Ohio Concealed Carry Resources

This directory catalogs Ohio-specific resources for Concealed Handgun License (CHL) holders, instructors, and carriers: county sheriffs, state agencies, advocacy organizations, statute lookups, instructor certification, and reciprocity tools. Ohio is a permitless-carry state for qualifying adults 21 and older as of June 13, 2022, but the CHL program continues to operate through Ohio's 88 county sheriffs, and most operationally important guidance for instructors and license holders flows through the issuing sheriff's office, the Ohio Attorney General, and the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission. Verify links, fees, and turnaround times against the issuing authority before each class cycle; Ohio CHL fees, instructor-certification cycles, and reciprocity arrangements all change between General Assembly sessions.

County Sheriffs (CHL Issuing Authorities)

Ohio is unusual in that the CHL is issued at the county level rather than by a single state agency. Each county sheriff is the issuing authority for residents of that county and for nonresidents who work in the county under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2923. The sheriff accepts the application, takes fingerprints, runs the background check, collects the fee, and issues the physical license. Application packets, accepted hours, payment methods, and current turnaround times are published on the issuing sheriff's website rather than on a single statewide portal, so instructors and applicants should bookmark the sheriff's office that serves the student.

• Franklin County Sheriff's Office (Columbus) (https://sheriff.franklincountyohio.gov/). Largest CHL issuing authority in central Ohio. Publishes the application packet, fingerprint appointment scheduling, current fee schedule, and renewal procedure on the CHL page. Also handles nonresident applications for individuals who work in Franklin County but live elsewhere.
• Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office (Cleveland) (https://sheriff.cuyahogacounty.gov/). Issuing authority for the Cleveland metropolitan area. Operates a dedicated CHL unit that handles original applications, renewals, and replacement licenses.
• Hamilton County Sheriff's Office (Cincinnati) (https://www.hcso.org/). Issuing authority for the Cincinnati metropolitan area. Publishes appointment-only application scheduling and the current accepted forms of training documentation on the CHL page.
• Summit County Sheriff's Office (Akron) (https://www.co.summit.oh.us/sheriff). Issuing authority for the Akron metropolitan area.
• Montgomery County Sheriff's Office (Dayton) (https://www.mcohio.org/government/elected_officials/sheriff/index.php). Issuing authority for the Dayton metropolitan area.
• Lucas County Sheriff's Office (Toledo) (https://www.co.lucas.oh.us/3-Sheriff). Issuing authority for the Toledo metropolitan area.
• Stark County Sheriff's Office (Canton) (https://www.starkcountyohio.gov/sheriff). Issuing authority for the Canton metropolitan area.
• Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association (https://www.buckeyesheriffs.org/). The professional association for Ohio's 88 sheriffs. Useful as an entry point to locate the correct issuing sheriff for a student who lives in a smaller county; the BSSA member directory lists every sheriff's office with current contact information.

A student who lives in one Ohio county and works in another may apply to either the home-county sheriff or the work-county sheriff under R.C. 2923.125; the practical recommendation is to apply at whichever office offers the faster appointment.

Ohio Attorney General

The Ohio Attorney General does not issue CHLs but plays three roles directly relevant to instructors and license holders. First, the Attorney General publishes the official Ohio Concealed Carry Laws Manual (the agency-published reference distributed to applicants and instructors). Second, formal Attorney General opinions interpret unclear firearms statutes and are persuasive (not binding) on courts; agency lawyers and county prosecutors generally follow them until superseded. Third, the Attorney General publishes the official Ohio reciprocity list and the written agreements that establish recognition for nonresident permits.

