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How to buy a specified semiautomatic firearm in Montrose 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 Montrose 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 Montrose 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 Montrose County

   Announced, but not running.

   Montrose 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 Montrose 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 Montrose County actually published

"Montrose County Sheriff's Office communication to the project, 2026-07-20: "The only fee the sheriff is charging is the $52.00 from DOW. We are waiting until Aug. Any form of payment is fine.""

Per a Montrose County Sheriff's Office communication to the project (2026-07-20), the Sheriff's Office charges no separate county fee for the eligibility card; only the statewide $52 CPW record fee (referred to as the DOW fee) applies, and any form of payment is accepted. The office is waiting until August to begin processing eligibility-card applications, consistent with the law's August 1, 2026 effective date.

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