Do I have to pay a parking ticket issued to my rental car?

Don't ignore it and hope it goes away - that's the worst move. Most rental companies have agreements with parking enforcement, and they'll track you down through the rental agreement. The ticket is typically issued to the vehicle itself, not the driver, which means the rental company is usually on the hook initially. However, they almost always pass it along to whoever rented the car, so you'll end up paying it anyway, often with an added processing fee from the rental company.

You're legally responsible for parking violations during your rental period since you were the one operating the vehicle. The ticket will show up in the rental company's records, and they'll bill you directly - sometimes weeks or months later. At that point you've got limited options: pay it, dispute it if you genuinely believe it was issued incorrectly, or let it escalate to collections, which tanks your credit and costs way more in the end.

If you got the ticket, your best bet is to handle it promptly. Check if the violation was actually legitimate - wrong zone, expired meter, whatever it was. If it was a genuine mistake on the enforcement officer's part, you can contest it through the local traffic court (requirements vary by location). Otherwise, just pay it and move on. It sucks, but trying to dodge it only makes things worse.

The rental company will eventually come after you for it, yeah, but there's a timing thing people miss. When you get ticketed, the municipality first sends the notice to the rental company's registered address, not yours. The company then has to decide whether to pay it themselves or pass it to you through your contract. Some companies eat minor tickets rather than chase customers over a few bucks, but others will tack it onto your final bill or send it to collections if it's substantial. Your best move is to fight it if you think it's bogus (wrong signage, expired meter, whatever) before the company gets involved - once they do, it's way harder to contest.

pay it right away instead of waiting for the rental company to bill you, because they'll tack on their own processing fees on top of the fine. i learned this the hard way when a friend of mine rented a car and got a ticket at an airport - ignored it thinking it was between him and the city, but six months later the rental company sent him an invoice that included the original ticket plus their $50 handling charge and late fees. the faster you handle it yourself, the cheaper it stays.