If you wish to renew your CCW permit for carrying concealed weapons in Colorado, you must submit a renewal application to the sheriff’s office in the county where you currently either:
- live,
- own property, or
- own a business.
CCW permits issued in Colorado are good for five years unless they are prematurely revoked. Sheriffs may choose not to renew an application if they believe you no longer meet the criteria for carrying a concealed weapon.1
Every county sheriff has its own procedures, deadlines, fees, and renewal paperwork (though most counties share the same common application). Contact your local sheriff for instructions.
Denver Procedures for Renewing a Concealed Handgun Permit
Submit a renewal application online to the Denver Police Department within 120 days of your permit expiring. The renewal cost is $63.
If your permit expired within the last six months, you can still apply for a renewal. However, a $15 late fee will be applied.2
CCW Renewal Procedures in Other Counties
Most Colorado counties (linked to below) allow you to renew your CCW online. Otherwise, call the sheriff’s office for instructions.
Penalties For Carrying a Concealed Weapon With No Permit
The following table shows the criminal sentence for carrying a concealed weapon without a current and valid CCW permit.3
| Permitless Concealed Carry | Colorado Punishment |
| First offense | Class 1 misdemeanor: Up to 364 days in jail and/or $1,000 |
| Second or subsequent offense | Class 5 felony: 1 to 3 years in state prison (with two years mandatory parole) and/or $1,000 to $100,000 |
If you have a valid and current CCW permit but simply forget to carry it along with your concealed weapon, then you can be charged with a petty offense. This carries up to 10 days in jail and/or $300.4
How do I fight the charges?
Here at Colorado Legal Defense Group, I have represented literally thousands of people charged with firearm crimes such as carrying concealed without a CCW permit. In my experience, the following five defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries:
- You were on your own property at the time of the alleged offense, and the weapon was used to defend your home, person, or property.5
- You were in a private motor vehicle and needed the weapon to protect your property while traveling.
- You broke no law, and the police were mistaken to arrest you.
- The police committed misconduct, such as finding the gun through an illegal search or seizure.
- Your gun was never concealed. (The following graphic shows examples of how firearms become concealed.)
Additional Reading
For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:
- Concealed carry bans and the American college campus: a law, social sciences, and policy perspective – Contemporary Justice Review.
- New evidence on the impact of concealed carry weapon laws on crime – International Review of Law and Economics.
- The Decision to Carry: The Effect of Crime on Concealed-Carry Applications – Journal of Human Resources.
- Concealed Carry through Common Use: Extending Heller’s Constitutional Construction – George Washington Law Review.
- Defiance, Concealed Carry, and Race – Law and Contemporary Problems.
Legal References:
- See, for example, Eller v. Wiggins (District of Colorado, Routt County, 2016) 2016CV30017 (“In this case, the Sheriff in his letter of denial made no clear independent determinations of fact, but rather adopted the Undersheriff’s determination by reference. In doing so, the Sheriff deprived the applicant of an independent determination of facts by the Sheriff required by the statute. The procedure followed by the Sheriff amounts to a denial of due process and the denial of the permit was arbitrary. The appropriate remedy is to remand the matter to the Sheriff to make specific findings and conclusions based upon the evidence before him.“).
- Learn more at the official Denver Police Department CCW website. Note that CCW permits can be referred to as CHPs, short for concealed handgun permits.
- CRS 18-12-105. CRS 18-12-107. Prior March 1, 2022, carrying a concealed weapon was a Colorado class 2 misdemeanor that could be punished by a fine of $250 to $1,000 and/or 3 to 12 months in jail. SB21-271.
- CRS 18-12-204. Prior to March 1, 2022, forgetting to carry a permit was a class 1 petty offense carrying up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to $500. SB21-271.
- See People v. Ford (1977) 568 P.2d 26.
