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All things, MA non-resident LTC

42!

42!

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There are a number of threads regarding MA non-resident licensing with specific questions but not one that is a general information and place for all questions together. At least not one I could find. So I'm starting one.

I'm about to embark on my journey to obtain a MA non-res LTC, what with the recent SCOTUS ruling this seems a good time to stop procrastinating.

What I'm looking for is real-world experiences. And a couple question.
1. Is there an electronic application, I have only seen a printed one.
2. I thought I heard there was a requirement for 2 references but didn't see it on the application, am I missing something"?

Anyone who has gotten, or tried to get, a MA non-res LTC, I'd love to hear you thoughts on the process, and any part of it you may have felt would be good to know in advance.
 
42! said:
There are a number of threads regarding MA non-resident licensing with specific questions but not one that is a general information and place for all questions together. At least not one I could find. So I'm starting one.

I'm about to embark on my journey to obtain a MA non-res LTC, what with the recent SCOTUS ruling this seems a good time to stop procrastinating.

What I'm looking for is real-world experiences. And a couple question.
1. Is there an electronic application, I have only seen a printed one.
2. I thought I heard there was a requirement for 2 references but didn't see it on the application, am I missing something"?

Anyone who has gotten, or tried to get, a MA non-res LTC, I'd love to hear you thoughts on the process, and any part of it you may have felt would be good to know in advance.
Click to expand...
I had a non-res LTC, no restrictions while living in NH.

I was a former MA resident and still traveled to the state to visit family and occasionally for work.

The application required references (I don’t believe they were ever contacted), a letter indicating reason for application, and a visit to Chelsea for the initial application interview. Subsequent renewals were done via mail after a certain point.

Cost was $100/year which sucked and the renewals took about 6 months to process (yes, you read that right).

Overall I found that if you were willing to jump through the hoops, they were willing to issue the license without restrictions. I made sure to highlight my former residency and understanding of the current local laws vs. my home state.

I’m assuming some of the red tape may go away now. But the delays in processing will only get worse. Hope that helps.
 
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Here's where you go for info and downloadable forms for both NR and Resident LTCs.

Apply for a firearms license

A firearms license is required to possess or carry firearms in Massachusetts.
www.mass.gov www.mass.gov

They have not updated the info or form recently, but any future changes should appear at that site, unless they change the URL.

No references are asked for in the NR application, which is dated 2015.
 
Do we still need to send a copy of our home state LTC? The application does not seem to indicate it is needed, but I feel like I have submitted it in past years. Also, do I need to send my document detailing why I should get unrestricted, or should I just send it in anyway?

to 42!, I have had one since 2014. They are easy to get, the issue in the past was the restriction level, not whether they issued it. I had “sporting” for a while until I improved my justification document and got unrestricted. But it still allowed me to go to practice at Harvard, Woburn, and go to matches and not have to go straight home, i.e I could visit parents, friends, restaurants, etc.

Last time I went to Chelsea it took 2.5 hours from Merrimack, but that was pre-covid. I was supposed to go in last year, but I think because of covid they just mailed it to me. Pre-covid it would be 3-4 months, now generally it takes 5-6 months. I am mailing mine next week for January expiration.
 
I sent in a "packet", all my instructor certs, retired police ID, NH P/R license, training course certs and letter of justification . . . this was back in April. If I were submitting today, it would be the same packet of info . . . until FRB changes their instructions/form, just to be on the safe side.
 
On the training cert, technically I'm grandfathered because of my pre-cert MA LTC, but I'll be getting it anyway. I think they do them at Granite State.
 
42! said:
On the training cert, technically I'm grandfathered because of my pre-cert MA LTC, but I'll be getting it anyway. I think they do them at Granite State.
Click to expand...
No need, FRB has record of all pre-98 and post-98 LTCs and they abide by the law without a lot of shenanigans like some towns pulled/pull.
 
@42! If you do go to Granite State Range, could you please PM me the course # they use? From what I could tell from their website/literature, it looks like they run their own proprietary course, not an NRA course, so I'm curious.
 
Len-2A Training said:
@42! If you do go to Granite State Range, could you please PM me the course # they use? From what I could tell from their website/literature, it looks like they run their own proprietary course, not an NRA course, so I'm curious.
Click to expand...
Absolutely needs to be a MA certified course, I'll post when I know, sometime next week probably
 
Before MSP decided not to approve any more courses, many proprietary courses were approved. I suspect that Granite State is one of those.
 
Len-2A Training said:
Before MSP decided not to approve any more courses, many proprietary courses were approved. I suspect that Granite State is one of those.
Click to expand...
I went through the process "Way back when" and had LTC-013 approved. And to state the obvious, you need to take the course from a MA certified instructor who has a current LTC (that qualification being redundant because the former requires the later)
 
We moved to NH about 1 1/2 years ago. We both previously had unrestricted LTC’s in MA and each went through a few renewals that were also through different towns as we moved around a bit.

