Summary of Colorado Gun Laws Colorado is a shall-issue state where concealed carry permits are issued to county residents by local sheriff’s offices. No purchase permits or firearms registration are required for handguns. For private-party transfers of firearms, the seller must request that a licensed dealer perform a background check of the buyer and must get approval of the transfer from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Open carry is legal in Colorado for any person who is at least 18 years old and who can legally possess a firearm, except in Denver county and other posted areas. Local governments may enact regulations prohibiting open carrying of firearms in a building or specific area within the local government’s jurisdiction, as long as signs are posted to that effect. Concealed carry is legal in Colorado for residents with a Colorado permit to carry a concealed weapon (CCW) and non-residents with a CCW permit from a state that Colorado honors. CCW permits can be issued to any resident at least 21 years old and not prohibited by law from possessing a firearm. Concealed carry permits require a firearms training course that has been state-approved. Colorado doesn’t issue non-resident permits with the exception of members of the military permanently stationed in Colorado and their immediate family members that live in the state. In terms of reciprocity, Colorado will only honor resident CCW licenses from states with which it has a reciprocity agreement. Self-Defense Colorado is a Castle Doctrine state. It grants its citizens the “right to expect absolute safety within their own homes.” There is no duty to retreat, and the law applies at a person’s residence or in another dwelling. Although the state does not have an express stand your ground law, the Colorado Supreme Court has affirmed Colorado does not include a duty to retreat and “permits non-aggressors to stand their ground when acting in self-defense.”