CHAPTER 4503: LICENSING OF MOTOR VEHICLES

“Motor vehicle” as defined in section 4505.01 of the Revised Code applies to sections 4503.02 to 4503.10, and 4503.12 to 4503.18 of the Revised Code. For the purposes of sections 4503.02 to 4503.04, 4503.10 to 4503.12, 4503.182, 4503.19, 4503.21, 4503.22, and 4503.25 of the Revised Code, the term “motor vehicle” also includes a motorized bicycle and a trailer or semitrailer whose weight is four thousand pounds or less.

As used in this chapter, “motor vehicle” does not include a concrete pump or a concrete conveyor.

Effective Date: 01-01-1985; 09-16-2004

An annual license tax is hereby levied upon the operation of motor vehicles on the public roads or highways, for the purpose of enforcing and paying the expense of administering the law relative to the registration and operation of such vehicles; planning, constructing, maintaining, and repairing public roads, highways, and streets; maintaining and repairing bridges and viaducts; paying the counties’ proportion of the cost and expenses of cooperating with the department of transportation in the planning, improvement, and construction of state highways; paying the counties’ portion of the compensation, damages, cost, and expenses of planning, constructing, reconstructing, improving, maintaining, and repairing roads; paying the principal, interest, and charges on county bonds and other obligations issued pursuant to Chapter 133. of the Revised Code or incurred pursuant to section 5531.09 of the Revised Code for highway improvements; for the purpose of providing motorcycle safety and education instruction; enabling municipal corporations to plan, construct, reconstruct, repave, widen, maintain, repair, clear, and clean public highways, roads, and streets; paying the principal, interest, and other charges on municipal bonds and other obligations issued pursuant to Chapter 133. of the Revised Code or incurred pursuant to section 5531.09 of the Revised Code for highway improvements; to maintain and repair bridges and viaducts; to purchase, erect, and maintain street and traffic signs and markers; to purchase, erect, and maintain traffic lights and signals; to supplement revenue already available for such purposes; to pay the interest, principal, and charges on bonds and other obligations issued pursuant to Section 2i of Article VIII, Ohio Constitution, and sections 5528.30 and 5528.31 of the Revised Code. Such tax shall be at the rates specified in sections 4503.04 and 4503.042 of the Revised Code. Under section 4503.04 of the Revised Code, the tax shall be paid to and collected by the registrar of motor vehicles or deputy registrar at the time of making application for registration. Under section 4503.042 of the Revised Code, the tax shall be paid to and collected by the registrar at the time and manner set forth by the registrar by rule.

Effective Date: 06-30-1995; 03-29-2005

(A)(1)(a) The registrar of motor vehicles may designate the county auditor in each county a deputy registrar. If the population of a county is forty thousand or less according to the last federal census and if the county auditor is designated by the registrar as a deputy registrar, no other person need be designated in the county to act as a deputy registrar.

(b) The registrar may designate a clerk of a court of common pleas as a deputy registrar if the population of the county is forty thousand or less according to the last federal census. All fees collected and retained by a clerk for conducting deputy registrar services shall be paid into the county treasury to the credit of the certificate of title administration fund created under section 325.33 of the Revised Code.

(c) In all other instances, the registrar shall contract with one or more other persons in each county to act as deputy registrars.

(2) Deputy registrars shall accept applications for the annual license tax for any vehicle not taxed under section 4503.63 of the Revised Code and shall assign distinctive numbers in the same manner as the registrar. Such deputies shall be located in such locations in the county as the registrar sees fit. There shall be at least one deputy registrar in each county.

Deputy registrar contracts are subject to the provisions of division (B) of section 125.081 of the Revised Code.

(B) The registrar shall not contract with any person to act as a deputy registrar if the person or, where applicable, the person’s spouse or a member of the person’s immediate family has made, within the current calendar year or any one of the previous three calendar years, one or more contributions totaling in excess of one hundred dollars to any person or entity included in division (A)(2) of section 4503.033 of the Revised Code. As used in this division, “immediate family” has the same meaning as in division (D) of section 102.01 of the Revised Code, and “entity” includes any political party and any “continuing association” as defined in division (B)(4) of section 3517.01 of the Revised Code or “political action committee” as defined in division (B)(8) of that section that is primarily associated with that political party. For purposes of this division, contributions to any continuing association or any political action committee that is primarily associated with a political party shall be aggregated with contributions to that political party.

The contribution limitations contained in this division do not apply to any county auditor or clerk of a court of common pleas.

The registrar shall not contract with either of the following to act as a deputy registrar:

(1) Any elected public official other than a county auditor or, as authorized by division (A)(1)(b) of this section, a clerk of a court of common pleas, acting in an official capacity;

(2) Any person holding a current, valid contract to conduct motor vehicle inspections under section 3704.14 of the Revised Code.

(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section, deputy registrars are independent contractors and neither they nor their employees are employees of this state, except that nothing in this section shall affect the status of county auditors or clerks of courts of common pleas as public officials, nor the status of their employees as employees of any of the counties of this state, which are political subdivisions of this state. Each deputy registrar shall be responsible for the payment of all unemployment compensation premiums, all workers’ compensation premiums, social security contributions, and any and all taxes for which the deputy registrar is legally responsible. Each deputy registrar shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws requiring the withholding of income taxes or other taxes from the compensation of the deputy registrar’s employees. Each deputy registrar shall maintain during the entire term of the deputy registrar’s contract a policy of business liability insurance satisfactory to the registrar and shall hold the department of public safety, the director of public safety, the bureau of motor vehicles, and the registrar harmless upon any and all claims for damages arising out of the operation of the deputy registrar agency.

(2) For purposes of Chapter 4141. of the Revised Code, determinations concerning the employment of deputy registrars and their employees shall be made under Chapter 4141. of the Revised Code.

(D)(1) With the approval of the director, the registrar shall adopt rules governing the terms of the contract between the registrar and each deputy registrar and specifications for the services to be performed. The rules shall include specifications relating to the amount of bond to be given as provided in this section; the size and location of the deputy’s office; and the leasing of equipment necessary to conduct the vision screenings required under section 4507.12 of the Revised Code and training in the use of the equipment. The specifications shall permit and encourage every deputy registrar to inform the public of the location of the deputy registrar’s office and hours of operation by means of public service announcements and allow any deputy registrar to advertise in regard to the operation of the deputy registrar’s office. The rules also shall include specifications for the hours the deputy’s office is to be open to the public and shall require as a minimum that one deputy’s office in each county be open to the public for at least four hours each weekend, provided that if only one deputy’s office is located within the boundary of the county seat, that office is the office that shall be open for the four-hour period each weekend, and that every deputy’s office in each county shall be open to the public until six-thirty p.m. on at least one weeknight each week. The rules also shall include specifications providing that every deputy in each county, upon request, provide any person with information about the location and office hours of all deputy registrars in the county and that every deputy prominently display within the deputy’s office, the toll-free telephone number of the bureau. The rules shall not prohibit the award of a deputy registrar contract to a nonprofit corporation formed under the laws of this state. The rules shall prohibit any deputy registrar from operating more than one such office at any time, except that the rules may permit a nonprofit corporation formed for the purposes of providing automobile-related services to its members or the public and that provides such services from more than one location in this state to operate a deputy registrar office at any such location, provided that the nonprofit corporation operates no more than one deputy registrar office in any one county. The rules may include such other specifications as the registrar and director consider necessary to provide a high level of service.

(2) With the prior approval of the registrar, each deputy registrar may conduct at the location of the deputy registrar’s office any business that is consistent with the functions of a deputy registrar and that is not specifically mandated or authorized by this or another chapter of the Revised Code or by implementing rules of the registrar.

(3) As used in this section and in section 4507.01 of the Revised Code, “nonprofit corporation” has the same meaning as in section 1702.01 of the Revised Code.

(E) Unless otherwise terminated and except for interim contracts of less than one year, contracts with deputy registrars shall be for a term of at least two years, but no more than three years, and all contracts effective on or after July 1, 1996, shall be for a term of more than two years, but not more than three years. All contracts with deputy registrars shall expire on the last Saturday of June in the year of their expiration. The auditor of state may examine the accounts, reports, systems, and other data of each deputy registrar at least every two years. The registrar, with the approval of the director, shall immediately remove a deputy who violates any provision of the Revised Code related to the duties as a deputy, any rule adopted by the registrar, or a term of the deputy’s contract with the registrar. The registrar also may remove a deputy who, in the opinion of the registrar, has engaged in any conduct that is either unbecoming to one representing this state or is inconsistent with the efficient operation of the deputy’s office.

If the registrar, with the approval of the director, determines that there is good cause to believe that a deputy registrar or a person proposing for a deputy registrar contract has engaged in any conduct that would require the denial or termination of the deputy registrar contract, the registrar may require the production of books, records, and papers as the registrar determines are necessary, and may take the depositions of witnesses residing within or outside the state in the same manner as is prescribed by law for the taking of depositions in civil actions in the court of common pleas, and for that purpose the registrar may issue a subpoena for any witness or a subpoena duces tecum to compel the production of any books, records, or papers, directed to the sheriff of the county where the witness resides or is found. Such a subpoena shall be served and returned in the same manner as a subpoena in a criminal case is served and returned. The fees and mileage of the sheriff and witnesses shall be the same as that allowed in the court of common pleas in criminal cases and shall be paid from the fund in the state treasury for the use of the agency in the same manner as other expenses of the agency are paid.

In any case of disobedience or neglect of any subpoena served on any person or the refusal of any witness to testify to any matter regarding which the witness lawfully may be interrogated, the court of common pleas of any county where the disobedience, neglect, or refusal occurs or any judge of that court, on application by the registrar, shall compel obedience by attachment proceedings for contempt, as in the case of disobedience of the requirements of a subpoena issued from that court, or a refusal to testify in that court.

Nothing in this division shall be construed to require a hearing of any nature prior to the termination of any deputy registrar contract by the registrar, with the approval of the director, for cause.

(F) Except as provided in section 2743.03 of the Revised Code, no court, other than the court of common pleas of Franklin county, has jurisdiction of any action against the department of public safety, the director, the bureau, or the registrar to restrain the exercise of any power or authority, or to entertain any action for declaratory judgment, in the selection and appointment of, or contracting with, deputy registrars. Neither the department, the director, the bureau, nor the registrar is liable in any action at law for damages sustained by any person because of any acts of the department, the director, the bureau, or the registrar, or of any employee of the department or bureau, in the performance of official duties in the selection and appointment of, and contracting with, deputy registrars.

(G) The registrar shall assign to each deputy registrar a series of numbers sufficient to supply the demand at all times in the area the deputy registrar serves, and the registrar shall keep a record in the registrar’s office of the numbers within the series assigned. Each deputy shall be required to give bond in the amount of at least twenty-five thousand dollars, or in such higher amount as the registrar determines necessary, based on a uniform schedule of bond amounts established by the registrar and determined by the volume of registrations handled by the deputy. The form of the bond shall be prescribed by the registrar. The bonds required of deputy registrars, in the discretion of the registrar, may be individual or schedule bonds or may be included in any blanket bond coverage carried by the department.

