I teach the course this law requires. So let me give you the straight version — including the parts I don’t like.
Since August 1, 2026, buying certain semiautomatic firearms in Colorado means getting permission from your county sheriff first. There is a lot of noise about what that means. Most of what I hear in class is wrong in one direction or the other — either people think nothing changed, or they think Colorado banned every semiautomatic firearm in the state.
Neither is true. Here is what is.
What the law actually does
To buy or receive a specified semiautomatic firearm, you now need two things:
- A Firearms Safety Course Eligibility Card from the sheriff in your county of residence
- Completion of an in-person firearms safety course — 4 hours or 12, depending on your background
Get both, and you have five years to purchase.
The card itself requires a government photo ID, a name-based background check through a third-party vendor, your county’s processing fee, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s $52 record fee.
What counts as a “specified semiautomatic firearm”
This is where most of the confusion lives. The definition covers:
- A semiautomatic rifle that accepts a detachable magazine
- A semiautomatic shotgun that accepts a detachable magazine
- A gas-operated semiautomatic handgun that accepts a detachable magazine
Read that last one again, because it matters more than anything else in this article.
The rumors — and what’s actually true
“They banned all semiautomatic firearms.” No. The law restricts a defined category. Most of what Coloradans own falls outside it.
“My carry pistol is banned.” Almost certainly not. The handgun definition covers gas-operated pistols. The overwhelming majority of handguns on the market — including Glock, Smith & Wesson M&P, and SIG P320 — are recoil-operated, and are not specified semiautomatic firearms. If you carry a common striker-fired pistol, this law does not touch buying another one.
“My shotgun is banned.” Tube-fed semiautomatic shotguns — the kind most people hunt with — have no detachable magazine and are not covered. A detachable-magazine semiauto shotgun is.
“My .22 is banned.” Rimfire firearms of .22 caliber or smaller are exempt, unless the firearm has a separate upper and lower receiver.
“Bolt guns and pumps are next.” Manually operated firearms — bolt, pump, lever, slide — are outside the definition entirely.
“Fixed-magazine rifles are covered.” A semiautomatic with a permanently affixed magazine limited to 15 rounds or fewer is exempt.
“Every semiauto rifle is gone.” There is a named list of roughly thirty classic and hunting semiautomatics that stay exempt as configured on the effective date — the M1 Carbine, Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle and Mini Thirty, Springfield Armory M1A, Browning BAR Mk 3, Benelli R1, and several Remington and Winchester models among them.
“My concealed carry permit covers me.” It does not. This is the single most common mistake I hear, and CPW could not be clearer: “All background checks and courses taken for a concealed carry weapon (CCW) are not reciprocal for the Firearms Safety Program.” Your CCW does not exempt you, and it does not shorten the course.
“Hunter education covers me.” Also no — but it helps. CPW: “Completion of a hunter education course certified by CPW will not qualify you for purchasing a SSF. In addition to your hunter education course, you will need to complete a Basic Firearms Safety Program course.” Hunter ed gets you the 4-hour Basic instead of the 12-hour Extended. That is the whole benefit.
“I can take the class online.” No. No part of it may be online. Any online-only offering does not meet the requirement.
“I can take the class first and sort the card out later.” No. You cannot enroll until you already hold the eligibility card. Apply to your sheriff first.
What it actually costs you
Set aside the politics for a second and look at the arithmetic.
If you have hunter education: 4 hours, plus the $52 CPW fee, plus your county’s fee, plus the course fee.
If you don’t: 12 hours across two days, plus the same fees.
Then a written exam and a live-fire qualification, both at 90%.
For a working person, the Extended course is two days off. That is the part nobody mentions when they describe this as “just a safety class.”
Where I stand — and this part is my opinion
Everything above is fact and you can check every line of it. What follows is my view as an instructor who has been teaching since 1993 — here in Colorado and across the country.
I think this law is constitutionally unsound, and I think the mechanism matters more than the mandate.
I am not opposed to firearms education. I have made my living at it for three decades. If I believed training requirements were inherently wrong I would be in the wrong trade.
My objection is narrower and, I think, harder to dismiss.
A right that requires permission is not a right. The Second Amendment is an enumerated constitutional right. SB25-003 places a government-issued card between a citizen and the exercise of it. We do not require a permit and a background check before someone may attend a church, publish a newspaper, or decline to answer a police officer’s questions. When a right is enumerated, the burden sits with the state — and “you may exercise this once we approve you” is a heavy burden to justify.
The discretion is the real problem. The statute directs a sheriff to deny a card to anyone who cannot lawfully possess a firearm — nobody argues with that. But it also permits denial based on documented behavior suggesting the applicant may be a danger. That is a subjective standard, applied differently in sixty-four counties, to a constitutional right.
In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), the Supreme Court struck down exactly this shape of thing for carry permits — discretionary, official-judgement licensing. Colorado has now built a discretionary licensing regime for purchase. Whether courts see that as the same problem is the question, and it is not a rhetorical one.
The cost falls unevenly. Twelve hours over two days, plus fees, is an inconvenience if you are salaried with flexible time. It is a genuine barrier if you work hourly, have no childcare, or live three hours from the nearest verified instructor. Rights that are technically available but practically out of reach for people without money or time have a long and ugly history in this country. That comparison gets made a lot and it is usually made lazily — but the underlying principle is sound: a right you must purchase access to is weaker than a right you hold.
And the line is arbitrary. A gas-operated pistol is restricted. A recoil-operated pistol, functionally identical in the hand and in the wrong hands, is not. A detachable-magazine shotgun is restricted; a tube-fed one holding a comparable number of shells is not. When the dividing line tracks the mechanism rather than the capability, it is difficult to argue the law is closely fitted to public safety.
Where it stands in court
You are not alone in these objections, and they are being tested.
Del Toro v. Polis, brought by the Mountain States Legal Foundation, challenges the permit-to-purchase scheme on Second Amendment grounds. The Colorado State Shooting Association, joined by six individual plaintiffs, filed a separate federal challenge in September 2025.
As of this writing, no injunction blocks any part of the law. It is in effect. That may change, and I will update this post if it does — but until a court says otherwise, compliance is not optional, and hoping it gets struck down is not a plan.
What to do now
Check whether the law even applies to you. For most people carrying a common striker-fired pistol, it does not.
If you plan to buy a covered firearm, start with your sheriff. The eligibility card comes first. Everything else waits on it.
Do not leave it to the last minute. Background check, county processing, then a class with limited seats.
Get the training from someone verified. Your certificate is only valid if the instructor is verified — check the instructor’s number before you pay anyone.
John Rader teaches the Colorado firearms safety course required under SB25-003 in Parker and Aurora. Douglas County Verified Firearms Instructor #25037. NRA Certified Instructor. Teaching since 1993 — in Colorado and nationwide. More than 30,000 students.
See course dates and pricing →
This article explains a public law in plain English. It is not legal advice. Your county sheriff’s office is the final word on your application, and the Colorado Department of Revenue maintains the official list of covered firearms — check it before you buy.