Denver concealed carry laws start with Colorado’s statewide permit system and then add local restrictions that go further than the rest of the state. To carry a concealed handgun in Denver you need a valid Colorado concealed handgun permit issued by a county sheriff. On top of that, Denver bans open carry entirely, prohibits concealed carry in public parks and on any city-owned property, and enforces those rules with civil fines. State and federal law layer on their own list of off-limits places that apply to every permit holder.
What Denver Adds on Top of State Law
Denver operates under its own firearms ordinances, and these catch permit holders by surprise more often than any other issue in the state.
Open carry is banned inside Denver city limits. It doesn’t matter that you hold a Colorado concealed handgun permit, and it doesn’t matter that most of the rest of Colorado allows open carry without any permit at all. Cross into Denver openly carrying and you’ve committed a municipal violation.
Denver’s municipal code also prohibits concealed carry in public parks and on any building or land owned or leased by the City and County of Denver, even for valid permit holders. Recreation centers, libraries, and city administrative buildings all fall inside that ban. Violations are civil infractions with fines of up to $50 for a first offense and up to $999 for repeat offenses, and those penalties sit on top of anything state or federal law might impose.
Getting a Colorado Concealed Handgun Permit
Colorado is a “shall issue” state. The county sheriff must issue a concealed handgun permit to any applicant who meets the statutory requirements and has no discretion to deny someone who qualifies.1Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-201 – Legislative Declaration Permits are valid for five years and must be renewed in the county where you currently live, own a business, or own property.
Carrying a concealed firearm without a valid permit (outside the narrow vehicle exception discussed below) is a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.2Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-105 – Unlawfully Carrying a Concealed Weapon Once you have a permit, you must carry it along with a valid photo ID any time you’re carrying concealed.
Who Qualifies
To be eligible you must be a legal Colorado resident and at least 21 years old. Active-duty military stationed in Colorado under permanent duty station orders, along with their immediate family living in the state, count as legal residents for permit purposes.3Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 18-12-203 – Criteria for Obtaining a Permit You cannot be prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law, and you cannot have a perjury conviction connected to information you gave on a permit application.
Federal law separately prohibits firearm possession by anyone convicted of a felony, subject to a domestic violence restraining order, convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, or who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.4United States Sentencing Commission. Section 922(g) Firearms The drug prohibition matters in Colorado: marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, and using it makes you a prohibited person for firearm possession regardless of state legalization or your permit status.
Training, Cost, and Timeline
Colorado overhauled its training requirements through House Bill 24-1174, which took effect July 1, 2025. New applicants must complete an in-person handgun training class of at least eight hours taught by a verified instructor. The class must include a written test (minimum 80% score) and a live-fire test (minimum 70% accuracy), and no portion may be taken online. Training certificates from a verified instructor are valid for one year from the date of issue.5Larimer County. New Colorado Law Changes Concealed Handgun Permit Process
Some applicants can demonstrate competence without the civilian class: current military service, organized shooting competition participation, and recent law enforcement retirement within ten years all satisfy the training requirement.6Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-203 – Criteria for Obtaining a Permit
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation fees total $52.50: $17.50 for the CCIC fingerprint check, $13.00 for InstaCheck, and $22.00 for the FBI fingerprint check. Payment goes to the issuing sheriff’s department as a cashier’s check or money order payable to CBI. Individual sheriff’s offices may charge an additional administrative fee, so total cost varies by county. The training class is a separate expense set by the instructor.7Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) Once you’ve submitted your application and fingerprints, the sheriff has up to 90 days to issue the permit.
Renewals
Permits expire after five years. Under the 2025 law, renewal applicants must take a two-hour refresher class from a verified instructor no more than six months before submitting the renewal application. You can start renewing up to 120 days before expiration and you have six months after expiration to complete the process. Miss that window and the permit is permanently expired, meaning a new application and the full eight-hour class.5Larimer County. New Colorado Law Changes Concealed Handgun Permit Process
The Vehicle Exception
Colorado law carves out an exception that surprises many people: you do not need a concealed carry permit to have a handgun in your car. A person in a private automobile or other private means of conveyance who carries a weapon for lawful protection of themselves or others while traveling is not committing the offense of carrying a concealed weapon.2Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-105 – Unlawfully Carrying a Concealed Weapon The Colorado Department of Public Safety confirms the vehicle exception applies broadly.8Department of Public Safety. Colorado Gun Laws
The exception ends at the car door. Step out with a concealed handgun on your person and you need a valid permit, unless you’re on your own property or at your place of business. In Denver, stepping out with a visible firearm also triggers the city’s open carry ban.
