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Colorado Fireworks Laws (2026): Permissible Fireworks, Penalties

Independently fact-checkedBy Recording Law Editorial TeamReviewed September 24, 20268 min read

Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited September 18, 2026). · 5 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content

Colorado Fireworks Laws (2026): Permissible Fireworks, Penalties

Colorado allows only "permissible fireworks," a defined, ground-based novelty category, and excludes aerial devices and audible ground devices such as firecrackers from that class, under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-33.5-2001. Possessing or discharging any other fireworks is unlawful anywhere in the state except as the Act provides (§ 24-33.5-2002(5)). Furnishing fireworks to anyone under 16 is a petty offense punishable by up to $300 and up to 10 days in county jail under § 24-33.5-2010 and § 18-1.3-503(1.5). As of September 2026, this reflects the statute's current, in-force text.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Colorado's state fireworks law under the Colorado Fireworks Act, Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 24-33.5-2001 through 2011, including the permissible-fireworks classification, the age-16 rule, the penalty structure, and the federal rules that apply on top of state law. It does not name every Colorado municipality's individual ordinance; those must be checked locally.

Colorado draws a narrower line than most states. Federal law separates "consumer fireworks" (1.4G) and "display fireworks" (1.3G), the categories that cover aerial shells, firecrackers, and similar devices, from other professional-only pyrotechnics (27 CFR 555.11). Colorado's Fireworks Act defines its own "permissible fireworks" category as the state's retail-legal subset, and the statute draws that line explicitly: "Permissible fireworks do not include aerial devices or audible ground devices, including, but not limited to, firecrackers" (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-33.5-2001(11)(b)).

fireworks - sale and use windows

Permissible fireworks are ground-based, novelty-type devices, and the definition caps how much pyrotechnic composition each one can contain. A few examples: cylindrical fountains cap at 75 grams per tube (200 grams on a multi-tube base), cone fountains cap at 50 grams per cone (200 grams on a multi-cone base), and sparklers and dipped sticks cap at 100 grams total, with no more than 5 grams of chlorate or perchlorate (§ 24-33.5-2001(11)(a)). Toy caps, party poppers, and similar items containing no more than 16 milligrams of pyrotechnic composition, and snappers containing no more than 1 milligram, are excluded from the definition of "fireworks" entirely and are unregulated under the Act (§ 24-33.5-2001(5)(b)(I)).

Except as provided in § 24-33.5-2002 and § 24-33.5-2003, "it shall be unlawful for any person to possess or discharge any fireworks, other than permissible fireworks, anywhere in this state" (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-33.5-2002(5)). A licensed retailer may not sell, offer for sale, possess with intent to sell, or otherwise furnish any firework except a permissible firework (§ 24-33.5-2002(7.5)). Local authorities must seize and remove, at the owner's expense, stocks of fireworks offered for sale, stored, or held in violation of the Act (§ 24-33.5-2009).

When You Can Buy and Use Fireworks

No statewide sale or use date window applies under the Colorado Fireworks Act, confirmed across §§ 24-33.5-2001 through 2011: the Act ties legality to licensing and the permissible-fireworks classification, not to a calendar range. Colorado's retail structure runs through the licensing system described below rather than a fixed date window.

Age

Colorado bars furnishing fireworks, including permissible fireworks, to anyone under 16, by gift, sale, or any other means, and separately bars a person under 16 from purchasing fireworks:

fireworks - wholesale and licensing

"(1) ...it shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly furnish to any person who is under sixteen years of age, by gift, sale, or any other means, any fireworks, including those defined as permissible fireworks in section 24-33.5-2001 (11). (2) ...it shall be unlawful for any person who is under sixteen years of age to purchase any fireworks, including those defined as permissible fireworks in section 24-33.5-2001 (11)."

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-33.5-2002(1)-(2)

There is a real exception for supervised use. A person under 16 may legally possess and discharge permissible fireworks any time it is lawful for someone 16 or older to do so, as long as an adult is supervising:

"At all times that it is lawful for any person over the age of sixteen years to possess and discharge permissible fireworks, it shall also be lawful for a person under the age of sixteen years to possess and discharge permissible fireworks, if the person is under adult supervision."

