Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, sec. 123 — MA Code / Part I / Title XX / Chapter 140 / Section 123
Conditions of licenses
Status: in_force

Section 123. (a) As used in this section ''licensee'' shall mean a person with a license to sell under section 122. (b) Licensees shall maintain a business premise that is not a residential dwelling wherein all transactions shall be conducted and wherein all records shall be kept. (c) Licensees shall display their license to sell or a copy thereof, certified by the licensing authority, in a position where it can be easily read; provided, however, that no firearm shall be displayed in any outer window of the business premises or in any other place where it can be readily seen from outside the business premises. (d) Licensees shall conspicuously post and distribute at each purchase counter a notice providing information on: (i) safe transportation and storage of firearms developed and provided by the department of criminal justice information services, which shall develop and maintain on its website for download a sign providing such information; and (ii) suicide prevention information pursuant to subsection (e). (e) The executive office of public safety and security, in collaboration with the department of public health, shall develop a notice providing information on suicide prevention, which shall be posted on the executive office's website and posted and distributed in accordance with subsection (d). Such notice shall include, but not be limited to: (i) information on signs and symptoms of depression; (ii) state and federal suicide prevention hotlines; and (iii) resources for individuals at risk of suicide. (f) Prior to any transfer, a licensee shall verify the status of any license, card, permit or exemption documentation including a verification that the person presenting the license, card, permit or documentation is the lawful holder thereof. No transfer of any firearm or ammunition shall be made to any person not in possession of the required license, card, permit or exemption documentation at the time of the transaction. (g) Upon being presented with an expired, suspended or revoked license, card or permit a licensee shall: (i) immediately report the attempted transaction to the department of criminal justice information services using its electronic firearms registration system, including, but not limited to, all information recorded pursuant to subsection (h); (ii) take possession of such card, permit or license and immediately forward the same to the licensing authority for the city or town where the licensee conducts business; (iii) issue the license, card or permit holder a receipt, in a form provided by the commissioner of the department of criminal justice information services, which shall state that the holder's license, card or permit is expired, suspended or revoked, was taken by the licensee, and forwarded to the licensing authority, and which shall be valid for 90 days for the purpose of providing immunity from prosecution under section 10 of chapter 269; and (iv) notify the license, card or permit holder of their duty to surrender their firearms forthwith to their local licensing authority under section 129D. The licensee shall be immune from civil and criminal liability for good faith compliance with the provisions herein. (h) The licensee shall make and keep an on-site or electronic record of all firearm transactions and said record shall be open at all times to the inspection of the police. Before transfer or delivery of any sold, rented, leased or otherwise transferred firearm or ammunition, a legible entry in the on-site or electronic record shall be made and kept specifying: (i) the complete description of the firearm and ammunition transferred, including the make, serial number, type of firearm and designation as a large capacity firearm, if applicable; (ii) whether the firearm or ammunition has been sold, rented or leased and the date of such transaction; (iii) the license, permit or card identification number of the person acquiring the firearm, or ammunition along with their sex, residence address and occupation; and (iv) the purchaser, renter or lessee's name as personally written by said person in the sales record book and as confirmed by valid state or federal identification. This subsection shall not apply to a gunsmith with regard to repair or remodeling or servicing of firearms unless said gunsmith has manufactured a firearm for the purchaser but said gunsmith shall keep records of their work together with the names and addresses of their customers. (i) Licensees shall, immediately upon notice of any loss or theft of a firearm or ammunition from the licensee or licensee's business premises immediately report such loss or theft to the department of criminal justice information services via the electronic firearms registration system created pursuant to section 121B. (j) A licensee may sell or transfer firearms and ammunition at any regular meeting of an incorporated collectors club or at a gun show open to the general public; provided, however, that a licensee shall comply with all other provisions of this section and that such sale or transfer is in conformity with both federal and state law and regulations. (k) No licensee shall fill an order for any firearm or ammunition received by mail, facsimile, telephone, internet or other telecommunication unless such transaction includes the in-person presentation of the required license, card, permit or documentation as required herein prior to any sale, delivery or any form of transfer or possession. Transactions between federally licensed dealers shall be exempt from this subsection. (l) Licensees shall ensure that all firearms and ammunition shall be unloaded when delivered and that delivery shall be only made to a person with the proper license card or permit or exemption to possess the firearms or ammunition included in the delivery. (m) Any licensee, or any employee or agent of such a licensee, who violates this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000, by imprisonment for not less than 1 year nor more than 10 years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. (n) The local licensing authority shall enter the business premises of any licensee at least once per calendar year during regular business hours and shall make inquiries and inspect the licensee's records, inventory, policies and procedures for the purpose of enforcing this section. Licensees found to be in violation of this section shall be subject to the suspension or revocation of their license to sell. The department of