Colorado gun laws changed substantially in 2023 and 2024. If you buy, sell, carry, or store a firearm in the state, the rules that matter most now are these: you must be at least 21 to purchase any gun, every sale carries a mandatory three-day waiting period, homemade and unserialized firearms are banned, carry is prohibited in a growing list of sensitive locations, and guns left in a vehicle must be locked in a specific way. Penalties start at civil fines and escalate to felony prison time for repeat violations.
Who Can Buy a Gun in Colorado
Senate Bill 23-169 raised the minimum age to purchase any firearm from 18 to 21. The rule applies equally to handguns, rifles, and shotguns, and it binds licensed dealers and private sellers alike.1Colorado General Assembly. SB23-169 Increasing Minimum Age To Purchase Firearms Federal law already blocked licensed dealers from selling handguns to buyers under 21; Colorado extended that floor to long guns and to unlicensed sales.2Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Minimum Age for Gun Sales and Transfers
Two groups keep the 18-year-old floor: active-duty members of the U.S. armed forces and peace officers certified by Colorado’s P.O.S.T. board.1Colorado General Assembly. SB23-169 Increasing Minimum Age To Purchase Firearms
A buyer under 21 who purchases a firearm commits a Class 2 misdemeanor, which carries up to 120 days in jail, a fine of up to $750, or both.1Colorado General Assembly. SB23-169 Increasing Minimum Age To Purchase Firearms3FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18 Criminal Code 18-1.3-501 The dealer or seller who completes the transaction faces charges as well. The Tenth Circuit upheld the age-21 law in November 2024.
The Three-Day Waiting Period
House Bill 23-1219 requires at least three days to pass between the start of your background check and the moment you can take the firearm home.4Colorado General Assembly. HB23-1219 Waiting Period To Deliver A Firearm The rule covers every sale routed through a licensed dealer, including private transfers, which Colorado requires to run through a dealer under its universal background check law.
The waiting period interacts with federal law in a way that catches people off guard. Under the federal NICS system, a dealer may release a firearm if the FBI has not completed the check within three business days.5Federal Bureau of Investigation. About NICS Colorado overrides that default. The three-day minimum applies even if the federal check would otherwise clear the sale, and if the background check takes longer than three days, you wait on whichever date is later. A denial that arrives after day three blocks the transfer entirely.
Delivering a firearm before the waiting period expires is a civil infraction. A first violation costs $500. A second or later violation runs from $500 to $5,000.4Colorado General Assembly. HB23-1219 Waiting Period To Deliver A Firearm
Serial Number Requirements
Senate Bill 23-279 banned the possession, sale, and manufacture of firearms and firearm components without serial numbers. The target is the untraceable homemade weapon, built from parts kits or 3D-printed pieces.6Colorado General Assembly. SB23-279 Unserialized Firearms and Firearm Components
The ban reaches both complete firearms and unfinished frames or receivers, which are the structural parts that house a gun’s internal mechanisms.7Colorado General Assembly. Colorado Code 18-12-101 Senate Bill 23-279 If you already own an unserialized frame or receiver, you must bring it to a licensed dealer to have a serial number engraved. New frames and receivers may only be produced by federally licensed manufacturers.6Colorado General Assembly. SB23-279 Unserialized Firearms and Firearm Components Professional serialization typically costs $70 to $75 where it is offered.
A first offense is a Class 1 misdemeanor, up to 364 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.6Colorado General Assembly. SB23-279 Unserialized Firearms and Firearm Components3FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18 Criminal Code 18-1.3-501 A second or later offense becomes a Class 5 felony: one to three years in prison, fines up to $100,000, and two years of mandatory parole.8FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18 Criminal Code 18-1.3-401 A felony conviction also permanently strips your right to possess a firearm.
Where You Cannot Carry
Senate Bill 24-131 prohibits both open and concealed carry at the state Capitol, courthouses, K-12 schools, colleges, child care facilities, and polling locations. A concealed carry permit does not override the ban. Carrying in a prohibited location is a Class 1 misdemeanor, carrying up to 364 days in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
Storing a Gun in Your Vehicle
House Bill 24-1348, effective January 1, 2025, sets how a firearm must be stored in an unattended vehicle. The rules split by firearm type:9Colorado General Assembly. HB24-1348 Secure Firearm Storage in a Vehicle
- A handgun must be in a locked hard-sided container, kept out of plain view, inside a locked vehicle or locked trunk.
- A rifle, shotgun, or other long gun may go in a hard-sided or soft-sided locked container, also out of plain view in a locked vehicle or trunk. If the container is soft-sided, a separate locking device must be installed on the firearm itself.
The container does not have to be bolted to the vehicle. A locked hard case inside a locked car is enough. A person with a disability who uses a locked soft-sided container in place of a hard-sided one does not violate the handgun rule.9Colorado General Assembly. HB24-1348 Secure Firearm Storage in a Vehicle A violation is a civil infraction. Dealers must post signs informing customers of the storage requirements.
If you are driving through Colorado from out of state, federal law under 18 U.S.C. ยง 926A lets you transport an unloaded firearm so long as neither the gun nor the ammunition is readily accessible from the passenger compartment; in a vehicle without a separate trunk, the firearm must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms Colorado’s rule is stricter for an unattended vehicle, so if you plan to leave the car, follow the Colorado standard.
Red Flag Orders: Who Can File
Colorado’s extreme risk protection order lets a court order a person to surrender firearms if they pose a significant risk to themselves or others. Senate Bill 23-170 expanded the list of people who can petition. Family and household members and law enforcement were already eligible. The law now also allows licensed health-care providers, mental health professionals, educators, and district attorneys to file.11Colorado General Assembly. SB23-170 Extreme Risk Protection Order Petitions
A health-care provider or educator can only petition if they had a direct professional relationship with the person, or with that person’s child, within the six months before filing.12Colorado General Assembly. Colorado Senate Bill 23-170 Deputy Zackari Parrish III Violence Prevention Act When a court issues a temporary order, the person must immediately surrender all firearms and any concealed carry permit.13Colorado General Assembly. HB19-1177 Extreme Risk Protection Orders A full hearing follows within 14 days.14Colorado Department of Revenue. Extreme Risk Protection Orders
New Rules for Dealers and Concealed Carry Classes
Three 2024 laws reshape the business side of firearm sales and permitting.
Beginning in 2025, House Bill 24-1353 requires every firearm dealer to hold a $400 state permit, submit to inspections, run background checks on employees, and report attempted illegal purchases to law enforcement within 48 hours. A dealer whose permit is revoked must wait three years before reapplying.
House Bill 24-1174 overhauls concealed carry training. Starting July 1, 2025, the required class must include at least eight hours of instruction, a live-fire test of at least 50 rounds, and a written exam.
Senate Bill 24-66 directs credit card companies to assign a dedicated merchant category code to firearms and ammunition dealers by May 2025. The attorney general can impose fines of $10,000 per violation.
Suing the Firearm Industry
Senate Bill 23-168, named for Aurora theater shooting victim Jessi Redfield Ghawi, lets anyone harmed by a knowing violation of Colorado’s consumer protection or firearms laws sue the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer responsible. The state attorney general can also bring enforcement actions. Courts can award compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive relief, and attorney fees. If a knowing violation created a reasonably foreseeable risk that harm would occur, the law presumes the violation was the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injury, even where a third party’s acts intervened. The filing deadline is five years from the violation or the harm.