The Colorado Concealed Carry Permit
The Colorado Concealed Carry Permit is easy to get. Take a class, do your application, pay your fees and wait. That’s about all there is to it.
Remember Colorado is a state where if you qualify under the statute and pay the fees they will issue you a concealed handgun permit that’s called shall issue. There are approximately nine states in the United States that are may issue and in those states, the government can decide that you do not need a permit for various reasons and therefore refuse you a permit even if you qualify.
The process when we are not involved in a pandemic can take as much as 90 days. That’s what the law allows the state to issue your permit. Usually, in our locale, it has taken approximately 4 to 6 weeks to get your permit after your appointment.
64 counties in Colorado
We have 64 counties in Colorado each sheriff in those counties issues his own permit under the state guidelines. The fees can be different in each county Sheriff’s Office. The state of Colorado has some maximum fees that the Sheriff and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation can charge and it’s part of the
statute. The maximum the sheriff can charge for the Colorado Concealed Carry Permit is $100.00, some Sheriff’s offices do not charge that much. Some Sheriff’s offices in fact don’t charge any fee. We would all love to get our license issued in those locales but the law says you must apply for your license in the county where you live. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation fees are capped at $52.50 by law.
In counties where you pay the full price like Pueblo County, the cost of the first five-year term of the license is $152.50. Renewals are cheap. The only problem with renewals is there is no notification that your permit is coming due. The renewal fee is $63.00 for the five-year term and that is the statutory maximum. Remember if you don’t renew your permit on time it can cost the full amount and you may have to take your education (training class) over again depending on how long it has been since your last class.
Speaking of training your certificate of training is good for 10 years in Colorado. There is no obligation to get additional training as long as you keep your license in force. If your license lapses you could be required to take the training again. I think a person should review the laws a minimum of every five years. We have a lot of new laws in Colorado that people do not realize exist.
You will have to check with your local sheriff’s office to see what kind of payments they allow; some take cash, some take checks, some take credit cards they’re all different. There are no credit card payments allowed in Pueblo County but the sheriff will take a personal check. All Sheriff’s offices do not operate under the same rules.
Application Process is Straightforward
The application process is pretty straightforward. If you have ever purchased a firearm the questions on the federal form 4473 (background check) are very similar to the concealed carry application in Colorado. The big thing is to not sign your application until you get in front of your clerk that processes the document. They want to witness your signature. During your processing appointment they will witness your signature, fingerprint you, photograph you, and
collect your money. They will also check your training document which has to be the original (no copies allowed). Remember online training was outlawed in 2013. After that, they will send you out the door and mail your permit to you when it is issued.
There are some exemptions to the training requirement in this part of the Colorado law. Colorado allows Veterans who have an honorable discharge within the last three years of application to wave the training requirements. I am not a big fan of this provision in the law. The military does not train many of their people
about handguns and of course, they do not train them about Colorado Law or Self Defense Law. Most of the military individuals I see do not handle handguns safely and I think they should all be trained before getting a permit.
CRS § 18-12-203 Criteria for obtaining a permit (Colorado Revised Statutes) this is the Colorado statute that covers most of this information.