Introduction
The Firearms Data Dashboards are public-facing resources developed by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS), in collaboration with the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS), the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS), and other Commonwealth entities. These dashboards reflect a shared commitment to transparency, public safety, and responsible data sharing.
As part of the implementation of Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024 — An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws — the dashboards provide anonymized, aggregated data to help inform the public, support research, and guide policy discussions. Their launch marks a major achievement in the Commonwealth’s efforts to modernize firearm data reporting and empower public understanding.
About the Firearms Data Dashboards
Developed pursuant to M.G.L. c. 140, §121E(a), EOPSS designed the dashboards with a strong emphasis on public value, clarity, and data privacy. They serve as tools for residents, researchers, policymakers, and advocates to better understand the landscape of firearm-related activity in the Commonwealth.
The dashboards present structured data on firearm-related applications, licenses, and firearm-related incidents across Massachusetts and are updated at least on a quarterly basis. They include demographic information on victims and offenders involved in firearm-related violations and provide multiple years of data reflecting licensing activity and agency-level data.
EOPSS and its partners worked closely together to identify data sources that provide meaningful insights into firearm-related applications, licenses, and activity while maintaining strict privacy data protections. The dashboards currently include the below trusted data sources:
- National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
- Crime and arrest statistics were compiled using NIBRS data, which is voluntarily submitted by local, state, campus, and hospital police agencies to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) and the FBI. NIBRS provides detailed information on offenses, victims, offenders, property involved, and arrests. Agencies submit data either by exporting from their records management systems or by manual entry through EOPSS’ data portal. Not all agencies participate in NIBRS reporting, so coverage may vary. With respect to race and ethnicity data, NIBRS uses federal standards established by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
- Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME)
- The OCME, established under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 38, provides medicolegal investigative services for deaths occurring under violent, suspicious, or unexplained circumstances in Massachusetts. OCME determines the cause and manner of death and releases certifications and autopsy reports. It collects data from hospital medical records and is the authoritative source for confirming completed suicides. OCME holds required data on homicides and suicides as mandated by state law.
- Massachusetts Crime Gun Database (131Q Database)
- The 131Q database is used by local law enforcement to enter field data in relation to criminal incidents and the firearms associated with crimes.
- Massachusetts Instant Record Check System (MIRCS)
- MIRCS is a web-based system managed by the Massachusetts Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS) that serves as the state's integrated platform for firearms licensing and gun transaction reporting.
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) eTrace System
- The ATF’s eTrace system is a web-based application that allows local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to submit, monitor, and retrieve data for firearms traces.
- Massachusetts Trial Court
- The Trial Court possesses certain data related to criminal proceedings that is essential to the proper implementation of the Firearms Data Dashboard and has agreed to share such data from Massachusetts criminal proceedings.
Data collection standards may vary across these sources due to differences in reporting protocols, definitions, and system capabilities. EOPSS and its partners have worked to harmonize data values and classifications to ensure consistency and comparability. Where applicable, notes are provided to explain limitations or variations in data scope.
Users can interact with each dashboard using built-in filters to customize views. Visualizations are designed to be intuitive and accessible. Each visualization contains a description to assist users’ understanding of both the underlying data and the types of incidents or records represented.
For more information about the dashboard, you can access FAQs here.
For any other questions, please write to legal.info@mass.gov.
Victim Demographics in Incidents Involving Firearms
This dashboard provides county-level insights into the demographics of individuals who were victims in firearm-related incidents across Massachusetts, helping the public better understand how different communities are impacted. It includes anonymized, aggregated data categorized by gender, race, ethnicity, and age group.
The data currently covers the period from January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025, and is compiled from the following three trusted sources:
- National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS): Provides data on victims of crime such as Murder, Negligent Manslaughter, Justifiable Homicide, Kidnapping / Abduction, Rape, Aggravated Assault, and Robbery.
- Crime and arrest statistics were compiled using NIBRS data, which is voluntarily submitted by local, state, campus, and hospital police agencies to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) and the FBI. NIBRS provides detailed information on offenses, victims, offenders, property involved, and arrests. Agencies submit data either by exporting from their records management systems or by manual entry through EOPSS’ data portal. Not all agencies participate in NIBRS reporting, so coverage may vary. With respect to race and ethnicity data, NIBRS uses federal standards established by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
- Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME): The OCME, established under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 38, provides medicolegal investigative services for deaths occurring under violent, suspicious, or unexplained circumstances in Massachusetts. OCME determines the cause and manner of death and releases certifications and autopsy reports. It collects data from hospital medical records and is the authoritative source for confirming completed suicides. OCME holds required data on homicides and suicides as mandated by state law.