(H) Each deputy registrar shall keep a file of each application received by the deputy and shall register that motor vehicle with the name and address of its owner.

(I) Upon request, a deputy registrar shall make the physical inspection of a motor vehicle and issue the physical inspection certificate required in section 4505.061 of the Revised Code.

(J) Each deputy registrar shall file a report semi-annually with the registrar of motor vehicles listing the number of applicants for licenses the deputy has served, the number of voter registration applications the deputy has completed and transmitted to the board of elections, and the number of voter registration applications declined.

Effective Date: 10-31-2001; 09-16-2004

(A) If the registrar determines that space is available at a deputy registrar’s office, the clerk of the court of common pleas in the county where the deputy is located shall be given the opportunity to use the space for the purpose of carrying out his duties related to the titling of motor vehicles. Each clerk of the court of common pleas using space in a deputy registrar’s office shall remit to the deputy a rental fee equal to the percentage of space occupied by the clerk in the deputy’s office multiplied by the rental fee or mortgage cost paid for the entire deputy registrar’s office plus a pro rata share of all utility costs.

(B) The registrar and the superintendent of the state highway patrol shall cooperate to the fullest extent possible in locating a driver’s license examination station at or near a deputy registrar’s office. For each driver’s license examination station located at a deputy registrar’s office, the superintendent of the state highway patrol shall remit to the deputy a rental fee equal to the percentage of space occupied for the driver’s license examination station multiplied by the rental fee or mortgage cost paid for the entire deputy registrar’s office plus a pro rata share of all utility costs.

(C) During the regular business hours of deputy registrars, the registrar shall keep the central office open and sufficiently staffed to be able to respond to the technical needs of the deputies.

(D) The registrar shall adopt rules to promote public information regarding motor vehicle registration. The rules shall include:

(1) The operation by the registrar, during the regular business hours of deputy registrars, of a toll-free telephone number to give information and receive complaints;

(2) The listing by the registrar, of each deputy registrar, together with the toll-free telephone number required under division (D)(1) of this section, in the local business and advertising telephone directory for the area served by the deputy, under the heading of the bureau of motor vehicles.

Effective Date: 11-28-1988

(A) As used in this section, “candidate,” “contribution,” and “campaign committee” have the same meanings as in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) No person shall knowingly solicit directly or indirectly, orally or by letter, or be in any manner concerned in soliciting any assessment, subscription, or contribution for any political party, for the governor or his campaign committee, or for any candidate for public office or his campaign committee from a person known by the solicitor to be a deputy registrar under contract with the registrar of motor vehicles.

(C) Neither the registrar nor any person shall award a deputy registrar contract to a person, or promise to do so, because that person pays an assessment or subscription to, or makes a contribution to, any political party, the governor or his campaign committee, or any candidate for public office or his campaign committee. Neither the registrar nor any person shall withhold a deputy registrar contract from a person, or threaten to do so, because that person fails to pay an assessment or subscription to, or fails to make a contribution to, any political party, the governor or his campaign committee, or any candidate for public office or his campaign committee. Neither the registrar nor any person shall terminate a deputy registrar contract awarded to a person, or threaten to do so, because that person fails to pay an assessment or subscription to, or fails to make a contribution to, any political party, the governor or his campaign committee, or any candidate for public office or his campaign committee.

(D) Whoever violates this section shall be fined ten thousand dollars.

Effective Date: 11-28-1988

(A) Annually, on or before the thirty-first day of January, every deputy registrar shall file with the registrar of motor vehicles on a form prescribed by the registrar, a statement disclosing all of the following:

(1) The name of the person filing the statement, and, if applicable, of his spouse and of members of his immediate family;

(2) Any contribution made within the previous calendar year by the person and, if applicable, by his spouse and by members of his immediate family to each of the following:

(a) Any political party;

(b) Any candidate for the office of governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer of state, auditor of state, member of the senate or house of representatives of the general assembly, or to the campaign committee of any such candidate.

(3) The month, day, and year in which the contribution was made;

(4) The full name and address of each person, political party, or campaign committee to which a contribution was made;

(5) The value in dollars and cents of the contribution.

(B) No person shall knowingly fail to file, on or before the filing deadline under this section, a statement that is required by division (A) of this section.

(C) No person shall knowingly make a false statement in a statement that is required to be filed under division (A) of this section.

(D) On and after March 2, 1994, the statement required by division (A) of this section shall be accompanied by a filing fee of twenty-five dollars. If the statement required by division (A) of this section is not filed by the date on which it is required to be filed, the registrar of motor vehicles shall assess a late filing fee as prescribed in division (F) of section 102.02 of the Revised Code. The registrar shall deposit all fees he receives under this division into the general revenue fund of the state.

(E) Not later than the date a deputy registrar is required to file a statement under division (A) of this section, the deputy registrar shall file a copy of the statement with the office of the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall keep the copies of all statements filed with his office under this division only for the purpose of making them available for public inspection.

(F) Whoever violates division (B) of this section shall be fined one thousand dollars. Whoever violates division (C) of this section shall be fined ten thousand dollars.

Effective Date: 01-01-20044

(A) Notwithstanding sections 4503.10, 4503.102, 4503.12, 4503.182, 4503.24, 4505.061, 4506.08, 4507.24, 4507.50, 4507.52, 4519.03, 4519.05, 4519.10, 4519.56, and 4519.69 of the Revised Code:

(1) Each deputy registrar shall be allowed the increased fee otherwise allowed in those sections and commencing on January 1, 2003, for performing the services specified in those sections only if the deputy registrars achieve a statewide satisfaction rate of at least ninety per cent on the survey conducted by the registrar of motor vehicles under this section. If the deputy registrars fail to achieve a statewide satisfaction rate of at least ninety per cent on the survey, the fee for performing the services specified in those sections shall remain at the rate in effect for the immediately preceding year.

(2) Each deputy registrar shall be allowed the increased fee otherwise allowed in those sections and commencing on January 1, 2004, for performing the services specified in those sections only if the deputy registrars achieve a statewide satisfaction rate of at least ninety per cent on the survey conducted by the registrar under this section. If the deputy registrars fail to achieve a statewide satisfaction rate of at least ninety per cent on the survey, the fee for performing the services specified in those sections shall remain at the rate in effect for the immediately preceding year.

(B) The registrar shall develop and conduct a survey evaluating public satisfaction with the conduct of services by deputy registrars under sections 4503.10, 4503.102, 4503.12, 4503.182, 4503.24, 4505.061, 4506.08, 4507.24, 4507.50, 4507.52, 4519.03, 4519.05, 4519.10, 4519.56, and 4519.69 of the Revised Code. In developing the survey, the registrar also shall establish standards that shall enable a deputy registrar to achieve a ninety per cent satisfaction rating. The ninety per cent satisfaction rate required under divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section as a condition to increasing the service fees shall be determined on a statewide basis and not on an individual basis. The registrar shall conduct the survey in 2002 to determine the satisfaction rating for purposes of division (A)(1) of this section and shall conduct the survey again in 2003 to determine the satisfaction rating for purposes of division (A)(2) of this section.

Effective Date: 06-06-2001; 09-16-2004

The registrar of motor vehicles shall designate as an electronic motor vehicle dealer a motor vehicle dealer who meets all of the following criteria:

(A) The dealer holds a current, valid dealer license issued under Chapter 4517. of the Revised Code.

(B) The dealer participates in the title defect recision fund created by section 1345.52 of the Revised Code.

(C) The dealer has the capability, via electronic means, to send motor vehicle title and registration information, as specified by the registrar, to the registrar and clerks of the courts of common pleas.

(D) The dealer meets other criteria for electronic motor vehicle dealers that the registrar may establish by rule adopted under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 10-31-2001

(A) Not later than January 1, 2005, the registrar of motor vehicles shall adopt rules for the appointment of limited authority deputy registrars. Notwithstanding section 4503.03 of the Revised Code, the registrar may appoint the clerk of a court or common pleas or an electronic motor vehicle dealer qualified under section 4503.035 of the Revised Code as a limited authority deputy registrar.

(B) A limited authority deputy registrar may conduct only initial and transfer motor vehicle transactions using electronic means, vehicle identification number inspections, and other associated transactions in a manner approved in the rules that the registrar adopts.

(C) A limited authority deputy registrar may collect and retain a fee of three dollars and fifty cents for each transaction or physical inspection that the limited authority deputy registrar conducts, and shall collect all fees and taxes that are required by law and related to the transaction or inspection in a manner approved by the registrar. A clerk of a court of common pleas shall pay all fees collected and retained under this section into the county treasury to the credit of the certificate of title administration fund created under section 325.33 of the Revised Code.

(D) The rules adopted by the registrar may establish reasonable eligibility standards for clerks and electronic motor vehicle dealers. The rules shall prescribe the terms and conditions of limited authority deputy registrar contracts and shall require each limited authority deputy registrar to sign a contract before assuming any duties as a limited authority deputy registrar. The rules may establish different eligibility standards and contract terms and conditions depending on whether the limited authority deputy registrar is a clerk or an electronic motor vehicle dealer. No contract shall be for a period of more than three years. The contract may contain any other provisions the registrar reasonably prescribes. Each contract shall terminate on a date specified by the registrar.

(E) Any eligible clerk or qualified electronic motor vehicle dealer may make an application to the registrar for appointment as a limited authority deputy registrar. With the approval of the director of public safety, the registrar shall make the appointments from the applications submitted, based upon the discretion of the registrar and director and not upon a competitive basis.

(F) A limited authority deputy registrar is not subject to the contribution limits of division (B) of section 4503.03 of the Revised Code or the filing requirement of division (A) of section 4503.033 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: ; 09-16-2004

Except as provided in section 4503.042 of the Revised Code for the registration of commercial cars, trailers, semitrailers, and certain buses , the rates of the taxes imposed by section 4503.02 of the Revised Code shall be as follows:

(A) For motor vehicles having three wheels or less, the license tax is:

(1) For each motorized bicycle, ten dollars;

(2) For each motorcycle, fourteen dollars.

(B) For each passenger car, twenty dollars;

(C) For each manufactured home, each mobile home, and each travel trailer, ten dollars;

(D) For each noncommercial motor vehicle designed by the manufacturer to carry a load of no more than three-quarters of one ton and for each motor home, thirty-five dollars; for each noncommercial motor vehicle designed by the manufacturer to carry a load of more than three-quarters of one ton, but not more than one ton, seventy dollars;

(E) For each noncommercial trailer, the license tax is:

(1) Eighty-five cents for each one hundred pounds or part thereof for the first two thousand pounds or part thereof of weight of vehicle fully equipped;

(2) One dollar and forty cents for each one hundred pounds or part thereof in excess of two thousand pounds up to and including three thousand pounds.