state police may assume licensing responsibilities of a local licensing authority for the calendar year if a written request is provided at least 6 months in advance of any required inspection. Upon the failure of a local licensing authority to inspect licensees in accordance with this subsection the department of state police may become the inspecting authority. The executive office of public safety and security shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this subsection, which shall include, but not be limited to: (i) inspection timing, procedure, standards and reporting requirements; (ii) procedures and penalties for licensee violations and re-inspections; and (iii) processes and standards for a local licensing authority requesting or removing inspection responsibilities to the department of state police or failing to inspect as mandated by this subsection. Nothing herein shall prohibit any other law enforcement agency from conducting such inspections pursuant to a valid search warrant issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. (o) No licensee under section 122 shall sell, rent, lease or otherwise transfer any firearm described in this subsection except to a business entity that is primarily a firearm wholesaler, and such transfer shall, by its terms, prohibit the purchaser from reselling such firearm to a firearm retailer or consumer in the commonwealth. This subsection shall apply to: (i) a firearm that has a frame, barrel, cylinder, slide or breechblock that is composed of: (A) any metal having a melting point of less than 900 degrees Fahrenheit; (B) any metal having an ultimate tensile strength of less than 55,000 pounds per square inch; or (C) any powdered metal having a density of less than 7.5 grams per cubic centimeter. This clause shall not apply to any make and model of a firearm for which a sample of 3 firearms in new condition all pass the following test: each of the 3 samples shall fire 600 rounds, stopping every 100 rounds to tighten any loose screws and to clean the gun if required by the cleaning schedule in the user manual, and as needed to refill the empty magazine or cylinder to capacity before continuing. For any firearm that is loaded in a manner other than via a detachable magazine, the tester shall also pause every 50 rounds for 10 minutes. The ammunition used shall be the type recommended by the firearm manufacturer in its user manual or, if none is recommended, any standard of ammunition of the correct caliber in new condition. A firearm shall pass this test if it fires the first 20 rounds without a malfunction, fires the full 600 rounds with not more than 6 malfunctions and completes the test without any crack or breakage of an operating part of the firearm that does not increase the danger of injury to the user. For purposes of this clause ''malfunction'' shall mean any failure to feed, chamber, fire, extract or eject a round or any failure to accept or eject a magazine or any other failure which prevents the firearm, without manual intervention beyond that needed for routine firing and periodic reloading, from firing the chambered round or moving a new round into position so that the firearm is capable of firing the new round properly. ''Malfunction'' shall not include a misfire caused by a faulty cartridge the primer of which fails to detonate when properly struck by the firearm's firing mechanism; (ii) a firearm that is prone to accidental discharge, which, for purposes of this clause, shall mean any make and model of firearm for which a sample of 5 firearms in new condition all undergo, and none discharge during, the following test: each of the 5 sample firearms shall be: (A) test loaded; (B) set so that the firearm is in a condition such that pulling the trigger and taking any action that shall simultaneously accompany the pulling of the trigger as part of the firing procedure would fire the firearm; and (C) dropped onto a solid slab of concrete from a height of 1 meter from each of the following positions: (1) normal firing position; (2) upside down; (3) on grip; (4) on the muzzle; (5) on either side; and (6) on the exposed hammer or striker or, if there is no exposed hammer or striker, the rearmost part of the firearm. If the firearm is designed so that its hammer or striker may be set in other positions, each sample firearm shall be tested as above with the hammer or striker in each such position but otherwise in such condition that pulling the trigger and taking any action that shall simultaneously accompany the pulling of the trigger as part of the firing procedure, would fire the firearm. Alternatively, the tester may use additional sample firearms of the same make and model, in a similar condition, for the test of each of these hammer striker settings; (iii) a firearm that is prone to: (A) firing more than once per pull of trigger; or (B) explosion during firing; and (iv) a firearm that has a barrel less than 3 inches in length, unless the licensee discloses in writing, prior to the transaction, to the prospective buyer, lessee or transferee the limitations of the accuracy of the particular make and model of the subject firearm, by disclosing the make and model's average group diameter test result at 7 yards, average group diameter test result at 14 yards and average group diameter test result at 21 yards. For purpose of this clause, ''average group diameter test result'' shall mean the arithmetic mean of three separate trials, each performed as follows on a different sample firearm in new condition of the make and model at issue. Each firearm shall fire 5 rounds at a target from a set distance and the largest spread in inches between the centers of any of the holes made in the test target shall be measured and recorded. This procedure shall be repeated 2 more times on the firearm. The arithmetic mean of each of the 3 recorded results shall be deemed the result of the trial for that particular sample firearm. The ammunition used shall be the type recommended by the firearm manufacturer in its user manual, if none is recommended, any standard ammunition of the correct caliber in new condition. (p) Subsection (o) shall not apply to: (i) a firearm lawfully owned or possessed under a license issued under this chapter on or before October 21, 1998; (ii) a stun gun; or (iii) a firearm designated by the secretary of public safety, with the advice of the firearm control advisory board, established pursuant to section 1311/2, as a firearm solely designed and sold for formal target shooting competition or for Olympic shooting competition and listed on the rosters pursuant to section 1311/4.

