No, you do not have to register guns in Colorado. The state has no firearm registry, and Colorado law goes a step further by prohibiting any state or local agency from creating or keeping a list of gun owners, buyers, or serial numbers.1Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Bureau of Investigation – Firearms FAQs What Colorado does require is a set of duties at the point of sale, in how you store your guns, and in what you do if one goes missing.
No Registry, By Statute
Under C.R.S. 29-11.7-102, no city, county, or state agency in Colorado may maintain a database or list of people who buy, sell, or transfer firearms, or of the firearms themselves.1Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Bureau of Investigation – Firearms FAQs There is nothing to fill out, nothing to renew, and no serial number to file with the state after you buy a gun.
People often assume the paperwork at a gun store adds up to registration. It doesn’t. Federal law requires a licensed dealer to complete and keep an ATF Form 4473 for every transaction, recording the buyer, the firearm, and the background check outcome.2Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide Those forms stay with the dealer. If the dealer closes, they go to the ATF, not to Colorado.
What Colorado Requires Instead of Registration
The state’s rules focus on who can buy a gun and how the transfer happens, not on tracking guns after the sale.
Background Checks on Nearly Every Transfer
Since July 1, 2013, almost every firearm transfer between two private parties has to run through a federally licensed dealer, who contacts the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s InstaCheck Unit for a background check on the buyer.3Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-112 – Private Firearms Transfers – Background Check Required – Penalty – Definitions The check costs $15.4Colorado Criminal Information Center. InstaCheck Skipping it on a private sale is a class 2 misdemeanor and bars you from possessing firearms for two years after conviction.
The law lists several situations where a background check isn’t required, including:3Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-112 – Private Firearms Transfers – Background Check Required – Penalty – Definitions
- Gifts or loans between immediate family (spouses, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and first cousins)
- Antique firearms and curios or relics as defined under federal law
- Temporary transfers at a shooting range, a sanctioned competition, or while lawfully hunting, fishing, or trapping
- Short-term loans of up to 72 hours, though the lender can be jointly liable for unlawful use
- Transfers where the owner stays in the borrower’s continuous presence
- Drop-offs for repair or maintenance, as long as everyone handling the gun can legally possess one
- Transfers from a service member deploying overseas within 30 days to an immediate family member
Age 21 to Buy
Colorado requires all firearm buyers to be at least 21, regardless of whether the gun is a handgun, rifle, or shotgun. Active-duty U.S. armed forces members and certified peace officers are the only exceptions.5Colorado General Assembly. SB23-169 Increasing Minimum Age To Purchase Firearms
Three-Day Waiting Period
Even after a clean background check, a dealer cannot hand over the firearm until the later of three days after the check was initiated or the date the check is actually approved.6Colorado General Assembly. HB23-1219 – Waiting Period To Deliver A Firearm A near-instant approval still means a three-day wait. A check that takes five days to clear means you pick up the gun on day five. The waiting period covers all firearms, not just handguns.
Safe Storage Is Required
Since July 2021, Colorado has required owners to store firearms with a locking device, in a gun safe, or in a gun cabinet so that children and anyone prohibited from possessing a firearm cannot access them. Unlawful storage is a class 2 misdemeanor.7Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-114 – Unlawful Storage of a Firearm This is the kind of duty owners overlook because it never comes up until something goes wrong.
Report a Lost or Stolen Firearm Within Five Days
If a firearm you own is lost or stolen, you have five days to report it to a law enforcement agency. A household or family member can file the report for you, and that satisfies the requirement. A first missed deadline is a civil infraction with a $25 fine. A second or later violation is an unclassified misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500.8Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 18-12-113 – Lost or Stolen Firearms
Local Rules Can Add Requirements
In 2021, Colorado repealed statewide firearm preemption, so cities and counties can now pass their own gun rules as long as they are at least as strict as state law.9Colorado General Assembly. SB21-256 Local Regulation Of Firearms A local government can regulate sale, purchase, transfer, and possession of firearms, ammunition, and accessories within its borders, and it can restrict where concealed permit holders may carry.
Several cities have used this authority to ban weapons they classify as assault weapons and to restrict open carry. Denver, for example, bans assault weapons and open carry within city limits. Open carry is not prohibited at the state level, but because localities regulate it, you need to check the municipal code wherever you live, work, or travel with a firearm.10Department of Public Safety. Colorado Gun Laws None of these ordinances creates a registry, but they can change what you’re allowed to own or carry in a given place.
Concealed Carry Uses a Permit, Not a Gun Registration
Colorado is a shall-issue state for concealed carry, and the permit is tied to you, not to any particular firearm. Your county sheriff must issue a Concealed Handgun Permit if you meet the statutory criteria, with limited discretion to deny based on documented behavior suggesting danger. To qualify, you must:11Justia. Colorado Code 18-12-203 – Criteria for Obtaining a Permit
- Be a legal Colorado resident (including active military stationed in the state)
- Be at least 21
- Not be prohibited from possessing firearms under state or federal law
- Not be subject to any active protection order, including an extreme risk protection order
- Not chronically abuse alcohol or use unlawful controlled substances
- Have no conviction for certain violent misdemeanors in the past five years
- Demonstrate handgun competence through an approved method, typically a course with a written exam and live-fire component
The CBI charges $52.50 for a new permit and $13 for a renewal, and your sheriff’s office may add an administrative fee.12Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) Once issued, the permit lets you carry any legal handgun you own; no gun-by-gun paperwork.
So the short answer stands: Colorado does not register firearms and forbids agencies from doing so. The obligations that matter for owners are the background check on transfer, the age and waiting-period rules, safe storage, the five-day lost-or-stolen report, and any local ordinances that apply where you are.