The Massachusetts Firearms Licensing Review Board (FLRB) is a 7-member statutory body created by G.L. c. 140, § 130B. It exists to hear petitions from people whose only firearms-licensing disqualifier is a low-level Massachusetts conviction (or delinquency adjudication) for an offense punishable by 2.5 years' imprisonment or less, where at least 5 years have passed since conviction or release. If the board grants the petition, it does not order the chief to issue your license; it removes the conviction as a disqualifier so you can apply (or re-apply) on a clean slate.
If a police chief denied your license to carry (LTC) application based on a low-level Massachusetts misdemeanor from years ago, the FLRB may be a path forward that most applicants do not know exists. Understanding how the board works, who qualifies, and what evidence you need to present can mean the difference between living under a permanent firearms restriction and clearing the way to apply again.
This post walks you through the FLRB process from eligibility to decision, with the actual statutory text rather than the often-repeated mythology about what the board does and does not do.
What Is the Massachusetts Firearms Licensing Review Board?
The Massachusetts Firearms Licensing Review Board is a statutory body created under G.L. c. 140, § 130B(a) to provide a second look at certain conviction-based firearms-licensing disqualifiers. It is housed within the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services. The board exists because Massachusetts recognizes that a low-level misdemeanor from long ago should not permanently bar someone from firearm ownership, especially if their life circumstances have changed in the intervening years.
The FLRB has 7 members specified by statute: the chair (a DCJIS designee), the Secretary of Public Safety or designee, the Colonel of State Police or designee, an appointee of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, the Attorney General or designee, an attorney with firearm-licensing-litigation experience appointed by the Governor (from a list submitted by the MA Bar Association), and a retired judge appointed by the Governor.
The FLRB is not a court, but it is not a paper-only screening committee either. Hearings are mandatory under § 130B(e) (at least once every 90 days) and, under § 130B(f), are conducted "in an informal manner, but otherwise according to the rules of evidence," with sworn witnesses and the board's compulsory process to compel attendance.
Importantly, the FLRB does NOT order the chief to issue you an LTC. Under § 130B(d), if the board grants the petition by 2/3 vote, it determines that the petitioner's "right or ability to possess a firearm is fully restored in the commonwealth with respect to such conviction or adjudication and that such conviction or adjudication shall not prohibit such petitioner from applying to a licensing authority." The petitioner then applies (or re-applies) to the chief, who still independently evaluates suitability and any other potential disqualifiers.
Who Qualifies for Massachusetts Firearms Licensing Review Board Review?
Not every LTC denial is eligible for FLRB review. The statute is narrowly tailored. Under G.L. c. 140, § 130B, you qualify for review if:
You qualify if you have been convicted of (or adjudicated as a delinquent child or youthful offender for) one or more Massachusetts offenses punishable by 2.5 years' imprisonment or less, arising out of a single incident, AND at least 5 years have passed from conviction, adjudication, or release from confinement, commitment, probation, or parole supervision, whichever is last occurring. § 130B(d)(i)-(ii).
Even if you meet the time-and-sentence test, the statute carves out one categorical exclusion: the offense cannot be an assault or battery on a family member or household member as defined by G.L. c. 209A, § 1. § 130B(b). For 209A purposes, the determination of who counts as a "family or household member" under clause (e) of § 1 is made by the FLRB itself.
This means if you were convicted of a qualifying misdemeanor and completed probation on January 15, 2019, you could petition the FLRB on January 16, 2024.
The FLRB cannot help with felony convictions or any offense punishable by more than 2.5 years. A felony conviction is a hard bar to firearms licensing in Massachusetts. The FLRB also cannot remove a denial based on suitability concerns alone (without a qualifying conviction); its jurisdiction is tied to specific conviction-based or adjudication-based disqualifiers. And under § 130B(d), the board cannot grant the petition if the petitioner is also disqualified under any of the other independent categorical bars (certain enumerated subsections of §§ 129B(1) and 131(d)) — meaning if there are multiple disqualifiers, FLRB removing the conviction will not be enough to clear the way.
The Petition Process and Required Documentation
Once you meet the eligibility threshold, you file a petition with the Massachusetts Firearms Licensing Review Board. Under § 130B(c), the petition must include a copy of a completed FID card or LTC application — one that has already been submitted to your local licensing authority, or that you submit to the authority at the same time as the FLRB petition. There is also a board-set filing fee. The statute and administrative procedure do not require court-like pleadings or formal legal briefs.
You will want to submit a cover letter or petition that explains your case clearly. Identify the misdemeanor conviction by date, court, and statute cited. Explain why enough time has passed and why your circumstances have changed. This is not the place for lengthy legal argument; it is where you tell your story to a neutral reader who may know nothing about you yet.
Attach copies of any documentation that supports your petition. This typically includes criminal records showing the conviction and sentence, proof of successful completion of probation or any other conditions, and evidence of your life since then. Employers' letters, character references, community involvement, steady employment, family stability, educational accomplishments, and any rehabilitative counseling or treatment you have undertaken all matter here. The board wants to know that the person sitting across from you today is not the same person who committed the crime years ago.
