State Legality MatrixForced Reset TriggersColorado
Statute-cited, not legal advice, last verified 2026-10-20
Banned
No. Rapid-fire devices, including FRTs, are dangerous weapons; possession is a class 5 felony. Effective 2025-04-10.
Controlling law: Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 18-12-101(1)(g.7) & 18-12-102 (SB25-003, 2025)
Contested entry
In force since signing on April 10, 2025 (the act carries a safety clause, so it took effect on approval). SB25-003 defines rapid-fire device broadly (any device, part, kit, tool, accessory, or combination of parts that increases a semiautomatic's rate of fire above its standard rate) and adds it to the dangerous-weapons list. The separate August 1, 2026 date applies only to the specified-semiautomatic purchase-gating regime in § 18-12-116(2), not the device ban. No grandfather clause.
The statute in practice
Colorado SB 25-003 created a rapid-fire-device category and placed covered devices in the dangerous-weapons statute. The definition reaches any device, part, kit, tool, accessory, or combination of parts that has the effect of increasing a semiautomatic firearm's rate of fire above its standard rate when not so equipped.
The act carries a safety clause and took effect when signed on April 10, 2025. That effective date is distinct from the August 1, 2026 date attached to Colorado's specified-semiautomatic-firearm purchase requirements.
Timeline
What it means for you
Knowingly possessing a dangerous weapon is a class 5 felony under section 18-12-102, and the enacted text does not create a general grandfather clause for rapid-fire devices.
Federal law
Under the 2025 DOJ settlement with Rare Breed Triggers, an FRT fires one round per trigger function and is not an NFA machine gun federally. The settlement covers rifles and grip-forward pistols; it does not extend to grip-fed handguns (Glock, S&W M&P, Canik), whose federal FRT status remains less settled. State bans operate independently of federal law through broader state machine-gun, trigger-activator, or rate-of-fire definitions.
Federal baseline verified 2026-10-20. Scope: Forced reset triggers (Rare Breed FRT-15, Dairyland Defender, and similar) and forced-reset selectors (AR Super Safety, ARC-Fire). One round per trigger function. Binary triggers are a separate class.
Common questions
No. Rapid-fire devices, including FRTs, are dangerous weapons; possession is a class 5 felony. Effective 2025-04-10. Controlling law: Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 18-12-101(1)(g.7) & 18-12-102 (SB25-003, 2025).
The controlling law is Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 18-12-101(1)(g.7) & 18-12-102 (SB25-003, 2025). Rapid-fire devices, including FRTs, are dangerous weapons; possession is a class 5 felony.
Colorado's rule took effect 2025-04-10. In force since signing on April 10, 2025 (the act carries a safety clause, so it took effect on approval). SB25-003 defines rapid-fire device broadly (any device, part, kit, tool, accessory, or combination of parts that increases a semiautomatic's rate of fire above its standard rate) and adds it to the dangerous-weapons list. The separate August 1, 2026 date applies only to the specified-semiautomatic purchase-gating regime in § 18-12-116(2), not the device ban. No grandfather clause.