¹ The state no longer imposes license restrictions limiting carry to specific purposes such as hunting or target shooting; after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, Massachusetts acknowledged that such restrictions are unenforceable.²

Rifles and shotguns fall under different rules. A Firearm Identification Card (FID) is the minimum for possession of non-large-capacity rifles and shotguns, while handguns and large-capacity firearms require the full LTC.²

Legal Does Not Mean Advisable

The gap between what the law allows and what actually happens on the street matters here. Nothing in the statute prohibits a licensed person from carrying openly, but walking around with a visible handgun in Massachusetts is uncommon and likely to prompt a police stop. That encounter can have lasting consequences for your license.

Local police chiefs retain significant discretion over who keeps an LTC through a “suitability” determination. Under Section 121F of Chapter 140, a licensing authority can deny or revoke a license if it finds the holder unsuitable, even without a criminal conviction or another statutory disqualifier.³ An open carry incident that generates complaints or police reports can become evidence of unsuitability. Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024, the state’s comprehensive gun reform law, preserved this framework while consolidating the criteria into a single statutory section.⁴

Who Qualifies for an LTC

Applicants must be at least 21 years old and lawful residents living within the jurisdiction of the licensing authority where they apply.⁵ First-time applicants must complete a certified Massachusetts Basic Firearm Safety Course and submit the certificate with their application.⁶ Private instructors typically charge between $50 and $150, and a hunter education certificate from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife qualifies as a substitute.

Several conditions automatically disqualify an applicant:

Any felony conviction.
A misdemeanor conviction punishable by more than two years of imprisonment.
An active abuse prevention or harassment prevention order.
A domestic violence misdemeanor conviction, which independently triggers a federal firearms prohibition.

Beyond those automatic bars, the licensing authority evaluates overall suitability. A pattern of complaints, mental health commitments, or other concerning behavior can produce a denial even when nothing on your record technically disqualifies you.³

How to Apply

Applications go through your local police department, either in person or online through the MIRCS Unified Gun Portal.¹ First-time applicants must complete an in-person interview with the licensing authority, a statutory requirement added under the 2024 law.⁵ The process includes fingerprinting, photographs, and background checks through state and federal criminal history databases and the Department of Mental Health.

The non-refundable application fee is $100.¹ By statute, the licensing authority has 40 days from receiving a completed application to approve or deny it and provide written notice.³ Expect longer in practice. A state audit found the average processing time was 65 days, and only 11% of local licensing authorities met the 40-day deadline.⁷

Once issued, an LTC is valid for up to six years and expires on the anniversary of your date of birth falling between five and six years after issuance.⁴

Where You Cannot Carry Even With a License

A license does not open every door. The 2024 reform law expanded the list of prohibited locations considerably, creating a new “prohibited area” category under Chapter 269, Section 10(k).

Government Buildings

Carrying is banned in any building owned, leased, or controlled by state, county, or municipal government that is used for government administration, judicial proceedings, or corrections. The prohibition covers courthouses, city halls, correctional facilities, and their grounds and parking areas.⁸ Municipalities can vote to exclude their own administrative buildings from the prohibited list, and state-owned public land open for hunting is exempt.

Schools, Universities, and Polling Places

Carrying on the grounds of any school or university without written authorization is prohibited under Section 10(j). The 2024 law extended this ban to student transport vehicles such as school buses.⁸ The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act adds another layer by making it an offense to possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, though a Massachusetts LTC satisfies the federal exception because the state runs a background check before issuing the license.⁹

Polling places and early voting sites are off-limits during voting or ballot tabulation hours, with the restriction extending 150 feet from the building entrance.⁸

Federal Facilities and Airports

Federal buildings, including post offices, are covered by 18 U.S.C. § 930, which makes it a federal crime to knowingly bring a firearm into any building owned or leased by the federal government where federal employees work. A violation carries up to one year in prison, or up to five years if you intended to use the weapon in a crime.¹⁰

Airports operate under TSA rules. Bringing a firearm through a security checkpoint is illegal regardless of your carry permit. TSA civil penalties for a first offense with a loaded handgun start at roughly $4,100 and can exceed $13,000, and TSA PreCheck members lose those privileges.¹¹ Firearms may travel in checked baggage if they are unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided container separate from ammunition, and declared at the airline check-in counter.¹²

