Colorado’s New ‘Permit-to-Purchase’ Law Takes Effect

Starting today, any Colorado resident who wants to purchase the most popular rifle in the country will have to fork over more money and wait for who knows how long before they get their local sheriff’s approval. 

In fact, some residents who’ve already started the process of buying an AR-15 will likely have to go through these extra steps and fork out extra money. 

Tomorrow SB25-003 – Colorado’s ban on semi automatic magazine fed gas powered firearms becomes official.

Currently the Colorado Bureau of Investigations has over 2500 background checks in the queue to approve.

So if these people showed up to buy firearms in the approved timely…

— Alicia Garcia (@boomstickbabe) July 31, 2026

I highly doubt that CBI managed to get through all 2,500 checks yesterday, but if they did then kudos to them. If not, then whoever were left is completely hosed. 

Under the new law, anyone who’s taken a hunter safety course within the past five years will have to take an additional four hours of training before they can provide proof of their training with their local sheriff, who is tasked with issuing the Firearms Safety Course Eligibility Card to applicants. Those who haven’t already taken a hunter safety course will have to undergo 12 hours of training before they can go any further. 

I’ve seen 4-hour courses offered for around $125 and the 12-hour course for $249, so this training mandate imposes an additional financial burden to gun owners, even before the state’s 11 percent excise tax on firearms and ammunition kicks in when the gun is actually purchased. Applicants are also responsible for paying for a background check conducted by a third party, the results of which must be handed over to the sheriff as part of the application for an eligibility card. 

Counties can also charge a fee for issuing the Firearms Safety Course Eligibility Card, though some sheriffs have decided to issue the cards without charge. 

How long will it take to obtain the eligibility card is an open question, because the Colorado law imposes no deadline at all on the sheriffs. Another issue is that sheriffs “may deny an application for a firearms course card if the sheriff has a reasonable belief that documented previous behavior by the applicant makes it likely the applicant will present a danger to themself or others if the applicant holds a card.”

I don’t think that language is gonna fly, especially since under Colorado law an individual could legally own a handgun, a bolt-action rifle, and a double-barreled shotgun while still being unable to purchase an AR-15 just because the sheriff says so. That seems like the essence of a “may issue” licensing scheme, and the Supreme Court has already said those are a constitutional no-no. 

Coloradans have had about a year to get ready for the permit-to-purchase law to take effect, and we’ve seen elevated sales of long guns across the state for several months, with things really ramping up over the past few weeks. Sales are definitely going to slow down now, and we’ll be following up with FFLs in the state in the weeks to come to get a sense of what the new “normal” looks like. 

The permit-to-purchase law is also facing a federal lawsuit, so there is potential for the permit-to-purchase requirement to be put on hold in the near future. I’m not holding my breath waiting for that to happen, but I don’t want to discount the possibility either. 

Gun owners across the country, but particularly those who live in states where “assault weapon” bans are in place, should be paying close attention to what’s happening in Colorado. The “permit-to-purchase” scheme is almost certain to replace those outright bans if the Supreme Court deems them unconstitutional next term, and the B.S. getting shoveled on Colorado gun owners is shaping up to be a preview of things to come for blue states going forward. 

Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

Help us continue to report on and expose the Democrats’ gun control policies and schemes. Join Bearing Arms VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.