Colorado vs Texas gun laws
Last verified against primary sources: · Updated
Colorado and Texas sit at opposite ends of the state gun-law spectrum. Texas has permitless (constitutional) concealed carry for adults 21 and older, no magazine-capacity limit, no waiting period, and no background-check requirement for private sales. Colorado requires a sheriff-issued permit to carry concealed, caps magazines at 15 rounds, imposes a 3-day waiting period, and routes every private transfer through a licensed dealer for a background check.
The gap widens on August 1, 2026, when Colorado's SB25-003 makes buying or selling most detachable-magazine semiautomatic firearms conditional on a state safety course and eligibility card — a purchase pathway Texas has no equivalent to.
Side-by-side: Colorado vs Texas
| Topic | Colorado | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| Permit to carry concealed | Required — a sheriff issues a permit to a resident 21+ who clears the disqualifiers and completes training (C.R.S. § 18-12-203) | Not required — permitless carry for those 21+ who may lawfully possess a handgun (Tex. Penal Code § 46.02, since Sept. 1, 2021) |
| Open carry | See our Colorado open carry guide — not covered by our verified comparison sources | Not addressed in our verified comparison sources |
| Magazine limit | 15 rounds (C.R.S. § 18-12-302 — see magazine law) | None — no Texas statute caps magazine capacity |
| Waiting period | 3 days, or until the check is approved, whichever is later (C.R.S. § 18-12-115) | None |
| Private-sale background checks | Required — private transfers must run through a licensed dealer (C.R.S. § 18-12-112) | Not required by state law — only federally licensed dealers must run a federal check |
| Semiauto purchase rules | From Aug. 1, 2026, most detachable-magazine semiautos require an eligibility card + safety course to buy or sell (C.R.S. § 18-12-116) | None — Texas has no state assault-weapon or semiautomatic-purchase restriction |
| Age to buy | 21 to purchase any firearm (SB23-169, in force since 2023) | No state law raising the purchase age is documented in our sources; federal minimums apply |
Sources for each cell are listed at the foot of this page. Texas statute language is cited to its official code section but paraphrased rather than quoted verbatim, because the official Texas statute site did not render to our verification tool; the citations were cross-checked against verbatim-mirror copies. Colorado language below is quoted from primary sources.
Concealed carry: permit vs permitless
Texas adopted permitless carry in 2021: an adult 21 or older who may lawfully possess a handgun and is not otherwise disqualified may carry without a license under Tex. Penal Code § 46.02 (as amended by HB 1927). A Texas License to Carry still exists and is used mainly for reciprocity and to skip the federal dealer check, but it is not required to carry.
Colorado is the opposite — it is not a constitutional-carry state. To carry a concealed handgun you need a permit issued by your county sheriff, and eligibility is spelled out by statute:
a sheriff shall issue a permit to carry a concealed handgun to an applicant who: (a) Is a legal resident of the state of Colorado... (b) Is twenty-one years of age or older;
Beyond residency and age, a Colorado applicant must clear the statutory disqualifiers, demonstrate competence with a handgun through an in-person training class, and can still be denied if the sheriff documents that the applicant would be a danger. See the Colorado concealed carry hub for the full process, and is Colorado a constitutional carry state? for why the answer is no.
Magazines, waiting period, and private sales
These three are the clearest split. Texas imposes none of them: no magazine-capacity cap, no waiting period between purchase and delivery, and no state requirement that private (non-dealer) sellers run a background check — only federally licensed dealers must run the federal check.
Colorado imposes all three. It limits magazines to 15 rounds under C.R.S. § 18-12-302, and its waiting period is defined as:
the later in time of 3 days after the initiation of a required background check of the purchaser or when the purchase is approved following any background check.
Litigation note: Colorado's 3-day waiting period is being challenged in federal court (Garcia v. Polis, D. Colo.). As of our July 20, 2026 check, the district court denied a preliminary injunction and the law has been enforced continuously since it took effect — but the case is still pending and this could change. This status is drawn from case-tracking and news reporting, not a final court order.
On private sales, Colorado requires an unlicensed seller to arrange for a licensed dealer to obtain a background check through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation before the firearm changes hands (C.R.S. § 18-12-112), with exemptions including immediate-family transfers and brief loans. Texas has no such requirement.