- Massachusetts Crime Gun Database (131Q Database): The 131Q database is used by local law enforcement to enter field data in relation to criminal incidents and the firearms associated with crimes. It includes data on victims of Accidental Shootings and Attempted Suicide. Please note, data on victims of accidental shootings and attempted suicide was first collected beginning in October 2025, and is not available prior to that date.
Users can explore the data using filters for year, county, and offense type, allowing for a more focused view of trends and demographic patterns.
To protect individual privacy in accordance with M.G.L. c. 6, § 172 and M.G.L. c. 66, § 10B, data categories with fewer than five incidents are not displayed.
Firearm Incidents - Offender Demographic Data
This dashboard presents demographic information about individuals identified as offenders in firearm-related incidents across Massachusetts. It features anonymized, aggregated data categorized by age, gender, race, and ethnicity.
The dashboard also includes data on dispositions associated with firearm charges, regardless of whether a firearm was physically recovered or seized. A disposition refers to the result of a criminal case through a conviction, acquittal, plea or admission, dismissal, nolle prosequi or other final resolution as entered by the Trial Court.
The data are sourced from the Massachusetts Trial Courts and includes all firearm incident related dispositions adjudicated by the courts on or after January 1, 2025.
- Massachusetts Trial Court: The Trial Court possesses certain data related to criminal proceedings that is essential to the proper implementation of the Firearms Data Dashboard and has agreed to share such data from Massachusetts criminal proceedings.
Users can explore the data using filters for year, offense location, disposition, and firearm violation group, allowing for a more detailed view of offender demographics and case outcomes.
To protect individual privacy in accordance with M.G.L. c. 6, § 172 and M.G.L. c. 66, § 10B, data categories with fewer than five incidents are not displayed.
Firearm Incidents - Disposition Information by Offense Severity
This dashboard provides an overview of how firearm-related criminal charges are resolved in Massachusetts, organized by the severity of the offense. This dashboard empowers users to understand judicial outcomes for various types of firearms-related charges across Massachusetts.
The data are sourced from the Massachusetts Trial Courts and include dispositions for qualifying cases beginning on or after January 1, 2025.
- Massachusetts Trial Court: The Trial Court possesses certain data related to criminal proceedings that is essential to the proper implementation of the Firearms Data Dashboard and has agreed to share such data from Massachusetts criminal proceedings.
Users can filter the dashboard by year, disposition, offense location, firearms violation group and firearm charges to view case outcomes across regions and offense types. Users may also select grouping of offenses to view the more detailed offense information contained therein.
Firearm License Applicants - Demographic Data
This dashboard displays demographic information for individuals who have applied for a License to Carry (LTC) or a Firearms Identification Card (FID) in Massachusetts.
It includes data on age, gender, race, ethnicity and municipality for both approved and denied applications, allowing for a detailed view of licensing trends across regions and time periods. Data on race and ethnicity has only been collected since October 2025 through the Massachusetts Instant Record Check System (MIRCS) , therefore, historical data will show as unavailable for any year prior to 2025. This dashboard will be updated on the 1st day of the calendar month.
The data are sourced from MIRCS and include historical records dating back to 2003, previously published on the DCJIS website.
- MIRCS is a web-based system managed by the Massachusetts Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS) that serves as the state's integrated platform for firearms licensing and gun transaction reporting.
Users can explore the data using filters for year, municipality, application type, and application status.
To protect individual privacy in accordance with M.G.L. c. 6, § 172 and M.G.L. c. 66, § 10B, data categories with fewer than five applicants are not displayed.
Active Firearm License Count
This dashboard provides a comprehensive view of currently active firearm licenses across Massachusetts. It includes aggregate counts of various license types, helping users understand licensing trends and activity across municipalities and issuing authorities.
The data is sourced from the Massachusetts Instant Record Check System (MIRCS) and is updated quarterly.
- MIRCS is a web-based system managed by the Massachusetts Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS) that serves as the state's integrated platform for firearms licensing and gun transaction reporting.