Places Your Permit Doesn’t Cover
Even a valid permit doesn’t get you into every building. Colorado and federal law list specific locations that stay off-limits.
Schools and Child Care Facilities
Colorado prohibits carrying a firearm, openly or concealed, on the grounds of any K-12 school, college, university, or licensed child care center.9Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-105.5 – Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon – Unlawful Possession of Weapons – School, College, or University Grounds A narrow vehicle-based exception exists for permit holders at K-12 public schools: you may keep a handgun on school property only if it stays inside your vehicle, and if you leave the vehicle the handgun must be in a compartment and the vehicle locked.10Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 18-12-214 – Authority Granted by Permit – Carrying Restrictions For colleges and universities, only unloaded weapons may stay inside the motor vehicle. Permit holders may have a concealed handgun in the parking areas of a college, university, seminary, or licensed child care center, but not inside the buildings.
Polling Places
Carrying a firearm is illegal inside any polling location, within 100 feet of a ballot drop box, or within 100 feet of any building housing a polling location on election day or during any voting period. The same 100-foot buffer applies to central count facilities during active election administration. A first offense is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $250 and up to 120 days in jail; repeat offenses carry fines up to $1,000 and up to 364 days.11Justia. Colorado Code 1-13-724
Federal Buildings and Courthouses
Federal law makes it a crime to knowingly possess a firearm in any federal facility, which is any building or part of a building owned or leased by the federal government where federal employees regularly work. The penalty is up to one year in prison for general federal facilities and up to two years for federal courthouses.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities In Denver, that includes the Byron Rogers Federal Building, the Alfred A. Arraj United States Courthouse, and similar federal offices.
Post Offices
Post offices deserve their own note because the restriction is broader than most people realize. Where other federal buildings ban firearms only inside, the U.S. Postal Service bans them on the entire property, parking lots included. No person on postal property may carry or store firearms, openly or concealed, except for official purposes.13eCFR. 39 CFR 232.1 – Conduct on Postal Property A handgun locked in your car while you step inside to mail a package still violates the regulation.
State Capitol and Airports
Colorado also prohibits concealed carry in the state capitol and legislative buildings, and in the secure areas of airports past TSA screening. Denver International Airport has signage marking where the restricted area begins, and your permit does not override TSA screening.
Magazine Capacity Limit
Colorado restricts large-capacity magazines statewide, which affects what you can legally carry in Denver. Since July 2013, it has been illegal to sell, transfer, or possess a magazine that holds more than 15 rounds. A first violation is a Class 2 misdemeanor and a second is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Possessing a large-capacity magazine while committing a felony or crime of violence is a Class 6 felony.14Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 18-12-302 – Large-Capacity Magazines Prohibited If you owned magazines over 15 rounds before July 1, 2013, a grandfather clause lets you keep them, but you cannot sell or transfer them within the state.
Traveling Outside Denver With Your Permit
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park sits about 70 miles from Denver. Federal law allows firearm possession in national parks according to the laws of the state where the park sits, so a valid Colorado permit lets you carry on most of the park’s land. The exception is any federal facility inside the park: visitor centers, ranger stations, administrative buildings, and permit offices are all federal facilities where firearms are prohibited under the same statute that covers courthouses.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities Walking a trail concealed is fine; stepping into the visitor center concealed is a federal offense. Discharging a firearm in a national park is also illegal except in genuine self-defense.
Reciprocity
Colorado has reciprocity with 34 states. If you hold a Colorado permit, those states honor it while you visit, and Colorado recognizes permits from those same states as long as the visitor is a resident of the issuing state, carries a matching state driver’s license or ID, is at least 21, and has the permit on them.15Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) Reciprocity
Reciprocity states include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Colorado does not have reciprocity with California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, or the District of Columbia.15Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) Reciprocity
If your route from Denver crosses a non-reciprocity state, the federal Firearm Owners Protection Act allows transit as long as the firearm is unloaded and stored in a locked container separate from the passenger compartment, with ammunition stored separately. Transit only. Stopping and carrying in that state is not covered.
Traffic Stops and Alcohol
Colorado does not require you to proactively tell an officer you’re carrying during a traffic stop. You do have to produce your permit and photo ID if asked, and refusing can turn a routine stop into an arrest. Most Colorado firearms instructors advise mentioning it early, keeping hands visible, and calmly stating that you have a permit and are carrying.
Carrying while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance is a separate Class 1 misdemeanor regardless of your permit status.16Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-106 – Prohibited Use of Weapons The permit does not protect you from this charge, and the statute says so explicitly.