(F) Notwithstanding its weight, twelve dollars for any:

(1) Vehicle equipped, owned, and used by a charitable or nonprofit corporation exclusively for the purpose of administering chest x-rays or receiving blood donations;

(2) Van used principally for the transportation of handicapped persons that has been modified by being equipped with adaptive equipment to facilitate the movement of such persons into and out of the van;

(3) Bus used principally for the transportation of handicapped persons or persons sixty-five years of age or older;

(G) Notwithstanding its weight, twenty dollars for any bus used principally for the transportation of persons in a ridesharing arrangement.

(H) For each transit bus having motor power the license tax is twelve dollars.

“Transit bus” means either a motor vehicle having a seating capacity of more than seven persons which is operated and used by any person in the rendition of a public mass transportation service primarily in a municipal corporation or municipal corporations and provided at least seventy-five per cent of the annual mileage of such service and use is within such municipal corporation or municipal corporations or a motor vehicle having a seating capacity of more than seven persons which is operated solely for the transportation of persons associated with a charitable or nonprofit corporation, but does not mean any motor vehicle having a seating capacity of more than seven persons when such vehicle is used in a ridesharing capacity or any bus described by division (F)(3) of this section.

The application for registration of such transit bus shall be accompanied by an affidavit prescribed by the registrar of motor vehicles and signed by the person or an agent of the firm or corporation operating such bus stating that the bus has a seating capacity of more than seven persons, and that it is either to be operated and used in the rendition of a public mass transportation service and that at least seventy-five per cent of the annual mileage of such operation and use shall be within one or more municipal corporations or that it is to be operated solely for the transportation of persons associated with a charitable or nonprofit corporation.

The form of the license plate, and the manner of its attachment to the vehicle, shall be prescribed by the registrar of motor vehicles.

(I) The minimum tax for any vehicle having motor power other than a farm truck, a motorized bicycle, or motorcycle is ten dollars and eighty cents, and for each noncommercial trailer, five dollars.

(J)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (J) of this section, for each farm truck, except a noncommercial motor vehicle, that is owned, controlled, or operated by one or more farmers exclusively in farm use as defined in this section, and not for commercial purposes, and provided that at least seventy-five per cent of such farm use is by or for the one or more owners, controllers, or operators of the farm in the operation of which a farm truck is used, the license tax is five dollars plus:

(a) Fifty cents per one hundred pounds or part thereof for the first three thousand pounds;

(b) Seventy cents per one hundred pounds or part thereof in excess of three thousand pounds up to and including four thousand pounds;

(c) Ninety cents per one hundred pounds or part thereof in excess of four thousand pounds up to and including six thousand pounds;

(d) Two dollars for each one hundred pounds or part thereof in excess of six thousand pounds up to and including ten thousand pounds;

(e) Two dollars and twenty-five cents for each one hundred pounds or part thereof in excess of ten thousand pounds;

(f) The minimum license tax for any farm truck shall be twelve dollars.

(2) The owner of a farm truck may register the truck for a period of one-half year by paying one-half the registration tax imposed on the truck under this chapter and one-half the amount of any tax imposed on the truck under Chapter 4504. of the Revised Code.

(3) A farm bus may be registered for a period of ninety days from the date of issue of the license plates for the bus, for a fee of ten dollars, provided such license plates shall not be issued for more than any two ninety-day periods in any calendar year. Such use does not include the operation of trucks by commercial processors of agricultural products.

(4) License plates for farm trucks and for farm buses shall have some distinguishing marks, letters, colors, or other characteristics to be determined by the director of public safety.

(5) Every person registering a farm truck or bus under this section shall furnish an affidavit certifying that the truck or bus licensed to that person is to be so used as to meet the requirements necessary for the farm truck or farm bus classification.

Any farmer may use a truck owned by the farmer for commercial purposes by paying the difference between the commercial truck registration fee and the farm truck registration fee for the remaining part of the registration period for which the truck is registered. Such remainder shall be calculated from the beginning of the semiannual period in which application for such commercial license is made.

Taxes at the rates provided in this section are in lieu of all taxes on or with respect to the ownership of such motor vehicles, except as provided in section 4503.042 and section 4503.06 of the Revised Code.

(K) Other than trucks registered under the international registration plan in another jurisdiction and for which this state has received an apportioned registration fee, the license tax for each truck which is owned, controlled, or operated by a nonresident, and licensed in another state, and which is used exclusively for the transportation of nonprocessed agricultural products intrastate, from the place of production to the place of processing, is twenty-four dollars.

“Truck,” as used in this division, means any pickup truck, straight truck, semitrailer, or trailer other than a travel trailer. Nonprocessed agricultural products, as used in this division, does not include livestock or grain.

A license issued under this division shall be issued for a period of one hundred thirty days in the same manner in which all other licenses are issued under this section, provided that no truck shall be so licensed for more than one one-hundred-thirty-day period during any calendar year.

The license issued pursuant to this division shall consist of a windshield decal to be designed by the director of public safety.

Every person registering a truck under this division shall furnish an affidavit certifying that the truck licensed to the person is to be used exclusively for the purposes specified in this division.

(L) Every person registering a motor vehicle as a noncommercial motor vehicle as defined in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code, or registering a trailer as a noncommercial trailer as defined in that section, shall furnish an affidavit certifying that the motor vehicle or trailer so licensed to the person is to be so used as to meet the requirements necessary for the noncommercial vehicle classification.

(M) Every person registering a van or bus as provided in divisions (F)(2) and (3) of this section shall furnish a notarized statement certifying that the van or bus licensed to the person is to be used for the purposes specified in those divisions. The form of the license plate issued for such motor vehicles shall be prescribed by the registrar.

(N) Every person registering as a passenger car a motor vehicle designed and used for carrying more than nine but not more than fifteen passengers, and every person registering a bus as provided in division (G) of this section, shall furnish an affidavit certifying that the vehicle so licensed to the person is to be used in a ridesharing arrangement and that the person will have in effect whenever the vehicle is used in a ridesharing arrangement a policy of liability insurance with respect to the motor vehicle in amounts and coverages no less than those required by section 4509.79 of the Revised Code. The form of the license plate issued for such a motor vehicle shall be prescribed by the registrar.

(O) As used in this section:

(1) “Van” means any motor vehicle having a single rear axle and an enclosed body without a second seat.

(2) “Handicapped person” means any person who has lost the use of one or both legs, or one or both arms, or is blind, deaf, or so severely disabled as to be unable to move about without the aid of crutches or a wheelchair.

(3) “Farm truck” means a truck used in the transportation from the farm of products of the farm, including livestock and its products, poultry and its products, floricultural and horticultural products, and in the transportation to the farm of supplies for the farm, including tile, fence, and every other thing or commodity used in agricultural, floricultural, horticultural, livestock, and poultry production and livestock, poultry, and other animals and things used for breeding, feeding, or other purposes connected with the operation of the farm.

(4) “Farm bus” means a bus used only for the transportation of agricultural employees and used only in the transportation of such employees as are necessary in the operation of the farm.

(5) “Farm supplies” includes fuel used exclusively in the operation of a farm, including one or more homes located on and used in the operation of one or more farms, and furniture and other things used in and around such homes.

Effective Date: 03-30-1999; 09-16-2004

(A) The original owner of any trailer weighing four thousand pounds or less and used exclusively for noncommercial purposes , upon application for initial registration, shall obtain and present such evidence of the trailer’s weight as the registrar of motor vehicles may require. Whenever an application for registration other than an initial application by the original owner is made for a trailer to which this section applies, the application shall be accompanied by an affidavit, prescribed by the registrar and signed by the present owner, stating that the weight of the trailer is the same as that indicated by the evidence obtained and presented for initial registration by the original owner, and no other evidence of weight shall be required. This section does not apply to the owner of a boat trailer being registered in accordance with section 4503.173 of the Revised Code.

(B) The owner of a trailer described in division (A) of this section or the operator of a motor vehicle towing such a trailer may tow the trailer directly to and from a scale facility for the purpose of determining the trailer’s weight prior to the registration of the trailer provided that at the time of such towing the owner or operator has in the owner’s or operator’s possession an official weight slip prescribed by the registrar and provided the trailer does not carry any load during such towing.

Effective Date: 06-27-1988; 09-16-2004

The registrar of motor vehicles shall adopt rules establishing the date, subsequent to this state’s entry into membership in the international registration plan, when the rates established by this section become operative.

(A) The rates of the taxes imposed by section 4503.02 of the Revised Code are as follows for commercial cars having a gross vehicle weight or combined gross vehicle weight of:

(1) Not more than two thousand pounds, forty-five dollars;

(2) More than two thousand but not more than six thousand pounds, seventy dollars;

(3) More than six thousand but not more than ten thousand pounds, eighty-five dollars;

(4) More than ten thousand but not more than fourteen thousand pounds, one hundred five dollars;

(5) More than fourteen thousand but not more than eighteen thousand pounds, one hundred twenty-five dollars;

(6) More than eighteen thousand but not more than twenty-two thousand pounds, one hundred fifty dollars;

(7) More than twenty-two thousand but not more than twenty-six thousand pounds, one hundred seventy-five dollars;

(8) More than twenty-six thousand but not more than thirty thousand pounds, three hundred fifty-five dollars;

(9) More than thirty thousand but not more than thirty-four thousand pounds, four hundred twenty dollars;

(10) More than thirty-four thousand but not more than thirty-eight thousand pounds, four hundred eighty dollars;

(11) More than thirty-eight thousand but not more than forty-two thousand pounds, five hundred forty dollars;

(12) More than forty-two thousand but not more than forty-six thousand pounds, six hundred dollars;

(13) More than forty-six thousand but not more than fifty thousand pounds, six hundred sixty dollars;

(14) More than fifty thousand but not more than fifty-four thousand pounds, seven hundred twenty-five dollars;

(15) More than fifty-four thousand but not more than fifty-eight thousand pounds, seven hundred eighty-five dollars;

(16) More than fifty-eight thousand but not more than sixty-two thousand pounds, eight hundred fifty-five dollars;

(17) More than sixty-two thousand but not more than sixty-six thousand pounds, nine hundred twenty-five dollars;

(18) More than sixty-six thousand but not more than seventy thousand pounds, nine hundred ninety-five dollars;

(19) More than seventy thousand but not more than seventy-four thousand pounds, one thousand eighty dollars;

(20) More than seventy-four thousand but not more than seventy-eight thousand pounds, one thousand two hundred dollars;

(21) More than seventy-eight thousand pounds, one thousand three hundred forty dollars.

