Colorado concealed carry reciprocity: every state

Last verified against primary sources: 2026-07-20 · Updated 2026-07-20

Inbound: when Colorado honors another state’s permit

Whether Colorado recognizes the permit in your pocket is governed by one statute, C.R.S. § 18-12-213. It sets a two-part test, and the second part is where most out-of-state visitors — and most reciprocity guides — go wrong.

Break that into the three conditions that must all be true:

• Mutual recognition. The issuing state must itself recognize Colorado permits. That is why the working list below is Colorado’s honored-states list, not simply “every state that issues permits.”
• Age 21+. The permit holder must be 21 or older, even if their home state issued a permit to someone younger.
• The resident-permit trap. The permit must have been issued to a resident of the issuing state, proven by a matching state ID. Colorado does not honor a non-resident permit from any state. So a person who lives in State A but holds, say, a non-resident Florida or Utah permit cannot use it in Colorado — even though Florida and Utah are on the honored list. The one narrow exception: a brand-new Colorado resident (90 days or less) may carry on the permit from their prior home state.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation restates the same rule in plain English, and adds a consequence for Coloradans: a Colorado resident may carry concealed in-state only on a Colorado permit — never on a non-resident permit from another state.

The CBI honored / not-honored lists

The backbone of inbound reciprocity is the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s published list of states with which reciprocity has been established. CBI’s page shows no explicit “last updated” date, so the lists below are current as of the date we checked the CBI page (July 20, 2026). Note that several third-party aggregators publish a slightly different count (e.g., “33 states,” or omitting Minnesota) — CBI’s live page is the authority, and it includes Minnesota.

Honored (34 states), verbatim from CBI: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, 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.

Not honored (16 jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia), verbatim from CBI: California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington.

Every “Yes” above is still subject to the resident-permit trap and the age-21 floor from § 18-12-213. Being on the honored list is necessary, not sufficient.

Outbound: where a Colorado permit is honored

Whether your Colorado CCW works in another state is governed by that state’s law, not Colorado’s — so the only reliable source is each state’s own police, DPS, attorney general, or statute. Below are the states we were able to confirm against an official source. For any state not listed here, treat the answer as unconfirmed and check that state’s official page before you carry.

Texas — yes

Texas recognizes a valid Colorado license to carry a handgun under a standing reciprocity proclamation.

Texas also has permitless carry: an eligible person 21 or older who is not otherwise disqualified may carry a handgun in Texas without any permit (Texas Penal Code § 46.02, as amended by HB 1927, effective Sept. 1, 2021). Because that law turns on age and eligibility rather than residency, a Colorado visitor 21+ generally qualifies either way. Details: is a Colorado CCW valid in Texas.

New Mexico — yes (effective Jan. 1, 2020)

The New Mexico Department of Public Safety recognition-and-reciprocity table lists Colorado as recognized, with an effective date of January 1, 2020; the table shows New Mexico both accepting a Colorado license and Colorado accepting New Mexico’s (a mutual entry). New Mexico does not have permitless carry — a license is required to carry concealed there. Source: New Mexico DPS.

Utah — yes

Utah honors a Colorado permit because Utah statute honors any state’s concealed-firearm permit — no state-by-state list needed.

Utah is also reported to allow permitless concealed carry for those 21+ (residents and non-residents alike) since a 2021 change; the Utah BCI page itself did not restate that provision, so we flag it as reported rather than quoting a statute. More: is a Colorado CCW valid in Utah.

Florida — yes

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services lists Colorado among the states whose licenses it recognizes, and its non-resident-visitor provision lets a licensed out-of-state visitor 21+ carry while in Florida.

Florida is also a permitless-carry state (effective July 1, 2023), and a June 2026 Florida appellate ruling is affecting who can obtain a Florida license at ages 18–20 — both covered on is a Colorado CCW valid in Florida.

Nebraska — yes (but Nebraska is permitless anyway)

Colorado appears on Nebraska’s list of fully recognized states, but the point is largely moot: since September 2, 2023 Nebraska requires no permit to carry concealed.

The State Patrol notes its reciprocity policy “does not apply to those simply traveling through our state” — a visitor carries under Nebraska’s own permitless law regardless of home-state permit status.

Kansas — yes

Kansas recognizes any valid out-of-state permit — including Colorado’s — for a non-resident visitor 18 or older, and Kansas is itself a permitless-carry state for those 21+.

Note the residency limit runs the same direction Colorado’s does: the recognition applies only while the holder is a non-resident of Kansas.

Oklahoma — yes

Oklahoma’s Self-Defense Act recognizes any valid out-of-state carry permit by statute.

Oklahoma has also allowed permitless carry for eligible adults 21+ since November 1, 2019. More: the individual state pages in the Related section.

California — no

California does not recognize any out-of-state concealed carry permit, including Colorado’s. Carrying a concealed firearm is generally unlawful under Cal. Penal Code § 25400, and the exemption for licensed carry (§ 25655) applies only to a California-issued CCW license under §§ 26150 et seq. — there is no statutory mechanism recognizing another state’s permit. Carrying in California on a Colorado permit alone is a criminal offense. Source: California Attorney General, Bureau of Firearms.

Nevada — no (this contradicts many third-party maps)

This one surprises people: Nevada does not recognize a Colorado permit. Colorado is absent from Nevada’s official recognition list, and the non-recognition is mutual (CBI likewise excludes Nevada).

Wyoming — honored by triangulation; verify with Wyoming DCI

What is firmly verified for Wyoming is the inbound direction: Wyoming is on CBI’s honored list, so Colorado recognizes a resident Wyoming permit for a holder 21+. On the outbound side — whether Wyoming honors a Colorado permit — Wyoming’s official Division of Criminal Investigation page did not return readable text to our automated check, and the Colorado-specific entry could only be confirmed through secondary aggregators that cite the DCI list. We therefore present Wyoming’s outbound answer as reported-but-not-directly-verified, and recommend confirming on the Wyoming DCI page before you travel. Separately, Wyoming is widely reported to allow permitless concealed carry for qualifying non-residents since 2021; we flag that at the same reduced confidence.

Before you travel

Two rules of the road:

• The destination state’s law governs. Reciprocity only settles whether your permit is recognized. Where you may actually carry — schools, bars, government buildings, vehicles, posted private property — is set by the state you are in, and those rules differ sharply from Colorado’s.
• Verify with the official source, close to your trip. Reciprocity lists change. Confirm on the destination state’s own police/DPS/AG page rather than a third-party map. Official pages for the states above:

• Texas: Texas DPS reciprocity (and Penal Code § 46)
• New Mexico: New Mexico DPS concealed carry
• Utah: Utah BCI reciprocity
• Wyoming: Wyoming DCI concealed firearm permits
• Florida: FDACS reciprocity (and Fla. Stat. § 790.01)
• California: California AG CCW
• Nevada: Nevada DPS recognition list (PDF)
• Nebraska: Nebraska State Patrol reciprocity
• Kansas: Kansas AG out-of-state recognition
• Oklahoma: Oklahoma Self-Defense Act (OSBI, PDF)

Colorado issues permits only to residents — there is no non-resident Colorado permit — so the reciprocity questions above are the whole game for out-of-state travel. Background on the permit itself: Colorado concealed carry permits and gun laws for non-residents and visitors.