The August 1, 2026 divide: semiautomatic purchases
Colorado's biggest coming change has no Texas counterpart. Starting August 1, 2026, SB25-003 conditions the sale and purchase of most detachable-magazine semiautomatic firearms on completing a state safety course:
On or after August 1, 2026, it is unlawful for any person to knowingly manufacture, distribute, transfer, sell, or purchase a specified semiautomatic firearm; except that a person may sell or transfer a specified semiautomatic firearm to an individual residing in another state or a federally licensed firearm dealer.
The law does not ban possessing guns you already own, and it has a purchase pathway: a buyer who obtains a sheriff-issued eligibility card and completes an in-person safety course may still buy. Texas has no state assault-weapon or semiautomatic-purchase restriction at all. See the August 1, 2026 hub for exactly which firearms are covered and how the eligibility card works.
Reciprocity: carrying across the state line
Whether a permit from one state works in the other is a separate question from either state's own carry rules, and our verified sources establish only the Colorado side of it. Colorado's recognition statute reads:
A permit to carry a concealed handgun or a concealed weapon that is issued by a state that recognizes the validity of permits issued pursuant to this part 2 shall be valid in this state in all respects as a permit issued pursuant to this part 2 if the permit is issued to a person who is: (a) Twenty-one years of age or older; and (b)(I) A resident of the state that issued the permit, as demonstrated by the address stated on a valid picture identification that is issued by the state that issued the permit and is carried by the permit holder; or (II) A resident of Colorado for no more than ninety days, as determined by the date of issuance on a valid picture identification issued by Colorado and carried by the permit holder.
Note two things this text does and does not do. Colorado recognizes another state's permit only if that state also recognizes Colorado's permits (a two-way test) and the holder is 21+ and a resident of the issuing state. It does not extend recognition to another state's permitless-carry allowance — recognition attaches to a permit, not to a permitless-carry status. Which specific states currently satisfy the two-way test is not established in our sources; see Colorado concealed carry reciprocity and is a Colorado permit valid in Texas?.
Common questions
Does Colorado have permitless carry like Texas?
No. Colorado is not a constitutional-carry state — you need a permit issued by your county sheriff to carry a concealed handgun (C.R.S. § 18-12-203), and applicants must be 21+, a Colorado resident, and complete training. Texas, by contrast, allows permitless carry for adults 21+ who may lawfully possess a handgun (Tex. Penal Code § 46.02).
Does Texas have a magazine limit or a waiting period?
No. Texas has no statutory magazine-capacity cap and no waiting period between purchase and delivery. Colorado limits magazines to 15 rounds (C.R.S. § 18-12-302) and imposes a waiting period of 3 days or until the background check is approved, whichever is later (C.R.S. § 18-12-115).
Do private gun sales need a background check in Texas?
No — Texas has no state requirement that private, non-dealer sellers run a background check; only federally licensed dealers must run the federal check. Colorado requires private transfers to go through a licensed dealer who obtains a background check first (C.R.S. § 18-12-112), with limited exemptions such as immediate-family transfers.
Can a Texan carry a gun in Colorado?
It depends on whether they hold a permit and whether Texas qualifies under Colorado's two-way recognition test. Colorado recognizes an out-of-state permit only if the issuing state also recognizes Colorado permits and the holder is 21+ and a resident of that state (C.R.S. § 18-12-213); it does not recognize another state's permitless-carry status, so a Texan carrying without any permit has no permit for Colorado to honor. Whether Texas specifically meets the recognition test is not established in our sources — see our reciprocity page.
Is a Colorado concealed carry permit valid in Texas?
Our verified sources establish Colorado's own recognition rules but not whether Texas honors a Colorado permit — that depends on Texas law, which is outside these sources. See is a Colorado CCW valid in Texas? and the reciprocity hub for the state-by-state picture.
Primary sources for this page
- Tex. Penal Code § 46.02 (carry of handguns) — Texas Legislature
- Carry of firearms guide — Texas State Law Library
- Background checks guide — Texas State Law Library
- Types of guns guide — Texas State Law Library
- SB25-003 enrolled act (PDF) — Colorado General Assembly
- HB23-1219 (waiting period) — Colorado General Assembly
- C.R.S. § 18-12-112 (private transfers) — Colorado
- C.R.S. § 18-12-213 (reciprocity, PDF) — Colorado Bureau of Investigation