No explicit ban for a valid LTC holder — and still a bad idea here. What the law says, why it risks your license, and what to do instead.
The short answer: Massachusetts law does not flatly ban open carry for someone holding a valid License to Carry — but doing it is a genuinely bad idea here, and it can cost you the license. Here's the honest version, which is more useful than the yes/no you'll find on forums.
What the law actually says
Massachusetts is not one of the states with an explicit "open carry prohibited" statute. What the state has instead is a licensing system: an LTC authorises you to carry a firearm, and the statute does not separate concealed from open in the way many other states do.
So on paper, a Class A LTC holder carrying openly is not automatically committing an offence. In practice, three things make it a poor plan.
Why almost nobody does it here
Your license can be revokedSuitability is a live standard, and a chief who hears you've been openly carrying in a supermarket can act on it
Someone will call the policeMassachusetts is not a state where people are used to seeing a holstered firearm. Expect a response.
Other charges are availableDisturbing the peace, or a brandishing-type allegation, don't require the carry itself to be unlawful
The revocation risk is the one people underestimate. In Massachusetts your license exists at the discretion of a licensing authority, who can reconsider your suitability at any time. No version of "the police were called about a man with a gun at the mall" helps your file.
Restrictions on your own license
Read the front of your LTC. If it carries a written restriction — target and hunting, sporting, employment — that restriction governs regardless of the open/concealed question. Carrying outside a restriction is an offence in itself.
Where you can't carry at all
Independently of how you carry, Massachusetts restricts firearms in certain places, and the 2024 law tightened this. Schools, government buildings and polling places are the obvious ones. Private property owners can also prohibit firearms on their premises, and ignoring a posted prohibition is a trespass problem.
What people usually mean when they ask
"Can I carry openly on my own property?" A different and much safer question — but the storage rules still apply the moment it's not under your direct control.
"What if my jacket rides up?" Momentary or accidental exposure ("printing") is not the same as deliberate open carry and is generally not treated as an offence. Carry a holster that actually retains the firearm and don't worry about it.
"What about hunting or the range?" Transporting to and from a range or hunting ground is normal and lawful with a license, subject to the transport rules — unloaded and in a locked container in a vehicle unless carried on your person under an LTC.
"Is Massachusetts an open carry state?" Not in the way that phrase is used elsewhere. It's a license state, and the license is what matters.
Our advice, plainly
Conceal it. The whole point of the License to Carry is discreet lawful carry, and holsters and clothing that work for concealment are cheap and widely available. Carrying openly here gains you nothing you can't get more safely another way.
If you want to get genuinely good at carrying, that's what Concealed Carry 1 is for: drawing from concealment, what the law of deadly force actually requires, and how a defensive situation differs from a range session.
There is no explicit statutory ban for a valid LTC holder, but it carries real risk of license revocation on suitability grounds and of police contact. Massachusetts is a license state, not an "open carry state" in the usual sense.
Can I open carry with an FID?
No. An FID covers non-large-capacity rifles and shotguns and does not authorise carrying a handgun at all, openly or concealed.
Will I lose my license for it?
You can. Suitability is a discretionary standard and licensing authorities have acted on far less.
What if my shirt lifts and someone sees my holster?
Accidental exposure is not deliberate open carry and is generally not treated as an offence. Good retention holsters and slightly looser shirts solve it.
Do other states work differently?
Very. Many states expressly permit open carry, some require it to be unloaded, some ban it. If you have applied for and hold the six licenses the Multi course covers, check each state's own rules before you travel — see our state-by-state pages.
What we do and don't do. We teach the state-approved class and the law Massachusetts requires you to complete before you apply. Applying is your own step with your own police department; we are not part of it. This guide is general information, not legal advice — the licensing authority and the statute are the final word.
The class
One four to five hour class. Live fire included.
More in massachusetts gun law
Storage, transport, carrying, self-defence and what the 2024 law changed.