Requirements Concerning Concealed Weapons Permits and Standards: Obtaining a concealed weapons permit typically requires individuals to meet a series of stringent criteria to ensure public safety and responsible gun ownership. Applicants must often undergo a thorough background check, including criminal history, mental health evaluation, and verification of citizenship or legal residency status. Additionally, many jurisdictions mandate the completion of certified training courses that cover firearm safety, legal regulations, and the proper handling and storage of weapons. Some regions also require applicants to demonstrate proficiency through a practical shooting test. The purpose of these requirements is to create a system that upholds high standards of accountability and minimizes the risk of misuse.

As you may have seen on my last post, Colorado has passed HR24-1174 which is now codified in the Colorado Revised Statute in Part 2, Article 12, Title 18 and requires an 8 Hour Class that teaches the the following:

• Knowledge and safe handling of firearms and ammunition
• Safe storage of firearms and child safety
• Safe firearms shooting fundamentals
• Federal and state laws pertaining to the lawful purchase, ownership, transportation, use, and possession of firearms
• Extreme Risk Protection Orders described in Article 14.5 of Title 13
•  Requirements for reporting lost or stolen firearms as described in C.R.S. 18-12-113 
• Requirements for secure firearms storage as described in C.R.S. 18-12-114
• State laws pertaining to the use of deadly force for self-defense
• Instruction on any other state law enacted within 5 years before the class that pertains to the purchase, ownership, transportation, use, and possession of firearms
• Best practices to ensure concealed handgun permit holders safely interact with law enforcement personnel who are responding to an emergency
• Instruction regarding techniques for avoiding a criminal attack and how to manage a violent confrontation including conflict resolution and judgmental use of lethal force
• Students must complete a live-fire exercise on a range, discharging at least 50 rounds with a minimum 70% accuracy score
• Students must complete a written Concealed Handgun Competency exam which tests a student’s knowledge with a minimum score of 80%

This class must be taught by a “Verified Instructor” which can only be verified by the County Sheriff of the county the instructor lives in. I have applied to become a verified instructor with the El Paso County Sheriff’s office.

Any certificate that is issued before 1 July 2025 will ONLY be honored if the CHP applicant also applies with their Sherriff before 1 July 2025, unless that certificate has been issued by a verified instructor pursuant to C.R.S 18-12-202.7. On and after 1 July 2025, only verified instructor certificates will be honored and they must be signed with ink and not a digital signature.

Significant unanswered questions:

1. Can a verified instructor teach students in all of Colorado, or is the verified instructor limited to the county that completed the verification? This should be an obvious “yes” however, this should be answered so there is no question.

2. If the verified instructor dies or become incapacitated before the expiration of a valid issued certificate to a customer and the customer who received training pursuant to C.R.S 18-12-202.5 has either lost or damaged their certificate of training, what is the recourse for such an event considering the certificate must be a “wet” signature by the verified instructor? Accidents happen and people pay good money to get the training required so they can enjoy their Second Amendment right in a canceled fashion, this question should be answered as soon as humanly possible.

3. Are current Colorado Handgun Permit holders grandfathered into the new law so much so that they ONLY need a refresher course when the time come to renew their certificate after 1 July 2025 or will they be required to complete an initial course pursuant to Part 2, Article 12, Title 18 of the Colorado Revised Statute? The answer to this question should also be a resounding “yes” but again, it needs to be answered so there is no question.

4. If an instructor who is verified in one county moves to another, will that verification transfer? If so, how? Simply moving to another county in the state of Colorado should not impede an instructor’s ability to legally instruct law abiding citizens.

5. As per C.R.S. 18-12-202.5(2) no part of the concealed handgun training class can be done online. However the written exam is NOT part of the instructional portion of the course, which is defined as eight hours including the live fire portion, does that mean the open book written exam can be conducted online? The use of Google forms or other platforms greatly enhance the ability to administer an exam, and keep records of such exams. Hindering instructors to paper and pencil will limit the efficiency of the course.

As of the writing of this post, I have not received any word as to my application to be a Verified Instructor, likely in the next coming weeks I will have an answer and I will keep you all updated. I have a love/hate relationship with this law. On one hand everyone should be able to carry whenever, however, and whyever (yes I just made that word up), but on the other hand I know that individuals will not get the proper training necessary. To that point, what is the proper training that is necessary? Is it an NRA class where you recite the safety rules, or is it something with a higher standard.

Anyway, this is the law of the land in Colorado, and at least it helps the locals out where out-of-staters cannot issue certificates just because they are an NRA instructor.

Dave