• Ohio Attorney General (https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/). Top-level Attorney General page. Includes the opinions database, the consumer-protection complaint portal, the firearms-policy pages, and the published Ohio Concealed Carry Laws Manual.
• Ohio Concealed Carry Laws Manual. Published by the Attorney General and updated periodically as statute changes. The Manual is the closest thing Ohio has to an authoritative single-source CHL reference; it summarizes Chapter 2923, the use-of-force statutes in Chapter 2901, and the off-limits list. Linked from the firearms section of the Attorney General website and distributed in printed form by many issuing sheriffs.
• Ohio Reciprocity Page. Linked from the Attorney General firearms section. The Attorney General negotiates reciprocity agreements under R.C. 109.69 and publishes the resulting list. The Attorney General list is the controlling Ohio source for which states' permits are valid in Ohio (recognition) and which states honor an Ohio CHL (honor); treat third-party reciprocity maps as a starting point only and verify against this page before traveling.
• AG Opinions (https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Legal/Opinions). Searchable database of formal Attorney General opinions. Several opinions interpret the off-limits list under R.C. 2923.126, the school-zone exclusions, and the interaction between CHL carve-outs and local building postings.

Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission (OPOTA)

OPOTA is the state agency that administers training for Ohio peace officers and certain firearms-related certifications. OPOTA does not separately certify CHL instructors (that role belongs to the issuing sheriff's accepted curriculum standards), but instructors who teach both CHL and law-enforcement-adjacent firearms curricula often hold OPOTA credentials.

• Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy / Commission (OPOTA) (https://opota.ohio.gov/). Top-level OPOTA page. Includes the peace-officer training portal, the firearms-instructor certification track for sworn officers, and the public records function for verifying an instructor's OPOTA status.
• Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission Rules. Linked from the OPOTA page. The OPOTC firearms qualification standards are the controlling reference for many private-sector firearms-instructor courses that operate parallel to the CHL training program.

For CHL instruction specifically, the controlling certification is whatever the issuing sheriff accepts as documented training under R.C. 2923.125(G) - typically NRA-certified instruction, OPOTA-certified instruction, or equivalent organized firearms training. The sheriff is the gatekeeper on which training providers count for that county.

Ohio Department of Public Safety and BMV

The Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) is the parent agency for the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and the Ohio Investigative Unit. ODPS itself does not issue CHLs, but the Bureau of Motor Vehicles administers driver licensing and identification cards (which CHL applicants use as proof of identity and Ohio residency).

• Ohio Department of Public Safety (https://www.publicsafety.ohio.gov/). Top-level ODPS page. Includes links to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the Ohio Homeland Security Division, and the Ohio Investigative Unit. The State Highway Patrol publishes guidance on traffic-stop interactions for CHL holders, including how the duty to inform under R.C. 2923.12(B)(1) is enforced in the field.
• Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) (https://www.bmv.ohio.gov/). Issues the Ohio driver license and state ID card used as identity documents for CHL applications. CHL applicants who have moved within Ohio should update the BMV record before applying because the issuing sheriff verifies residency against the BMV-issued ID.
• Ohio State Highway Patrol (https://www.statepatrol.ohio.gov/). Operating division of ODPS. Publishes safety bulletins relevant to traffic-stop interactions with armed motorists.

Ohio Statutes and Legislative Resources

Ohio publishes its statutes, session laws, and pending bills through the Ohio General Assembly portal and the Ohio Revised Code online. The official codified text is at codes.ohio.gov; ohiosenate.gov and ohiohouse.gov are the two chambers' bill-tracking sites.

• Ohio Revised Code (codes.ohio.gov) (https://codes.ohio.gov/). The official online statute portal. Searchable by chapter and section number. This is the authoritative source when a third-party citation conflicts with the codified text. Chapter 2923 (Conspiracy, Attempt, and Complicity; Weapons Control) and Chapter 2901 (General Provisions, including the use-of-force statutes) contain the controlling firearms law in Ohio.
• Ohio Senate (https://www.ohiosenate.gov/). The Senate's bill-tracking portal. Search current and historical bills, monitor committee hearings, and pull session-by-session amendment history. Useful when answering "when did this rule change" - for example, when SB 215 (134th General Assembly) made permitless carry effective on June 13, 2022.
• Ohio House of Representatives (https://www.ohiohouse.gov/). The House's parallel bill-tracking and member-information portal. Useful for tracking House bills that have not yet moved to the Senate and for identifying bill sponsors and committee assignments.
• Ohio Legislative Service Commission (https://www.lsc.ohio.gov/). Publishes bill analyses, fiscal notes, and historical session-law context. The LSC bill analysis is often the single best summary of what a firearms bill changed and why.
• Ohio Administrative Code (codes.ohio.gov OAC). The codified administrative rules, organized by agency. ODPS and OPOTA rules implementing peace-officer firearms training and the State Highway Patrol firearms standards are codified within the OAC.