(B) The rates of the taxes imposed by section 4503.02 of the Revised Code are as follows for buses having a gross vehicle weight or combined gross vehicle weight of:

(1) Not more than two thousand pounds, ten dollars;

(2) More than two thousand but not more than six thousand pounds, forty dollars;

(3) More than six thousand but not more than ten thousand pounds, one hundred dollars;

(4) More than ten thousand but not more than fourteen thousand pounds, one hundred eighty dollars;

(5) More than fourteen thousand but not more than eighteen thousand pounds, two hundred sixty dollars;

(6) More than eighteen thousand but not more than twenty-two thousand pounds, three hundred forty dollars;

(7) More than twenty-two thousand but not more than twenty-six thousand pounds, four hundred twenty dollars;

(8) More than twenty-six thousand but not more than thirty thousand pounds, five hundred dollars;

(9) More than thirty thousand but not more than thirty-four thousand pounds, five hundred eighty dollars;

(10) More than thirty-four thousand but not more than thirty-eight thousand pounds, six hundred sixty dollars;

(11) More than thirty-eight thousand but not more than forty-two thousand pounds, seven hundred forty dollars;

(12) More than forty-two thousand but not more than forty-six thousand pounds, eight hundred twenty dollars;

(13) More than forty-six thousand but not more than fifty thousand pounds, nine hundred forty dollars;

(14) More than fifty thousand but not more than fifty-four thousand pounds, one thousand dollars;

(15) More than fifty-four thousand but not more than fifty-eight thousand pounds, one thousand ninety dollars;

(16) More than fifty-eight thousand but not more than sixty-two thousand pounds, one thousand one hundred eighty dollars;

(17) More than sixty-two thousand but not more than sixty-six thousand pounds, one thousand two hundred seventy dollars;

(18) More than sixty-six thousand but not more than seventy thousand pounds, one thousand three hundred sixty dollars;

(19) More than seventy thousand but not more than seventy-four thousand pounds, one thousand four hundred fifty dollars;

(20) More than seventy-four thousand but not more than seventy-eight thousand pounds, one thousand five hundred forty dollars;

(21) More than seventy-eight thousand pounds, one thousand six hundred thirty dollars.

(C) In addition to the license taxes imposed at the rates specified in divisions (A) and (B) of this section, an administrative fee of three dollars and twenty-five cents, plus an appropriate amount to cover the cost of postage, shall be collected by the registrar for each international registration plan license processed by the registrar. If the deputy registrar fees are increased on January 1, 2004, in accordance with section 4503.034 of the Revised Code, the administrative fee collected under this section is three dollars and fifty cents, commencing on that date, plus postage.

(D) The rate of the tax for each trailer and semitrailer is twenty-five dollars.

(E) The rates established by this section shall not apply to any of the following:

(1) Vehicles equipped, owned, and used by a charitable or nonprofit corporation exclusively for the purpose of administering chest x-rays or receiving blood donations;

(2) Vans used principally for the transportation of handicapped persons that have been modified by being equipped with adaptive equipment to facilitate the movement of such persons into and out of the vans;

(3) Buses used principally for the transportation of handicapped persons or persons sixty-five years of age or older;

(4) Buses used principally for the transportation of persons in a ridesharing arrangement;

(5) Transit buses having motor power;

(6) Noncommercial trailers, mobile homes, or manufactured homes.

Effective Date: 03-30-1999; 09-16-2004

(A) No person shall use a motor vehicle registered as a noncommercial motor vehicle for other than the purposes set forth in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

Effective Date: 01-01-2004

(A) The owner of each manufactured or mobile home that has acquired situs in this state shall pay either a real property tax pursuant to Title LVII of the Revised Code or a manufactured home tax pursuant to division (C) of this section.

(B) The owner of a manufactured or mobile home shall pay real property taxes if either of the following applies:

(1) The manufactured or mobile home acquired situs in the state or ownership in the home was transferred on or after January 1, 2000, and all of the following apply:

(a) The home is affixed to a permanent foundation as defined in division (C)(5) of section 3781.06 of the Revised Code.

(b) The home is located on land that is owned by the owner of the home.

(c) The certificate of title has been inactivated by the clerk of the court of common pleas that issued it, pursuant to division (H) of section 4505.11 of the Revised Code.

(2) The manufactured or mobile home acquired situs in the state or ownership in the home was transferred before January 1, 2000, and all of the following apply:

(a) The home is affixed to a permanent foundation as defined in division (C)(5) of section 3781.06 of the Revised Code.

(b) The home is located on land that is owned by the owner of the home.

(c) The owner of the home has elected to have the home taxed as real property and, pursuant to section 4505.11 of the Revised Code, has surrendered the certificate of title to the auditor of the county containing the taxing district in which the home has its situs, together with proof that all taxes have been paid.

(d) The county auditor has placed the home on the real property tax list and delivered the certificate of title to the clerk of the court of common pleas that issued it and the clerk has inactivated the certificate.

(C)(1) Any mobile or manufactured home that is not taxed as real property as provided in division (B) of this section is subject to an annual manufactured home tax, payable by the owner, for locating the home in this state. The tax as levied in this section is for the purpose of supplementing the general revenue funds of the local subdivisions in which the home has its situs pursuant to this section.

(2) The year for which the manufactured home tax is levied commences on the first day of January and ends on the following thirty-first day of December. The state shall have the first lien on any manufactured or mobile home on the list for the amount of taxes, penalties, and interest charged against the owner of the home under this section. The lien of the state for the tax for a year shall attach on the first day of January to a home that has acquired situs on that date. The lien for a home that has not acquired situs on the first day of January, but that acquires situs during the year, shall attach on the next first day of January. The lien shall continue until the tax, including any penalty or interest, is paid.

(3)(a) The situs of a manufactured or mobile home located in this state on the first day of January is the local taxing district in which the home is located on that date.

(b) The situs of a manufactured or mobile home not located in this state on the first day of January, but located in this state subsequent to that date, is the local taxing district in which the home is located thirty days after it is acquired or first enters this state.

(4) The tax is collected by and paid to the county treasurer of the county containing the taxing district in which the home has its situs.

(D) The manufactured home tax shall be computed and assessed by the county auditor of the county containing the taxing district in which the home has its situs as follows:

(1) On a home that acquired situs in this state prior to January 1, 2000:

(a) By multiplying the assessable value of the home by the tax rate of the taxing district in which the home has its situs, and deducting from the product thus obtained any reduction authorized under section 4503.065 of the Revised Code. The tax levied under this formula shall not be less than thirty-six dollars, unless the home qualifies for a reduction in assessable value under section 4503.065 of the Revised Code, in which case there shall be no minimum tax and the tax shall be the amount calculated under this division.

(b) The assessable value of the home shall be forty per cent of the amount arrived at by the following computation:

(i) If the cost to the owner, or market value at time of purchase, whichever is greater, of the home includes the furnishings and equipment, such cost or market value shall be multiplied according to the following schedule:

For the first calendar year in which the home is owned by the current owner x 80%

2nd calendar year x 75%

3rd ” x 70%

4th ” x 65%

5th ” x 60%

6th ” x 55%

7th ” x 50%

8th ” x 45%

9th ” x 40%

10th and each year thereafter x 35%

The first calendar year means any period between the first day of January and the thirty-first day of December of the first year.

(ii) If the cost to the owner, or market value at the time of purchase, whichever is greater, of the home does not include the furnishings and equipment, such cost or market value shall be multiplied according to the following schedule:

For the first calendar year in which the home is owned by the current owner x 95%

2nd calendar year x 90%

3rd ” x 85%

4th ” x 80%

5th ” x 75%

6th ” x 70%

7th ” x 65%

8th ” x 60%

9th ” x 55%

10th and each year thereafter x 50%

The first calendar year means any period between the first day of January and the thirty-first day of December of the first year.

(2) On a home in which ownership was transferred or that first acquired situs in this state on or after January 1, 2000:

(a) By multiplying the assessable value of the home by the effective tax rate, as defined in section 323.08 of the Revised Code, for residential real property of the taxing district in which the home has its situs, and deducting from the product thus obtained the reductions required or authorized under section 319.302, division (B) of section 323.152, or section 4503.065 of the Revised Code.

(b) The assessable value of the home shall be thirty-five per cent of its true value as determined under division (L) of this section.

(3) On or before the fifteenth day of January each year, the county auditor shall record the assessable value and the amount of tax on the manufactured or mobile home on the tax list and deliver a duplicate of the list to the county treasurer. In the case of an emergency as defined in section 323.17 of the Revised Code, the tax commissioner, by journal entry, may extend the times for delivery of the duplicate for an additional fifteen days upon receiving a written application from the county auditor regarding an extension for the delivery of the duplicate, or from the county treasurer regarding an extension of the time for the billing and collection of taxes. The application shall contain a statement describing the emergency that will cause the unavoidable delay and must be received by the tax commissioner on or before the last day of the month preceding the day delivery of the duplicate is otherwise required. When an extension is granted for delivery of the duplicate, the time period for payment of taxes shall be extended for a like period of time. When a delay in the closing of a tax collection period becomes unavoidable, the tax commissioner, upon application by the county auditor and county treasurer, may order the time for payment of taxes to be extended if the tax commissioner determines that penalties have accrued or would otherwise accrue for reasons beyond the control of the taxpayers of the county. The order shall prescribe the final extended date for payment of taxes for that collection period.

(4) After January 1, 1999, the owner of a manufactured or mobile home taxed pursuant to division (D)(1) of this section may elect to have the home taxed pursuant to division (D)(2) of this section by filing a written request with the county auditor of the taxing district in which the home is located on or before the first day of December of any year. Upon the filing of the request, the county auditor shall determine whether all taxes levied under division (D)(1) of this section have been paid, and if those taxes have been paid, the county auditor shall tax the manufactured or mobile home pursuant to division (D)(2) of this section commencing in the next tax year.

(5) A manufactured or mobile home that acquired situs in this state prior to January 1, 2000, shall be taxed pursuant to division (D)(2) of this section if no manufactured home tax had been paid for the home and the home was not exempted from taxation pursuant to division (E) of this section for the year for which the taxes were not paid.

(6)(a) Immediately upon receipt of any manufactured home tax duplicate from the county auditor, but not less than twenty days prior to the last date on which the first one-half taxes may be paid without penalty as prescribed in division (F) of this section, the county treasurer shall cause to be prepared and mailed or delivered to each person charged on that duplicate with taxes, or to an agent designated by such person, the tax bill prescribed by the tax commissioner under division (D)(7) of this section. When taxes are paid by installments, the county treasurer shall mail or deliver to each person charged on such duplicate or the agent designated by that person a second tax bill showing the amount due at the time of the second tax collection. The second half tax bill shall be mailed or delivered at least twenty days prior to the close of the second half tax collection period. A change in the mailing address of any tax bill shall be made in writing to the county treasurer. Failure to receive a bill required by this section does not excuse failure or delay to pay any taxes shown on the bill or, except as provided in division (B)(1) of section 5715.39 of the Revised Code, avoid any penalty, interest, or charge for such delay.

(b) After delivery of the copy of the delinquent manufactured home tax list under division (H) of this section, the county treasurer may prepare and mail to each person in whose name a home is listed an additional tax bill showing the total amount of delinquent taxes charged against the home as shown on the list. The tax bill shall include a notice that the interest charge prescribed by division (G) of this section has begun to accrue.

