Colorado Gun Laws: Permits, Carry, and the 2026 Rules

Colorado gun laws set a minimum purchase age of 21, require a background check on every firearm transfer (including private sales), impose a three-day waiting period before a dealer can deliver a gun, cap magazine capacity at 15 rounds, and ban unserialized “ghost guns.” Open carry is legal without a permit, but concealed carry requires a permit from your county sheriff. Starting August 1, 2026, buying certain semiautomatic firearms will also require a state-approved safety course.

Who Can Buy and Possess a Firearm

Two age rules sit next to each other and are easy to confuse. You may possess a firearm at 18, but you must be 21 to purchase one, whether the seller is a licensed dealer or a private party.¹ Active-duty military and law enforcement officers are exempt from the purchase age rule.

Several criminal and legal histories disqualify you from possessing a firearm at all. Any felony conviction, a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction, and specified misdemeanors committed on or after June 19, 2021 (third-degree assault, violation of a protection order, unlawful sexual contact, and child abuse among them) will take you out.² Federal prohibitors add more categories, including anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, unlawful drug users, and anyone involuntarily committed to a mental health facility.

Extreme Risk Protection Orders

Colorado’s red flag law lets a court order someone to temporarily surrender their firearms if a judge finds the person poses a significant danger to themselves or others. Possessing a firearm while subject to one of these orders is a Class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 120 days in jail and a fine of up to $750.³⁴

Background Checks and the Three-Day Wait

Every firearm transfer in Colorado goes through a background check. Private sales are not exempt. If you sell a gun to another person, you must route the check through a licensed dealer, who submits it to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. The buyer cannot take the gun until the CBI approves the transfer.⁵ Skipping the dealer in a private sale is a Class 1 misdemeanor, carrying up to 18 months in jail and fines up to $5,000.⁴

On top of the background check, a three-day waiting period applies before a dealer may hand over any firearm. The clock starts when the dealer initiates the background check. If the check takes longer than three days, delivery waits until it clears.⁶ A dealer who delivers early faces a $500 civil fine on the first violation, and $500 to $5,000 for any later violation.⁷

A few narrow exemptions apply to the wait: antique firearms and curios and relics, sales to military personnel deploying outside the U.S. within 30 days, and transfers already exempt from background check requirements under state or federal law.⁷

Magazines, Ghost Guns, and the 2026 Semiauto Rule

Large-Capacity Magazines

Colorado prohibits selling, transferring, or possessing a magazine that holds more than 15 rounds. For shotguns, the limit is a fixed tubular magazine longer than 28 inches of shells, or a detachable magazine holding more than eight shells when combined with a fixed magazine.⁸ A first offense is a Class 2 misdemeanor, up to 120 days in jail and a fine up to $750. Possessing one during a felony or violent crime becomes a Class 6 felony, one to 18 months in prison.⁹

There’s a grandfather clause. If you owned a large-capacity magazine before July 1, 2013, and have kept continuous possession since, you can keep it. You cannot sell or transfer it.⁹

Unserialized Firearms

Colorado bans possessing, purchasing, and manufacturing firearms without a serial number, 3D-printed guns included. If you already own one, you must take it to a licensed dealer to have a serial number engraved. First offense is a Class 1 misdemeanor; any subsequent violation is a Class 5 felony.¹⁰

The 2026 Semiautomatic Restriction

Starting August 1, 2026, Colorado will restrict sale and purchase of “specified semiautomatic firearms,” meaning semiautomatic rifles or shotguns with a detachable magazine, and gas-operated semiautomatic handguns with a detachable magazine. Possession of guns you already own is not banned. Manufacturing, selling, transferring, or purchasing one will be prohibited unless the buyer has completed an approved firearms safety or hunter education course specified by the law. The same statute classifies any device that increases a semiautomatic firearm’s rate of fire as a dangerous weapon. A first violation is a Class 2 misdemeanor; a second or later is a Class 6 felony.¹¹

Storing Firearms and Reporting Loss or Theft

You must store a firearm responsibly if you know, or should know, that a child could get to it without parental permission, or that someone in your home is legally prohibited from possessing firearms. Irresponsible storage is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Licensed dealers must also include a locking device with every firearm sold or transferred; selling without one is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine.¹²

If your firearm is lost or stolen, report it to law enforcement within five days of discovering it missing. A family member or housemate can file the report for you. A first failure to report is a civil infraction with a $25 fine. A second failure becomes a misdemeanor with a fine up to $500.¹³

Open Carry and Concealed Carry

Open carry is legal statewide without a permit if you are lawfully allowed to possess the firearm. In 2021, Colorado repealed statewide preemption, so cities and counties can now pass their own ordinances restricting or banning open carry.¹⁴ Check local rules before carrying openly in an unfamiliar jurisdiction.

Carrying a concealed firearm without a permit is a Class 1 misdemeanor, six to 18 months in jail and fines between $500 and $5,000.¹⁵⁴ Colorado is a shall-issue state: the county sheriff must issue a permit to any applicant who meets the statutory requirements.¹⁶ Local governments can still restrict where you may carry concealed, even with a valid permit.

