Colorado’s gun storage laws require you to keep firearms locked up or on your person at home, and to secure them in specific ways when leaving them in a vehicle. Violating the home storage rule is a class 2 misdemeanor punishable by up to 120 days in jail and a $750 fine. Violating the vehicle storage rule is a civil infraction, meaning a fine but no jail.
Storing a Firearm at Home
Under CRS 18-12-114, a firearm you own must be stored responsibly when it is not in use. The statute gives you four ways to comply, and meeting any one of them satisfies the law.
- The gun is on your person, or close enough that you could grab and use it as if it were on your body.
- The gun is in a locked gun safe, another secure container, or stored in a way a reasonable person would consider secure, and no juvenile or prohibited resident of your home has access to the key, combination, or other unlocking mechanism.
- A locking device is properly installed on the firearm, and no juvenile or prohibited resident has access to the key or mechanism to remove it.
- The firearm is a personalized firearm with its safety features activated.
You only commit unlawful storage when two things are true at once: the gun is not stored in one of those ways on premises you own or control, and you know or reasonably should know either that a juvenile could get to it without a parent’s permission, or that someone living in the home is legally prohibited from possessing firearms under state or federal law. If both conditions are present, the offense is complete.
Storing a Firearm in a Vehicle
Vehicle storage is governed by a separate statute, CRS 18-12-114.5, and the requirements depend on the type of gun.
Handguns
You cannot knowingly leave a handgun in an unattended vehicle unless it is in a locked hard-sided container placed out of plain view, and the vehicle itself is locked. A locked glove compartment or locked center console counts as a locked hard-sided container. Locking the doors with the gun sitting on a seat does not comply.
Long Guns
Rifles, shotguns, and other non-handgun firearms must be inside a locked hard-sided or locked soft-sided container, and the vehicle must be locked. If the container is soft-sided, a locking device also has to be installed on the firearm itself.
Who Doesn’t Have to Follow the Vehicle Rules
Several categories are carved out of the vehicle storage requirements:
- Antique firearms and curios or relics as defined under federal law.
- Long guns on a private farm or ranch, in a vehicle being used for farm or ranch operations.
- People who live in their vehicle or RV, though they still have to follow the residential storage rules under 18-12-114.
- Peace officers.
- Licensed hunters actively engaged in lawful hunting.
- Hunter education instructors working with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
- Active-duty military members while on duty.
- People with disabilities as defined under federal law, who may use a locked soft-sided container for a handgun even where a hard-sided container would otherwise be required.
Reporting a Lost or Stolen Firearm
If a gun goes missing, CRS 18-12-113 gives you five days from the moment you discover the loss or theft to report it to law enforcement. The report has to include as much identifying information as you have: manufacturer, model, serial number, caliber, and any distinguishing marks.
A first violation is a civil infraction with a $25 fine. A second or later violation is an unclassified misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $500. Licensed gun dealers are exempt from this reporting duty. If a gun is stolen from an unsecured location and you also fail to report it, you can be cited for both the storage violation and the reporting violation.
Penalties for Violating the Storage Laws
The consequences depend on which statute you break and whether anyone got hurt.
Home Storage Violations
Unlawful storage of a firearm under CRS 18-12-114 is a class 2 misdemeanor. For offenses committed on or after March 1, 2022, that carries up to 120 days in jail, a fine of up to $750, or both.
Vehicle Storage Violations
Unlawful storage of a firearm in a vehicle is a civil infraction. There is no jail exposure, only a fine.
When Someone Is Injured
An unsecured firearm that ends up hurting someone can trigger additional charges. Reckless endangerment under CRS 18-3-208 applies when reckless conduct creates a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to another person; it is a class 2 misdemeanor with the same 120-day, $750 ceiling. If a child is seriously injured or killed, prosecutors have discretion to pursue heavier charges such as child abuse or criminally negligent homicide, depending on the facts.
Exemptions and Defenses at Home
Antique firearms and curios or relics as defined under federal law are fully exempt from the home storage requirements. You do not have to lock them up under CRS 18-12-114.
The statute also gives you an affirmative defense if a juvenile got hold of the firearm and used it for lawful self-defense under CRS 18-1-704, for defense of a home under CRS 18-1-704.5 (Colorado’s “Make My Day” law), or for defense of livestock. An affirmative defense does not stop the charge from being filed, but it lets you present the justification at trial.
There is no separate statutory defense for a break-in that defeats your safe or lock. The compliance standard already requires that juveniles and prohibited residents lack access to the key or unlocking mechanism, so a gun owner who meets that standard should not be committing the offense to begin with.
Civil Lawsuits After an Unsecured Gun Causes Harm
Criminal penalties are not the only exposure. If an unsecured firearm injures someone, the victim or their family can sue for negligence and seek damages for medical costs, lost income, pain and suffering, or wrongful death. Proving that the gun owner violated the storage statute can help establish a breach of the duty of care.
Federal law provides a narrow shield. Under 18 U.S.C. 922(z)(3), someone who lawfully possesses a handgun and uses a secure gun storage or safety device is immune from certain civil actions arising from a third party’s criminal misuse of that handgun. The immunity does not extend to negligent entrustment claims. Using a locking device improves your position if a stolen gun is later used to hurt someone, but it does not close off every civil claim.