(7) Each tax bill prepared and mailed or delivered under division (D)(6) of this section shall be in the form and contain the information required by the tax commissioner. The commissioner may prescribe different forms for each county and may authorize the county auditor to make up tax bills and tax receipts to be used by the county treasurer. The tax bill shall not contain or be mailed or delivered with any information or material that is not required by this section or that is not authorized by section 321.45 of the Revised Code or by the tax commissioner. In addition to the information required by the commissioner, each tax bill shall contain the following information:

(a) The taxes levied and the taxes charged and payable against the manufactured or mobile home;

(b) The following notice: “Notice: If the taxes are not paid within sixty days after the county auditor delivers the delinquent manufactured home tax list to the county treasurer, you and your home may be subject to collection proceedings for tax delinquency.” Failure to provide such notice has no effect upon the validity of any tax judgment to which a home may be subjected.

(c) In the case of manufactured or mobile homes taxed under division (D)(2) of this section, the following additional information:

(i) The effective tax rate. The words “effective tax rate” shall appear in boldface type.

(ii) The following notice: “Notice: If the taxes charged against this home have been reduced by the 2-1/2 per cent tax reduction for residences occupied by the owner but the home is not a residence occupied by the owner, the owner must notify the county auditor’s office not later than March 31 of the year for which the taxes are due. Failure to do so may result in the owner being convicted of a fourth degree misdemeanor, which is punishable by imprisonment up to 30 days, a fine up to $250, or both, and in the owner having to repay the amount by which the taxes were erroneously or illegally reduced, plus any interest that may apply.

If the taxes charged against this home have not been reduced by the 2-1/2 per cent tax reduction and the home is a residence occupied by the owner, the home may qualify for the tax reduction. To obtain an application for the tax reduction or further information, the owner may contact the county auditor’s office at …....... (insert the address and telephone number of the county auditor’s office).”

(E)(1) A manufactured or mobile home is not subject to this section when any of the following applies:

(a) It is taxable as personal property pursuant to section 5709.01 of the Revised Code. Any manufactured or mobile home that is used as a residence shall be subject to this section and shall not be taxable as personal property pursuant to section 5709.01 of the Revised Code.

(b) It bears a license plate issued by any state other than this state unless the home is in this state in excess of an accumulative period of thirty days in any calendar year.

(c) The annual tax has been paid on the home in this state for the current year.

(d) The tax commissioner has determined, pursuant to section 5715.27 of the Revised Code, that the property is exempt from taxation, or would be exempt from taxation under Chapter 5709. of the Revised Code if it were classified as real property.

(2) A travel trailer or park trailer, as these terms are defined in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code, is not subject to this section if it is unused or unoccupied and stored at the owner’s normal place of residence or at a recognized storage facility.

(3) A travel trailer or park trailer, as these terms are defined in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code, is subject to this section and shall be taxed as a manufactured or mobile home if it has a situs longer than thirty days in one location and is connected to existing utilities, unless either of the following applies:

(a) The situs is in a state facility or a camping or park area as defined in division (C), (Q), (S), or (V) of section 3729.01 of the Revised Code.

(b) The situs is in a camping or park area that is a tract of land that has been limited to recreational use by deed or zoning restrictions and subdivided for sale of five or more individual lots for the express or implied purpose of occupancy by either self-contained recreational vehicles as defined in division (T) of section 3729.01 of the Revised Code or by dependent recreational vehicles as defined in division (D) of section 3729.01 of the Revised Code.

(F) Except as provided in division (D)(3) of this section, the manufactured home tax is due and payable as follows:

(1) When a manufactured or mobile home has a situs in this state, as provided in this section, on the first day of January, one-half of the amount of the tax is due and payable on or before the first day of March and the balance is due and payable on or before the thirty-first day of July. At the option of the owner of the home, the tax for the entire year may be paid in full on the first day of March.

(2) When a manufactured or mobile home first acquires a situs in this state after the first day of January, no tax is due and payable for that year.

(G)(1)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (G)(1)(b) of this section, if one-half of the current taxes charged under this section against a manufactured or mobile home, together with the full amount of any delinquent taxes, are not paid on or before the first day of March in that year, or on or before the last day for such payment as extended pursuant to section 4503.063 of the Revised Code, a penalty of ten per cent shall be charged against the unpaid balance of such half of the current taxes. If the total amount of all such taxes is not paid on or before the thirty-first day of July, next thereafter, or on or before the last day for payment as extended pursuant to section 4503.063 of the Revised Code, a like penalty shall be charged on the balance of the total amount of the unpaid current taxes.

(b) After a valid delinquent tax contract that includes unpaid current taxes from a first-half collection period described in division (F) of this section has been entered into under section 323.31 of the Revised Code, no ten per cent penalty shall be charged against such taxes after the second-half collection period while the delinquent tax contract remains in effect. On the day a delinquent tax contract becomes void, the ten per cent penalty shall be charged against such taxes and shall equal the amount of penalty that would have been charged against unpaid current taxes outstanding on the date on which the second-half penalty would have been charged thereon under division (G)(1)(a) of this section if the contract had not been in effect.

(2)(a) On the first day of the month following the last day the second installment of taxes may be paid without penalty beginning in 2000, interest shall be charged against and computed on all delinquent taxes other than the current taxes that became delinquent taxes at the close of the last day such second installment could be paid without penalty. The charge shall be for interest that accrued during the period that began on the preceding first day of December and ended on the last day of the month that included the last date such second installment could be paid without penalty. The interest shall be computed at the rate per annum prescribed by section 5703.47 of the Revised Code and shall be entered as a separate item on the delinquent manufactured home tax list compiled under division (H) of this section.

(b) On the first day of December beginning in 2000, the interest shall be charged against and computed on all delinquent taxes. The charge shall be for interest that accrued during the period that began on the first day of the month following the last date prescribed for the payment of the second installment of taxes in the current year and ended on the immediately preceding last day of November. The interest shall be computed at the rate per annum prescribed by section 5703.47 of the Revised Code and shall be entered as a separate item on the delinquent manufactured home tax list.

(c) After a valid undertaking has been entered into for the payment of any delinquent taxes, no interest shall be charged against such delinquent taxes while the undertaking remains in effect in compliance with section 323.31 of the Revised Code. If a valid undertaking becomes void, interest shall be charged against the delinquent taxes for the periods that interest was not permitted to be charged while the undertaking was in effect. The interest shall be charged on the day the undertaking becomes void and shall equal the amount of interest that would have been charged against the unpaid delinquent taxes outstanding on the dates on which interest would have been charged thereon under divisions (G)(1) and (2) of this section had the undertaking not been in effect.

(3) If the full amount of the taxes due at either of the times prescribed by division (F) of this section is paid within ten days after such time, the county treasurer shall waive the collection of and the county auditor shall remit one-half of the penalty provided for in this division for failure to make that payment by the prescribed time.

(4) The treasurer shall compile and deliver to the county auditor a list of all tax payments the treasurer has received as provided in division (G)(3) of this section. The list shall include any information required by the auditor for the remission of the penalties waived by the treasurer. The taxes so collected shall be included in the settlement next succeeding the settlement then in process.

(H)(1) Beginning in 2000, the county auditor shall compile annually a “delinquent manufactured home tax list” consisting of homes the county treasurer’s records indicate have taxes that were not paid within the time prescribed by divisions (D)(3) and (F) of this section, have taxes that remain unpaid from prior years, or have unpaid tax penalties or interest that have been assessed.

(2) Within thirty days after the settlement under division (H)(2) of section 321.24 of the Revised Code beginning in 2000, the county auditor shall deliver a copy of the delinquent manufactured home tax list to the county treasurer. The auditor shall update and publish the delinquent manufactured home tax list annually in the same manner as delinquent real property tax lists are published. The county auditor shall apportion the cost of publishing the list among taxing districts in proportion to the amount of delinquent manufactured home taxes so published that each taxing district is entitled to receive upon collection of those taxes.

(3) When taxes, penalties, or interest are charged against a person on the delinquent manufactured home tax list and are not paid within sixty days after the list is delivered to the county treasurer, the county treasurer shall, in addition to any other remedy provided by law for the collection of taxes, penalties, and interest, enforce collection of such taxes, penalties, and interest by civil action in the name of the treasurer against the owner for the recovery of the unpaid taxes following the procedures for the recovery of delinquent real property taxes in sections 323.25 to 323.28 of the Revised Code. The action may be brought in municipal or county court, provided the amount charged does not exceed the monetary limitations for original jurisdiction for civil actions in those courts.

It is sufficient, having made proper parties to the suit, for the county treasurer to allege in the treasurer’s bill of particulars or petition that the taxes stand chargeable on the books of the county treasurer against such person, that they are due and unpaid, and that such person is indebted in the amount of taxes appearing to be due the county. The treasurer need not set forth any other matter relating thereto. If it is found on the trial of the action that the person is indebted to the state, judgment shall be rendered in favor of the county treasurer prosecuting the action. The judgment debtor is not entitled to the benefit of any law for stay of execution or exemption of property from levy or sale on execution in the enforcement of the judgment.

Upon the filing of an entry of confirmation of sale or an order of forfeiture in a proceeding brought under this division, title to the manufactured or mobile home shall be in the purchaser. The clerk of courts shall issue a certificate of title to the purchaser upon presentation of proof of filing of the entry of confirmation or order and, in the case of a forfeiture, presentation of the county auditor’s certificate of sale.

(I) The total amount of taxes collected shall be distributed in the following manner: four per cent shall be allowed as compensation to the county auditor for the county auditor’s service in assessing the taxes; two per cent shall be allowed as compensation to the county treasurer for the services the county treasurer renders as a result of the tax levied by this section. Such amounts shall be paid into the county treasury, to the credit of the county general revenue fund, on the warrant of the county auditor. Fees to be paid to the credit of the real estate assessment fund shall be collected pursuant to division (C) of section 319.54 of the Revised Code and paid into the county treasury, on the warrant of the county auditor. The balance of the taxes collected shall be distributed among the taxing subdivisions of the county in which the taxes are collected and paid in the same ratio as those taxes were collected for the benefit of the taxing subdivision. The taxes levied and revenues collected under this section shall be in lieu of any general property tax and any tax levied with respect to the privilege of using or occupying a manufactured or mobile home in this state except as provided in sections 4503.04 and 5741.02 of the Revised Code.

(J) An agreement to purchase or a bill of sale for a manufactured home shall show whether or not the furnishings and equipment are included in the purchase price.

(K) If the county treasurer and the county prosecuting attorney agree that an item charged on the delinquent manufactured home tax list is uncollectible, they shall certify that determination and the reasons to the county board of revision. If the board determines the amount is uncollectible, it shall certify its determination to the county auditor, who shall strike the item from the list.

(L)(1) The county auditor shall appraise at its true value any manufactured or mobile home in which ownership is transferred or which first acquires situs in this state on or after January 1, 2000, and any manufactured or mobile home the owner of which has elected, under division (D)(4) of this section, to have the home taxed under division (D)(2) of this section. The true value shall include the value of the home, any additions, and any fixtures, but not any furnishings in the home. In determining the true value of a manufactured or mobile home, the auditor shall consider all facts and circumstances relating to the value of the home, including its age, its capacity to function as a residence, any obsolete characteristics, and other factors that may tend to prove its true value.

