Colorado’s Semi-Auto Ban Starts August 1. The Last Real Day to Buy Was July 28.
Two laws did the work of one: SB25-003’s August 1 start date plus Colorado’s 3-day waiting period cut buyers off on July 28. What’s covered, what the new permission slip costs, and where the lawsuit stands.
The Colorado semi-auto ban has a start date of August 1 printed on it, and the state’s own waiting period quietly moved the real one to July 28.
Nobody passed a new law to change the date. Two existing ones just teamed up.
Here’s the mechanism. Senate Bill 25-003, signed April 10, 2025, prohibits the manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale, or purchase of “specified semiautomatic firearms” in Colorado starting August 1, 2026.
Colorado’s waiting-period law, HB23-1219, has been on the books since October 2023. It says a dealer can’t hand over any firearm until three days after the background check is initiated, or until the check clears, whichever comes later.
Now run the math. A background check started July 29 can’t produce a delivery before August 1, and on August 1 that handover becomes a transfer under the new law, with its own eligibility requirements attached.
The last ordinary day to start a covered purchase and take delivery under the old rules was Tuesday, July 28.
The door says August 1. The lock changed Tuesday.
What’s covered: SB25-003 reaches semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that accept detachable magazines, plus gas-operated semi-automatic handguns with detachable magazines, which is where AR-style pistols live.
Some designs are exempt, but the covered list includes most of the modern rifle rack, up to and including basically everything in our best AR-15s lineup.
The permission slip: Buying one in Colorado now starts at the sheriff’s office, not the gun counter. Step one is a firearms course eligibility card: an application, a name-based background check, and a county fee.
Card in hand, you take a state-approved course. Four hours if you already hold hunter education, or a 12-hour extended course spread across at least two days if you don’t.
Per Colorado Parks and Wildlife, you need a minimum of 90% on the final exam, and your instructor then has three business days to log your score in the state’s database.
Pass everything and you get five years to actually buy. CPW’s fee for the course record is $52; the sheriff’s fee varies by county.
The scoreboard: July was a land rush. Jerry’s Outdoor Sports in Grand Junction told NBC affiliate KKCO it ran record sales this month, with owner Jessica Holt putting it plainly: “We are seeing an increase in sales because people are trying to get in before the deadline.”
The state felt it too. Per the same reporting, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation pulled roughly 20 staffers from other units into its InstaCheck operation to keep up with background-check volume.
And no dealer was going to slide a rifle across the counter early. Delivering a firearm before the waiting period expires is a civil infraction that starts at a $500 fine, so the three days held firm right to the end.
Smith & Wesson M&P15 Sport III 5.56 (16-inch, 30+1)
Colorado buyers now need the state's permission slip for this rifle. In most of the rest of the country it is still a walk-in purchase: M-LOK handguard, forged trigger, and a mid-length gas system at $699.
The legal fight: The law takes effect without a scratch on it, for now. In Del Toro v. Polis, No. 1:25-cv-02725 in the District of Colorado, the Colorado State Shooting Association and six individual plaintiffs, represented by Mountain States Legal Foundation, are challenging the Colorado semi-auto ban as an unconstitutional permission slip for a constitutional right.
The state has moved to dismiss. No ruling yet, and no injunction.
Which is why August 1 arrived right on schedule. Well, July 28 did.
Your move: If you’re in Colorado and the calendar caught you, the card-course-exam pipeline is the only road back in, and the slow parts are front-loaded. Start the sheriff’s application now, not the day you find the rifle you want.
Everyone else just got a free lesson in reading effective dates: when a ban lands on top of a waiting period, the real deadline moves up.
The door still says August 1. You now know better than to trust the door.
Did you make the window before July 28, or did the math catch you? Tell us in the comments.
Rifles like these are still an over-the-counter purchase in most of the country: check today’s verified gun deals before your state gets creative.
Sources: SB25-003 and HB23-1219 (Colorado General Assembly), Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Del Toro v. Polis docket (CourtListener), and KKCO 11 News.
Justin Trump is the managing editor and owner of CAT Outdoors. The son of a Vietnam veteran, he’s a Certified Glock Armorer, an avid gun enthusiast and 2A advocate. He holds two firearm patents for the CAT M4 and Talon tools. When not managing CAT Outdoors, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, rooting for Michigan sports teams, and serving his church.