How much does the firearms safety course eligibility card cost?

Last verified against primary sources: 2026-07-23 · Updated 2026-07-23

Expect $52 to $177 for the card itself, made of two parts: a fixed $52 state fee that is the same in every county, plus your county sheriff's own processing fee, which the sheriff sets and which ranges from $0 (Weld) to $125 (Arapahoe, out-of-county) among the counties that have published one. The safety course tuition is separate and is set by the private instructor.

The catch: as of July 23, 2026 — nine days before the law takes effect — only 3 of Colorado's 64 counties have published a sheriff fee at all. If your county is not one of them, no one can tell you your exact cost yet, including us.

What you are actually paying for

The eligibility card is the first step in the safety-course pathway created by SB25-003 — you need the card before you can enroll in the course, and you need the course before you can buy a specified semiautomatic firearm on or after August 1, 2026. Four separate charges can land on you:

Charge	Amount	Who sets it
State course-record fee	$52	Parks & Wildlife Commission — same statewide
Sheriff processing fee	$0–$125 where published	Your county sheriff — varies
Safety course tuition	Varies	Private instructor or range
Physical card (optional)	$0–$5	Sheriff; electronic issuance is typically free

Only the first two are paid to the sheriff when you apply. Both are non-refundable if your application is denied.

The $52 is fixed by statute; the sheriff fee is not

The state fee is set by the Parks & Wildlife Commission and remitted to a dedicated state fund. The statute constrains what it may cover:

The commission shall establish a firearms training and safety course record fee for a person to be included in the system. The fee must reflect actual direct and indirect costs to implement this section. The commission may adjust the fee, but shall not adjust the fee more than one time each year.

SB25-003, amending C.R.S. § 33-9-115(5)(a) — SB25-003 enrolled act, Colorado General Assembly Enacted Apr. 10, 2025 (SB25-003)

The same actual-cost standard governs the sheriff's own fee under § 18-12-116(5)(b)(V), but each of the 64 sheriffs calculates it independently and there is no statewide fee schedule. That is why the number varies and why nobody — including Colorado Parks & Wildlife — publishes a single answer.

County fees, where they have actually been published

Every figure below was checked against that county's own official page on the date shown. We do not list figures we could not verify at the source.

County	Sheriff fee	Total with $52 state fee	Status	Verified
Arapahoe	$125 out-of-county $100 resident $50 resident with CHP $0 ACSO/LEO	$177 / $152 / $102 / $52	Accepting, in person (walk-in Tue–Thu)	2026-07-23
Adams	$100 out-of-county $50 resident	$152 / $102	Accepting (apply via state portal, then walk in)	2026-07-23
Weld	$0 — "no other charges collected by the Sheriff's Office"	$52	Accepting (online via state portal; walk-ins Mon–Fri, Greeley)	2026-07-23
Jefferson	Not published	—	Not accepting until Aug 1, 2026	2026-07-23
El Paso	Not published	—	Nothing published by the sheriff	2026-07-23
All other counties	Not published	—	No official fee page located	2026-07-23

3 of 64 counties have published a sheriff fee as of July 23, 2026 — and one of them charges nothing.

A $200 Denver figure is circulating. We are not publishing it. It appears on at least one third-party tracker, attributed to an official Denver application document we were unable to retrieve. We could not confirm it against any Denver city or sheriff source, so it is not in the table above. If you are applying in Denver, call the Sheriff Department and confirm the amount before writing a check — and note that Denver's process is reported to require a cashier's check or money order rather than a card payment.

Does the law require you to apply in the county where you live?

This is the most consequential open question about cost, because the counties that have published fees charge different amounts and some of them explicitly price applicants from other counties.

The statute does not say. The operative sentence names "the sheriff" with no qualifier:

To obtain a firearms safety course eligibility card, an applicant must submit an application to the sheriff on a form created by the division of parks and wildlife and submit to the sheriff the materials described in subsection (5)(b)(III) of this section.

C.R.S. § 18-12-116(5)(b)(II) — SB25-003 enrolled act, Colorado General Assembly Enacted Apr. 10, 2025 (SB25-003)

The words "resides," "residence," and "county in which" appear nowhere in the 20-page act. That silence is conspicuous, because Colorado's concealed-handgun-permit statute — in the same article of the same title — spells residency out explicitly:

An applicant shall complete the permit application form and return it, in person, to the sheriff of the county or city and county in which the applicant resides or to the sheriff of the county or city and county in which the applicant maintains a secondary residence or owns or leases real property used by the applicant in a business.

C.R.S. § 18-12-205(1)(a) — C.R.S. § 18-12-205 (CBI-hosted statute text) Current through 2025

So the General Assembly knew how to require county-of-residence and did not do it here. Two counties appear to read it the same way: Arapahoe publishes a tier for an applicant who "does not reside in Arapahoe County," and Adams publishes an explicit "Out of County Resident" rate. Both accept applicants from elsewhere.

But before you plan a drive: both counties charge more to out-of-county applicants, not less — Arapahoe $125 versus $100, Adams $100 versus $50. Whatever you might save by avoiding an expensive home county is partly eaten by the out-of-county surcharge in the county you drive to.

The picture is not uniform, though. Weld County has published no sheriff processing fee at all — its page states the only charge is the $52 state fee, with "no other charges collected by the Sheriff's Office" — and it publishes no separate out-of-county tier and says nothing about residency either way.

Do not treat this as settled. Statutory silence is not the same as affirmative permission, no court has construed this provision, and Colorado Parks & Wildlife's own guidance tells applicants to check with their local sheriff before submitting — the state application system routes submissions to a county queue. If you are considering applying outside your home county, call that sheriff's office first and confirm they will accept you. We will update this page if the state or a court clarifies it.

Why so few counties have published a fee

The state's application system opened on July 20, 2026, and the purchase prohibition begins August 1 — but sheriffs were not required to have a fee schedule posted by either date. Jefferson County's own page currently states that its application process "is not yet available" and that it will begin accepting applications on August 1. El Paso County has published nothing at all.

Expect this table to fill in quickly during August as counties stand up their processes. We re-check the county pages weekly and date every row above.

Get an email as more counties publish their fees

Common questions

How much does the eligibility card cost in total?

Between $52 and $177 in the counties that have published a fee. That is a fixed $52 state course-record fee plus a sheriff processing fee running from $0 (Weld) to $125 (Arapahoe, out-of-county applicants). Course tuition is charged separately by the instructor.

Why does the fee differ between counties?

Because each sheriff sets their own processing fee. The statute requires it to reflect the sheriff's actual direct and indirect costs (§ 18-12-116(5)(b)(V)), but there is no statewide schedule, so 64 sheriffs reach 64 independent numbers.

Can I apply in a different county to get a lower fee?

Unclear, and do not assume it. The statute says only that an applicant submits an application "to the sheriff," with no residency language anywhere in the act — and Arapahoe and Adams both publish rates for out-of-county applicants, so they evidently accept them. But both charge out-of-county applicants more, and CPW directs applicants to check with their local sheriff first. Call the county before relying on this.

Do I get my money back if the sheriff denies my application?

No. The application fee is non-refundable if your application is denied. You can appeal a denial to court, and the sheriff bears the burden of proof.

Is the $52 state fee going to change?

It can, but not often. The Parks & Wildlife Commission sets it and the statute bars the Commission from adjusting it more than once per year.

My county has not published a fee. What do I do?

Call your county sheriff's office directly. As of July 23, 2026 only 3 of 64 counties had published a figure, so most people are in this position. Budget the $52 state fee plus somewhere in the $0–$125 range for planning purposes.