Binary triggers are not legal in Colorado. Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 25-003 on April 10, 2025, which classifies binary triggers and other rapid-fire devices as dangerous weapons under state law.1Colorado House Democrats. SB25-003 Signed Into Law Enforcement begins August 1, 2026. After that date, owning, buying, selling, or transferring one in Colorado is a class 5 felony, and there is no grandfather clause for devices already in private hands.
What Colorado Counts as a Rapid-Fire Device
A binary trigger fires one round when you pull the trigger and a second round when you release it, roughly doubling the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm without converting it into a traditional machine gun.
Colorado Revised Statute 18-12-101 defines a “rapid-fire device” as any device, part, kit, tool, accessory, or combination of parts that increases the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm beyond its standard unmodified rate.2LexisNexis. Colorado Code 18-12-101 – Peace Officer Affirmative Defense – Definitions That language is written broadly on purpose. It covers binary triggers, bump stocks, forced-reset triggers, and mechanical crank devices alike. The definition doesn’t turn on how the device works internally. If the end result is faster firing, it qualifies.
What SB25-003 Prohibits
SB25-003 takes the rapid-fire device definition and folds those devices into Colorado’s existing dangerous-weapon framework.3Colorado General Assembly. SB25-003 Semiautomatic Firearms and Rapid-Fire Devices Because Colorado already makes it a felony to possess a dangerous weapon, that reclassification is what creates the ban. No new possession statute was needed.
The prohibition is comprehensive. You cannot manufacture, sell, purchase, distribute, transfer, or possess a binary trigger in Colorado. Buying one from an out-of-state vendor and having it shipped to a Colorado address violates the law. So does receiving one as a gift or through a private sale. The prohibition does not hinge on money changing hands.
Unlike the bill’s treatment of certain semiautomatic firearms, where existing owners may keep what they already possess, rapid-fire devices receive no carve-out. A binary trigger you bought legally years ago becomes contraband on August 1, 2026.
Penalties for Possession or Sale
Possession of a dangerous weapon is a class 5 felony under CRS 18-12-102.4Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Offenses Relating to Firearms and Weapons The sentencing range is one to three years in prison, with a mandatory two-year parole period that neither the court nor the offender can waive. A court may also impose a fine of $1,000 to $100,000 in addition to or instead of imprisonment.5FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18 Criminal Code 18-1.3-401
The collateral consequences often matter more than the sentence itself. A felony conviction permanently strips your right to own firearms under both Colorado and federal law. Professional licenses, security clearances, and immigration status can all unravel on a dangerous-weapon conviction. Defense attorneys handling felony firearms cases in Colorado commonly quote fees in the range of $5,000 to $50,000 or more, so the financial exposure begins long before any court-imposed fine.
If someone uses a firearm equipped with a prohibited rapid-fire device during a separate violent crime, Colorado’s sentencing-enhancement statute can add a mandatory consecutive five-year prison term. That enhancement applies when a defendant is convicted of a crime of violence involving a dangerous weapon, a category that includes assault, robbery, and burglary.
Who Is Exempt
The ban does not reach everyone. Colorado law provides affirmative defenses for peace officers and members of the U.S. armed forces or Colorado National Guard who possess these devices while acting in the lawful discharge of their duties.4Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Offenses Relating to Firearms and Weapons Prison guards and firearms instructors are also exempt, as are Colorado manufacturers producing banned devices for sale to those authorized purchasers.
Two things to understand about the exemption. First, “affirmative defense” means the burden is on you to prove you qualify once you’re charged. It is not blanket immunity that prevents arrest. An off-duty officer keeping a binary trigger in a personal collection may face a very different legal picture than one using it in official training. Second, no permit or license lets a private citizen bypass the ban for personal, sporting, or recreational use. There is no civilian path to legal ownership in Colorado.
Federal Law Does Not Override the State Ban
Federal law treats binary triggers more leniently. A machine gun under federal law is any weapon that fires more than one shot automatically by a single function of the trigger.6Cornell Law Institute. 26 USC 5845(b) – Machinegun The ATF has generally not classified binary triggers as machine guns because each round requires a distinct trigger action, a pull and then a release. The Supreme Court reinforced that narrow reading in Garland v. Cargill in June 2024 when it struck down the ATF’s bump stock rule.7Supreme Court of the United States. Garland v. Cargill
None of that helps you in Colorado. Federal law sets a floor, not a ceiling, and states are free to go further. Colorado has done exactly that by defining “rapid-fire device” more broadly than the federal machine-gun definition and banning the entire category. A binary trigger you can legally buy online from a seller in Texas or Florida becomes contraband the moment it crosses into Colorado after August 1, 2026.
What to Do If You Already Own One
If you own a binary trigger in Colorado, you need to deal with it before August 1, 2026. The law includes no amnesty period and no government buyback program. Your realistic options are limited.
- Transfer it out of state. You can sell or give the device to someone in a state where it remains legal, or sell it to a federally licensed firearm dealer. The transfer has to be completed before the effective date.
- Destroy it. ATF guidance on destroying firearm components calls for the item to be rendered completely non-restorable, meaning melted, shredded, or torch-cut so it cannot be rebuilt. Pulling the trigger out of a rifle and tossing it in a drawer doesn’t satisfy the standard.8Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. How to Properly Destroy Firearms
- Surrender it to law enforcement. Some agencies accept voluntary surrender of prohibited items, though Colorado has not set up a formal statewide program. Call your local police department or sheriff’s office first; don’t show up unannounced with a firearm component.
If a gunsmith installed the trigger for you, a gunsmith will likely need to remove it. Having one physically installed in a firearm after August 1, 2026 counts as possession of a dangerous weapon whether you ever fire the rifle or not. Owning the loose part and leaving it installed in a rifle are treated the same way.
Crossing State Lines With a Binary Trigger
Rules on these devices vary widely from state to state, and that creates a real trap for anyone who travels or relocates. A binary trigger you legally bought and used at a range in a neighboring state becomes a Colorado felony the moment you drive it across the border. “I didn’t know” is not a defense to a possession charge. If you are moving to Colorado from a state without these restrictions, dispose of any rapid-fire devices before you arrive or arrange to leave them with someone who lives outside Colorado.