Section 123. (a) As used in this section ''licensee'' shall mean a person with a license to sell under section 122.

(b) Licensees shall maintain a business premise that is not a residential dwelling wherein all transactions shall be conducted and wherein all records shall be kept.

(c) Licensees shall display their license to sell or a copy thereof, certified by the licensing authority, in a position where it can be easily read; provided, however, that no firearm shall be displayed in any outer window of the business premises or in any other place where it can be readily seen from outside the business premises.

(d) Licensees shall conspicuously post and distribute at each purchase counter a notice providing information on: (i) safe transportation and storage of firearms developed and provided by the department of criminal justice information services, which shall develop and maintain on its website for download a sign providing such information; and (ii) suicide prevention information pursuant to subsection (e).

(e) The executive office of public safety and security, in collaboration with the department of public health, shall develop a notice providing information on suicide prevention, which shall be posted on the executive office's website and posted and distributed in accordance with subsection (d). Such notice shall include, but not be limited to: (i) information on signs and symptoms of depression; (ii) state and federal suicide prevention hotlines; and (iii) resources for individuals at risk of suicide.

(f) Prior to any transfer, a licensee shall verify the status of any license, card, permit or exemption documentation including a verification that the person presenting the license, card, permit or documentation is the lawful holder thereof. No transfer of any firearm or ammunition shall be made to any person not in possession of the required license, card, permit or exemption documentation at the time of the transaction.

(g) Upon being presented with an expired, suspended or revoked license, card or permit a licensee shall: (i) immediately report the attempted transaction to the department of criminal justice information services using its electronic firearms registration system, including, but not limited to, all information recorded pursuant to subsection (h); (ii) take possession of such card, permit or license and immediately forward the same to the licensing authority for the city or town where the licensee conducts business; (iii) issue the license, card or permit holder a receipt, in a form provided by the commissioner of the department of criminal justice information services, which shall state that the holder's license, card or permit is expired, suspended or revoked, was taken by the licensee, and forwarded to the licensing authority, and which shall be valid for 90 days for the purpose of providing immunity from prosecution under section 10 of chapter 269; and (iv) notify the license, card or permit holder of their duty to surrender their firearms forthwith to their local licensing authority under section 129D. The licensee shall be immune from civil and criminal liability for good faith compliance with the provisions herein.

