To sell a gun in Colorado, you and the buyer meet at a federally licensed firearms dealer, the dealer runs a background check on the buyer through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, and the buyer takes the firearm home after a mandatory three-day waiting period. Since 2013, this routing through a Federal Firearms License (FFL) holder has been required for nearly every private sale in the state. Skip it and you’re looking at a class 1 misdemeanor and a two-year ban on possessing any firearm.1Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 18-12-112 – Private Firearms Transfers – Background Check Required – Penalty – Definitions
Find an FFL Dealer and Call Ahead
Most retail gun shops and pawn shops hold federal firearms licenses and will facilitate private transfers, but not all of them do, and walk-in availability varies. Call before you drive out. Both you and the buyer need to appear in person with valid government-issued photo identification.
Two fees are involved. The CBI charges a flat $15 for the background check.2Colorado Bureau of Investigation. InstaCheck State law caps the dealer’s service fee for private transfers at $10.3Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-112 – Private Firearms Transfers – Sale and Purchase – Background Check Required – Penalty – Definitions So the paperwork side of the sale tops out at $25. Who pays which fee is between you and the buyer.
What Happens at the Shop
The buyer fills out ATF Form 4473, the standard federal firearm transfer form. The dealer submits the buyer’s information to the CBI’s InstaCheck unit, which searches criminal records, protection orders, and other disqualifying databases.2Colorado Bureau of Investigation. InstaCheck
Three outcomes are possible: approved, denied, or delayed. If approved, the transfer can go forward once the waiting period has run. If denied, the sale is dead and you keep your firearm. A delayed status means the CBI needs more time, and the dealer holds the firearm in inventory while the check is pending. Once approved, the result is valid for 30 calendar days to complete the transfer.4Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Obtaining, Possessing and Selling Firearms
The Three-Day Waiting Period
Even when the background check clears in minutes, the buyer cannot take possession of the firearm for at least three days. Under CRS 18-12-115, delivery is prohibited until the later of two events: three days after the background check was initiated, or the moment the seller receives CBI approval.5Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-115 – Penalty If approval takes five days, the buyer waits five days.
During the wait, the firearm stays with the FFL dealer or with you. Handing it over early is a civil infraction with a $500 fine for a first offense and between $500 and $5,000 for any repeat.5Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-115 – Penalty Plan on a second trip to the dealer once the clock runs out.
Who You Can Legally Sell To
Your buyer has to be at least 21. Colorado raised the minimum age to purchase any firearm, including rifles and shotguns, in 2023 under SB23-169.6Colorado General Assembly. SB23-169 Increasing Minimum Age to Purchase Firearms Limited exceptions apply to active-duty military and law enforcement. Verify age before you schedule the appointment, because the dealer will catch the problem at Form 4473 and the trip will be wasted.
If the CBI denies your buyer, the sale cannot proceed. The dealer cannot override a denial. The buyer has 30 days to appeal through the CBI’s online system or by mail, and the CBI will not disclose the reason for a denial over the phone due to privacy laws.7Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Appeals Information As a practical matter, if your buyer is denied, move on and find another one.
You cannot sell directly to someone who lives in another state. Federal law requires an interstate firearm sale to be shipped to an FFL dealer in the buyer’s home state, where the buyer picks it up after passing that state’s background check.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 922 – Unlawful Acts USPS does not currently allow private individuals to ship handguns, so for a handgun you’ll typically bring the firearm to a local FFL and let them handle the shipment. Expect transfer fees on both ends.
Sales That Don’t Require a Background Check
A narrow set of transfers is exempt from the FFL requirement:3Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-112 – Private Firearms Transfers – Sale and Purchase – Background Check Required – Penalty – Definitions
- Genuine gifts and loans between immediate family members. Colorado defines immediate family broadly to include spouses, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, first cousins, aunts, and uncles. A sale for money between family members does not qualify.
- Antique firearms as defined under federal law, and curios or relics as classified by the ATF.
- Transfers that happen because of a death, where the person transferring the firearm is an executor, administrator, or trustee under a will.
- A temporary transfer inside someone’s home when the recipient is not a prohibited possessor and reasonably believes possession is necessary to prevent imminent death or serious injury.
If you’re selling a firearm to a cousin for cash, that’s a sale, not a gift, and it needs a background check.
Large-Capacity Magazines Can’t Go With the Gun
If the firearm you’re selling comes with a magazine that holds more than 15 rounds, don’t include it. Colorado classifies those as large-capacity magazines and prohibits their sale, transfer, or possession. Selling one is a class 2 misdemeanor punishable by up to 120 days in jail and a fine of up to $750, and the charge rises to a class 6 felony when connected to a felony or violent crime.9Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-302 – Penalties
The definition covers fixed and detachable magazines, drums, and feed strips that accept more than 15 rounds; shotgun magazines have their own thresholds based on shell length and magazine type.10Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-301 – Definitions Swap in a compliant magazine before you list the firearm, or sell it without a magazine and let the buyer source their own. A grandfather clause exists for magazines owned continuously since before July 1, 2013, but those still cannot be transferred to another person.
Penalties for Skipping the Process
Transferring a firearm without going through an FFL is a class 1 misdemeanor, the most serious misdemeanor classification in Colorado, and conviction prohibits you from possessing any firearm for two years afterward.1Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 18-12-112 – Private Firearms Transfers – Background Check Required – Penalty – Definitions The possession ban is the piece that catches sellers off guard: even firearms you already own lawfully have to go for two years. Treat the $25 in fees and the extra trip to the dealer as cheap insurance.
If You’re Under an Extreme Risk Protection Order
You cannot use the private-sale process to dispose of firearms if you’re subject to an Extreme Risk Protection Order. Colorado’s ERPO law requires surrender to law enforcement or an FFL; for antiques, curios, or relics, surrender to an eligible family member who does not live with you is also permitted.11Colorado General Assembly. Extreme Risk Protection Orders Trying to sell your way out of an ERPO can expose you to further legal consequences.
One Related Duty: Report Loss or Theft Within Five Days
If a firearm you intended to sell is lost or stolen before the transfer, Colorado requires you to report it to law enforcement within five days of discovering it missing. A first failure to report is a civil infraction with a $25 fine; a second or subsequent offense is an unclassified misdemeanor with fines up to $500.12Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-113 – Failure to Report a Lost or Stolen Firearm – Exception The report protects you if the firearm later turns up in connection with a crime.