When Shelly Fenton returned from a trip to Denver International Airport, she found a parking ticket on her windshield for expired registration. She says her registration was current, but challenging the citation turned into a mo nths-long ordeal that highlights growing concerns about Denver's parking ticket system.So I remember doing it, and when I went back to the back of my car, sure enough, my sticker was gone, Fenton told Denver7 Investigates. I dont know exactly when it was taken off my car, but I do know my husband and I put them on our plates.At the time, Fenton was about seven months pregnant.This is Teddy, she said recently while holding her newborn son. Teddy is 1 month.Fenton believed fighting the ticket would be simple. Instead, she says she found herself trapped in a confusing court process that has frustrated Denver drivers for months after the city shut down its online parking dispute portal in September 2025.We thought we could just call and dispute it, Fenton said.But after driving downtown to Denver County Court with paperwork proving her registration was current, she says she learned she could not resolve the issue that day.Instead, she says she was only allowed to schedule another hearing months later. Watch Jaclyn Allen's report in the video below: Inside Denvers parking ticket mess: Airport citations soar as drivers face lengthy court delaysIt was frustrating. It was annoying, she said. All of that work just to pay to go downtown, pay to park, the time, and to take off work it was just a lot.Denver7 Investigates has been examining the fallout from the citys decision to eliminate the online dispute system as part of broader budget cuts.Court data obtained through open records requests shows formal parking hearings exploded after the online system disappeared.In most months during 2024, Denver County Court handled only single-digit numbers of formal parking hearings.By comparison, after the portal closed in September 2025: October 2025: 108 hearings December 2025: 171 hearings March 2026: 228 hearings June 2026: 295 hearingsAt the same time, Denver7 Investigates found the percentage of parking tickets being disputed dropped dramatically after the online system shut down.According to data provided by Denvers Department of Transportation and Infrastructure: About 12% of parking citations were disputed in 2025 before the portal closed In 2026, after disputes moved to an in-person process, that number dropped to just 1%Denver also continued collecting millions in parking citation revenue: $27.1 million in 2024 $26.2 million in 2025Meanwhile, parking enforcement at Denver International Airport remained aggressive.Records obtained by Denver7 Investigates show that since Denver shut down its online parking dispute portal in September 2025, airport parking enforcement has issued more than 6,200 citations for expired registration or license plate violations.Overall, Denver International Airport parking enforcement issued more than 31,000 expired-registration or license-plate citations between 2023 and July 2026.The records show: 11,867 citations in 2024 alone 9,235 citations in 2025 4,691 more citations already issued during the first seven months of 2026As Denver7 continued reporting on the issue, more drivers reached out describing similar experiences involving allegedly stolen or missing registration stickers.That prompted Denver7 Investigates to ask whether replacement registration decals were also on the rise.Data provided by the Colorado DMV shows replacement plate/decal transactions in Denver have risen nearly 50% over the past several years from 11,343 in 2022 to 16,943 in 2025. 11,343 in 2022 13,914 in 2023 15,300 in 2024 16,943 in 2025The DMV says it does not track how many replacement requests involve theft.Stickers being lost is a common event, Denver Department of Finance Communications Director Laura Swartz said in an email to Denver7 Investigates.The DMV also offered several tips to help drivers avoid losing registration stickers, including: removing older stacked stickers, applying decals only to clean, dry plates, and avoiding applying stickers in cold weather.The DMV also recommends what it calls the razor blade trick scoring the sticker with an X or grid pattern so it breaks apart if someone tries to peel it off.Denver police told Denver7 Investigates stolen registration tabs are not tracked through a specific offense code, making it difficult to determine how common the problem may be.DPD says stolen tabs are typically classified under broader theft categories such as Theft Parts From Vehicle or Theft From Motor Vehicle.Police also noted that during traffic stops, officers can electronically verify whether a vehicles registration is actually valid even if the tabs appear expired.For Fenton, the larger frustration was the process itself.I was pregnant, she said. It was not easy finding parking, walking into the courthouse, and then having to do it all over again.Her hearing date would have landed shortly after her due date.In the end, Fenton said her $100 ticket was dismissed because the officer could not appear for the hearing.You know, I was the victim here, she said. My tags were stolen. It was stressful and silly.After months of criticism, Denver says online parking ticket disputes will finally return Sept. 14.The new system will allow drivers to upload documents and challenge parking citations remotely online once again.But there is still a transition period.Drivers who receive qualifying parking tickets beginning Aug. 25 can either: wait for the online portal to open Sept. 14, or continue using the current in-person court process through Denver County Court.The system can also be confusing for drivers because different types of expired-registration citations follow different dispute processes.Denver says the new online dispute option will apply only to parking citations, and not traffic citations issued by Denver police during traffic stops for expired registration. Those cases will still go through Denver County Court.Among those frustrated by the process and timeline 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 citys parking app while driving a loaner vehicleShe believes drivers ticketed in recent months should be given more flexibility while the city restores the online system.I think they should put a moratorium on anything thats currently in progress, Seif said.For Fenton, the city should have moved faster.I have talked to people who just paid the $100 ticket just because it was too much work and effort to go in, she said. It seems more of a burden on the people of Denver. ...read more read less