Colorado firearm laws set a floor that applies statewide: you must be at least 21 to buy any gun, every sale runs through a background check with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, and no firearm changes hands until at least three days have passed and the CBI issues an approval. On top of that, the state regulates how you store guns at home, how you carry them in public and in vehicles, what magazines you can own, and how you defend yourself. Cities and counties can add restrictions of their own, so the rules shift as you cross municipal lines.
Who Can Buy and Own a Gun
The minimum age to purchase any firearm in Colorado is 21, whether you buy from a licensed dealer or a private seller.1Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-112 – Private Firearms Transfers – Sale and Purchase – Background Check Required – Penalty – Definitions Active-duty military, peace officers, and individuals certified by the Peace Officer Standards and Training board are exempt from the age rule.2Colorado Public Law. Colorado Code 18-12-112.5 – Firearms Transfers by Licensed Dealers
State law also bars several categories of people from possessing a firearm at all. Anyone previously convicted of a felony who knowingly possesses a firearm commits a Class 5 felony, and a conviction involving the use or threatened use of a firearm during another crime eliminates any possibility of probation.3Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-108 – Possession of Weapons by Previous Offenders Federal prohibitors run alongside state ones and are enforced through the background check: misdemeanor domestic violence convictions, qualifying domestic violence restraining orders, adjudications of mental incompetence, and unlawful use of a controlled substance all disqualify you.4Colorado Bureau of Investigation. State and Federal Firearm Prohibitors
The Marijuana Problem
Marijuana is legal under Colorado law but remains a Schedule I controlled substance federally, and federal law prohibits any “unlawful user” of a controlled substance from possessing a firearm. That includes medical cardholders. ATF Form 4473, required for every dealer purchase, asks directly about marijuana use: answering yes disqualifies you, and answering no while holding a medical card creates perjury exposure. Colorado sheriffs also cannot issue a concealed carry permit to anyone ineligible under federal law.
Background Checks and the Three-Day Wait
Every firearm transfer in Colorado, dealer or private, requires a background check run by the CBI’s InstaCheck Unit.5Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Firearms – Section: About the Firearms InstaCheck Unit The seller cannot deliver the gun until the later of two things happens: three days after the check is initiated, or the CBI issues an approval number. If the check is still pending at day three, you keep waiting. Nothing in the statute lets the seller hand it over on a pending check.6FindLaw. Colorado Code 18-12-115 – Waiting Period for Firearms Sales – Background Check Required – Penalty – Exceptions
Private sellers have to route the sale through a licensed dealer. The dealer can charge up to $10 to facilitate the transfer, and the CBI charges $15 for the check itself, capping the statutory cost at $25 (some dealers add handling fees on top).7Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Federal Firearm Licensee (FFL) Information Skipping the dealer is a Class 1 misdemeanor for the seller and a Class 2 misdemeanor for the buyer.1Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-112 – Private Firearms Transfers – Sale and Purchase – Background Check Required – Penalty – Definitions Antique firearms and items classified as curios or relics are exempt from the wait, as are transfers that don’t require a background check under state or federal law.8Colorado General Assembly. Waiting Period to Deliver a Firearm
Open Carry and Carrying in a Vehicle
You do not need a permit to openly carry a handgun or long gun in Colorado. Since 2021, though, local governments can ban open carry in their jurisdictions if they post signs, and several have done so.9Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-214 – Authority Granted by Permit – Carrying Restrictions – Local Authority Check the local ordinance before you carry openly in any city or town.
Inside a vehicle, you can carry a handgun for lawful protection of yourself or others. Any firearm other than a pistol or revolver must have an unloaded chamber while in or on a motor vehicle.10Department of Public Safety. Colorado Gun Laws A loaded rifle or shotgun in your car violates the state wildlife code whether or not you’re hunting.
Concealed Carry Permits
Colorado is a shall-issue state. If you meet the statutory criteria, the sheriff in the county where you live must issue a concealed handgun permit. You must be a legal Colorado resident and must have completed a handgun training class from a certified instructor within the past ten years; the training certificate has to accompany your application.11Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 18-12-203 – Criteria for Obtaining a Permit
The CBI portion of the application fee is $52.50. Sheriffs add their own administrative fee, which varies by county, and most new applications end up costing $100 to $150 total.12Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) Renewals cost up to $50 and can be filed up to 120 days before expiration. Miss the expiration date and you owe a $15 late fee; let the permit lapse for six months or more and you cannot renew it at all.13Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 18-12-211 – Renewal of Permits
Reciprocity
Colorado recognizes concealed carry permits from other states, but only when all four of these conditions are met: the issuing state also recognizes Colorado permits, the holder is a resident of the issuing state, the holder is at least 21, and the holder is carrying both the permit and a matching state-issued ID. Colorado does not recognize nonresident permits from any state.14Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) Reciprocity Before traveling with a firearm, check the CBI’s current reciprocity list against your issuing state.