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-33.5-2002(6)

Sellers of fireworks, including permissible fireworks, must post a warning sign with mandated text at their point of sale (§ 24-33.5-2002(4)). That sign quotes the fine and jail figures that applied to offenses committed before March 1, 2022; see Penalties below for the figures that actually apply now.

Local Rules

Colorado's local-option rule runs in only one direction, and the statute splits municipalities from counties into two separate subsections:

"This part 20 shall not be construed to prohibit the imposition by municipal ordinance of further regulations and prohibitions upon the sale, use, and possession of fireworks, including permissible fireworks, within the corporate limits of any city or town, but no city or town shall permit or authorize the sale, use, or possession of any fireworks in violation of this part 20."

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-33.5-2007(1)

"This part 20 shall not be construed to prohibit the imposition by county ordinance of further regulations and prohibitions upon the sale, use, and possession of fireworks, including permissible fireworks, within all or any part of the unincorporated areas of a county, but no county shall permit or authorize the sale, use, or possession of any fireworks in violation of this part 20."

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-33.5-2007(2)

A city, town, or county may add restrictions or ban permissible fireworks outright, but it can never authorize something the state itself prohibits. One carve-out runs the opposite way: under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 30-15-401.5(10), "no fire protection district shall prohibit the sale of permissible fireworks...within its jurisdiction." Fire protection districts, the local bodies that most often issue fire-restriction orders during dry conditions, cannot ban the sale of permissible fireworks even where a county or municipality could.

Retailers also need a license from the Division of Fire Prevention and Control to sell permissible fireworks, and a separate license track covers display fireworks, wholesalers, and exporters (§§ 24-33.5-2004, 24-33.5-2005). Retail purchasers cannot buy fireworks by mail order or receive them by mail, parcel service, or other carrier; every retail sale and delivery has to happen in Colorado through a licensed seller (§ 24-33.5-2005(1)).

Crossing State Lines

Permissible fireworks legal to buy in Colorado do not stay legal once they leave the state. Federal law makes it a separate crime to transport fireworks into a state that prohibits their sale or use, or to deliver them for that transportation knowing they will be delivered, possessed, or used in violation of that state's law, other than in the course of continuous interstate transportation through a state; the law exempts common and contract carriers and water carriers engaged in interstate commerce, and transport for the use of federal agencies in furtherance of their operations (18 U.S.C. § 836). A violation carries a fine, imprisonment of up to one year, or both.

fireworks - residential use rules

USPS also treats fireworks as nonmailable explosives, with no carve-out for sparklers or other novelty devices: "All types of fireworks are prohibited from mailing" (USPS Publication 52 § 341.22).

Penalties

Any violation of the Colorado Fireworks Act, including the age-16 furnishing and purchase rules, is a petty offense under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-33.5-2010, punished as provided in § 18-1.3-503. For offenses committed on or after March 1, 2022, that means a fine of not more than $300, imprisonment of not more than 10 days in county jail, or both (§ 18-1.3-503(1.5)).

The $750 fine and 6-month jail figures printed on the mandatory retail warning sign at § 24-33.5-2002(4) are not the current penalty. They are older figures written directly into the sign-text statute itself, higher than even the old class 1 petty offense cap that applied before March 1, 2022 (a fine of not more than $500, imprisonment of not more than 6 months, under the prior version of § 18-1.3-503(1)), and neither figure has been the operative penalty since the statewide petty-offense reclassification took effect March 1, 2022. A retailer who displays the sign as written is complying with the posting requirement; the number on it does not reflect current law.

A conviction under § 24-33.5-2010 is also grounds for the state to deny, suspend, or revoke a fireworks license, or refuse to renew one, under § 24-33.5-2011.

For how Colorado's rule compares with the rest of the country, see fireworks laws by state. Colorado also has its own Colorado open container law covering a different vehicle-related rule.

