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Ohio Laws and Rules
(A) No person shall operate any motor vehicle upon a highway or any public or private property used by the public for purposes of vehicular travel or parking in this state whose driver’s or commercial driver’s license has been suspended pursuant to section 4510.22 of the Revised Code for failing to appear in court or to pay a fine, resulting in license forfeiture.
(B) No person shall operate any motor vehicle upon a highway or any public or private property used by the public for purposes of vehicular travel or parking in this state whose driver’s or commercial driver’s license has been suspended pursuant to section 3123.58 of the Revised Code for being in default in payment of child support.
(C) Upon the request or motion of the prosecuting authority, a noncertified copy of the law enforcement automated data system report or a noncertified copy of a record of the registrar of motor vehicles that shows the name, date of birth, and social security number of a person charged with a violation of division (A) or (B) of this section may be admitted into evidence as prima-facie evidence that the license of the person was under suspension at the time of the alleged violation of division (A) or (B) of this section. The person charged with a violation of division (A) or (B) of this section may offer evidence to rebut this prima-facie evidence.
(D) Whoever violates division (A) or (B) of this section is guilty of driving under suspension and shall be punished as provided in division (D) of this section.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(2) of this section, the offense is an unclassified misdemeanor. The offender shall be sentenced pursuant to sections 2929.21 to 2929.28 of the Revised Code, except that the offender shall not be sentenced to a jail term; the offender shall not be sentenced to a community residential sanction pursuant to section 2929.26 of the Revised Code; notwithstanding division (A)(2)(a) of section 2929.28 of the Revised Code, the offender may be fined up to one thousand dollars; and, notwithstanding division (A)(3) of section 2929.27 of the Revised Code, the offender may be ordered pursuant to division (C) of that section to serve a term of community service of up to five hundred hours. The failure of an offender to complete a term of community service imposed by the court may be punished as indirect criminal contempt under division (A) of section 2705.02 of the Revised Code that may be filed in the underlying case.
(2) If, within three years of the offense, the offender previously was convicted of or pleaded guilty to two or more violations of division (A) or (B) of this section, or any combination of two or more violations of division (A) or (B) of this section or section 4510.11 or 4510.16 of the Revised Code, or a substantially equivalent municipal ordinance, the offense is a misdemeanor of the first degree. The offender shall provide the court with proof of financial responsibility as defined in section 4509.01 of the Revised Code. If the offender fails to provide that proof of financial responsibility, then, in addition to any penalties provided by law, the court may order restitution pursuant to section 2929.28 of the Revised Code in an amount not exceeding five thousand dollars for any economic loss arising from an accident or collision that was the direct and proximate result of the offender’s operation of the vehicle before, during, or after committing the offense for which the offender is sentenced under this section.
(3) In all cases, the court may impose a class seven suspension of the offender’s driver’s or commercial driver’s license or permit or nonresident operating privilege from the range of time specified in division (A)(7) of section 4507.02 of the Revised Code.
(4)(a) In all cases, if the vehicle is registered in the offender’s name and if, within three years of the offense, the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one violation of division (A) or (B) of this section or section 4510.11 or 4510.16 of the Revised Code, or a substantially equivalent municipal ordinance, the court, in addition to any other sentence that it imposes upon the offender, may order the immobilization of the vehicle involved in the offense for thirty days and the impoundment of that vehicle’s license plates for thirty days in accordance with section 4503.233 of the Revised Code.
(b) In all cases, if the vehicle is registered in the offender’s name and if, within three years of the offense, the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to two violations of division (A) or (B) of this section, or any combination of two violations of division (A) or (B) of this section or section 4510.11 or 4510.16 of the Revised Code, or a substantially equivalent municipal ordinance, the court, in addition to any other sentence that it imposes upon the offender, may order the immobilization of the vehicle involved in the offense for sixty days and the impoundment of that vehicle’s license plates for sixty days in accordance with section 4503.233 of the Revised Code.
(c) In all cases, if the vehicle is registered in the offender’s name and if, within three years of the offense, the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to three or more violations of this section, or any combination of three or more violations of this section or section 4510.11 or 4510.16 of the Revised Code, or a substantially equivalent municipal ordinance, the court, in addition to any other sentence that it imposes upon the offender, may order the criminal forfeiture of the vehicle involved in the offense to the state.
(E) An order for immobilization and impoundment under this section shall be issued and enforced under sections 4503.233 and 4507.02 of the Revised Code, as applicable. The court shall not release a motor vehicle from immobilization ordered under this section unless the court is presented with current proof of financial responsibility with respect to that motor vehicle.
(F) An order for criminal forfeiture under this section shall be issued and enforced under section 4503.234 of the Revised Code. Upon receipt of a copy of the order from the court, neither the registrar of motor vehicles nor a deputy registrar shall accept any application for the registration or transfer of registration of any motor vehicle owned or leased by the person named in the declaration of forfeiture. The period of registration denial shall be five years after the date of the order unless, during that period, the court having jurisdiction of the offense that led to the order terminates the forfeiture and notifies the registrar of the termination. The registrar then shall take the necessary measures to permit the person to register a vehicle owned or leased by the person or to transfer registration of the vehicle.
Added by 129th General Assembly File No. 25, HB 5, § 1, eff. 9/23/2011.