Getting a Concealed Handgun Permit

You apply through your county sheriff. To qualify, you must be at least 21, a legal Colorado resident, and not otherwise prohibited under state or federal law. The statute also disqualifies habitual users of alcohol to the point of impairment, unlawful users of or those addicted to controlled substances, and anyone currently subject to a protection order or extreme risk protection order.¹⁶ Active-duty military stationed in Colorado, and their immediate family, count as residents for permit purposes.

Training (Rules Changed July 2025)

Training rules tightened on July 1, 2025. New applicants need at least eight hours of in-person instruction with a written test (minimum 80%) and a live-fire exercise (at least 70% accuracy). No portion of the course can be online. For new applicants, training certificates are valid for only one year from issuance; for renewals, six months.¹⁷ Active-duty military and those honorably discharged within the past three years can use their military documentation instead. Organized shooting competition experience also qualifies.¹⁶

Fees and Renewal

You apply in person at the sheriff’s office and get fingerprinted for a check through both the CBI and the FBI. The CBI portion is $52.50 for a new permit, and the sheriff adds a county administrative fee on top, so total cost varies by county.¹⁸ El Paso County, for example, charges a total of $135.¹⁹ A permit is valid for five years. Renewal requires a refresher course of at least two hours with its own live-fire and written components, plus a reduced CBI fee of $13.

Reciprocity With Other States

Colorado honors concealed carry permits from other states only when the other state recognizes Colorado permits, you are a resident of the state that issued your permit, you are at least 21, and you carry both the permit and a matching state-issued ID. Colorado does not honor permits held by non-residents of the issuing state. More than 30 states have reciprocity with Colorado; others do not.²⁰

Where Firearms Are Off-Limits

Some places are closed to firearms regardless of whether you hold a permit. State legislative buildings, local government buildings housing elected officials’ offices, courthouses, and other buildings used for court proceedings are off-limits, including adjacent parking areas. Carrying a firearm in one of these government buildings is a Class 1 misdemeanor.²¹

K-12 school grounds and public college and university campuses are also closed. Permit holders may carry in college parking areas but not inside campus buildings.²¹ Private property owners and businesses may prohibit firearms on their premises. If a business posts a no-weapons policy, refusing to leave when asked can lead to trespassing charges.

Self-Defense and the Make My Day Law

Colorado allows you to use physical force to defend yourself or another person when you reasonably believe someone is about to use unlawful force. The force must be proportional. Deadly force is justified only when you reasonably believe a lesser degree would be insufficient and you face imminent danger of being killed or suffering serious bodily injury.²² There is no statutory duty to retreat before defending yourself, even if retreat is possible.

Inside your home, the threshold shifts. Under the Make My Day law, an occupant of a dwelling may use any degree of force, including deadly force, against an intruder who has made an unlawful entry, if the occupant reasonably believes the intruder has committed or intends to commit any crime beyond the uninvited entry itself, and reasonably believes the intruder might use even slight physical force against anyone inside. An occupant who meets these conditions is immune from both criminal prosecution and civil suit. The law defines “dwelling” broadly but excludes any place of habitation inside a detention facility, and the protection does not apply to someone who provoked the confrontation or who is themselves trespassing.²³

1
Colorado General Assembly. SB23-169 Increasing Minimum Age To Purchase Firearms
2
Colorado Bureau of Investigation. State and Federal Firearm Prohibitors
3
FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 13 Section 13-14.5-111
4
Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-1.3-501 – Misdemeanors Classified – Penalties
5
Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 18-12-112 – Private Firearms Transfers – Background Check Required
6
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Obtaining, Possessing and Selling Firearms
7
Colorado General Assembly. HB23-1219 Waiting Period To Deliver A Firearm
8
FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18 Section 18-12-301
9
Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-12-302 – Large-Capacity Magazines Prohibited – Penalties – Exceptions
10
Colorado General Assembly. SB23-279 Concerning Prohibited Activity Related to Firearms
11
Colorado General Assembly. SB25-003 Semiautomatic Firearms and Rapid-Fire Devices
12
Colorado General Assembly. HB21-1106 Safe Storage Of Firearms
13
Colorado General Assembly. SB21-078 Lost Or Stolen Firearms
14
Colorado General Assembly. SB21-256 Local Regulation Of Firearms
15
Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-12-105 – Unlawfully Carrying a Concealed Weapon
16
Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-12-203 – Criteria for Obtaining a Permit
17
Larimer County. New Colorado Law Changes Concealed Handgun Permit Process
18
Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP)
19
El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. Concealed Handgun Permit
20
Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) Reciprocity
21
Colorado General Assembly. SB24-131 Prohibiting Carrying Firearms in Sensitive Spaces
22
Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-1-704 – Use of Physical Force in Defense of a Person
23
Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-1-704.5 – Use of Deadly Physical Force Against an Intruder