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Colorado Concealed Carry Permit

Colorado requires a Permit to Carry a Concealed Handgun (Concealed Handgun Permit) to carry. It is shall-issue, the minimum age is 21, and 8 hours of training is required.

Requirements at a glance

Permit name Permit to Carry a Concealed Handgun (Concealed Handgun Permit)
Issuing authority County sheriff (or city-and-county sheriff) of the applicant's county of residence; the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) runs the fingerprint and name-based background checks on the sheriff's behalf
System shall-issue
Minimum age 21 — C.R.S. 18-12-203(1)(b) requires the applicant to be twenty-one years of age or older for a standard 5-year CHP. Separately, C.R.S. 18-12-209 authorizes sheriffs to issue temporary emergency permits; the El Paso County Sheriff's Office states that persons age 18-21 may be eligible for such an emergency permit valid for a limited time (email [email protected]). I did not read the text of 18-12-209 itself, so treat the under-21 emergency-permit path as unverified.
Training required Yes — 8 hours, live fire required
State fee $152.50 initial / $63 renewal — the state's own charge, not the total
Valid for 5 years
Processing time Up to 90 days. C.R.S. 18-12-206(1) requires the sheriff to approve and issue, or deny, within ninety days after receiving the completed application items; if FBI/CBI fingerprint results have not come back within 90 days the sheriff must decide without them.
Fingerprints Required
Non-resident permit Not available

What it actually costs

The state fee is rarely the whole bill. Fingerprinting is usually charged by a private vendor, training is bought from an instructor, and several states add photographs, notarisation or other requirements on top.

State fee $52.50
Training course $75–$250 (private instructor)
Sheriff processing fee varies — set by each sheriff, capped at $100 for a new permit under C.R.S. 18-12-205(2)(b)
Realistic total $128–$403

The $52.50 CBI portion is fixed statewide and itemised in statute: $17.50 CCIC fingerprint check, $13.00 InstaCheck, $22.00 FBI fingerprint check. The sheriff's own fee is on top and varies by county up to the $100 cap, so what you pay depends on where you live.

Fees are split between the sheriff and CBI and vary by county. CBI portion (fixed statewide, C.R.S. 18-12-205(2)(b)): $52.50 for a new application ($17.50 CCIC fingerprint check + $13.00 InstaCheck + $22.00 FBI fingerprint check); $13.00 InstaCheck for a renewal (C.R.S. 18-12-211); $30.50 for a temporary emergency permit (C.R.S. 18-12-209). Sheriff processing fee is set by each sheriff and is statutorily capped at $100 for a new permit (18-12-205(2)(b)) and $50 for a renewal (18-12-211(1)(a)). So the statutory ceiling is $152.50 new / $63.00 renewal - the numbers reported here. Real-world example: El Paso County charges $135.00 total for a new permit ($52.50 CBI + $82.50 county) and $63.00 to renew. Late renewal adds a $15 late fee. CBI fees must be paid by cashier's check or money order payable to CBI where the sheriff does not collect online. Fees are non-refundable if denied.

How to apply

  1. Confirm eligibility: age 21+, legal Colorado resident, not prohibited under C.R.S. 18-12-108 or federal law, and not otherwise disqualified under C.R.S. 18-12-203(1).
  2. Complete an 8-hour in-person concealed handgun training class (live fire + written exam) taught by a sheriff-verified instructor, and get the original signed training certificate - it is valid for only 1 year. Each sheriff must post its list of verified instructors on its own website (C.R.S. 18-12-202.7(3)(c)); a certificate from a verified instructor in ANY Colorado county is accepted. Alternatively assemble proof of one of the statutory competency alternatives (military service, peace-officer certification, shooting competitions, qualifying discharge, LE retirement certificate).
  3. Obtain the statewide standardized application form from the sheriff of the county where you reside (or where you maintain a secondary residence or own/lease real property used in your business). Most counties now run intake through an online portal (e.g. Permitium).
  4. Appear IN PERSON before the sheriff, present a valid Colorado driver's license or Colorado/military photo ID, and sign the application under oath before the sheriff (C.R.S. 18-12-205(2)(a)). A false statement is perjury under 18-8-503.
  5. Submit the training/competency documentation and a passport-style color head photograph (or be photographed by the sheriff) - C.R.S. 18-12-205(3).
  6. Be fingerprinted: the sheriff takes two complete sets and submits both to CBI; the sheriff may not retain a set (C.R.S. 18-12-205(4)(b)).
  7. Pay the sheriff's processing fee plus the CBI fingerprint/background fee.
  8. Wait for the CBI/NICS/CCIC background check and the sheriff's decision - up to 90 days (C.R.S. 18-12-206(1)). Denial may be appealed via a second sheriff review and then judicial review under C.R.S. 18-12-207.
  9. Once issued, carry the permit together with valid photo ID at all times while in actual possession of a concealed handgun and produce both on demand; failure to do so is a petty offense (C.R.S. 18-12-204(2)).
  10. Renew within the 120 days before expiration, with refresher training obtained within the prior 6 months. A permit not renewed within 6 months after expiration permanently expires and you must reapply as a new applicant (C.R.S. 18-12-211(2)).

Apply on the official Colorado site

What disqualifies you

Where to get the required training

Colorado does not publish a central list of certified instructors. Confirm directly with County sheriff (or city-and-county sheriff) of the applicant's county of residence; the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) runs the fingerprint and name-based background checks on the sheriff's behalf that a course will be accepted before you pay for it.

Training providers in Colorado

Businesses in our directory that offer firearms training. These are not state-verified as certified permit instructors — check against the official list above, or ask the provider directly.

