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Gun owners in Marblehead will face new training and registration requirements in 2026 under a state firearms law that took effect in October 2024.
Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024, known as An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws, requires expanded safety courses including live-fire training for new applicants and creates a mandatory electronic registration system for all firearms.
About 1,400 Marblehead residents hold active firearm licenses, a number that Police Chief Dennis King said remains relatively stable year to year.
The most immediate change affects anyone applying for a new license or renewing an existing one. Starting April 2, applicants must complete a revised basic firearms safety course that includes live-fire training. The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security is working with the Massachusetts State Police and Municipal Police Training Committee to finalize the new curriculum.
King said the department will ensure all applicants meet the new standards.
“My job, along with Lt. Michael Everett, my licensing lieutenant, is to make sure all of the requirements are met based on regulations and legal precedent,” King wrote in response to questions about the law. “Anyone that submits an application is subject to the same standards. If not met, individuals will not be issued a LTC.”
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Current license holders who applied for their permits after Aug. 1, 2024, will need to complete the new training course when they renew.
The law also creates a new firearms registration system accessible through the state’s MIRCS portal. While the system is already operational, gun owners are not required to register their firearms until Oct. 2, 2026.
Residents who previously registered firearms through the state transaction portal will not need to re-register when the deadline arrives, according to state guidance issued in November 2025.
The registration requirement applies to all firearms, including those acquired before the law took effect. New Massachusetts residents have 60 days to obtain a firearms license and must register their firearms once licensed.
Gun owners must also serialize any firearms that lack serial numbers by Oct. 28, 2026. Firearms manufactured before Oct. 22, 1968, are exempt from the serialization requirement.
King said he hopes the law achieves its intended safety goals.
“I hope the intent of the legislators who passed the law is met through the changes made,” he wrote. “My hope that overall firearm safety improves amongst license holders, an accurate accounting of legally owned firearms through registration requirements.”
The law eliminates several previous license types, including resident alien permits for non-large capacity rifles and shotguns, and bars nonresident business owners from obtaining licenses to carry. Nonresidents may still obtain temporary licenses but cannot purchase firearms or ammunition in Massachusetts.
Other provisions include restrictions on privately transferring more than four firearms per year, requirements for secure storage in locked containers and bans on trigger modifiers and rapid-fire trigger activators.
The state continues to accept basic firearms safety certificates issued under the previous law until the new training requirements take effect April 2.
Gun owners can access the registration and serialization systems at mass.gov/mircs. Questions about licensing should be directed to local police departments.