Key Ohio Firearms Statutes to Bookmark

Federal Resources

Ohio CHL holders and instructors operate within both state and federal firearms law. The federal layer governs interstate transport (18 U.S.C. Section 926A), federally-prohibited persons (18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)), federally-restricted locations (18 U.S.C. Section 930), and the National Firearms Act registry (26 U.S.C. Chapter 53).

• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) (https://www.atf.gov/). Federal regulator for FFL licensees, NFA registration, and import-related matters. Publishes the State Laws and Published Ordinances guide, which includes the Ohio chapter.
• ATF Firearms Forms (https://www.atf.gov/firearms/firearms-forms). Form 4473 (purchase background check), Form 4 (NFA transfer), Form 1 (NFA make), and Form 5320.20 (interstate transport of NFA items, required before crossing a state line with an NFA firearm).
• National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) (https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/nics). Ohio CHL holders are exempt from a separate NICS check at the point of purchase under 18 U.S.C. Section 922(t)(3) and the corresponding ATF acknowledgment of the Ohio CHL as a qualifying alternative permit; the dealer still completes Form 4473 and verifies the CHL.
• U.S. Department of Justice (https://www.justice.gov/). Federal firearm prosecutions in Ohio go through the two U.S. Attorney's Offices (Northern District of Ohio in Cleveland and Southern District of Ohio in Cincinnati and Columbus).
• U.S. Courts (PACER) (https://www.pacer.gov/). Federal district-court case lookup for the two Districts of Ohio.
• 18 U.S.C. Section 922 (https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section922). The federal prohibited-persons statute. A federally-prohibited person is also disqualified from an Ohio CHL under R.C. 2923.125.

Reciprocity and Travel Resources

Ohio publishes its reciprocity list through the Attorney General. The Attorney General negotiates written agreements with other states under R.C. 109.69 and publishes the resulting list; the Attorney General page is the authoritative state source.

• Ohio Attorney General Reciprocity List. Linked from the firearms section of the Attorney General website. The Attorney General list is the controlling Ohio source for which states' permits are valid in Ohio (recognition) and which states honor an Ohio CHL (honor).
• Handgunlaw.us, Ohio page (https://handgunlaw.us/states/ohio.pdf). Widely-used third-party reciprocity reference. The handgunlaw.us PDF is generally accurate and is updated quickly after a new bilateral agreement is announced, but it is not authoritative; the Ohio Attorney General list controls.
• USCCA Reciprocity Map (https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/resources/ccw_reciprocity_map/). Useful for visualizing reciprocity at a glance. Verify against the Attorney General list before traveling.
• Florida nonresident concealed-weapon license (https://www.fdacs.gov/Consumer-Resources/Concealed-Weapon-License). Some Ohio residents obtain a Florida nonresident permit because Florida's reciprocity footprint differs from Ohio's; useful for instructors working with multi-state students.
• Utah nonresident concealed-firearm permit (https://bci.utah.gov/concealed-firearm/). Another widely-recognized nonresident permit. An Ohio resident does not need a Utah permit to carry in Ohio, but some carriers stack nonresident permits to extend reciprocity into states that recognize Utah but not Ohio.

Advocacy Organizations and Industry Resources

These organizations are not government sources, and their guidance is not authoritative on Ohio law. They are useful for tracking pending legislation through the General Assembly session, mobilizing on rule changes, and accessing legal-defense resources.