Private Property

Property owners can prohibit firearms on their premises. If a business or residence posts a no-firearms policy or tells you firearms are not allowed, your LTC does not override those property rights. If you drive to a prohibited area, you can leave your firearm secured in your vehicle in a locked container consistent with state storage requirements, and doing so is a legal defense to a prohibited-area charge.⁸

Transporting Firearms in a Vehicle

Vehicle rules catch many gun owners off guard. Even with a valid LTC, a loaded firearm cannot be carried in a car. Any firearm transported in a vehicle must be unloaded and stored in the locked trunk or in a locked case. Where the vehicle has no separate trunk compartment, a locked container other than the glove compartment or center console is required.¹³

Away from your person or vehicle, firearms must be secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant lock. Unsecured storage is a separate offense, so an unlocked handgun in a glove box creates exposure to both a storage violation and an improper transport violation.

Out-of-State Permits and Non-Residents

Massachusetts does not recognize firearms licenses from any other state.² A permit from another state means nothing the moment you cross the border. Carrying without a Massachusetts-issued license exposes you to the same felony charge and mandatory minimum sentence that applies to any unlicensed person.

Non-residents can apply for a temporary LTC through the Firearms Records Bureau. The application is processed by mail (walk-in service is not available), and the fee is $100. Applicants must provide a copy of their home-state carry license, complete a Massachusetts Basic Firearm Safety Course, and submit to the same background check as residents. First-time non-resident applicants must also appear in person at the Firearms Records Bureau on a scheduled date sent by mail.¹⁴

For travelers passing through the state without stopping beyond what travel requires, the federal Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA) provides limited protection. Under 18 U.S.C. § 926A, a firearm may be transported through any state where possession would otherwise be illegal, provided the firearm is unloaded and neither the gun nor ammunition is readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle without a separate trunk, both must be in a locked container other than the glove box or console.¹⁵ FOPA only protects through-travel; stopping in Massachusetts beyond travel needs, or starting or ending your trip there, puts you back under state law.

Penalties for Carrying Without a License

Unlicensed possession of a firearm is a felony under Chapter 269, Section 10, with some of the harshest penalties in the country.

A first conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 18 months in a house of correction, or between two and a half and five years in state prison. The 18-month minimum cannot be reduced, suspended, or waived, and probation, parole, work release, and good-conduct deductions are unavailable until the minimum is served. If the firearm was loaded, an additional sentence of up to two and a half years in a house of correction applies, running consecutively rather than concurrently.¹⁶

Repeat convictions escalate quickly:

Second offense: five to seven years in state prison.
Third offense: seven to ten years in state prison.
Fourth offense: ten to fifteen years in state prison.

For any subsequent offense, the sentence cannot be suspended, probation is unavailable, and no good-conduct deductions apply.¹⁷ A conviction also results in a permanent prohibition on future firearm ownership under both state and federal law. Carrying in a “prohibited area” while licensed is a separate offense carrying a fine up to $1,000, up to two and a half years in a house of correction, or both.⁸

1
Mass.gov. Apply for or Renew a Firearms License
2
Mass.gov. Firearms License and Transaction Frequently Asked Questions
3
Mass.gov. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 140 Section 121F
4
General Court of Massachusetts. Session Law – Acts of 2024 Chapter 135
5
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part I Title XX Chapter 140 Section 131
6
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 140 Section 131P – Basic Firearms Safety Certificate
7
Office of the State Auditor. Review of the Commonwealth’s Firearms License Permitting Process
8
Mass.gov. Legal Update – An Act Modernizing Firearms Laws
9
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Gun Free School Zone Notice
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code Section 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities
11
Transportation Security Administration. TSA Continues to Find Firearms at Boston Logan International Airport
12
Transportation Security Administration. TSA Officers Stop Firearm at Boston Logan International
13
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part I Title XX Chapter 140 Section 131C
14
Mass.gov. Application for Non-Resident Temporary License to Carry Firearms
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code Section 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms
16
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 269 Section 10 – Carrying Dangerous Weapons
17
Mass.gov. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 269 Section 10