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How to buy a specified semiautomatic firearm in La Plata 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 La Plata 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 La Plata 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 La Plata County

   La Plata County has not published the operational detail for this step — no hours, form, or document list. What it does publish is quoted below. Been through it? Tell me what they asked for.

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 La Plata 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 La Plata County actually published

"Colorado SB25-003 specified semiautomatic firearms and the Firearm Safety Course Eligibility Card - applications open August 1, 2026. Our process is entirely digital and does not require you to come to the Sheriff's Office in-person."

La Plata County Sheriff's Office processes eligibility-card applications entirely online through a Permitium portal; the portal's own text states the process "does not require you to come to the Sheriff's Office in-person." No separate La Plata fee amount is published on the portal landing page; the $52 CPW record fee applies.

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