• Buckeye Firearms Association (https://www.buckeyefirearms.org/). The primary state-level advocacy organization focused on Ohio-specific firearms policy and litigation. BFA was central to the lead-up to Ohio's 2022 permitless-carry law and continues to publish a legislative scorecard, a candidate-grading system, and a reciprocity tracker. The BFA news feed is the fastest single source for Ohio-specific firearms legislative developments.
• Ohioans For Concealed Carry (https://www.ofcc.net/). One of the original Ohio CHL advocacy organizations. Publishes legislative alerts, court-case tracking, and a long-running discussion forum where many practical questions about local enforcement get worked out before they reach a published Attorney General opinion.
• Ohio Carry Inc. (https://www.ohiocarry.org/). Ohio-specific advocacy organization focused on permitless carry, open carry, and Castle Doctrine litigation. Publishes guidance on permitless-carry edge cases and traffic-stop interactions.
• NRA-ILA Ohio (https://www.nraila.org/states/ohio/). Tracks pending firearms legislation and publishes alerts during General Assembly sessions and lame-duck sessions.
• NRA Political Victory Fund, Ohio (https://www.nrapvf.org/ohio/). Tracks endorsements and grades for state-level offices.
• Gun Owners of America, Ohio (https://www.gunowners.org/). National gun-rights organization with active Ohio engagement; generally to the right of NRA-ILA on legislative priorities.
• U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) (https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/). Publishes training materials, the reciprocity map, and self-defense liability insurance. The USCCA basic pistol course is one of several courses that many Ohio sheriffs accept as documented training under R.C. 2923.125(G).
• National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) (https://www.nssf.org/). Trade association for the firearms industry, headquartered out of state but with significant Ohio member presence. Publishes the Don't Lie for the Other Guy straw-purchase prevention campaign that Ohio dealers participate in.
• Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) (https://www.saf.org/). National litigation organization. SAF has been the lead plaintiff or co-plaintiff on multiple post-Bruen Ohio-relevant federal cases.
• Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) (https://www.firearmspolicy.org/). National litigation and advocacy organization, with active Ohio litigation.

Practical Tools for Instructors and License Holders

• Issuing Sheriff CHL Application Packet. The application packet is published on the issuing sheriff's website rather than on a single statewide portal. Instructors should bookmark the packet for each county they regularly serve students in; the form revisions, fee schedules, and accepted forms of training documentation vary slightly by county.
• Issuing Sheriff CHL Renewal Process. CHLs are issued for a five-year term under R.C. 2923.125(D). Renewal is filed with the issuing sheriff (which need not be the original-issuing sheriff if the holder has moved within Ohio). The current renewal fee and accepted documentation are published on the sheriff's website.
• Ohio Concealed Carry Laws Manual (Attorney General). The Attorney General-published Manual is the practical day-to-day reference for what CHL holders may and may not do. Linked from the firearms section of the Attorney General website. The Manual is updated when the General Assembly amends Chapter 2923, but the date of last revision is on the cover page; verify against the codified text at codes.ohio.gov when a question turns on a recent amendment.
• Duty-to-Inform reference. R.C. 2923.12(B)(1) requires a CHL holder (or, through R.C. 2923.111(C)(1), a permitless carrier) who is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and is carrying a concealed handgun to disclose that fact before or at the time a peace officer asks whether the person is carrying a concealed handgun. The trigger is the officer's question during a stop, not any contact the officer initiates, and disclosure to one officer during a stop covers the other officers on that stop. R.C. 2923.16(E)(1) imposes the parallel duty on the driver or an occupant of a stopped vehicle who is transporting or has a loaded handgun in the vehicle. The Ohio State Highway Patrol publishes practical guidance on how the duty is enforced in the field; the Attorney General Manual reproduces the controlling statutory text.
• Off-limits sign reference. R.C. 2923.126 lists the locations where carry is prohibited regardless of CHL status. Some categories require posted notice (private-property prohibitions); others apply by operation of law (school zones, courthouses, secured airport areas). The Attorney General Manual reproduces the off-limits list.
• Sheriff Address-Change Notification. License holders are required to notify the issuing sheriff of an address change under R.C. 2923.125. Each sheriff publishes its own address-change procedure on the CHL page; some counties handle the update by mail, others require an in-person visit.