(2)(a) If a manufactured or mobile home has been the subject of an arm’s length sale between a willing seller and a willing buyer within a reasonable length of time prior to the determination of true value, the county auditor shall consider the sale price of the home to be the true value for taxation purposes.

(b) The sale price in an arm’s length transaction between a willing seller and a willing buyer shall not be considered the true value of the home if either of the following occurred after the sale:

(i) The home has lost value due to a casualty.

(ii) An addition or fixture has been added to the home.

(3) The county auditor shall have each home viewed and appraised at least once in each six-year period in the same year in which real property in the county is appraised pursuant to Chapter 5713. of the Revised Code, and shall update the appraised values in the third calendar year following the appraisal. The person viewing or appraising a home may enter the home to determine by actual view any additions or fixtures that have been added since the last appraisal. In conducting the appraisals and establishing the true value, the auditor shall follow the procedures set forth for appraising real property in sections 5713.01 and 5713.03 of the Revised Code.

(4) The county auditor shall place the true value of each home on the manufactured home tax list upon completion of an appraisal.

(5)(a) If the county auditor changes the true value of a home, the auditor shall notify the owner of the home in writing, delivered by mail or in person. The notice shall be given at least thirty days prior to the issuance of any tax bill that reflects the change. Failure to receive the notice does not invalidate any proceeding under this section.

(b) Any owner of a home or any other person or party listed in division (A)(1) of section 5715.19 of the Revised Code may file a complaint against the true value of the home as appraised under this section. The complaint shall be filed with the county auditor on or before the thirty-first day of March of the current tax year or the date of closing of the collection for the first half of manufactured home taxes for the current tax year, whichever is later. The auditor shall present to the county board of revision all complaints filed with the auditor under this section. The board shall hear and investigate the complaint and may take action on it as provided under sections 5715.11 to 5715.19 of the Revised Code.

(c) If the county board of revision determines, pursuant to a complaint against the valuation of a manufactured or mobile home filed under this section, that the amount of taxes, assessments, or other charges paid was in excess of the amount due based on the valuation as finally determined, then the overpayment shall be refunded in the manner prescribed in section 5715.22 of the Revised Code.

(d) Payment of all or part of a tax under this section for any year for which a complaint is pending before the county board of revision does not abate the complaint or in any way affect the hearing and determination thereof.

(M) If the county auditor determines that any tax or other charge or any part thereof has been erroneously charged as a result of a clerical error as defined in section 319.35 of the Revised Code, the county auditor shall call the attention of the county board of revision to the erroneous charges. If the board finds that the taxes or other charges have been erroneously charged or collected, it shall certify the finding to the auditor. Upon receipt of the certification, the auditor shall remove the erroneous charges on the manufactured home tax list or delinquent manufactured home tax list in the same manner as is prescribed in section 319.35 of the Revised Code for erroneous charges against real property, and refund any erroneous charges that have been collected, with interest, in the same manner as is prescribed in section 319.36 of the Revised Code for erroneous charges against real property.

(N) As used in this section and section 4503.061 of the Revised Code:

(1) “Manufactured home taxes” includes taxes, penalties, and interest charged under division (C) or (G) of this section and any penalties charged under division (G) or (H)(5) of section 4503.061 of the Revised Code.

(2) “Current taxes” means all manufactured home taxes charged against a manufactured or mobile home that have not appeared on the manufactured home tax list for any prior year. Current taxes become delinquent taxes if they remain unpaid after the last day prescribed for payment of the second installment of current taxes without penalty, whether or not they have been certified delinquent.

(3) “Delinquent taxes” means:

(a) Any manufactured home taxes that were charged against a manufactured or mobile home for a prior year, including any penalties or interest charged for a prior year, and that remain unpaid;

(b) Any current manufactured home taxes charged against a manufactured or mobile home that remain unpaid after the last day prescribed for payment of the second installment of current taxes without penalty, whether or not they have been certified delinquent, including any penalties or interest.

Effective Date: 06-15-2004; 2007 HB119 06-30-2007

(A) All manufactured and mobile homes shall be listed on either the real property tax list or the manufactured home tax list of the county in which the home has situs. Each owner shall follow the procedures in this section to identify the home to the county auditor of the county containing the taxing district in which the home has situs so that the auditor may place the home on the appropriate tax list.

(B) When a manufactured or mobile home first acquires situs in this state and is subject to real property taxation pursuant to division (B)(1) or (2) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code, the owner shall present to the auditor of the county containing the taxing district in which the home has its situs the certificate of title for the home, together with proof that all taxes due have been paid and proof that a relocation notice was obtained for the home if required under this section. Upon receiving the certificate of title and the required proofs, the auditor shall place the home on the real property tax list and proceed to treat the home as other properties on that list. After the auditor has placed the home on the tax list of real and public utility property, the auditor shall deliver the certificate of title to the clerk of the court of common pleas that issued it pursuant to section 4505.11 of the Revised Code, and the clerk shall inactivate the certificate of title.

(C)(1) When a manufactured or mobile home subject to a manufactured home tax is relocated to or first acquires situs in any county that has adopted a permanent manufactured home registration system, as provided in division (F) of this section, the owner, within thirty days after the home is relocated or first acquires situs under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code, shall register the home with the county auditor of the county containing the taxing district in which the home has its situs. For the first registration in each county of situs, the owner or vendee in possession shall present to the county auditor an Ohio certificate of title, certified copy of the certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title as such are required by law, and proof, as required by the county auditor, that the home, if it has previously been occupied and is being relocated, has been previously registered, that all taxes due and required to be paid under division (H)(1) of this section before a relocation notice may be issued have been paid, and that a relocation notice was obtained for the home if required by division (H) of this section. If the owner or vendee does not possess the Ohio certificate of title, certified copy of the certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title at the time the owner or vendee first registers the home in a county, the county auditor shall register the home without presentation of the document, but the owner or vendee shall present the certificate of title, certified copy of the certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title to the county auditor within fourteen days after the owner or vendee obtains possession of the document.

(2) When a manufactured or mobile home is registered for the first time in a county and when the total tax due has been paid as required by division (F) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code or divisions (E) and (H) of this section, the county treasurer shall note by writing or by a stamp on the certificate of title, certified copy of certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title that the home has been registered and that the taxes due, if any, have been paid for the preceding five years and for the current year. The treasurer shall then issue a certificate evidencing registration and a decal to be displayed on the street side of the home. The certificate is valid in any county in this state during the year for which it is issued.

(3) For each year thereafter, the county treasurer shall issue a tax bill stating the amount of tax due under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code, as provided in division (D)(6) of that section. When the total tax due has been paid as required by division (F) of that section, the county treasurer shall issue a certificate evidencing registration that shall be valid in any county in this state during the year for which the certificate is issued.

(4) The permanent decal issued under this division is valid during the period of ownership, except that when a manufactured home is relocated in another county the owner shall apply for a new registration as required by this section and section 4503.06 of the Revised Code.

(D)(1) All owners of manufactured or mobile homes subject to the manufactured home tax being relocated to or having situs in a county that has not adopted a permanent registration system, as provided in division (F) of this section, shall register the home within thirty days after the home is relocated or first acquires situs under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code and thereafter shall annually register the home with the county auditor of the county containing the taxing district in which the home has its situs.

(2) Upon the annual registration, the county treasurer shall issue a tax bill stating the amount of annual manufactured home tax due under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code, as provided in division (D)(6) of that section. When a manufactured or mobile home is registered and when the tax for the current one-half year has been paid as required by division (F) of that section, the county treasurer shall issue a certificate evidencing registration and a decal. The certificate and decal are valid in any county in this state during the year for which they are issued. The decal shall be displayed on the street side of the home.

(3) For the first annual registration in each county of situs, the county auditor shall require the owner or vendee to present an Ohio certificate of title, certified copy of the certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title as such are required by law, and proof, as required by the county auditor, that the manufactured or mobile home has been previously registered, if such registration was required, that all taxes due and required to be paid under division (H)(1) of this section before a relocation notice may be issued have been paid, and that a relocation notice was obtained for the home if required by division (H) of this section. If the owner or vendee does not possess the Ohio certificate of title, certified copy of the certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title at the time the owner or vendee first registers the home in a county, the county auditor shall register the home without presentation of the document, but the owner or vendee shall present the certificate of title, certified copy of the certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title to the county auditor within fourteen days after the owner or vendee obtains possession of the document. When the county treasurer receives the tax payment, the county treasurer shall note by writing or by a stamp on the certificate of title, certified copy of the certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title that the home has been registered for the current year and that the manufactured home taxes due, if any, have been paid for the preceding five years and for the current year.

(4) For subsequent annual registrations, the auditor may require the owner or vendee in possession to present an Ohio certificate of title, certified copy of the certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title to the county treasurer upon payment of the manufactured home tax that is due.

(E)(1) Upon the application to transfer ownership of a manufactured or mobile home for which manufactured home taxes are paid pursuant to division (C) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code the clerk of the court of common pleas shall not issue any certificate of title that does not contain or have attached both of the following:

(a) An endorsement of the county treasurer stating that the home has been registered for each year of ownership and that all manufactured home taxes imposed pursuant to section 4503.06 of the Revised Code have been paid or that no tax is due;

(b) An endorsement of the county auditor that the manufactured home transfer tax imposed pursuant to section 322.06 of the Revised Code and any fees imposed under division (G) of section 319.54 of the Revised Code have been paid.

(2) If all the taxes have not been paid, the clerk shall notify the vendee to contact the county treasurer of the county containing the taxing district in which the home has its situs at the time of the proposed transfer. The county treasurer shall then collect all the taxes that are due for the year of the transfer and all previous years not exceeding a total of five years. The county treasurer shall distribute that part of the collection owed to the county treasurer of other counties if the home had its situs in another county during a particular year when the unpaid tax became due and payable. The burden to prove the situs of the home in the years that the taxes were not paid is on the transferor of the home. Upon payment of the taxes, the county auditor shall remove all remaining taxes from the manufactured home tax list and the delinquent manufactured home tax list, and the county treasurer shall release all liens for such taxes. The clerk of courts shall issue a certificate of title, free and clear of all liens for manufactured home taxes, to the transferee of the home.

(3) Once the transfer is complete and the certificate of title has been issued, the transferee shall register the manufactured or mobile home pursuant to division (C) or (D) of this section with the county auditor of the county containing the taxing district in which the home remains after the transfer or, if the home is relocated to another county, with the county auditor of the county to which the home is relocated. The transferee need not pay the annual tax for the year of acquisition if the original owner has already paid the annual tax for that year.

(F) The county auditor may adopt a permanent registration system and issue a permanent decal with the first registration as prescribed by the tax commissioner.

