Resident permit · MA → DE
Is a Massachusetts Resident Permit Valid in Delaware?
Not recognizedVerified 2026-08-08
Not legal. Massachusetts resident permits are outside Delaware's recognition rules, and Delaware still requires a license to carry. Unloaded, locked transport under federal law is the lawful fallback.
Why
- Massachusetts is not on Delaware's official reciprocity list.
For listed states the AG page states Delaware 'will recognize both resident and a non-resident licenses.' Permit-type limits apply - Idaho Enhanced only, North Dakota Class 1 only, South Dakota Enhanced only. Delaware's prohibited-person rules (felonies, certain misdemeanors, drug crimes, PFA orders, mental-health commitments) still bar some visiting permit holders.
The permit (Massachusetts)
- Permit
- License to Carry Firearms (LTC)
- Issued by
- Local police department licensing authority (residents); Firearms Records Bureau as designee of the Colonel of the State Police (non-residents)
- Issue policy
- Shall-issue
The destination (Delaware)
- Recognition policy
- Honors a named list of 21 states
- Permitless carry
- No
- Duty to inform
- No (present permit on demand)
- Magazine limit
- 17 rounds
Carry rules in Delaware
Your Massachusetts habits may not match Delaware's law. Check these three areas before you carry there.
- No statutory duty to proactively inform an officer; Title 11's deadly-weapons subchapter contains no notification requirement. AG-issued temporary licenses must be carried at all times while in the state (11 Del. C. 1441(k)).
- Delaware limits magazine capacity to 17 rounds — a limit that applies to visitors, and one of the easiest laws to break by accident.
- Delaware is not a permitless-carry state: concealed carry there requires a permit Delaware recognizes.
- A concealed handgun in a vehicle requires a Delaware CCDW or a recognized out-of-state license (11 Del. C. 1442). A licensee may keep a firearm in a motor vehicle even within a Safe School Zone (11 Del. C. 1457A(c)(4)).
Off-limits places in Delaware
- Safe School Zones - K-12 school buildings, grounds, athletic fields and school vehicles (licensees excepted only while the firearm stays in a motor vehicle) (11 Del. C. 1457A)
- Safe Recreation Zones - government or private recreation centers, athletic fields and sports stadiums, as to the listed weapons offenses including unlicensed concealed carry (11 Del. C. 1457)
- Federal facilities and any place where firearms are prohibited by federal law
Frequently asked questions
- Is a Massachusetts resident permit valid in Delaware?
- Not legal. Massachusetts resident permits are outside Delaware's recognition rules, and Delaware still requires a license to carry. Unloaded, locked transport under federal law is the lawful fallback.
- Do I have to tell police in Delaware that I am carrying?
- No statutory duty to proactively inform an officer; Title 11's deadly-weapons subchapter contains no notification requirement. AG-issued temporary licenses must be carried at all times while in the state (11 Del. C. 1441(k)).
- Does Delaware limit magazine capacity?
- Delaware limits magazine capacity to 17 rounds — a limit that applies to visitors, and one of the easiest laws to break by accident.
- Where does Delaware publish its official reciprocity list?
- Delaware publishes its recognition policy on an official state page, linked in the sources on this page. That page is the authority — check it shortly before travel, because recognition lists change without much notice.
Official sources
- Delaware DOJ (Attorney General) - Concealed Carry Deadly Weapons (CCDW) and reciprocity list — accessed 2026-08-08
- 11 Del. C. c.5 subch. VII - 1441 (license), 1442 (carrying concealed), 1457/1457A (safe zones), 1468-1469 (large-capacity magazines) — accessed 2026-08-08
- 1 Del. C. 701 - Age of majority (definition of 'full age' = 18) — accessed 2026-08-08
- Mass.gov — Firearms License and Transaction FAQs (no reciprocity; large-capacity feeding devices; issuing authorities) — accessed 2026-08-08
- MGL c.140 §131G — repealed by Ch. 135 of 2024, Sec. 64 (Mass. Legislature) — accessed 2026-08-08
- Acts of 2024, Chapter 135 (An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws) — Sec. 124 prohibited areas — accessed 2026-08-08