Colorado pistol laws set the purchase age at 21, require a background check and three-day waiting period on every firearm transfer, cap magazines at 15 rounds, and require a county-issued permit to carry concealed. Open carry is legal statewide but can be banned locally, and the list of places where firearms are prohibited grew in 2024. Several of the rules below changed in the last two years, so a refresher is worth the few minutes even if you’ve owned handguns here for a while.
Who Can Buy and Own a Pistol
You must be at least 21 to buy any firearm in Colorado. SB23-169 raised the purchase age from 18, and it is now a misdemeanor both for an under-21 buyer to attempt a purchase and for a seller to complete one.1Colorado General Assembly. SB23-169 Increasing Minimum Age To Purchase Firearms Possession rules work differently: anyone under 18 is prohibited from possessing a handgun, with narrow exceptions for hunting, supervised target shooting, and self-defense at home with a parent’s permission.
Age isn’t the only bar. Anyone convicted of a felony under Colorado, another state’s, or federal law is prohibited from possessing a firearm. A violation is a class 5 felony with a presumptive sentence of one to three years and fines up to $100,000.2FindLaw. Colorado Code 18-12-108 – Possession of Weapons by Previous Offenders3Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-1.3-401 – Felonies Classified – Presumptive Penalties If the firearm was used or threatened in another crime, probation is off the table and the sentence must be served in the Department of Corrections. People under certain civil or criminal protection orders are also prohibited.
Background Checks and the Three-Day Wait
Every firearm transfer in Colorado runs through a background check, not only purchases from licensed dealers. If you buy a pistol through a classified ad, from a coworker, or from any family member outside the exemption list, the transaction has to go through a licensed dealer who requests the check from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.4Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-12-112 – Private Firearms Transfers – Background Check Required The dealer can charge up to $10 to handle the transfer, and the buyer also pays the CBI’s separate processing fee.
Transfers between immediate family are exempt. The CBI defines immediate family as spouses, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, first cousins, aunts, and uncles. In-laws don’t qualify. The exemption doesn’t let you hand a firearm to a family member who is themselves prohibited from possessing one.5Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Firearms FAQs
Separate from the check, a three-day waiting period applies before any firearm can be delivered. The clock starts when the background check is initiated, and the gun doesn’t change hands until three days have passed or the check comes back approved, whichever is later. Delivering a firearm before the waiting period ends is a civil infraction: $500 for a first offense, up to $5,000 for a repeat.6Colorado General Assembly. HB23-1219 Waiting Period To Deliver A Firearm
Open Carry and Local Restrictions
Colorado does not ban open carry at the state level. In most of the state you can carry a pistol openly without a permit. But local governments have broad authority to pass their own firearm rules, including open carry bans within their jurisdictions. A local ordinance can be more restrictive than state law but not less.7Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Revised Statutes 29-11.7-103 – Local Regulations Governing Firearms Permitted Denver has long banned open carry within city limits. If you plan to carry openly, check the rules for every town you’ll be in.
Concealed Carry Permits
To carry concealed, you need a Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) from your county sheriff. Colorado is a shall-issue state, so the sheriff must grant the permit if you meet the criteria: at least 21, a Colorado resident, able to pass a background check, with no disqualifying criminal history or mental health adjudication.8Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-12-203 – Criteria for Obtaining a Permit
Training
Training got stricter under HB24-1174. The initial class must be in person and last at least eight hours, covering safe handling, storage, shooting fundamentals, federal and state law, self-defense law, and how to manage violent confrontations. You have to pass both a written exam and a live-fire exercise. The certificate must be less than a year old when you apply.9Colorado General Assembly. HB24-1174 Concealed Carry Permits and Training Renewals can be done with a shorter refresher course of at least two hours, still with in-person live-fire and a written exam, focused on changes to firearms law. The refresher must be completed within six months of filing the renewal.
Fees, Length, and Reciprocity
State-level fees for a new CHP total $52.50 (CBI fingerprint check, InstaCheck, and FBI fingerprint check).10Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) County sheriffs can add their own administrative fees, so your total cost depends on where you apply. The permit is valid for five years.
Colorado honors concealed carry permits from about 34 other states, but only when the permit holder is a resident of the issuing state, carries a matching state ID, and is at least 21. A Colorado CHP works in those reciprocal states on the same conditions. Colorado does not recognize non-resident permits, and Colorado residents can’t rely on an out-of-state non-resident permit at home.11Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) Reciprocity The list changes periodically; check the CBI’s site before you travel.
Pistols in a Vehicle
You don’t need a concealed carry permit to keep a pistol in your car. State law treats a firearm carried in a private vehicle for lawful self-defense as legal, and a handgun inside a vehicle is not considered concealed for permit purposes.12Department of Public Safety. Colorado Gun Laws This is one area where local governments cannot override state law. Colorado has expressly preempted local ordinances that would restrict your ability to travel with a firearm in a private vehicle, no matter how many stops you make within a jurisdiction.13Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-12-105.6 – Limitation on Local Ordinances Regarding Firearms
The vehicle exception covers lawful defense of yourself, another person, or property. It doesn’t let you carry anywhere once you step out. On foot, the normal rules apply: open carry subject to local restrictions, concealed only with a permit.