(G) When any manufactured or mobile home required to be registered by this section is not registered, the county auditor shall impose a penalty of one hundred dollars upon the owner and deposit the amount to the credit of the county real estate assessment fund to be used to pay the costs of administering this section and section 4503.06 of the Revised Code. If unpaid, the penalty shall constitute a lien on the home and shall be added by the county auditor to the manufactured home tax list for collection.

(H)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this division, before moving a manufactured or mobile home on public roads from one address within this state to another address within or outside this state, the owner of the home shall obtain a relocation notice, as provided by this section, from the auditor of the county in which the home is located if the home is currently subject to taxation pursuant to section 4503.06 of the Revised Code. The auditor shall charge five dollars for the notice, and deposit the amount to the credit of the county real estate assessment fund to be used to pay the costs of administering this section and section 4503.06 of the Revised Code. The auditor shall not issue a relocation notice unless all taxes owed on the home under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code that were first charged to the home during the period of ownership of the owner seeking the relocation notice have been paid. If the home is being moved by a new owner of the home or by a party taking repossession of the home, the auditor shall not issue a relocation notice unless all of the taxes due for the preceding five years and for the current year have been paid. A relocation notice issued by a county auditor is valid until the last day of December of the year in which it was issued.

If the home is being moved by a sheriff, police officer, constable, bailiff, or manufactured home park operator, as defined in section 3733.01 of the Revised Code, or any agent of any of these persons, for purposes of removal from a manufactured home park and storage, sale, or destruction under section 1923.14 of the Revised Code, the auditor shall issue a relocation notice without requiring payment of any taxes owed on the home under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code.

(2) If a manufactured or mobile home is not yet subject to taxation under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code, the owner of the home shall obtain a relocation notice from the dealer of the home. Within thirty days after the manufactured or mobile home is purchased, the dealer of the home shall provide the auditor of the county in which the home is to be located written notice of the name of the purchaser of the home, the registration number or vehicle identification number of the home, and the address or location to which the home is to be moved. The county auditor shall provide to each manufactured and mobile home dealer, without charge, a supply of relocation notices to be distributed to purchasers pursuant to this section.

(3) The notice shall be in the form of a one-foot square yellow sign with the words “manufactured home relocation notice” printed prominently on it. The name of the owner of the home, the home’s registration number or vehicle identification number, the county and the address or location to which the home is being moved, and the county in which the notice is issued shall also be entered on the notice.

(4) The relocation notice must be attached to the rear of the home when the home is being moved on a public road. Except as provided in divisions (H)(1) and (5) of this section, no person shall drive a motor vehicle moving a manufactured or mobile home on a public road from one address to another address within this state unless a relocation notice is attached to the rear of the home.

(5) If the county auditor determines that a manufactured or mobile home has been moved without a relocation notice as required under this division, the auditor shall impose a penalty of one hundred dollars upon the owner of the home and upon the person who moved the home and deposit the amount to the credit of the county real estate assessment fund to pay the costs of administering this section and section 4503.06 of the Revised Code. If the home was relocated from one county in this state to another county in this state and the county auditor of the county to which the home was relocated imposes the penalty, that county auditor, upon collection of the penalty, shall cause an amount equal to the penalty to be transmitted from the county real estate assessment fund to the county auditor of the county from which the home was relocated, who shall deposit the amount to the credit of the county real estate assessment fund. If the penalty on the owner is unpaid, the penalty shall constitute a lien on the home and the auditor shall add the penalty to the manufactured home tax list for collection. If the county auditor determines that a dealer that has sold a manufactured or mobile home has failed to timely provide the information required under this division, the auditor shall impose a penalty upon the dealer in the amount of one hundred dollars. The penalty shall be credited to the county real estate assessment fund and used to pay the costs of administering this section and section 4503.06 of the Revised Code.

(I) Whoever violates division (H)(4) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

Effective Date: 01-01-2004

(A) Every operator of a manufactured home court, or manufactured home park, as defined in section 3733.01 of the Revised Code, or when there is no operator, every owner of property used for such purposes on which three or more manufactured or mobile homes are located, shall keep a register of all manufactured and mobile homes that make use of the court, park, or property. The register shall contain all of the following :

(1) The name of the owner and all inhabitants of each home;

(2) The ages of all inhabitants of each home;

(3) The permanent and temporary post office addresses of all inhabitants of each home;

(4) The license number of each home;

(5) The state issuing each such license;

(6) The date of arrival and of departure of each home;

(7) The make and model of each home, if known and if either of the following applies:

(a) The home enters the court, park, or property on or after January 1, 2003.

(b) Ownership of the home in the court or park, or on the property, is transferred on or after January 1, 2003.

(B) The register shall be open to inspection by the county auditor, the county treasurer, agents of the auditor or treasurer, and all law enforcement agencies at all times.

(C) Any person who fails to comply with this section shall be fined not less than twenty-five nor more than one hundred dollars.

Effective Date: 04-03-2003

The county auditor and county treasurer may appoint any suitable residents of the county as their deputies to perform any of the duties required of them by sections 4503.06, 4503.061, and 4503.062 of the Revised Code.

The tax commissioner shall prescribe forms which shall contain all relevant information necessary in the collection and payment of the tax and the registration of manufactured and mobile homes, as provided in sections 4503.06 and 4503.061 of the Revised Code, and shall provide such other assistance as necessary to enable the county auditor to administer the tax.

The tax commissioner, pursuant to division (D)(3) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code, may extend the time for payment of the tax.

Effective Date: 04-09-2001

As used in sections 4503.064 to 4503.069 of the Revised Code:

(A) “Sixty-five years of age or older” means a person who will be age sixty-five or older in the calendar year following the year of application for reduction in the assessable value of the person’s manufactured or mobile home.

(B) “Permanently and totally disabled” means a person who, on the first day of January of the year of application, including late application, for reduction in the assessable value of a manufactured or mobile home, has some impairment in body or mind that makes the person unable to work at any substantially remunerative employment which the person is reasonably able to perform and which will, with reasonable probability, continue for an indefinite period of at least twelve months without any present indication of recovery therefrom or has been certified as permanently and totally disabled by a state or federal agency having the function of so classifying persons.

(C) “Homestead exemption” means the reduction in taxes allowed under division (A) of section 323.152 of the Revised Code for the year in which an application is filed under section 4503.066 of the Revised Code.

(D) “Manufactured home” has the meaning given in division (C)(4) of section 3781.06 of the Revised Code, and includes a structure consisting of two manufactured homes that were purchased either together or separately and are combined to form a single dwelling, but does not include a manufactured home that is taxed as real property pursuant to division (B) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code.

(E) “Mobile home” has the meaning given in division (O) of section 4501.01 of the Revised Code and includes a structure consisting of two mobile homes that were purchased together or separately and combined to form a single dwelling, but does not include a mobile home that is taxed as real property pursuant to division (B) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code.

(F) “Late application” means an application filed with an original application under division (A)(3) of section 4503.066 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 08-12-1999; 11-26-2004; 2007 HB119 06-30-2007

(A) This section applies to any of the following:

(1) An individual who is permanently and totally disabled;

(2) An individual who is sixty-five years of age or older;

(3) An individual who is the surviving spouse of a deceased person who was permanently and totally disabled or sixty-five years of age or older and who applied and qualified for a reduction in assessable value under this section in the year of death, provided the surviving spouse is at least fifty-nine but not sixty-five or more years of age on the date the deceased spouse dies.

(B) The manufactured home tax on a manufactured or mobile home that is paid pursuant to division (C) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code and that is owned and occupied as a home by an individual whose domicile is in this state and to whom this section applies, shall be reduced for any tax year for which the owner obtains a certificate of reduction from the county auditor under section 4503.067 of the Revised Code, provided the individual did not acquire ownership from a person, other than the individual’s spouse, related by consanguinity or affinity for the purpose of qualifying for the reduction. An owner includes a settlor of a revocable inter vivos trust holding the title to a manufactured or mobile home occupied by the settlor as of right under the trust.

(1) For manufactured and mobile homes for which the tax imposed by section 4503.06 of the Revised Code is computed under division (D)(2) of that section, the reduction shall equal the greater of the reduction granted for the tax year preceding the first tax year to which this section applies pursuant to Section 803.06 of Am. Sub. H.B. 119 of the 127th general assembly, if the taxpayer received a reduction for that preceding tax year, or the product of the following:

(a) Twenty-five thousand dollars of the true value of the property in money;

(b) The assessment percentage established by the tax commissioner under division (B) of section 5715.01 of the Revised Code, not to exceed thirty-five per cent;

(c) The effective tax rate used to calculate the taxes charged against the property for the current year, where “effective tax rate” is defined as in section 323.08 of the Revised Code;

(d) The quantity equal to one minus the sum of the percentage reductions in taxes received by the property for the current tax year under section 319.302 of the Revised Code and division (B) of section 323.152 of the Revised Code.

(2) For manufactured and mobile homes for which the tax imposed by section 4503.06 of the Revised Code is computed under division (D)(1) of that section, the reduction shall equal the greater of the reduction granted for the tax year preceding the first tax year to which this section applies pursuant to Section 803.06 of Am. Sub. H.B. 119 of the 127th general assembly, if the taxpayer received a reduction for that preceding tax year, or the product of the following:

(a) Twenty-five thousand dollars of the cost to the owner, or the market value at the time of purchase, whichever is greater, as those terms are used in division (D)(1) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code;

(b) The percentage from the appropriate schedule in division (D)(1)(b) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code;

(c) The assessment percentage of forty per cent used in division (D)(1)(b) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code;

(d) The tax rate of the taxing district in which the home has its situs.

(C) If the owner or the spouse of the owner of a manufactured or mobile home is eligible for a homestead exemption on the land upon which the home is located, the reduction to which the owner or spouse is entitled under this section shall not exceed the difference between the reduction to which the owner or spouse is entitled under division (B) of this section and the amount of the reduction under the homestead exemption.

(D) No reduction shall be made with respect to the home of any person convicted of violating division (C) or (D) of section 4503.066 of the Revised Code for a period of three years following the conviction.

Effective Date: 03-11-2004; 2007 HB119 06-30-2007

(A)(1) To obtain a tax reduction under section 4503.065 of the Revised Code, the owner of the home shall file an application with the county auditor of the county in which the home is located. An application for reduction in taxes based upon a physical disability shall be accompanied by a certificate signed by a physician, and an application for reduction in taxes based upon a mental disability shall be accompanied by a certificate signed by a physician or psychologist licensed to practice in this state. The certificate shall attest to the fact that the applicant is permanently and totally disabled, shall be in a form that the department of taxation requires, and shall include the definition of totally and permanently disabled as set forth in section 4503.064 of the Revised Code. An application for reduction in taxes based upon a disability certified as permanent and total by a state or federal agency having the function of so classifying persons shall be accompanied by a certificate from that agency.