Records, Background Checks, and Related State Services

• Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) (https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Law-Enforcement/Bureau-of-Criminal-Investigation). Ohio BCI, operated under the Attorney General, runs the state criminal-history record-check service that feeds into the CHL background check. A student who is uncertain whether a prior arrest disqualifies them from CHL eligibility under R.C. 2923.125 should pull their own record before paying the application fee. The federal NICS layer adds offenses (such as misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence under 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(9)) that may disqualify even when the state record looks clean.
• Ohio Department of Health, Vital Statistics (https://odh.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odh/know-our-programs/vital-statistics). Source for certified copies of Ohio-issued vital records (marriage, divorce, name change orders). CHL applications occasionally require a certified court order documenting a name change.
• Ohio Supreme Court, Case Search (https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/). Top-level Ohio judicial branch page. Most counties run their own searchable common-pleas docket portals; the supremecourt.ohio.gov page links out to county-level systems where a student needs to confirm whether an old case was dismissed, sealed, or expunged under R.C. 2953. Sealed and expunged records are generally not disqualifying for CHL purposes, but the underlying offense determines whether federal disabilities under 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g) still apply.
• Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, Pardon and Parole (https://drc.ohio.gov/). The state agency that processes clemency applications, including restoration of firearm rights after a disqualifying Ohio felony conviction. The Ohio Adult Parole Authority's Office of Victim Services and the Governor's Office of Pardons handle clemency review. The process is multi-year and discretionary, and federal disabilities under 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g) do not automatically lift with a state clemency grant. Refer students to a private attorney before they begin.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is the state agency that manages public hunting lands, the hunter-education program, state parks, and certain wildlife-area firearms rules. CHL carry on ODNR-managed lands is generally permitted under state preemption, but specific facilities, building interiors, and seasonal closures change the analysis.

• Ohio Department of Natural Resources (https://ohiodnr.gov/). Top-level ODNR page. Manages state parks, state forests, wildlife areas, and the Division of Wildlife. ODNR also runs the required hunter-education program for first-time license applicants; the ODNR hunter-education completion certificate is one of several forms of training that some Ohio sheriffs accept as documented training under R.C. 2923.125(G), depending on county practice.
• ODNR Division of Wildlife (https://ohiodnr.gov/wps/portal/gov/odnr/discover-and-learn/safety-conservation/about-ODNR/division-of-wildlife). Publishes the annual Ohio hunting regulations digest with rules on firearm transport during open seasons and weapon-specific restrictions on caliber and magazine capacity (which are weapon-specific to hunting and do not extend to lawful concealed carry under a CHL). The Division also maintains the wildlife-area-specific posted rules that supplement the statewide off-limits list.

How to Verify an Ohio Source Before Class

A practical workflow for instructors:

1. Open the issuing sheriff's CHL page and the Attorney General reciprocity list at the start of every quarter, and confirm the application fee, renewal fee, current turnaround, and reciprocity additions or removals.
2. Re-pull the issuing sheriff's application packet and any sheriff-specific training-documentation requirements; sheriffs occasionally revise the accepted-courses list and the form versions.
3. Pull current statute text from codes.ohio.gov when teaching any specific Chapter 2923 or Chapter 2901 section; a screenshot from a third-party site is not a substitute.
4. Cross-check the latest Ohio Concealed Carry Laws Manual against the codified text; if the Manual was last revised before a recent amendment, the codified text controls.
5. Cross-check reciprocity claims against the Attorney General list, not against handgunlaw.us or USCCA maps.
6. When a question depends on county procedure (fingerprinting, application supplements, name changes, replacement licenses), check the issuing sheriff's CHL page directly.
7. When a question depends on local enforcement (county-courthouse postings, township-park rules, municipal-building signage), consult both R.C. 9.68 (preemption) and the Attorney General opinions database; an ordinance that exceeds the state preemption framework is generally unenforceable.

When sources conflict, the issuing sheriff controls for licensing program administration, the statute (followed by case law) controls for the underlying legal question, and the Ohio Attorney General controls for reciprocity and the published Concealed Carry Laws Manual.

Ohio Concealed Carry FAQ

These FAQ answers summarize Ohio concealed carry law for instructors and Concealed Handgun License (CHL) students. Each answer cites the operative provision of the Ohio Revised Code or controlling federal statute and points to the deeper section in this guide for full statutory analysis. The Ohio Attorney General publishes the official reciprocity list and the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission (OPOTC) pamphlet referenced in § 2923.125(B)(4); the county sheriff under § 2923.125 - not a statewide bureau - is the issuing authority for the CHL.