Once we moved and got all our new NH documents taken care of we sent in the application via certified mail. I included our NH pistol/revolver permits as well as my NRA and MA instructor credentials.

We both wrote a half page of reasoning why we wanted unrestricted including teaching classes, personal protection of self and family, competition, and some details our family and work life.

It took a few months to get our in person interview and once we did it was a very easy process. The guy doing the process (Zane I think) basically said that “personal protection” is basically all he needed to write in for the reasoning for unrestricted.

Total time was around 6 months to get the non resident LTC in hand.

Going forward I believe unrestricted LTC’s will be easier to obtain for everyone going forward. But I agree with Len that until they update the forms I’d still send the info.
 
glide said:
I had a non-res LTC, no restrictions while living in NH.

I was a former MA resident and still traveled to the state to visit family and occasionally for work.

The application required references (I don’t believe they were ever contacted), a letter indicating reason for application, and a visit to Chelsea for the initial application interview. Subsequent renewals were done via mail after a certain point.

Cost was $100/year which sucked and the renewals took about 6 months to process (yes, you read that right).

Overall I found that if you were willing to jump through the hoops, they were willing to issue the license without restrictions. I made sure to highlight my former residency and understanding of the current local laws vs. my home state.

I’m assuming some of the red tape may go away now. But the delays in processing will only get worse. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
Pretty much the same experience with points 3, 4, and 5 above.
 
Questions regarding Non-Resident LTC with no restrictions:

1--Does one have to carry only MA "on roster" firearms (or is the roster only for MA residents purchasing in-state?)
2--Can one carry off body in a bag, etc?
3--Can the firearm be loaded with hollow points?
4--Is there a "duty to inform" during a motor vehicle stop?
5--Can one carry on a boat?
6--Can one carry on National Seashore land?
 
GuideStar said:
Questions regarding Non-Resident LTC with no restrictions:

1--Does one have to carry only MA "on roster" firearms (or is the roster only for MA residents purchasing in-state?)
2--Can one carry off body in a bag, etc?
3--Can the firearm be loaded with hollow points?
4--Is there a "duty to inform" during a motor vehicle stop?
5--Can one carry on a boat?
6--Can one carry on National Seashore land?
Click to expand...
In regards to MA non-res LTC:

1 - It is a limit of what dealers can sell, not a limitation on the buyer or a restriction on possession.
2 - No definitive ruling on this specific other than "must be under your direct control"
3 - No restrictions in controlled expansion projectiles
4 - No legal duty to inform in MA
5 - Yes, not not with 500ft of Logan Airport
6 - Yes, but not in any government buildings, if any, on the seashore. Not sure about the hut where she sells sea shells.
 
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Rob Boudrie said:
In regards to MA non-res LTC:

1 - It is a limit of what dealers can sell, not a limitation on the buyer or a restriction on possession.
3 - No restrictions in controlled expansion projectiles
4 - No legal duty to inform in MA
5 - Yes, not not with 500ft of Logan Airport
6 - Yes, but not in any government buildings, if any, on the seashore. Not sure about the hut where she sells sea shells.
Click to expand...
Good info, thank you.
 
GuideStar said:
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

But the renewal date will be the same? They won't renew it earlier with a new date?
Click to expand...
Renewal date is the date the current one expires. I have my "new" one in-hand and it becomes valid in September when the current one expires.
 
Mesatchornug said:
in that you can have two in hand at the same time. One will be active, then the other. The expiry of the old one is your birthday. The new one becomes effective on that same birthday.
Click to expand...
No to birthday expiration. Resident LTCs expire on birthdays. NR LTCs expire on the month/day of original issuance, each time incrementing by 1 year.
 
So for non resident. Get license in hand. And in 6 months send in renewal… get it just in the nick of time… then wait 6 months send In renewal Again.

I wonder if in a couple of years they will up The length of time because they will get so tired of processing thousands of Non resident apps yearly. Lol
 
Texasgrillchef said:
So for non resident. Get license in hand. And in 6 months send in renewal… get it just in the nick of time… then wait 6 months send In renewal Again.

I wonder if in a couple of years they will up The length of time because they will get so tired of processing thousands of Non resident apps yearly. Lol
Click to expand...
I’m 100% sure they’re already sick of processing LTC’s for residents and non-residents.

Then the state looks at the coffers being filled with $100 every year by us for them to basically copy, paste, print and they laugh all the way to the bank.

Unless a court says they’re overstepping boundaries with excessive wait times, excessive violation of rights by making us apply EVERY year or that the $100 fee is excessive I don’t see anything changing.
 
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steve8140 said:
I’m 100% sure they’re already sick of processing LTC’s for residents and non-residents.

Then the state looks at the coffers being filled with $100 every year by us for them to basically copy, paste, print and they laugh all the way to the bank.

Unless a court says they’re overstepping boundaries with excessive wait times, excessive violation of rights by making us apply EVERY year or that the $100 fee is excessive I don’t see anything changing.
Click to expand...
They should do an auto-renew with a credit card on file, it works for the cable companies [laugh]
 

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