(2) Each application shall constitute a continuing application for a reduction in taxes for each year in which the manufactured or mobile home is occupied by the applicant. Failure to receive a new application or notification under division (B) of this section after a certificate of reduction has been issued under section 4503.067 of the Revised Code is prima-facie evidence that the original applicant is entitled to the reduction calculated on the basis of the information contained in the original application. The original application and any subsequent application shall be in the form of a signed statement and shall be filed not later than the first Monday in June. The statement shall be on a form, devised and supplied by the tax commissioner, that shall require no more information than is necessary to establish the applicant’s eligibility for the reduction in taxes and the amount of the reduction to which the applicant is entitled. The form also shall contain a statement that conviction of willfully falsifying information to obtain a reduction in taxes or failing to comply with division (B) of this section shall result in the revocation of the right to the reduction for a period of three years.

(3) A late application for a reduction in taxes for the year preceding the year for which an original application is filed may be filed with an original application. If the auditor determines that the information contained in the late application is correct, the auditor shall determine both the amount of the reduction in taxes to which the applicant would have been entitled for the current tax year had the application been timely filed and approved in the preceding year, and the amount the taxes levied under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code for the current year would have been reduced as a result of the reduction. When an applicant is permanently and totally disabled on the first day of January of the year in which the applicant files a late application, the auditor, in making the determination of the amounts of the reduction in taxes under division (A)(3) of this section, is not required to determine that the applicant was permanently and totally disabled on the first day of January of the preceding year.

The amount of the reduction in taxes pursuant to a late application shall be treated as an overpayment of taxes by the applicant. The auditor shall credit the amount of the overpayment against the amount of the taxes or penalties then due from the applicant, and, at the next succeeding settlement, the amount of the credit shall be deducted from the amount of any taxes or penalties distributable to the county or any taxing unit in the county that has received the benefit of the taxes or penalties previously overpaid, in proportion to the benefits previously received. If, after the credit has been made, there remains a balance of the overpayment, or if there are no taxes or penalties due from the applicant, the auditor shall refund that balance to the applicant by a warrant drawn on the county treasurer in favor of the applicant. The treasurer shall pay the warrant from the general fund of the county. If there is insufficient money in the general fund to make the payment, the treasurer shall pay the warrant out of any undivided manufactured or mobile home taxes subsequently received by the treasurer for distribution to the county or taxing district in the county that received the benefit of the overpaid taxes, in proportion to the benefits previously received, and the amount paid from the undivided funds shall be deducted from the money otherwise distributable to the county or taxing district in the county at the next or any succeeding distribution. At the next or any succeeding distribution after making the refund, the treasurer shall reimburse the general fund for any payment made from that fund by deducting the amount of that payment from the money distributable to the county or other taxing unit in the county that has received the benefit of the taxes, in proportion to the benefits previously received. On the second Monday in September of each year, the county auditor shall certify the total amount of the reductions in taxes made in the current year under division (A)(3) of this section to the tax commissioner who shall treat that amount as a reduction in taxes for the current tax year and shall make reimbursement to the county of that amount in the manner prescribed in section 4503.068 of the Revised Code, from moneys appropriated for that purpose.

(B) If in any year after an application has been filed under division (A) of this section the owner no longer qualifies for the reduction in taxes for which the owner was issued a certificate, the owner shall notify the county auditor that the owner is not qualified for a reduction in taxes.

During January of each year, the county auditor shall furnish each person issued a certificate of reduction, by ordinary mail, a form on which to report any changes in ownership of the home, including changes in or revocation of a revocable inter vivos trust, changes in disability, and other changes in the information earlier furnished the auditor relative to the application.

(C) No person shall knowingly make a false statement for the purpose of obtaining a reduction in taxes under section 4503.065 of the Revised Code.

(D) No person shall knowingly fail to notify the county auditor of any change required by division (B) of this section that has the effect of maintaining or securing a reduction in taxes under section 4503.065 of the Revised Code.

(E) No person shall knowingly make a false statement or certification attesting to any person’s physical or mental condition for purposes of qualifying such person for tax relief pursuant to sections 4503.064 to 4503.069 of the Revised Code.

(F) Whoever violates division (C), (D), or (E) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

Effective Date: 01-01-2004; 2007 HB119 06-30-2007

(A) At the same time the tax bill for the first half of the tax year is issued, the county auditor shall issue a certificate of reduction in taxes for a manufactured or mobile home in triplicate for each person who has complied with section 4503.066 of the Revised Code and been found by the auditor to be entitled to a reduction in taxes for the succeeding tax year. The certificate shall set forth the amount of the reduction in taxes calculated under section 4503.065 of the Revised Code. Upon issuance of the certificate, the auditor shall reduce the manufactured home tax levied on the home for the succeeding tax year by the required amount and forward the original and one copy of the certificate to the county treasurer. The auditor shall retain one copy of the certificate. The treasurer shall retain the original certificate and forward the remaining copy to the recipient with the tax bill delivered pursuant to division (D)(6) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code.

(B) If the application or a continuing application is not approved, the auditor shall notify the applicant of the reasons for denial no later than the first Monday in October. If a person believes that the person’s application for reduction in taxes has been improperly denied or is for less than that to which the person is entitled, the person may file an appeal with the county board of revision no later than the thirty-first day of January of the following calendar year. The appeal shall be treated in the same manner as a complaint relating to the valuation or assessment of real property under Chapter 5715. of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 04-09-2001; 2007 HB119 06-30-2007

On or before the second Monday in September of each year, the county treasurer shall total the amount by which the taxes levied in that year were reduced pursuant to section 4503.067 of the Revised Code, and certify that amount to the tax commissioner. Within ninety days of the receipt of the certification, the commissioner shall certify that amount to the director of budget and management and the director shall make two payments from the general revenue fund in favor of the county treasurer. One shall be in the full amount by which taxes were reduced. The other shall be in an amount equal to two per cent of such amount and shall be a payment to the county auditor and county treasurer for the costs of administering sections 4503.064 to 4503.069 of the Revised Code.

Immediately upon receipt of the payment in the full amount by which taxes were reduced, the full amount of the payment shall be distributed among the taxing districts in the county as though it had been received as taxes under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code from each person for whom taxes were reduced under sections 4503.064 to 4503.069 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 03-17-1989; 2006 HB699 03-29-2007

Each county treasurer and county auditor shall employ the assistants, clerks, and other employees necessary to carry out the duties imposed by sections 4503.064 to 4503.069 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 03-13-1987

(A) If a board of county commissioners adopts a resolution granting a partial real property tax exemption under section 323.158 of the Revised Code, it also shall adopt a resolution under this section granting a partial manufactured home tax exemption. The partial exemption shall take the form of a reduction each year in the manufactured home tax charged against each manufactured home in the county under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code, by the same percentage by which real property taxes were reduced for the preceding year in the resolution adopted under section 323.158 of the Revised Code. Upon adopting the resolution under this section, the board shall certify copies of it to the county auditor and the tax commissioner.

(B) After complying with sections 4503.06 and 4503.065 of the Revised Code, the county auditor shall reduce the remaining sum to be levied against a manufactured home by the percentage called for in the resolution adopted under division (A) of this section. The auditor shall certify the amount of tax remaining after the reduction to the county treasurer for collection as the manufactured home tax charged and payable on the manufactured home.

(C) For each tax year, the county auditor shall certify to the board of county commissioners the total amount by which manufactured home taxes are reduced under this section. At the time of each semi-annual distribution of manufactured home taxes in the county, the board shall pay to the auditor one-half of that total amount. Upon receipt of the payment, the auditor shall distribute it among the various taxing districts in the county as though it had been levied and collected as manufactured home taxes. The board shall make the payment from the county general fund or from any other county revenue that may be used for that purpose.

(D) If a board of county commissioners repeals a resolution adopted under section 323.158 of the Revised Code, it also shall repeal the resolution adopted under this section.

Effective Date: 09-03-1996

Whenever it is made to appear to the county auditor, by the oath of the owner or one of the owners of a manufactured home, or by the affidavit of two disinterested persons who are residents of the township or municipal corporation in which the manufactured home is or was situated, that the home is subject to taxation for the current year under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code and has been destroyed or injured after the first day of January of the current year, the county auditor shall investigate the matter, and shall refund or waive the payment of the current year’s taxes on such home as prescribed by divisions (A) and (B) of this section. The oath or affidavit required by this section shall be filed with the county auditor not later than the thirty-first day of January of the year after the year in which the manufactured home was injured or destroyed.

(A) If the auditor determines the injury or destruction occurred during the first half of the calendar year, the auditor shall deduct from the taxes payable on the manufactured home for the current year an amount that, in the county auditor’s judgment, bears the same ratio to those taxes as the extent of the injury or destruction bears to the cost or market value of the manufactured home. The auditor shall draw a warrant on the county treasurer to refund that amount. If the taxes have not been paid at the time of the auditor’s determination, the auditor may waive the payment of the portion of the tax that would otherwise be refunded under this division.

(B) If the auditor determines the injury or destruction occurred during the second half of the calendar year, the auditor shall deduct from the taxes payable on the manufactured home for the current year one-half of the amount that, in the county auditor’s judgment, bears the same ratio to those taxes as the extent of the injury or destruction bears to the cost or market value of the manufactured home. The auditor shall draw a warrant on the county treasurer to refund that amount. If the taxes have not been paid at the time of the auditor’s determination, the auditor may waive the payment of the portion of the tax that would otherwise be refunded under this division.

(C) Taxes refunded under this section shall be paid from the county undivided general property tax fund.

Effective Date: 10-22-1997

In lieu of the schedule of rates for commercial cars fixed in section 4503.04 of the Revised Code, the fee shall be ten dollars for each church bus used exclusively to transport members of a church congregation to and from church services or church functions or to transport children and their authorized supervisors to and from any camping function sponsored by a nonprofit, tax-exempt, charitable or philanthropic organization. A church within the meaning of this section is an organized religious group, duly constituted with officers and a board of trustees, regularly holding religious services, and presided over or administered to by a properly accredited ecclesiastical officer, whose name and standing is published in the official publication of the officer’s religious group.

The application for registration of such bus shall be accompanied by the following, as applicable:

(A) An affidavit, prescribed by the registrar of motor vehicles and signed by either the senior pastor, minister, priest, or rabbi of the church making application or by the head of the governing body of the church making application, stating that the bus is to be used exclusively to transport members of a church congregation to and from church services or church functions or to transport children and their authorized supervisors to and from any camping function sponsored by a nonprofit, tax-exempt, charitable, or philanthropic organization;

(B) A certificate from the state highway patrol stating that the bus involved is safe for operation in accordance with such standards as are prescribed by the state highway patrol if the bus meets either of the following:

(1) It originally was designed by the manufacturer to transport sixteen or more passengers, including the driver;

(2) It has a gross vehicle weight rating of ten thousand one pounds or more.

The form of the license plate and the manner of its attachment to the vehicle shall be prescribed by the registrar.

Effective Date: 09-01-2000

(A) The weight of all motor vehicles, except those taxed under section 4503.042 of the Revised Code, shall be the weight of the vehicle fully equi