Constitutional Carry and the License

Q: Is Ohio a constitutional carry state?

Yes, for concealed carry. Effective June 13, 2022, when Senate Bill 215 of the 134th General Assembly took force, qualifying adults 21 and older may carry a concealed handgun in Ohio without first obtaining a CHL. The operative statute is R.C. § 2923.111, which defines a "qualifying adult" at § 2923.111(A)(2) as a person 21 or older who is not legally prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)-(9), under R.C. § 2923.13, or under any other Revised Code provision. § 2923.111(B) provides the affirmative authority to carry concealed without a license; § 2923.111(C)(1) extends the duty-to-inform rules of § 2923.12(B) and § 2923.16(E) to permitless carriers by deeming the qualifying adult to "have been issued a valid concealed handgun license" for those purposes. Open carry of a handgun was lawful in Ohio before SB 215 and remains lawful; SB 215 added permitless concealed carry. See CONSTITUTIONAL_CARRY for the full SB 215 framework.

Q: Do I still need a CHL if Ohio allows permitless carry?

No statutory requirement, but several practical reasons remain to get one. An Ohio CHL is recognized in roughly three dozen other jurisdictions, while permitless carry under § 2923.111 does not travel. Outbound recognition is not an Ohio statute at all: whether another state honors your Ohio CHL is a function of that state's own recognition law, and the Ohio Attorney General's reciprocity agreements under § 109.69 record the arrangement. The CHL operates as a federal NICS-alternative permit at the dealer counter under 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3), eliminating the background check on every handgun purchase. The CHL is the only path to the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act exemption under 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2)(B)(ii) - the 1,000-foot zone around every K-12 school disappears for a CHL holder but blankets every permitless carrier. The CHL also unlocks several § 2923.126 carve-outs, notably the locked-vehicle carry exception on the premises of public colleges and universities, that a permitless carrier cannot invoke. See PERMIT_BASICS.

Q: How old do I have to be to carry in Ohio?

Twenty-one for both permitless concealed carry under § 2923.111(A)(2) and the CHL under § 2923.125(D)(1)(b). § 2923.125 contains no military or active-duty under-21 carve-out - every CHL applicant must be at least 21. Federal law continues to bar dealer purchases of handguns under 21 regardless of state CHL status. Ohio law does permit a person 18 to 20 to possess a long gun and to possess a handgun in some narrow circumstances under § 2923.211, but carrying a handgun (concealed or open in public) is gated at 21 in either path.

Q: Where do I apply for a CHL? What does it cost? How long does it take?

You apply with the county sheriff. § 2923.125(B) directs an Ohio resident to file with the sheriff of the county of residence or any adjacent county; a non-resident applying based on Ohio employment files with the sheriff of the county of employment or any adjacent county. Ohio runs a fully decentralized licensing system - there is no statewide handgun-licensing bureau, unlike Florida (FDACS) or Texas (DPS).

The base statutory fee is $67 for an original and $50 for a renewal under § 2923.125(B)(1), with an FBI background-check surcharge if the applicant has been an Ohio resident for less than five years or is a non-resident applicant. Active-duty military and certain retired peace officers receive fee waivers or reductions under § 2923.125 and § 2923.1210. The sheriff has 45 days from receipt of the complete application to issue or deny under § 2923.125(D)(2). The CHL is valid 5 years from the date of issuance under § 2923.125(D)(2)(a). See APPLICATION_PROCESS and PERMIT_BASICS.

Q: What's the training requirement for a CHL?

