DENVER — Denver7 Investigates has learned that after Denver shut down its online parking ticket dispute system during budget cuts last year, the number of drivers challenging tickets plummeted.
Now, after months of complaints and mounting frustration from residents forced into a cumbersome, in-person court process, the city has announced online disputes are finally coming back.
Denver7 Investigates found about 12% of parking citations were disputed in 2025 before the online system closed.
This year, after the city eliminated the online portal and moved to an in-person process through Denver County Court, that number fell to just 1%, according to data provided by Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.
Now, the city plans to launch a new online dispute system Sept. 14.
“Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) is in the process of creating an online dispute process for parking citations to replace what was formerly the Parking Magistrates program run by Denver County Court,” DOTI Communications Director Nancy Kuhn said in an email to Denver7 Investigates.
The move comes nearly a year after Denver County Court eliminated the online system as part of city budget cuts tied to a projected budget shortfall.
Drivers who wanted to contest tickets were instead required to go in person to the City and County Building to request a hearing, then return later for the hearing itself.
Denver7 Investigates has been examining the issue for months, including complaints from residents who said the process was confusing, time-consuming and difficult for people with disabilities or demanding work schedules.
► Watch Jaclyn Allen's report in the video below:
Among them was Denver resident Farnoosh Seif, who said she received a $35 parking ticket outside Rose Medical Center after accidentally entering the wrong license plate into the city’s parking app while driving a loaner vehicle.
Seif said she had paid the meter and believed she could quickly clear up the issue online.
Instead, she discovered the city’s online dispute system no longer existed.
“So I had my surgery, and about two weeks after my surgery, when I started getting caught up on things, I went to the website to contest it, and there was no way to contest it online,” Seif told Denver7 Investigates. “It said you had to go in person. I was like, ‘Well, I can’t go in person. I can’t even leave my house right now.’”
Seif said she had recently undergone major surgery and was temporarily unable to travel.
“The number one thing that motivated me was they’re not accommodating people with disabilities,” she said.
She also questioned whether many working people could realistically navigate the current system.
“Who with a real job that has to work from nine to five can take the day off to go contest a $35 or $70 or even $100 ticket?” Seif said.
Data provided to Denver7 Investigates shows the online system had been heavily used before it was shut down:
- 53,342 online disputes in 2022
- 68,941 in 2023
- 69,039 in 2024
- 46,001 through September 2025 before the portal closed
At the same time, the city continued collecting tens of millions of dollars annually in parking citation revenue:
- $23.8 million in 2022
- $24.7 million in 2023
- $27.1 million in 2024
- $26.2 million in 2025
DOTI said the new system will once again allow people to upload documentation and dispute tickets remotely.
“People who believe they were issued a parking citation in error can dispute it online,” Kuhn said.
Under the new system:
- Tickets must be fewer than 20 days old
- The ticket must have been issued on or after Aug. 25
- DOTI will administer the first level of online review
- Drivers can still request an in-person hearing through Denver County Court if they disagree with the online decision
DOTI acknowledged frustration with the current process in its response to Denver7 Investigates.
“We do understand the convenience of the online dispute system and are working to offer people that option once again,” Kuhn said.
For Seif, the changes are welcome — but overdue.
“This isn’t about me,” she said. “I think this is really about the city of Denver and the type of culture we want to have. Do we want to ticket people unjustly?"