(h) The licensee shall make and keep an on-site or electronic record of all firearm transactions and said record shall be open at all times to the inspection of the police. Before transfer or delivery of any sold, rented, leased or otherwise transferred firearm or ammunition, a legible entry in the on-site or electronic record shall be made and kept specifying: (i) the complete description of the firearm and ammunition transferred, including the make, serial number, type of firearm and designation as a large capacity firearm, if applicable; (ii) whether the firearm or ammunition has been sold, rented or leased and the date of such transaction; (iii) the license, permit or card identification number of the person acquiring the firearm, or ammunition along with their sex, residence address and occupation; and (iv) the purchaser, renter or lessee's name as personally written by said person in the sales record book and as confirmed by valid state or federal identification. This subsection shall not apply to a gunsmith with regard to repair or remodeling or servicing of firearms unless said gunsmith has manufactured a firearm for the purchaser but said gunsmith shall keep records of their work together with the names and addresses of their customers.

(i) Licensees shall, immediately upon notice of any loss or theft of a firearm or ammunition from the licensee or licensee's business premises immediately report such loss or theft to the department of criminal justice information services via the electronic firearms registration system created pursuant to section 121B.

(j) A licensee may sell or transfer firearms and ammunition at any regular meeting of an incorporated collectors club or at a gun show open to the general public; provided, however, that a licensee shall comply with all other provisions of this section and that such sale or transfer is in conformity with both federal and state law and regulations.

(k) No licensee shall fill an order for any firearm or ammunition received by mail, facsimile, telephone, internet or other telecommunication unless such transaction includes the in-person presentation of the required license, card, permit or documentation as required herein prior to any sale, delivery or any form of transfer or possession. Transactions between federally licensed dealers shall be exempt from this subsection.

(l) Licensees shall ensure that all firearms and ammunition shall be unloaded when delivered and that delivery shall be only made to a person with the proper license card or permit or exemption to possess the firearms or ammunition included in the delivery.

(m) Any licensee, or any employee or agent of such a licensee, who violates this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000, by imprisonment for not less than 1 year nor more than 10 years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(n) The local licensing authority shall enter the business premises of any licensee at least once per calendar year during regular business hours and shall make inquiries and inspect the licensee's records, inventory, policies and procedures for the purpose of enforcing this section. Licensees found to be in violation of this section shall be subject to the suspension or revocation of their license to sell. The department of state police may assume licensing responsibilities of a local licensing authority for the calendar year if a written request is provided at least 6 months in advance of any required inspection. Upon the failure of a local licensing authority to inspect licensees in accordance with this subsection the department of state police may become the inspecting authority. The executive office of public safety and security shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this subsection, which shall include, but not be limited to: (i) inspection timing, procedure, standards and reporting requirements; (ii) procedures and penalties for licensee violations and re-inspections; and (iii) processes and standards for a local licensing authority requesting or removing inspection responsibilities to the department of state police or failing to inspect as mandated by this subsection. Nothing herein shall prohibit any other law enforcement agency from conducting such inspections pursuant to a valid search warrant issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(o) No licensee under section 122 shall sell, rent, lease or otherwise transfer any firearm described in this subsection except to a business entity that is primarily a firearm wholesaler, and such transfer shall, by its terms, prohibit the purchaser from reselling such firearm to a firearm retailer or consumer in the commonwealth. This subsection shall apply to:

