Denver's Parking Rules: The Rules That Matter

Every city handles parking rules a little differently. In Denver, Colorado, there are 8 distinct rules that residents and property owners should be aware of. Some are stricter than what neighboring cities enforce, and others are more relaxed. Here is what you need to know.

EV Charging

Denver's zoning code waives the normal zoning permit for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE), letting homeowners and businesses install chargers without a separate zoning sign-off in most cases.

Key details: Zoning permit for EVSE: Not required. EVSE defined by: Denver Building Code. Historic structures/districts: Exemption does not apply. Administering agency: Community Planning and Development.

Skipping the required Denver Building Code electrical permit, or installing EVSE on a landmark-designated property without the zoning permit the historic-district carve-out still demands, can draw a stop-work order from Community Planning and Development.

The rules around ev charging in Denver lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.

Abandoned Vehicles

Denver authorizes police, the sheriff, and the transportation department to remove any 'vehicle junker', inoperable or extensively damaged, from public or private property, and bans parking one on a public right-of-way for more than 24 hours.

Key details: Governing sections: DRMC §§ 54-466 and 54-812. Public ROW time limit: 24 hours before removal. Minimum impound hold: 30 days. Enforcing agencies: Police, sheriff, transportation & infrastructure dept. Applies to: Public and private property.

Leaving a junker on a public right-of-way over 24 hours triggers a posted notice, then impoundment; an owner who can't show the vehicle is operable and safe within 24 hours faces towing, storage charges, and eventual disposal by auction or scrapping.

Loading Zones

Denver requires rented electric scooters and e-bikes to park in designated corrals within mandatory parking zones covering Union Station, the Central Business District, and parts of Five Points, with citywide expansion required by mid-2027.

Key details: Governing section: DRMC § 54-583 (Parking). Applies to: Rented e-scooters and e-bikes only. Enforcement: DOTI administrative citation, noncriminal. CBD zone deadline: Central Business District by July 1, 2027. Company liability: Company liable for riders' violations.

Parking outside a designated corral within a mandatory zone is a noncriminal violation; DOTI issues administrative citations under Chapter 2, Article XII, and the rental company can be held liable.

Overnight Parking

Denver bans leaving any vehicle in the same curbside spot for more than 72 consecutive hours, overnight included; the vehicle must be moved to avoid a citation and eventual tow by the city.

Key details: Time limit: 72 consecutive hours in same spot. Governing section: DRMC § 54-465. RV exception: Must relocate at least 700 feet. Enforcement: Citation, then tow/impound.

Parking citation for exceeding the 72-hour limit; vehicles left in place can be tagged, immobilized, and ultimately towed and impounded by the city at owner expense.

Towing & Impound Rights

Denver charges $120 to impound a vehicle of 6,000 pounds gross weight or less and $170 for anything heavier, with storage running $20 or $30 a day once the car has sat at the lot for twenty-four hours. Nothing is released until those charges are paid. In exchange, the Manager of Safety must send the registered owner a certified letter itemizing the bill and naming the agency that hears challenges, and a vehicle found to have been impounded illegally has every charge and storage fee forgiven.

Key details: Impound charge, 6,000 lb GVW or less: $120.00 (Sec. 54-813(a)(1)). Impound charge, over 6,000 lb GVW: $170.00 (Sec. 54-813(a)(2)). Storage: $20.00 per day light class, $30.00 heavy class, starting 24 hours after receipt at the lot and charged for every day or portion of a day. Boot fee ceiling: $125.00, and a new rate must be published 90 days before it takes effect (Sec. 54-811(21)). Deadline to request an impound hearing: 10 days from the postmark on the notice or from personal service; an illegal impound forgives all charges and storage fees.

Section 54-813(a) is absolute at the front end. No impounded vehicle is released until impoundment and storage charges are paid, so the real penalty for delay is the daily meter. Let thirty calendar days run from the postmark on the section 54-814 notice and the Manager of Safety may declare the vehicle abandoned and transfer custody to the Manager of General Services, who under section 54-816 can sell it at public auction, take sealed bids, convert it to scrap metal, donate it, or apply to the county court to convert it to Denver Police Department use. An auction must be advertised at least once in an official city publication and cannot be held less than ten days after that notice, and if no bid exceeds the accumulated charges the vehicle may be declared sold to the city for the amount of those charges. There is no right of redemption after a sale. Surplus proceeds go to the general fund, and a former owner has one year from the sale date to ask the Department of General Services to initiate a refund before the claim is extinguished. On the operator side, towing a vehicle in Denver without the records section 55-172 requires be carried in the tow truck, without the proof of lawful possession section 55-173 requires, or without the license section 55-186 requires, is unlawful, and section 55-193 lets the director of excise and licenses suspend, revoke or refuse to renew a towing license for fraud, for violating the article, or for other good cause, with the licensee answerable for the acts of its operators.

RV & Boat Parking

In Denver's Protected and Master Planned residential zone districts, RVs up to 33 feet may only be stored behind the front building line, screened by a solid fence as tall as the zone district allows, and never used as a residence.

Key details: Trailer/boat trailer limit: 22 ft, rear half of lot. RV length limit: 33 ft, behind front facade. Screening required: solid, sight-obscuring fence or wall. Banned outright: buses, semi-trailers, oversized trailers/RVs. Max penalty: $999 fine or 300 days jail.

Denver Community Planning and Development can issue a written compliance order or notice of violation; unresolved cases face the Zoning Code's general penalty in municipal court, up to a $999 fine, 300 days in jail, or both, per day.

Street Parking Limits

Denver bars parking within five feet of any driveway or alley, ten feet of a fire hydrant, in intersections and crosswalks, and requires cars to park headed with, not against, traffic: violators get ticketed or towed.

Key details: Driveway/alley clearance: 5 feet minimum from driveway or alley. Hydrant clearance: 10 feet minimum from fire hydrant. Parking direction: Must face direction of traffic flow. One-way streets: No parking on the left-hand side. Enforcement: Citation and towing under § 54-811.

Parking citation issued on the spot; vehicles blocking driveways, hydrants, intersections, or parked against traffic can be towed under § 54-811 at owner's expense.

Commercial & Oversized Vehicles

Denver caps parking of vehicles over 6,000 pounds or 22 feet long, plus unattached trailers and truck-tractors, to two cumulative hours in any seven-day period on public rights-of-way.

Key details: Size trigger: 6,000 lbs or 22 ft. Time limit: 2 cumulative hours per 7 days. Reset distance: must move 700+ feet. Exemption: actively rendering services nearby.

Exceeding the cumulative two-hour limit, or failing to move the vehicle at least 700 feet, is a parking violation subject to citation under DRMC § 54-464.

The Bottom Line

Denver's parking rules rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming Denver is broadly strict or permissive.

All of the above reflects Denver's municipal code as of our last review. If you need specifics on fines, exemptions, or filing requirements, the detailed ordinance pages linked above have the full breakdown.