Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XX Chapter 140
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, § 131C (2026)

Carrying of firearms in a vehicle

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 131C. (a) No person carrying a loaded firearm under a license issued pursuant to section 129B 131 or 131F or through an exemption under section 129C shall carry the loaded firearm in a vehicle unless the loaded firearm while carried in the vehicle is under the direct control of the person. Whoever violates this subsection shall be punished by a fine of $500.

(b) No person possessing a large capacity rifle or shotgun under a license issued pursuant to section 131 or 131F or through an exemption under section 129C shall possess the large capacity firearm in a vehicle unless the large capacity firearm is unloaded and secured in a locked container as defined in section 121. Whoever violates this subsection shall be punished by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000.

(c) This section shall not apply to: (i) an officer, agent or employee of the commonwealth, any state or the United States; (ii) a member of the military or other service of any state or of the United States; (iii) a duly authorized law enforcement officer, agent or employee of a municipality of the commonwealth; provided, however, that a person described in clauses (i) to (iii), inclusive, is authorized by a competent authority to carry or possess the firearm so carried or possessed and is acting within the scope of the person's official duties.

(d) A conviction of a violation of this section shall be reported immediately by the court or magistrate to the licensing authority. The licensing authority shall immediately revoke the firearm identification card or license of the person convicted of a violation of this section. No new firearm identification card or license may be issued to a person convicted of a violation of this section until 1 year after the date of revocation of the firearm identification card or license.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases, 1995–2013 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Reyes, 982 N.E.2d 504 (Mass. 2013).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Commonwealth v. Reyes, 982 N.E.2d 504 (Mass. 2013). · cites it 7× “The defendant, Amaury Reyes, was convicted of improperly carrying a firearm in a motor vehicle in violation of G. L. c. 140, § 131C (a) (carrying statute), and unlawfully storing a firearm (after leaving it in his motor vehicle) in violation of G.”
Commonwealth v. Alvarado, 667 N.E.2d 856 (Mass. 1996). “In a jury-waived trial, the judge also found the defendant guilty of violating G. L. c. 140, § 131C (1994 ed.), and placed the matter on file.”
Commonwealth v. Cotto, 870 N.E.2d 109 (Mass. App. Ct. 2007). “94C, § 34, and leaving a firearm in a vehicle, G. L. c. 140, § 131C. 4 At the close of both the Commonwealth’s and the defendant’s cases, the trial judge denied the defendant’s motion for a required finding of not guilty.”
Commonwealth v. Alvarado, 38 Mass. App. Ct. 650 (Mass. App. Ct. 1995). “The defendant waived his right to a jury trial and was tried before a District Court judge on a complaint charging him with unlawfully carrying a firearm in a motor vehicle, G. L. c. 140, § 131C, knowingly possessing or having under his control a firearm in a vehicle without a…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.