Anchor
Colorado requires a permit and training to buy many semiautomatic guns
Rule ChangesSB25-003 took effect August 1, 2026, adding a sheriff-issued card and an in-person safety course before certain semiautomatic firearm purchases
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Overview
Starting August 1, 2026, buying most semiautomatic rifles or shotguns with a detachable magazine in Colorado requires a county sheriff's eligibility card, an in-person safety course, and a written exam. The passing score is 90%. No court blocked the law before it took effect.
The law doesn't ban these guns or affect firearms people already own. Two federal lawsuits against it are still moving through court, with injunction requests pending.
Why it matters
Colorado is the first state to make in-person training plus a sheriff-issued permit a condition of buying common semiautomatic long guns, a model other states may copy or courts may strike down.
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Key Indicators
$52
State application fee
The base fee the state charges for an eligibility card; counties may add their own.
90%
Minimum exam score
The passing grade on the final test at the end of the safety course.
12 hrs
Extended course length
Buyers without hunter-education credit must complete a 12-hour course; others take a 4-hour version.
5 years
Card validity
How long a sheriff-issued eligibility card stays valid once granted.
Related Media
Colorado State Capitol
Assault rifles and handguns on a table at an indoor shooting range.
Person in a shooting range aiming a rifle. A focused moment of target practice.
Images from Openverse under Creative Commons licenses.
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Colorado requires a permit and training to buy many semiautomatic guns
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People Involved
Organizations Involved
Colorado Parks and Wildlife
State agency
Sets and certifies the required safety-course standards
The state wildlife agency writes the curriculum standards and certifies the instructors for the firearm safety courses SB25-003 requires.
Colorado State Shooting Association
Gun-rights organization
Lead plaintiff in a federal challenge to the law
The state's National Rifle Association affiliate, suing to have SB25-003 declared unconstitutional.
Mountain States Legal Foundation
Public-interest law firm
Litigating a separate challenge, Del Toro v. Polis
A libertarian-leaning legal foundation suing Colorado over the permit-to-purchase system.
Timeline
January 2025 August 2026
8 events
Latest: August 1st, 2026 · 2 weeks ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date
-
Permit-and-training rule takes effect
Latest Rule ChangeThe permit, course, and exam requirements begin. The sale of bump stocks and binary triggers is now prohibited.
-
Three-day waiting period moves effective purchase cutoff to July 28
ImplementationColorado's existing three-day waiting period meant July 28 was the last practical day to initiate a permit-free purchase. Gun shops reported record sales and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation was processing more than 6,500 background checks.
-
State opens applications
ImplementationColorado opens its firearms safety system for applications, days before the rules take effect.
-
Gun groups sue in federal court
LegalThe Colorado State Shooting Association and six individuals sue to block the law on Second Amendment grounds.
-
Polis signs SB25-003
LegalGovernor Jared Polis signs the bill with its sponsors present. The effective date is set for August 1, 2026.
-
House committee advances the bill
LegislativeThe House Judiciary Committee amends and passes the measure on a 7-4 vote, clarifying the sheriff and wildlife-agency roles.
-
Ban rewritten as training rule
LegislativeSenate Democrats amend the bill. Instead of a sales ban, buyers can qualify by getting a permit and completing training.
-
Bill introduced
LegislativeSB25-003 is introduced. In its first form it would ban the sale of specified semiautomatic firearms outright.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
March 2013
Colorado's post-Aurora gun package (2013)
After the 2012 Aurora theater shooting that killed 12 people, Colorado passed universal background checks and a 15-round limit on magazine capacity. Two Democratic state senators were recalled from office over the votes.
Then
The magazine limit and background-check law took effect and survived early court challenges.
Now
The 2013 magazine cap became the legal anchor sponsors now cite to justify SB25-003.
Why this matters now
SB25-003's backers frame it as the enforcement tool for that decade-old magazine limit, tying the two laws together.
June 2022
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022)
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down New York's discretionary handgun permit rule. It set a new test: a gun law is valid only if it fits the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation.
Then
Courts nationwide began reviewing gun laws under the new history-based standard.
Now
The ruling reshaped how every new gun regulation gets litigated, including Colorado's.
Why this matters now
The lawsuits against SB25-003 lean on Bruen, arguing a graded course and sheriff card have no historical match.
June 2024
Garland v. Cargill (2024)
The Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on bump stocks, ruling the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had overstepped by classifying them as machine guns.
Then
The federal bump-stock ban fell, leaving the devices legal under federal law.
Now
Regulation of rapid-fire devices shifted to the states.
Why this matters now
SB25-003 bans the sale of bump stocks and binary triggers at the state level, filling the gap the federal ruling left open.
Sources
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