Where You Can’t Carry
A concealed carry permit does not let you carry inside public or private K-12 schools, colleges, universities, or seminaries. A limited exception allows permit holders to keep a handgun locked in their vehicle on school property.15Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 18-12-105.5 – Prohibited Locations Government buildings that run permanent security screening at every entrance are also off-limits.9Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-214 – Authority Granted by Permit – Carrying Restrictions – Local Authority
During any election, it is illegal to carry a firearm inside a polling location or within 100 feet of a drop box or the building housing one. The designated election official must post signs marking the buffer zone.16Justia. Colorado Code 1-13-724 – Firearms Prohibited at Polling Locations
Since Colorado repealed most of its firearm preemption statutes in 2021, cities and counties can prohibit concealed or open carry in buildings or specific areas, as long as they post signs; a first violation cannot carry more than a $50 civil fine.9Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-214 – Authority Granted by Permit – Carrying Restrictions – Local Authority Private property owners can ban firearms by posting visible notices. Watch for posted signage wherever you go.
Home Storage and Reporting a Missing Gun
If a juvenile or someone prohibited from possessing a firearm lives in or can access your home, guns must be securely stored when not in use. Secure means a locked safe or container, a trigger or cable lock, or close enough on your person to maintain direct control. A juvenile or prohibited resident cannot have access to any key, combination, or unlock mechanism.17Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 18-12-114 – Secure Firearm Storage Required – Penalty – Exceptions Failing to store a firearm properly when you know or should know that a child or prohibited person can reach it is a Class 2 misdemeanor. No one has to be injured for the charge to apply.
Report a lost or stolen firearm to law enforcement within five days of discovering it. A first failure to report is a $25 civil infraction. A second or subsequent failure is an unclassified misdemeanor with fines up to $500.18Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 18-12-113 – Failure to Report a Lost or Stolen Firearm
Magazine Limits and Serial Numbers
A large-capacity magazine in Colorado is any detachable or fixed device holding more than 15 rounds. Shotguns have their own definition: a fixed tubular magazine longer than 28 inches of shells qualifies, as does a detachable shotgun magazine holding more than eight shells when combined with a fixed magazine.19Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-301 – Definitions Selling, transferring, or possessing one is a Class 2 misdemeanor; possessing one during a felony or violent crime becomes a Class 6 felony.20Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-302 – Large-Capacity Magazines Prohibited – Penalties – Exceptions Owners who had a large-capacity magazine before July 1, 2013 and have kept continuous possession are grandfathered. Lever-action rifles with tubular magazines and devices permanently altered to hold 15 rounds or fewer are also exempt.
Since January 1, 2024, possessing, selling, or transporting an unserialized firearm, frame, or receiver is illegal. Anyone who manufactured or acquired one before that date had to have it serialized by a federally licensed dealer by the deadline.21Colorado General Assembly. SB23-279 Unserialized Firearms and Firearm Components A first violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor; any subsequent offense is a Class 5 felony.22Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-111.5 – Unserialized Firearms, Frames, and Receivers
Self-Defense Rules
Colorado does not require you to retreat before using force in self-defense. You can use physical force when you reasonably believe it is necessary to protect yourself or someone else from the unlawful use or imminent use of physical force. Deadly force is justified only if you reasonably believe lesser force would not be enough and you face imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury, or if you are preventing burglary, kidnapping, robbery, or sexual assault.23Justia. Colorado Code 18-1-704 – Use of Physical Force in Defense of a Person You lose the defense if you were the initial aggressor, provoked the confrontation intending to cause injury, or were trespassing. The burden of showing that your use of force was reasonable rests on you.
Make My Day
Inside your dwelling, the threshold is lower. Under the “Make My Day” statute, if someone makes an unlawful entry, you may use deadly force if you reasonably believe the intruder has committed or intends to commit any crime beyond the entry itself, and you reasonably believe the intruder might use any physical force, however slight, against anyone inside.24Justia. Colorado Code 18-1-704.5 – Use of Deadly Physical Force Against an Intruder Outside the home you need imminent danger of death or great bodily injury; inside, a belief that the intruder might use some physical force is enough.
Extreme Risk Protection Orders
Colorado’s red flag law lets certain people petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from someone who poses a significant danger to themselves or others. Petitioners can be law enforcement officers, district attorneys, family members, household members who lived with the person in the past six months, licensed educators, and licensed medical or mental health professionals who interacted with the person in the prior six months.25Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Extreme Risk Protection Orders A temporary order can last up to 14 days; after a full hearing, a final order runs 364 days. Once served, the respondent must surrender all firearms and any concealed carry permit within 24 hours.26Justia. Colorado Code 13-14.5-108 – Surrender of Firearms Failing to comply is a separate criminal offense.