Colorado gun laws in 2026, cited to the statute
Last verified against primary sources: · Updated
Colorado gun law in 60 seconds (each link carries the statute, quoted verbatim):
- Concealed carry requires a permit from your county sheriff — Colorado is not a constitutional-carry state (permit requirements).
- Open carry is not prohibited statewide, but Denver bans it and local governments can restrict it (open carry).
- You can keep a loaded handgun in your car without a permit under the vehicle exception (guns in vehicles).
- Buying: universal background checks, a 3-day waiting period, age 21, and a 15-round magazine limit (buying a gun, magazines).
- August 1, 2026: buying most detachable-magazine semiautos now requires a sheriff-issued eligibility card and safety course (what changed).
What changed in 2026
Four dates account for almost all of it. Each link goes to the page that quotes the statute and shows the date we last checked it.
- July 1, 2026: HB26-1144 prohibits knowingly manufacturing a firearm, an unfinished frame or receiver, a large-capacity magazine, or a rapid-fire device by 3-D printing (the 2025-2026 timeline).
- July 20, 2026: the state's Firearms Safety System application portal opened, though Colorado Parks and Wildlife says some sheriffs are not accepting applications at all (the eligibility card and safety course).
- August 1, 2026: the change most people mean. C.R.S. § 18-12-116(2), enacted by SB25-003, makes it unlawful to manufacture, distribute, transfer, sell, or purchase a "specified semiautomatic firearm" unless the buyer has completed the state's safety-course pathway (what changed August 1, which guns are covered).
- August 12, 2026: the default effective date for 2026 acts passed without a safety clause, including HB26-1265 (law-enforcement eTrace participation) and HB26-1302 (CBI InstaCheck operating hours) (why the dates differ).
What did not change: possession is not on that list, so a firearm you already lawfully own stays legal to own, and Colorado still has no gun registry (registration). SB25-003 is being challenged in federal court; the timeline page carries the current status and the date we last read the docket.
Why this site exists
Colorado changed its firearms law substantially in 2023, 2024, 2025, and again in 2026 — and most gun-law pages on the internet haven't kept up. Every page here quotes the operative statute verbatim, links the primary source, shows the effective date, and displays the date it was last re-verified. The methodology page explains the discipline. This is reference information, not legal advice — read the disclaimer.
Topics
- What changes August 1, 2026
SB25-003's semiauto purchase law: what's covered, what's exempt, and the safety-course pathway.
- Which guns are covered
The "specified semiautomatic firearm" definition: covered rifles, shotguns, and handguns — and every exemption.
- The safety course & eligibility card
The sheriff-issued card, the 4-hour and 12-hour classes, what they cost, and the deadlines.
- Concealed carry permits
Eligibility, the 8-hour class rule (new in 2025), fees, renewal, and where permits work.
- Reciprocity: every state
Which permits Colorado honors, where a Colorado permit works, and the resident-permit trap.
- Guns in vehicles
The loaded-handgun exception, long-gun rules, and the 2025 unattended-vehicle storage law.
- Buying a gun
Background checks, the 3-day wait, age 21, dealer rules, and the new excise tax.
- Magazine limits
The 15-round limit, the 2013 grandfather clause, and local wrinkles.
- Open carry
The statewide baseline and where cities can — and do — restrict it.
- Where you can't carry
Schools, government buildings, polling places, federal property, and posted buildings.
- Visitors & non-residents
Carrying, driving through, flying, hunting, and moving to Colorado with guns.
- Denver gun laws
The city's own ordinances: open carry, assault weapons, parks, and city buildings.
- Boulder gun laws
Boulder's 2022 ordinance package and what's actually being enforced.
- Charges & penalties
Prohibited persons, red-flag orders, storage duties, and what each offense carries.
- Colorado vs Texas
Side-by-side: permits, magazines, waiting periods, and the new purchase rules.
- Colorado vs California
How Colorado compares to the strictest big state.
Most-asked questions
- When do Colorado's new gun laws take effect?
- What is SB25-003, exactly?
- Can you still buy an AR-15 after August 1, 2026?
- Can I have a loaded gun in my car?
- Can a non-resident concealed carry in Colorado?
- What states honor a Colorado permit?
- Is Colorado a constitutional carry state?
- What is the magazine limit?
- Is there a waiting period?
- Can an 18-year-old buy a gun?
- Do you have to register a gun in Colorado?