Colorado firearm dealers must secure inventory and report losses

Dealers must keep records of covered firearm transactions and make them available for inspection by an authorized peace officer. The records cover dealers’ retail firearm transactions in Colorado, other than transactions solely involving destructive devices. Records must include the recipient’s name, age, and address; firearm details; the transaction date; and the name of the person who conducted it. State agencies may not use the information to create or maintain a registry identifying firearm ownership. These recordkeeping provisions apply to transactions conducted on or after the act’s effective date.

Dealers must train certain workers, secure firearms and large-capacity magazines, submit a security plan, and report inventory thefts or losses. Training covers dealers, responsible people who handle or have access to firearms, and employees who meet the law’s definition. The storage, security, and theft-reporting duties apply to dealers. Firearms may be unsecured while shown to a customer, repaired, or worked on. Magazines may be shown only to a customer allowed to buy one, or while being repaired or worked on. The department may set different security standards based on a business’s characteristics and may give feedback on a dealer’s plan. Covered workers must complete training within 30 days after the applicable permit is issued or their first workday, then yearly. Dealers must meet security rules starting October 1, 2027; the department must adopt those rules by January 1, 2027. Dealers must report theft or loss within 48 hours after learning of it.

Dealers applying for a state permit must meet the listed federal-license and recent-history requirements; the department may impose penalties for second or later listed offenses. The permit requirements cover dealers seeking permission to deal in firearms other than destructive devices or transfer them into or out of Colorado. Penalties apply when the department finds a dealer committed a listed offense. The dealer must hold a valid federal firearms license. The dealer and each responsible person must meet three-year lookback rules for certain license actions and firearms-law convictions. For a second or later listed offense, the department must issue a warning and may fine, suspend, or revoke the permit. Fines follow department rules and collected money goes to the Firearm Dealer Permit Cash Fund. The permit requirements apply to applications submitted on or after the act’s effective date. Fines of up to $75,000 apply to second or later offenses committed on or after January 1, 2027.