Where You Can’t Carry
Some places are off-limits regardless of permit. You cannot carry openly or concealed on the grounds of any school, from child care centers through colleges and universities, and the ban covers the whole property, not just buildings.14Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-12-105.5 – Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon – School, College, or University Grounds Narrow exceptions exist for authorized demonstrations, employees whose duties require a firearm, and participants in sanctioned school activities.
SB24-131, which took effect in 2024, added more sensitive locations, including polling places and certain government buildings. Violating any of these location bans is a class 1 misdemeanor, up to 364 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.15Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-1.3-501 – Misdemeanors Classified – Penalties
Private property owners can prohibit firearms on their premises. Posted signs are the standard notice, and ignoring them can bring a trespassing charge on top of any other violation.
Magazine Capacity
Colorado bans the sale, transfer, and possession of large-capacity magazines, defined as any detachable or fixed magazine capable of holding more than 15 rounds.16FindLaw. Colorado Code 18-12-301 – Definitions A grandfather clause lets you keep a magazine over 15 rounds if you owned it before July 1, 2013, and have held it continuously since.17Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-12-302 – Large-Capacity Magazines Prohibited – Penalties – Exceptions A first violation is a class 2 misdemeanor; repeat offenses escalate, and possessing a prohibited magazine while committing a felony or crime of violence is a class 6 felony. It is a standalone offense, so you can be charged even without any other crime attached.18Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 18-12-302 – Large-Capacity Magazines Prohibited – Penalties – Exceptions
Unserialized Firearms
Since January 1, 2024, Colorado has banned the possession, sale, and manufacture of unserialized firearms and unfinished frames or receivers. Owners of homemade firearms without serial numbers were required to have them serialized by a federally licensed dealer before the deadline. A first offense is a class 1 misdemeanor (up to 364 days in jail, $1,000 fine); a second offense is a class 5 felony with one to three years in prison.19Colorado General Assembly. SB23-279 Unserialized Firearms and Firearm Components A misdemeanor conviction also blocks you from passing a background check for five years.
Storage and Reporting a Lost or Stolen Gun
When a pistol isn’t in use, it has to be stored securely. You can satisfy the requirement with a locked gun safe or container, a trigger or cable lock, or a personalized firearm with its safety features activated. The point is that no juvenile or ineligible person in the household can access the key, combination, or unlocking mechanism.20Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 18-12-114 – Secure Firearm Storage Required Improper storage is a class 2 misdemeanor, up to 120 days in jail and a $750 fine.
If your pistol is lost or stolen, report it to local law enforcement within five days of discovering the loss. A first failure to report is a civil infraction with a $25 fine; a second or later failure is an unclassified misdemeanor with a fine up to $500.21Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-12-113 – Failure to Report a Lost or Stolen Firearm The five-day clock starts from the moment you discover the loss, not when the firearm actually went missing.
When You Can Use the Pistol
Owning a pistol for self-defense is legal, and Colorado’s rules on use of force are relatively protective. They work differently depending on whether you’re at home or in public.
General Self-Defense
You can use physical force when you reasonably believe it’s necessary to defend yourself or someone else from the imminent use of unlawful force. Deadly force is only justified when a lesser degree of force wouldn’t be adequate and you face an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. Deadly force is also permitted against what reasonably appears to be a burglary of an occupied dwelling or business, a kidnapping, a robbery, or a sexual assault.22Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-1-704 – Use of Physical Force in Defense of a Person
Self-defense isn’t available if you provoked the confrontation intending harm, or if you were the initial aggressor. One exception to the aggressor rule: if you clearly communicate your intent to withdraw and the other person keeps using or threatening force, you regain the right to defend yourself. Colorado also specifically bars a self-defense claim where the force was motivated by the discovery of another person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Make My Day
Inside a dwelling, the protections are stronger. Colorado’s “Make My Day” law lets an occupant use any degree of physical force, including deadly force, against someone who has made an unlawful entry into the home. Three conditions have to be met: the intruder entered unlawfully, you reasonably believe they committed or intend to commit a crime beyond the entry itself, and you reasonably believe they might use any physical force against an occupant.23Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-1-704.5 – Use of Deadly Physical Force Against an Intruder
The important part is immunity. If you act within the law’s requirements, you’re immune from both criminal prosecution and civil liability. That’s different from the general self-defense statute, which functions as an affirmative defense you raise at trial, not a shield against prosecution. There’s no duty to retreat inside your home, even if escape is easy. “Dwelling” covers houses, apartments, hotel rooms, and RV trailers, but not common areas of apartment buildings or detention facilities.
Red Flag Orders
Colorado’s Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) law, often called the red flag law, lets a court temporarily remove firearms from someone who poses a significant danger to themselves or others. Close family members, certain health and social workers, and government agencies can petition.24Colorado Judicial Branch. Extreme Risk Protection Order Forms
A temporary ERPO can be issued quickly and lasts up to 14 days, after which a full hearing is held where the respondent can challenge it. A final ERPO can last up to 364 days and can be terminated early or extended. When an order is issued, the respondent must surrender all firearms and any concealed carry permit to a law enforcement agency or a federally licensed dealer.25Colorado General Assembly. HB19-1177 Extreme Risk Protection Orders Antique or collector firearms may go to an eligible family member who doesn’t live with the respondent. When the order expires or is terminated, the firearms are returned.