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How to buy a specified semiautomatic firearm in Boulder County, Colorado

Buying a specified semiautomatic firearm in Colorado from 2026-08-01 requires a firearms safety course eligibility card, issued by your county sheriff after a name-based background check. This page is the Boulder County version of that process: what the county publishes, what it charges, and what is still unanswered.Check your exact model against the state's listbefore you start.

Every step, in order

These 8 steps run in order and are the same statewide. Step 2 is the only one your county controls, so it is expanded with what Boulder County publishes.

1. 1

   Create a Firearm Safety System (FSS) profile online at coloradofss.com. The application portal is live as of July 20, 2026.

2. 2

   Take a government-issued photo ID and a name-based background check to your county sheriff's office. Fees are collected at this step.

   In Boulder County

   Apply online

   app.permitium.com/online-portal/cobouldercountysheriff ↗

   Who they take

   Accepts applicants from outside the county

   What to bring

   • The completed Colorado Parks and Wildlife application
   • A government-issued photo ID
   • A name-based background check
   • Payment
3. 3

   The sheriff reviews the application and issues an eligibility card if approved. The card is valid for 5 years.

4. 4

   Find a sheriff-verified firearms instructor anywhere in Colorado. The instructor checks your FSS record to determine which course you need.

5. 5

   Basic course: 4 hours, for applicants with a CPW-verified hunter-education credential. Extended course: 12 hours over at least 2 days, for everyone else.

6. 6

   Pass a written exam and a hands-on practical with a score of 90% or better.

7. 7

   A passing course score is valid for 5 years from the date you complete it.

8. 8

   At the time of sale, the dealer checks your eligibility in the FSS before completing the transfer.

What it costs in Boulder County

Boulder publishes only a combined payment covering "$52 CPW fee and Sheriff's Office fee" and does not publish its own amount. The sheriff-fee tiers above come from community reports, not from the county.

The sheriff fee and the $52 CPW record fee are separate charges and add together. Course prices and background-check vendor prices are not published by anyone, so the total above is a floor, not a quote. Seewhat this process has actually cost people.

What Boulder County actually published

"Step 2: Complete your Firearm Safety Class Eligibility Card application online with the Sheriff's Office. Required documents include: Completed CPW application; Government-issued photo ID; Name-based background check; Payment ($52 CPW fee and Sheriff's Office fee)"

The Boulder County Sheriff's Office publishes an eligibility-card page setting out a five-step process. Applicants apply first to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, then complete the Sheriff's Office application online through the office's portal at app.permitium.com/online-portal/cobouldercountysheriff, submitting the completed CPW application, a government-issued photo ID, a name-based background check, and payment. The county page states that payment covers "$52 CPW fee and Sheriff's Office fee" but does not publish the Sheriff's Office amount. The sheriff fee recorded here comes from community reports rather than from the county: $48 for a Boulder County resident (a $100 total that includes the separate $52 CPW record fee) and $73 for a non-resident ($125 total). The Sheriff's Office describes its role as "limited to accepting and processing applications for eligibility cards and issuing those cards to qualified individuals."

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