All firearms training in Colorado →

Reciprocity

Carrying into Colorado

Colorado recognizes permits from 34 other jurisdictions.

Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming

33 jurisdictions honor a Colorado permit

Derived from what each of those states officially publishes.

Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming

Official Colorado reciprocity page Full reciprocity matrix →

Building your own in Colorado

Build for personal use
Prohibited
Serial number required
Yes

Colorado PROHIBITS building a firearm for personal use. C.R.S. 18-12-111.5(5)(a)(I): 'A person shall not manufacture or cause to be manufactured, including through the use of a three-dimensional printer, a frame or receiver of a firearm.' The only exception in 18-12-111.5(5)(a)(II) is a FEDERALLY LICENSED FIREARM MANUFACTURER - there is no personal-use, hobbyist, or 80%-kit exemption. 18-12-111.5(1) also bars knowingly possessing or transporting an unfinished frame or receiver unless serialized by an FFL, 18-12-111.5(2) bars selling/transferring/purchasing an unfinished frame or receiver, and 18-12-111.5(3) bars possessing, purchasing, transporting or receiving any firearm or frame/receiver not imprinted with a serial number by an FFL (exceptions: FFL importers/manufacturers, permanently inoperable firearms, defaced firearms under 18-12-103, antique firearms per 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(16), and firearms manufactured before October 22, 1968). Anyone who already owned a self-made unserialized firearm/frame/receiver had until January 1, 2024 to have an FFL imprint a serial number (18-12-111.5(5)(b)). An FFL serializing under 18-12-111.5(7) must imprint a number beginning with the licensee's abbreviated FFL number. PENALTY: class 1 misdemeanor; a SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT OFFENSE IS A CLASS 5 FELONY (18-12-111.5(6)(b)). Layered on top, HB26-1144 (signed May 4, 2026) added C.R.S. 18-12-119 effective July 1, 2026, making it a class 1 misdemeanor (class 5 felony on a second or subsequent offense) to knowingly manufacture or produce a potentially functional firearm or firearm component (unfinished frame or receiver, large-capacity magazine, or rapid-fire device) by 3-D printing using a 3-D printer, CNC milling machine, or similar device - exceptions only for federally licensed firearm manufacturers and instructors/students/institutions of an accredited gunsmithing program acting solely for educational instruction. SERIALIZATION: the serial number must be imprinted by a federal firearms licensee; Colorado does not operate a state firearm registry - in fact C.R.S. 29-11.7-102 prohibits a local firearms database.

C.R.S. 18-12-111.5 (added by SB23-279); C.R.S. 18-12-119 (added by HB26-1144, effective July 1, 2026)

Federal law, gunsmithing schools, and tools →

Statutes

What we could not confirm

  • Colorado publishes NO single statewide list of verified concealed-handgun instructors. C.R.S. 18-12-202.7(3)(c) requires EACH sheriff to maintain and post its own list on the sheriff's website, and a certificate from a verified instructor in any Colorado county is accepted statewide. instructorRegistryUrl is therefore null; examples of county lists exist at El Paso County and Larimer County.
  • There is likewise no statewide online application portal. Applications go to the individual county sheriff (many use the third-party Permitium platform). officialApplicationUrl points at the CBI CHP overview page as the authoritative state landing point; the actual application must be started with your county sheriff.
  • Fees vary by county. Only the CBI portion ($52.50 new / $13.00 renewal) and the statutory sheriff-fee caps ($100 new / $50 renewal) are uniform. The reported initial fee of $152.50 is the statutory maximum, not a typical charge; El Paso County actually charges $135.00.
  • Whether 18-20 year-olds can obtain a TEMPORARY EMERGENCY permit under C.R.S. 18-12-209 is unconfirmed. The El Paso County Sheriff's site says persons 18-21 may be eligible, but I did not read the text of 18-12-209 to verify the statutory age basis or the qualifying-emergency standard.
  • The CBI-hosted PDFs of C.R.S. 18-12-105 and 18-12-206 carry a currency note of 'through Chapter 220 of the 2021 Regular Session.' I found no amendment to either section since, and the class 2 misdemeanor classification and 90-day deadline are consistent with all other official sources reviewed, but these two texts are not the freshest possible print.
  • The CBI reciprocity page displays no last-revised date. The 34-state list was retrieved live on 2026-08-10 and totals exactly 49 states + DC when combined with CBI's 16-state non-reciprocal list, so the page appears complete, but reciprocity turns on other states' actions and can change without notice.
  • I did not fully enumerate C.R.S. 18-12-214 and 18-12-105.5 location restrictions (schools, colleges, K-12 grounds, public buildings with screening, etc.), nor the 2024 sensitive-spaces expansion (SB24-131), nor local open-carry ordinances permitted by C.R.S. 29-11.7-104. A Colorado CHP is valid statewide EXCEPT as limited by those provisions.
  • Colorado's separate SB25-003 permit-to-purchase regime for 'specified semiautomatic firearms' (Firearms Safety Course Eligibility Card, administered by Colorado Parks & Wildlife, effective August 1, 2026) governs PURCHASE, not carry, and is not reflected in these carry fields. Its 4-hour basic / 12-hour extended courses should not be confused with the 8-hour CHP class.
  • permitSystem is recorded as shall-issue because C.R.S. 18-12-203(1) says the sheriff 'shall issue' to a qualifying applicant, but note the residual discretion in 18-12-203(2): a sheriff MAY deny even a fully qualified applicant on a reasonable belief, based on documented previous behavior, that the applicant would present a danger. Some classifications would call this shall-issue-with-discretion.

Sources