Apply for a Firearms Identification Card

Application Process

On the day / time of your appointment, report to the Licensing Unit with the proper documents, see below. Do not bring any weapons, including firearms, to your appointment. Applicants must complete and sign an application. All applicants will be fingerprinted, photographed and interviewed by a police officer from the Licensing Unit. Applicants will be given a dated receipt to confirm the application. A background investigation and suitability assessment will be conducted on all applicants.

All answers to questions on the submitted Firearms Identification Card Application must be truthful.  Failure to answer any question on the submitted Firearms Identification Card Application in a truthful manner will result in an automatic denial of a Firearms Identification Card.
 

FID - Shotguns, Rifles and Ammunition

Pursuant to MGL. Ch. 140, § 129B, applicants applying for a new or renewal must be at least 18 years old or 15-17 years old with written parental / guardian approval. The nonrefundable processing fee is $100.00 dollars, payable by cash or money order. Renewal fee waived if over 70 years of age. Applicants must reside or have a place of business in the City of Boston. Applicant must submit a copy the following documents:

• New applicants must provide a Firearm Safety Certificate or Hunting Safety Course Certificate issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
• Birth Certificate, valid US Passport or Certificate of Citizenship
• Mass. Drivers License or Mass ID card with an address in the City of Boston
• Expiring FID Card, if renewing
• Business certificate or corporation documents with an address in the City of Boston, if applicable
• Permanent Resident Alien Card, if applicable
• Naturalization Papers, if applicable

Certain persons may qualify for a FID card for the possession of a shotgun, rifle and ammunition in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but may be disqualified from possessing a shotgun, rifle and ammunition under Title 18 U.S.C. 922, Chapter 44, Section (g).
 

FID - Chemical Propellants Only (Mace / Pepper Spray)

Applicants must be between the ages of 14 and 17 to apply for the Firearms Identification Card restricted to Chemical Propellant Only. This license is not available for issuance to applicants over the age of 17. The processing fee is $25 dollars, payable by cash or money order. Applicant must submit a copy the following documents:

• Mass. Drivers License or Mass ID card with an address in the City of Boston OR
• Student Identification from a college or university within the City of Boston
• Birth Certificate, valid US Passport or Certificate of Citizenship
• Letter from the applicant’s parent or guardian granting permission to apply for a FID
• Permanent Resident Alien Card, if applicable
• Naturalization Papers, if applicable

 

Statutory Disqualifications

Pursuant to MGL. Ch. 140, § 129B(11⁄2), the licensing authority will make a determination of suitability on all FID applicants and active licensees. If the investigation shows that the applicant could create a risk to public safety, the licensing authority may petition the court of jurisdiction to deny the issuance of a new FID or suspend / revoke an active FID.

Statutory disqualifications include:

• Felony conviction
• Misdemeanor conviction punishable by imprisonment for more than two years
• Misdemeanor conviction involving domestic violence as defined by 18. U.S.C 921(a)(33)
• Conviction of a violent crime as defined in MGL Chapter 140, Section 121
• Violation of any law regulating the use, possession, ownership, transfer, purchase, sale, lease, rental or transportation of
  weapons or ammunition
• Violation of any law regulating the use, possession, or sale of controlled substances as defined in Section 1 of MGL
  Chapter 94C
• Commitment to any hospital or institution for mental illness
• Currently the subject of a MGL 209A order
• Currently the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant
• Commitment for drug addiction or habitual drunkenness

Except for the commission of a felony, a misdemeanor involving domestic violence, a violent crime or trafficking in weapons or controlled substances, there is a restoration of rights after five (5) years from the date of conviction, confinement, probation or parole, whichever last occurred.
 

Change of Address

Licensee shall notify, in writing, the issuing licensing authority, the Chief of Police into whose jurisdiction the licensee moves and the Firearm Record Bureau of any change of address. Notification shall be made within thirty days by certified mail. Failure to notify shall be cause for suspension or revocation as provided in M.G.L. Chapter 140 § 129B (11)
A firearm identification card shall not entitle a holder thereof to possess a large capacity firearm or large capacity feeding device, a non-large capacity firearm or large capacity rifle or shotgun except as provided in Chapter 140 § 129B (6). A “Firearm” is, as described here in part, by Chapter 140 § 121 as a pistol, revolver or other weapon of any description, loaded or unloaded, from which a shot or bullet can be discharged and of which the length of the barrel or barrels is less 16 inches.
 

Applicant Notification and Record Challenge

Officials at the governmental institutions and other entities authorized to submit fingerprints and receive FBI identification records under this authority must notify the individuals fingerprinted that the fingerprints will be used to check the criminal history records of the FBI. The officials making the determination of suitability for licensing or employment shall provide the applicants the opportunity to complete, or challenge the accuracy of, the information contained in the FBI identification record. These officials also must advise the applicants that procedures for obtaining a change, correction, or updating of an FBI identification record are set forth in Title 28, C.F.R., 16.34. Officials making such determinations should not deny the license or employment based on information in the record until the applicant has been afforded a reasonable time to correct or complete the record, or has declined to do so.