Colorado’s new assault weapons ban, signed as SB25-003 on April 10, 2025, prohibits manufacturing, distributing, transferring, selling, or purchasing a “specified semiautomatic firearm” in the state starting August 1, 2026. It is not a possession ban: firearms lawfully owned before that date can be kept. And it is not an absolute sales ban either, because qualified buyers who complete an approved training pathway can still purchase covered firearms after the effective date.
Which Firearms Are Covered
SB25-003 defines a specified semiautomatic firearm as any semiautomatic rifle or semiautomatic shotgun with a detachable magazine, or any gas-operated semiautomatic handgun with a detachable magazine. Cosmetic features like pistol grips or folding stocks no longer matter. A standard AR-15, a semi-auto hunting shotgun that feeds from a detachable magazine, and a common gas-operated semi-auto pistol all fall within the definition.
Manually operated firearms are untouched. Bolt-action, pump-action, and lever-action guns remain outside the law entirely. A handgun that is not gas-operated, such as a blowback-operated .22 pistol, also falls outside the definition even with a detachable magazine. The statute itself contains a list of specifically excluded models.
What Becomes Illegal On August 1, 2026
On the effective date, it becomes a crime to knowingly manufacture, distribute, transfer, sell, or purchase a covered firearm in Colorado unless an exemption applies. The “knowingly” element means the state must show you were aware the firearm qualified, not that you made an innocent mistake about how a particular model operates.
The prohibition runs the length of the supply chain. Manufacturers cannot produce these firearms for the general Colorado market, retailers cannot stock or sell them to unqualified buyers, private sellers cannot pass them to friends or acquaintances without the training exemption, and importing covered firearms from out of state for Colorado sale is also barred.
Two transfers stay open to anyone: sending the firearm to an out-of-state resident, or transferring it to a federally licensed firearms dealer. Those are the only unrestricted disposition routes for an owner who wants out.
The Training Pathway For New Purchases
Qualified buyers can still purchase covered firearms after August 1, 2026. The law creates three routes to eligibility:
- Complete a hunter education course certified by Colorado Parks and Wildlife plus a basic firearms safety course within the five years before purchase.
- Complete an extended firearms safety course within the five years before purchase.
- If your extended course was completed more than five years ago, complete a basic firearms safety course within the five years before purchase.
Before enrolling in the basic or extended course, you need a firearms safety course eligibility card issued by your county sheriff. Getting the card requires a name-based background check, a processing fee set by the sheriff, and a separate record fee set by the Division of Parks and Wildlife. The sheriff must issue the card unless you are prohibited from possessing firearms under state or federal law, the sheriff cannot verify your identity, or the sheriff has documented reasons to believe you would pose a danger to yourself or others. A card can also be revoked later if circumstances change.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife sets the specific course requirements. The statute establishes minimum standards for instruction content and course length; the agency fills in the details.
Categorical Exemptions
Several groups can acquire and possess covered firearms without going through the training system:
- Agencies employing peace officers, and the officers themselves, for duty purposes.
- Members of the U.S. armed forces and the Colorado National Guard acting within their official duties.
- Department of Corrections staff authorized to handle these firearms professionally.
- Armored vehicle businesses.
- Licensed gunsmiths receiving firearms for maintenance, repair, or modification and returning them to the lawful owner.
- Institutions running approved firearms training or education.
- Historical societies and museums preserving firearms as artifacts.
- Film productions using firearms solely as props.
- Transfers that occur by operation of law or because of a person’s death.
The gunsmith exemption answers a question every grandfathered owner will eventually have: you can take your firearm to a licensed gunsmith for repairs, and the gunsmith can receive it, work on it, and return it to you.
If You Already Own One
Firearms lawfully purchased before August 1, 2026 can be kept. There is no surrender requirement, no destruction requirement, and no state registry for grandfathered firearms.
What changes is your ability to transfer the firearm inside Colorado. You cannot sell or give it to another Colorado resident who lacks an applicable exemption. Your legal disposition options are: transfer to an out-of-state resident, transfer to a federally licensed dealer, pass the firearm through inheritance, or transfer to a Colorado resident who has completed the required training and holds the proper credentials.
The practical burden of proving pre-ban ownership falls on you. Keep your original purchase receipt, a dated bill of sale, or credit card records showing the transaction. Without documentation, proving pre-ban ownership becomes your word against the state’s skepticism.
Inheritance
Transfers that happen because of death or by operation of law are exempt. If a family member dies leaving covered firearms in the estate, those firearms can pass to heirs through probate without the heir needing a training exemption or eligibility card.
The law does not spell out specific documentation requirements for executors. Standard probate records, the decedent’s purchase documentation, and an executor’s inventory should serve as evidence of the firearm’s status.
Penalties
A first offense for unlawfully manufacturing, distributing, transferring, selling, or purchasing a specified semiautomatic firearm is a class 2 misdemeanor. Under Colorado’s current sentencing structure, that carries a maximum of 120 days in jail and a fine of up to $750.
A second or subsequent offense is a class 6 felony, with a presumptive sentencing range of one to 18 months in prison, a mandatory one-year parole period, and fines between $1,000 and $100,000.
Collateral consequences are often heavier than the direct sentence. A dealer convicted under the law loses their state firearms dealer permit. A misdemeanor conviction blocks you from purchasing any firearm for five years, because the Colorado Bureau of Investigation will deny the transfer. A felony conviction makes you a prohibited person under both state and federal law, ending your ability to legally possess firearms.
Rapid-Fire Devices And Magazine Limits
SB25-003 separately prohibits the purchase and sale of rapid-fire conversion devices like bump stocks and binary triggers, and classifies them as dangerous weapons. That provision applies regardless of whether the firearm itself is a specified semiautomatic firearm.
Colorado’s large-capacity magazine restriction, in place since 2013 under CRS 18-12-302, prohibits selling, transferring, or possessing any magazine capable of holding more than 15 rounds. SB25-003 raises the penalty for violating that restriction from a class 2 misdemeanor to a class 1 misdemeanor.
Vehicle Storage For Unattended Firearms
A separate law, HB24-1348, took effect on January 1, 2025 and applies to all firearms left in unattended vehicles, including grandfathered covered firearms. Handguns must be stored in a locked hard-sided container, out of plain view, inside a locked vehicle or locked trunk. Long guns must be stored in a locked hard-sided or soft-sided container, out of plain view, inside a locked vehicle or locked trunk; if the container is soft-sided, the firearm itself must also have a locking device installed. Ammunition does not need to be separated from the firearm. Exceptions exist for antique firearms, farm and ranch operations, people living in vehicles, and active peace officers or military members.
The Pending Court Challenge
A federal lawsuit styled Del Toro v. Polis was filed in September 2025 in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, challenging SB25-003 on constitutional grounds. No injunction has been issued, so the August 1, 2026 effective date remains in place unless a court intervenes. Colorado’s separate 15-round magazine restriction is also facing a legal challenge from the Trump administration. Either case could change what the law looks like by the time enforcement begins.