(i) a firearm that has a frame, barrel, cylinder, slide or breechblock that is composed of: (A) any metal having a melting point of less than 900 degrees Fahrenheit; (B) any metal having an ultimate tensile strength of less than 55,000 pounds per square inch; or (C) any powdered metal having a density of less than 7.5 grams per cubic centimeter. This clause shall not apply to any make and model of a firearm for which a sample of 3 firearms in new condition all pass the following test: each of the 3 samples shall fire 600 rounds, stopping every 100 rounds to tighten any loose screws and to clean the gun if required by the cleaning schedule in the user manual, and as needed to refill the empty magazine or cylinder to capacity before continuing. For any firearm that is loaded in a manner other than via a detachable magazine, the tester shall also pause every 50 rounds for 10 minutes. The ammunition used shall be the type recommended by the firearm manufacturer in its user manual or, if none is recommended, any standard of ammunition of the correct caliber in new condition. A firearm shall pass this test if it fires the first 20 rounds without a malfunction, fires the full 600 rounds with not more than 6 malfunctions and completes the test without any crack or breakage of an operating part of the firearm that does not increase the danger of injury to the user. For purposes of this clause ''malfunction'' shall mean any failure to feed, chamber, fire, extract or eject a round or any failure to accept or eject a magazine or any other failure which prevents the firearm, without manual intervention beyond that needed for routine firing and periodic reloading, from firing the chambered round or moving a new round into position so that the firearm is capable of firing the new round properly. ''Malfunction'' shall not include a misfire caused by a faulty cartridge the primer of which fails to detonate when properly struck by the firearm's firing mechanism;

(ii) a firearm that is prone to accidental discharge, which, for purposes of this clause, shall mean any make and model of firearm for which a sample of 5 firearms in new condition all undergo, and none discharge during, the following test: each of the 5 sample firearms shall be: (A) test loaded; (B) set so that the firearm is in a condition such that pulling the trigger and taking any action that shall simultaneously accompany the pulling of the trigger as part of the firing procedure would fire the firearm; and (C) dropped onto a solid slab of concrete from a height of 1 meter from each of the following positions: (1) normal firing position; (2) upside down; (3) on grip; (4) on the muzzle; (5) on either side; and (6) on the exposed hammer or striker or, if there is no exposed hammer or striker, the rearmost part of the firearm. If the firearm is designed so that its hammer or striker may be set in other positions, each sample firearm shall be tested as above with the hammer or striker in each such position but otherwise in such condition that pulling the trigger and taking any action that shall simultaneously accompany the pulling of the trigger as part of the firing procedure, would fire the firearm. Alternatively, the tester may use additional sample firearms of the same make and model, in a similar condition, for the test of each of these hammer striker settings;

(iii) a firearm that is prone to: (A) firing more than once per pull of trigger; or (B) explosion during firing; and

(iv) a firearm that has a barrel less than 3 inches in length, unless the licensee discloses in writing, prior to the transaction, to the prospective buyer, lessee or transferee the limitations of the accuracy of the particular make and model of the subject firearm, by disclosing the make and model's average group diameter test result at 7 yards, average group diameter test result at 14 yards and average group diameter test result at 21 yards. For purpose of this clause, ''average group diameter test result'' shall mean the arithmetic mean of three separate trials, each performed as follows on a different sample firearm in new condition of the make and model at issue. Each firearm shall fire 5 rounds at a target from a set distance and the largest spread in inches between the centers of any of the holes made in the test target shall be measured and recorded. This procedure shall be repeated 2 more times on the firearm. The arithmetic mean of each of the 3 recorded results shall be deemed the result of the trial for that particular sample firearm. The ammunition used shall be the type recommended by the firearm manufacturer in its user manual, if none is recommended, any standard ammunition of the correct caliber in new condition.

(p) Subsection (o) shall not apply to: (i) a firearm lawfully owned or possessed under a license issued under this chapter on or before October 21, 1998; (ii) a stun gun; or (iii) a firearm designated by the secretary of public safety, with the advice of the firearm control advisory board, established pursuant to section 1311/2, as a firearm solely designed and sold for formal target shooting competition or for Olympic shooting competition and listed on the rosters pursuant to section 1311/4.