Users can explore the dashboard using filters for licensing authority and licensing type to view licensing patterns across regions.
Firearms License Applications by Type & Status
This dashboard provides a detailed view of firearms license application activity across Massachusetts, showing how different license applications progress through various stages of the licensing process. It includes counts of applications that were started, issued, denied, suspended, or revoked and are organized by licensing authority.
The data is sourced from the Massachusetts Instant Record Check System (MIRCS) and includes historical records dating back to 2006. The dashboard is updated on the 1st day of each month.
- MIRCS is a web-based system managed by the Massachusetts Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS) that serves as the state's integrated platform for firearms licensing and gun transaction reporting.
Users can filter the dashboard by licensing agency and license type to explore activity across different jurisdictions and license categories.
The stacked bar chart on the dashboard below uses a 100% stacked format to display the percentage breakdown of application statuses for each license type. This format allows users to understand the distribution of status of licenses (started, delivered, denied, revoked, and suspended) within each license type. Of note, the size of each bar does not reflect the total count of applications for that license type; and therefore, users should not compare the total count of total licenses across license types in the visual representation. For actual counts, please refer to the data labels on the chart or the table below.
Crime Gun Incident & Offender Details
This dashboard provides information regarding firearms used in the commission of a crime in Massachusetts that are subsequently seized by law enforcement. The data is sourced from the Massachusetts Crime Gun Database (131Q Database), which contains data submitted by Massachusetts law enforcement agencies pursuant to M.G.L. c. 140 §131Q. The 131Q Database is used by Massachusetts law enforcement agencies to enter field data in relation to criminal incidents and the firearms associated with crimes.
This Seized Crime Gun Incident Details Dashboard depicts the following details:
- Incident Type: This section displays whether the firearm was used during a police interaction, a domestic dispute or known gang activity.
- Weapon Details: This section displays the weapon type, make, model and country of origin of the recovered firearm.
- Offender Status: This section displays the status of the license of the firearm user, the arrest status, and whether the person was considered a prohibited person.
This dashboard is updated on the 1st day of every month. Some of these data fields were first collected in 2025, and therefore, data prior to 2025 will show as unavailable.
Crime Gun Seizure Details
This dashboard provides information on guns seized by law enforcement in Massachusetts. In particular, the dashboard reports data on stolen/lost firearms, as well as privately made firearms. The data is sourced from the Massachusetts Crime Gun Database (131Q Database).
Weapon Status: This section refers to whether a firearm has been listed as Lost or Stolen.
Privately Made Firearms: This section details whether a firearm has been assembled from components purchased separately or as a kit, or is otherwise considered a “ghost gun.”
This dashboard is updated on the 1st day of every month. Some of these data fields were first collected in 2025, and therefore, data prior to 2025 will show as unavailable. Additionally, the data displayed in this dashboard comes directly from information provided by law enforcement officers in the 131Q Database. Unavailable data reflects that officers have selected “unknown” when reporting data into the 131Q Database. The Commonwealth conducts regular training to educate and assist officers in fulfilling their reporting obligations under Chapter 131Q. As such, the Commonwealth anticipates the data quality will continue to improve in this dashboard.
Recovered Crime Gun Transaction Details
This dashboard provides information regarding the transaction history of firearms that are seized after use in the commission of a crime. The data in this dashboard is populated from cross referencing information contained in the Massachusetts Crime Gun Database (131Q Database) against the serial numbers of firearms listed in the Massachusetts Instant Record Check System (MIRCS). This cross referencing is accomplished by matching serial numbers of seized crime guns with serial numbers recorded in firearms transaction records maintained by DCJIS in MIRCS. This process allows DCJIS to display whether a crime gun was previously purchased, transferred, or sold within the Commonwealth.
It should be noted that a firearm may be listed multiple times as it may have been purchased, sold or registered multiple times. This chart represents a tally of the transactions not a count of actual firearms .
Planned Enhancements
As part of ongoing efforts to expand the scope of firearm-related data available to the public, an upcoming enhancement will introduce serial number tracing through the ATF eTrace System to identify the last known sale of a firearm. Collection of this data is expected to commence in July 2026, with public availability anticipated later in the year.
Revision History
| Details | Date |
|---|---|
| Updated On | 06/30/2026 |
| Published On | 10/28/2025 |