If you have sealed the misdemeanor conviction, you will still need to disclose it to the FLRB; sealing does not erase the conviction for LTC purposes. Expungement is meaningfully different. Because an expunged record no longer exists for any state agency to act on, expungement should eliminate the state-level firearms disqualification as a matter of statutory logic. If your conviction has been expunged, the licensing authority may no longer have a valid basis to deny on that ground, and the FLRB may no longer have jurisdiction over it. If the conviction has been reduced to a violation or dismissed entirely, the picture changes in a similar way.
You should also request any records the chief relied on in denying your application. If the chief's denial letter referenced specific concerns about the conviction or your character, you can address those head-on in your petition and supporting materials.
The Clear and Convincing Evidence Standard
Here is where the Massachusetts Firearms Licensing Review Board review differs meaningfully from a standard court appeal: you must present clear and convincing evidence that you are suitable to possess a firearm. Clear and convincing evidence is a higher burden than the preponderance of the evidence standard used in many civil cases, but lower than the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard in criminal cases.
In practice, clear and convincing evidence requires proof that produces a "firm belief or conviction" in the factfinder's mind — not merely that something is more likely than not, but that it is highly probable. A few job references and a claim that you have changed will not meet this standard. You need concrete, corroborating evidence of rehabilitation and suitability.
Courts and administrative boards interpreting similar language have emphasized that the evidence must speak to your character now, not just apologize for your conduct then. If you completed a DUI education program because your misdemeanor was OUI-related, present the certificate. If you underwent mental health counseling following a disorderly conduct conviction, submit records (with appropriate privacy protections) showing your treatment and provider's assessment of your stability. If you have held steady employment for five years, provide letters from your employer or pay stubs. If you volunteer or participate in community organizations, get letters from those groups.
The stronger your evidence of a changed life, the more likely the board is to find that you have met the clear and convincing evidence standard. Conversely, if you have been arrested again, even for minor infractions, since the conviction, that will weigh heavily against you.
How Does an FLRB Decision Interact with the Local Licensing Authority?
A favorable FLRB decision does not produce an LTC. It produces a determination, communicated in writing to both the petitioner and the licensing authority within 20 days of the decision (§ 130B(f)), that the conviction is no longer a disqualifier. The petitioner then applies (or re-applies) to the chief, who still has independent authority to evaluate suitability under G.L. c. 140, § 121F(k) and to consider any other potential disqualifiers. If the chief then denies the application on independent grounds (such as suitability concerns separate from the cleared conviction), the standard LTC-denial appeal route applies: a petition for judicial review in district court within 90 days under § 121F(v)(2).
If the FLRB itself denies your petition (i.e., refuses to remove the disqualifier), the appeal route is different. Section 130B does not contain its own appeal provision. The default route for review of an administrative agency's decision in Massachusetts is an action in the nature of certiorari under G.L. c. 249, § 4, brought in the Superior Court. The certiorari standard is whether the agency's decision was based on a substantial error of law or unsupported by substantial evidence — a deferential standard, not a fresh look. New evidence developed since the FLRB decision is generally not part of the certiorari record.
An FLRB denial does not prevent you from petitioning the FLRB again later. If additional time passes and your circumstances improve, a renewed petition is available, though waiting long enough to show meaningful change between petitions is the practical norm.
What Actually Happens at FLRB Review?
Hearings are mandatory at least every 90 days under § 130B(e), and the board has the power to compel attendance of witnesses. § 130B(f) provides that hearings are conducted "in an informal manner, but otherwise according to the rules of evidence," with witnesses sworn by the chair. A petitioner can request a verbatim transcript of the hearing for a stenographic fee.
The board applies the statutory standard from § 130B(c)-(d): whether the petitioner has met the burden of proving suitability by clear and convincing evidence. To grant the petition, the board must find by 2/3 vote that (i) the qualifying conviction is the sole disqualifier (and that the petitioner is not also disqualified under various enumerated subsections of §§ 129B(1) or 131(d)), (ii) at least 5 years have passed, and (iii) the petitioner has shown current suitability by clear and convincing evidence.
Section 130B(d) imposes a statutory deadline: the board "shall make a determination on a petition within 60 days after receipt of the petition." The board's written decision and findings of fact must be sent to the petitioner and the licensing authority within 20 days of the decision under § 130B(f).
Decisions state the board's reasoning. If you are denied, that reasoning matters for deciding whether to pursue certiorari review in Superior Court or to file a renewed petition after more time has passed.
What Are Your Options If the FLRB Denies You?
A denial is not the end of the road, but the realistic next steps depend on what was denied. If the FLRB itself denied removing the conviction disqualifier, the standard route to challenge that decision is an action in the nature of certiorari in Superior Court under G.L. c. 249, § 4. Certiorari is a deferential standard of review focused on legal error and substantial evidence, and it generally proceeds on the record before the board, not new evidence.
A separate option is to consult with an attorney about whether the chief's original denial was legally sound on grounds other than the conviction. If the chief's denial relied on suitability concerns unrelated to the conviction, those grounds are reviewable through the LTC-denial appeal route under § 121F(v) — a different procedural posture than the FLRB petition.
If your application was denied and you are trying to understand the full range of your options, a clear understanding of the general LTC denial appeal process is helpful context.
If you have questions about your specific situation, or you believe you are eligible for Massachusetts Firearms Licensing Review Board review, contact Christopher B. O'Brien at (617) 313-3482 to discuss your case.