Colorado Parks and Wildlife has scheduled a series of virtual and in-person stakeholder meetings beginning Feb. 9 to explain requirements for a new firearms safety program and gather input from dealers, instructors and sheriffs before the mandate takes effect Aug. 1.

The program, created under Senate Bill 25-003, requires anyone purchasing or transferring certain firearms to obtain a background check, complete an in-person safety course and obtain an eligibility card that must be shown to sign up for the mandatory training. The law applies only to future transactions and exempts existing owners.

Upcoming meetings include virtual sessions for firearms dealers and instructors on Feb. 9, followed by an in-person Denver dealers meeting on Feb. 19. Registration is required and details can be found on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife events page.

“These meetings are an important part of ensuring transparency and understanding as we implement this new program,” CPW Assistant Chief of Law Enforcement Jim Hawkins said in a news release.

The firearms covered by the law include semiautomatic rifles such as the AR-15, or shotguns with detachable magazines and gas-operated semiautomatic handguns with detachable magazines, which appear to include handgun versions of so-called “assault weapons” manufactured to federal standards as “pistols” that have short barrels but no shoulder stock.

The Department of Revenue maintains the official list of covered models, which has yet to be created, and which will link to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website.

Public meetings begin with a West Slope session on Feb. 24 in Palisade, with additional sessions planned statewide through spring.

Most recoil-operated semiautomatic handguns — the majority of the pistol market — remain exempt, as do most semiautomatic hunting shotguns, .22 rimfire firearms, antiques and other categories.

Course length varies: a four-hour basic course for those with Colorado Parks and Wildlife-certified hunter education, or a 12-hour extended course for new gun owners. All training occurs in person with county-verified instructors using a standardized curriculum, according to the release. A 90% exam score is required to pass. Neither the curriculum nor the qualifications for instructors have been finalized by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Senate Bill 25-003 originally proposed banning future sales — but not existing ownership — of semiautomatic firearms with detachable magazines to enforce Colorado’s 2013 high-capacity magazine ban by preventing easy pairing with magazines over 15 rounds. Amendments shifted it to the training requirement amid concerns about constitutionality.

Gun control advocates praised the original approach as a step toward safer communities. Gun rights organizations, including the Colorado State Shooting Association, filed a lawsuit in September, calling it an unconstitutional permit-to-purchase scheme.

Legal scholar David Kopel testified against the bill during Senate hearings, arguing the gas-operated handgun provision would force users toward higher-recoil, less accurate firearms. He said the category bans safer designs like the Magnum Research Desert Eagle while exempting the most common pistols.

The 2013 magazine ban remains in effect, with a grandfather clause allowing possession of magazines purchased before July 1, 2013. Challenges to the magazine ban citing recent U.S. Supreme Court precedents, including 2022’s New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, have questioned whether such restrictions align with historical traditions.

Buying a covered firearm will require a series of applications, background checks and training courses starting in July 2026. Yet-to-be-determined fees apply to the process, including a Firearms Eligibility Record Fee set by the Parks and Wildlife Commission in March 2026, as well as any separate sheriff’s processing fees.

There is no statutory limit on how long a sheriff can take to process the background check or issue the card. Fingerprint cards are not required.

Questions about the program may be sent to dnr_cpw_firearmsafety@state.co.us.