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about fireworks laws in the United States as of September 2026. It is not legal advice. Fireworks statutes, local ordinances, sale/use windows, and penalties change frequently and are often further restricted by municipal or county ordinance beyond what state law requires; verify the current rule for your specific city or county before buying, selling, or using fireworks, and consult a lawyer licensed in your state for advice about a specific situation.

Statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-09-17. Last updated: 2026-09-17.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are fireworks legal in Colorado?

Only "permissible fireworks," a defined ground-based novelty category under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-33.5-2001(11), are legal to sell at retail. The statute excludes "aerial devices or audible ground devices, including, but not limited to, firecrackers" from that category, so aerial and audible consumer fireworks stay off Colorado retail shelves even though permissible fireworks are themselves classified as consumer fireworks (UN0336 and UN0337). Possessing or discharging any fireworks other than permissible fireworks is unlawful anywhere in the state except as the Act provides (§ 24-33.5-2002(5)).

What is the minimum age to buy or use fireworks in Colorado?

16 to buy. Furnishing fireworks to anyone under 16, and a person under 16 purchasing fireworks, are both unlawful under § 24-33.5-2002(1)-(2). But a person under 16 may legally possess and discharge permissible fireworks under adult supervision, at any time it would be lawful for an adult to do so (§ 24-33.5-2002(6)).

What is the penalty for violating Colorado's fireworks law?

A petty offense under § 24-33.5-2010, punished under § 18-1.3-503(1.5): a fine of not more than $300, imprisonment of not more than 10 days in county jail, or both, for offenses on or after March 1, 2022. The $750/6-month figures on the mandatory retail warning sign are pre-2022 figures and are not the current penalty.

Can a Colorado city or county ban fireworks that state law allows?

Yes. Under § 24-33.5-2007, a municipality or county may add further restrictions on permissible fireworks or ban them outright, though it can never authorize something the state itself prohibits. One exception runs the other way: a fire protection district cannot prohibit the sale of permissible fireworks within its jurisdiction (§ 30-15-401.5(10)).

What kinds of fireworks count as "permissible" in Colorado?

Ground-based novelty devices with composition caps set in the statute, for example cylindrical fountains up to 75 grams per tube, cone fountains up to 50 grams per cone, and sparklers up to 100 grams total (§ 24-33.5-2001(11)(a)). Toy caps, party poppers, and snappers under specified milligram thresholds are excluded from "fireworks" entirely and are unregulated (§ 24-33.5-2001(5)(b)(I)).

Updates

Clarified that Colorado bans possessing or discharging any fireworks other than permissible fireworks statewide and bars licensed retailers from selling anything else, and corrected how permissible fireworks relate to the federal consumer fireworks class.

Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources

Sources and References

  1. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-33.5-2001 - Definitions, Colorado Fireworks Act (permissible-fireworks classification and gram limits)(law.justia.com)
  2. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-33.5-2002 - Unlawful use or sale of fireworks; age-16 furnishing/purchase rule; adult-supervision exception; warning sign(law.justia.com)
  3. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-33.5-2007 - Regulation by municipalities and counties(law.justia.com)
  4. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-33.5-2010 - Violations - penalty(law.justia.com)
  5. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-1.3-503 - Petty offense and civil infraction classified - penalties (current $300/10-day figure, effective March 1, 2022)(law.justia.com)
  6. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 30-15-401.5(10) - Fire protection districts may not prohibit the sale of permissible fireworks(law.justia.com)
  7. Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 24 - Office of Legislative Legal Services whole-title publication (Article 33.5, Part 20, the Colorado Fireworks Act)(olls.info).gov
  8. 16 CFR 1507.1 - CPSC consumer fireworks (1.4G) construction/safety scope(ecfr.gov).gov
  9. 27 CFR 555.11 - ATF definitions distinguishing display (1.3G) fireworks from consumer fireworks and other professional-only pyrotechnics(ecfr.gov).gov
  10. 18 U.S.C. § 836 - Transportation of fireworks into a state prohibiting sale or use(uscode.house.gov).gov
  11. USPS Publication 52 § 341.22 - Nonmailable explosives (fireworks prohibited from mailing)(pe.usps.com).gov
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