You can purchase an SSF like normal until August 1, 2026. After that, the process is quite a bit longer and more expensive. Everything below assumes you're a Colorado resident who can otherwise legally purchase and possess a firearm.

Step 1: Apply for a Firearms Safety Course Eligibility Card (FSCEC)

The state's application portal — the Firearms Safety System (FSS) — went live on July 20, 2026. You start by creating an account and submitting an application online; that application then routes to your county sheriff's office queue for processing. Some counties aren't reviewing applications until August 1, and a few reportedly aren't accepting them at all yet, so check with your local sheriff's office before you submit.

As part of that process you'll need to provide a government-issued photo ID and go through a name-based background check, and you'll pay two separate fees: a processing fee set by your sheriff's office (varies by county), and a firearms training and safety course record fee that's set by the Division of Parks and Wildlife — currently $52 — which the sheriff collects and remits to the division. (The Division of Parks and Wildlife already existed; what SB25-003 creates is the new fee, the cash fund it feeds, and the digital records system, not the division itself.) Note: you're charged these fees whether or not your application is ultimately approved.

The sheriff must deny your application if you can't lawfully possess a firearm under state or federal law, or if the sheriff can't positively identify you — those are mandatory denials. The sheriff may (but doesn't have to) deny your application if they have a reasonable belief that your documented previous behavior makes it likely you'd present a danger to yourself or others — that one's discretionary. The same two categories apply to revoking a card that's already been issued: the sheriff must revoke it if they know you can no longer lawfully possess a firearm, and may revoke it on the same "danger to self/others" basis. If you're denied or your card is revoked, the sheriff has to notify you in writing with the grounds, and you have the right to seek judicial review — the sheriff carries the burden of proving you're ineligible, by clear and convincing evidence if the basis is a "danger" determination.

Once the sheriff decides, they log your approval or denial in the new statewide system, and you get an automated email either way. Worth noting: by design, this system only tracks whether you hold a valid FSCEC and which safety courses you've completed — it is not a record of whether you actually buy an SSF.

Step 2: Complete the required safety course(s)

Once you're approved, you can enroll in a course. As of this writing, the detailed curriculum hasn't been published, but the statute requires instruction covering safe handling of semiautomatic firearms and magazines, safe storage and child safety, firearm deaths associated with mental illness, extreme risk protection orders (red flag orders), and victim awareness and empathy. The Basic course is a minimum of 4 hours of in-person instruction; the Extended course is a minimum of 12 hours, split across at least two different days. Either course ends with an exam, and you need a 90%-or-better score to pass.

You qualify to purchase an SSF if you meet one of these three conditions:

1. You've completed a CPW-certified hunter education course, and completed a Basic firearms safety course within the last 5 years. 2. You've completed an Extended firearms safety course within the last 5 years. 3. You completed an Extended course more than 5 years ago, and you've completed a Basic course within the last 5 years.

A quick note on that third option: it's not quite a one-time "extension to 10 years." As written, once you've completed the Extended course a single time, option 3 lets you keep your purchasing eligibility alive indefinitely by simply retaking the shorter Basic course at least once every 5 years going forward — there's no apparent cap after that first renewal. That said, this is our read of fairly new statutory language that hasn't been tested yet, so don't treat it as settled.

When you sign up for a course, the instructor checks the same statewide system to confirm you hold a valid FSCEC before letting you attend. After you finish, the instructor logs your pass/fail result back into that system, generally within a few business days.

Step 3: Buy the SSF

Assuming you passed, the actual purchase looks close to normal. At your FFL dealer, the dealer now has to check the same system to confirm you've completed and passed everything required before running your background check. From there, it's the standard process — including Colorado's existing 3-day (72-hour) waiting period, which comes from a separate 2023 law and isn't something SB25-003 itself created, but still applies on top of these new steps.

Transfers that skip all of this

One exception in the bill lets an SSF transfer happen "by operation of law" — for example, because of someone's death, where the person transferring the firearm is the executor or administrator of the estate, or the trustee of a trust created in a will.

That last phrase matters: it specifically covers a testamentary trust — one created by and taking effect through someone's will — not the revocable living trust that most people set up during their lifetime to hold NFA items (the typical "NFA gun trust"). Whether a standard living NFA trust would let a beneficiary inherit an SSF without going through the eligibility-card-and-course process is a genuinely open question under this language, not something the statute clearly answers either way. That's worth running by an attorney who handles trusts and firearms specifically before assuming it applies.

As always, we are not lawyers — just Colorado citizens trying to understand the new law and share what we learn. The information on this website is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, nor does it create an attorney/client relationship. The accuracy, completeness, or currency of the content is not warranted. Your use of content on this website is at your own risk. Consult an attorney about your specific circumstances.