Class A is the license almost everyone applies for. What large-capacity means, why Class B is no longer issued, and what a restriction on your license actually does.
"Class A LTC" is the license almost every Massachusetts applicant is actually asking for — and the "Class B" you may have read about on an old forum post is no longer issued. Here's what the labels mean now.
The full License to Carry. Handguns, rifles and shotguns, including large-capacity firearms and feeding devices where the law otherwise permits them. Concealed carry, subject to any restriction written on the license.
A narrower license that excluded large-capacity handguns and did not allow concealed carry. Massachusetts stopped issuing new Class B licenses after the 2014 reform; the FID card covers most of what it used to.
So when a form or a website asks which class you want, the practical answer for a new applicant is Class A. If you only want rifles and shotguns and you're under 21, the FID card is the route instead.
Massachusetts defines large-capacity by the feeding device: broadly, a magazine holding more than ten rounds, or a shotgun holding more than five. The Class A license is what permits large-capacity firearms and magazines to the extent state law still allows them — and the 2024 law tightened what is available for sale. If you're shopping, check the current roster and the current magazine rules before you buy, not after.
Historically, a licensing authority could issue a Class A license with a written restriction — "sporting", "target and hunting", "employment" — which limited when you could carry. That practice varied enormously between towns and was one of the most-complained-about features of the Massachusetts system.
The 2024 law changed the framework around suitability and restrictions. What has not changed: read the front of your license. Whatever is printed there governs what you may do, and carrying outside a restriction is an offence, not a technicality. If your license comes back restricted and you believe it shouldn't be, that's a conversation with the licensing authority and, if necessary, an appeal.
The same state-approved safety course qualifies you for Class A, for an FID, and for the six-state bundle in the Multi course. You do not take a different or longer course to get a Class A license — Massachusetts has one training requirement, and ours is Course LTC035, four to five hours with live fire included.
What you tell the department on the application is which license you're applying for. What we do is get you through the training the state requires first.
Elsewhere on the site: Massachusetts gun law · Where you can carry · Your town · At the range · Who it's for