Ah you skipped a section!
No, you must have a valid Firearms Safety Course Eligibility Card from your county Sheriff before you enroll in a course, per the law.
The required time for the mandatory SSF course is 12 hours
BUT
applicants with a CPW-verified hunter-education credential are eligible to take a shortened 4 hour course. Unfortunately the 12 hour course can not be run all in the same day so it's at least a 2 day project.
You should absolutely take the Hunter Safety Education course to cut down on the required time for the SSF course. You do NOT have to take a Colorado Hunter Safety course, Colorado accepts out of state Hunter Safety from all 50 states and some countries.
The Colorado course has a required in person component however other states do NOT, specifically New Mexico and South Dakota, both of which will be accepted by Colorado CPW.
If you are an NRA member you can access the NRA's Learning Portal and take an online course for free.
You can also find the South Dakota Hunter Safety course information here!
For Non-Verified Out-of-State Hunter Education Cards or Certificates, please have them verified with any CPW office or the Hunter Education Department before submitting your FSS application. You can email DNR_WILDLIFE.HUNTERED@STATE.CO.US, include the copy of your Hunter Safety completion and THEN you will submit your FSS application.
Colorado allows citizens who are over 50 years old or Active Duty U.S. military personnel who do not have a hunter education card from Colorado or another state can also test out. “U.S. military personnel” is defined as active duty, reserve duty, veterans, and National Guard.
The test allows you to test out of a hunter education course. It may be taken only once and must be passed with a score of 90% or better. Those who fail the test must attend a hunter education class.
Test takers must have or create a customer identification number (CID) to take the test. The cost of the test is $34.95. The test is given online only and must be completed in one session within 30 minutes. Once you log in, the 30 minutes begins, so CPW advises that you do not register on the test site until you are ready to take the test.
Report the issue with CSSA and their legal team will see what can be done!