§ 2923.125(G)(1) requires an 8-hour competency course in the safe handling and use of a firearm, and it lists five curriculum elements: the rules for safe handling of a handgun and proper storage practices for handguns and ammunition under (G)(1)(a), safe ammunition handling under (G)(1)(b), the knowledge, skills, and attitude needed to shoot a handgun safely under (G)(1)(c), gun handling training under (G)(1)(d), and a minimum of 2 hours of in-person range time and live-fire training under (G)(1)(e). There is no statutory block on Ohio justification law or the use of deadly force. The course must also give each student the web address of the OPOTC pamphlet prepared under R.C. § 109.731, which covers firearms, dispute resolution, and use-of-deadly-force matters, and the applicant certifies under § 2923.125(B)(4) that the pamphlet has been read. The qualifying instructor credential comes through the § 2923.125(B)(3) pathways: certification by a national gun advocacy organization (the NRA is the dominant credential, but the statute names no organization) or by the executive director of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission under R.C. § 109.75 or § 109.78. Online-only courses do not satisfy the (G)(1)(e) in-person live-fire requirement or the § 2923.125(G)(2)(b) physical demonstration. Permitless carriers under § 2923.111 face no Ohio training requirement - any non-prohibited adult 21 or older may carry concealed without classroom hours, range time, or instructor certification. Training is mandatory only for the CHL.

Where You Can and Cannot Carry

Q: Can I open carry in Ohio?

Yes. Open carry of a handgun has been lawful in Ohio for adults under both the home-rule preemption statute § 9.68 and the structure of the carrying-concealed-weapons offense at § 2923.12 (which by its terms reaches concealed handguns only). Ohio has no permit requirement and no holster requirement for open carry. The same federal and state prohibitor categories that disqualify someone from possessing a firearm under § 2923.13 and 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) continue to apply to open carriers. Open carry inside the cabin of a motor vehicle, however, is treated as if it were concealed under § 2923.16 - see vehicle carry below. See OPEN_CARRY for the full framework.

Q: Where am I prohibited from carrying?

The on-or-about-the-person prohibition list under § 2923.122, § 2923.123, and § 2923.126(B) covers schools and school safety zones (§ 2923.122), courthouses and courtrooms (§ 2923.123), law-enforcement and corrections facilities, airports' secured areas, the premises of any state or local government building unless authorized, places of worship that have not authorized carry, child day-care facilities, government meetings of legislative or executive bodies as governed by R.C. § 2923.121 and § 2923.126(B), licensed liquor permit premises that derive a substantial portion of revenue from on-premises consumption, and anywhere prohibited by federal law. § 2923.126(B) operates against CHL holders and, through § 2923.111(C)(1), against permitless qualifying adults as well. Federal law adds federal buildings under 18 U.S.C. § 930 and the K-12 school-zone overlay under 18 U.S.C. § 922(q). See PROHIBITED_PLACES for the full list and the § 2923.122(D) employee/contractor and parking-lot exceptions.

Q: Can I carry in a restaurant or bar that serves alcohol?

It depends on the type of permit premises and whether you're consuming. § 2923.121 makes it an offense to carry a firearm into "any room in which liquor is being dispensed in premises for which a D permit has been issued under Chapter 4303." There is a CHL-holder carve-out at § 2923.121(B)(1)(a) that permits a CHL holder to carry inside a Class D permit premises provided the licensee is not consuming any beer or intoxicating liquor and is not under the influence. A typical sit-down restaurant with a Class D permit is therefore lawful for a CHL holder who orders dinner without alcohol, subject to the restaurant's right to post against carry under § 2923.126(C). The standalone bar or nightclub functions the same way on paper - the carve-out does not depend on the restaurant/bar percentage split that Texas uses - but consumption converts a lawful carry into a § 2923.121 offense. The independent rule is that carrying while under the influence is governed by § 2923.15, which makes it a misdemeanor of the first degree to carry or use a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or any drug of abuse. The bright-line rule to teach is straightforward: if you are carrying loaded, do not drink. See PROHIBITED_PLACES and UNDER_INFLUENCE.

Q: Can I carry in a school or on a college campus?

K-12: no, with limited exceptions. § 2923.122(A) makes it a felony to convey, attempt to convey, or possess a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a "school safety zone" - defined to include school buildings, the premises of any school, school activities, and school buses. The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act under 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) adds a 1,000-foot zone around every K-12 school, with a license-holder exception only inside the licensing state. § 2923.122(D)(1) carves out specific authorized persons (peace officers; school staff designated under R.C. § 109.78(D)) and § 2923.122(D)(3) creates the locked-vehicle exception for an unloaded firearm locked in a motor vehicle in a school safety zone. The locked-vehicle exception is a CHL-holder benefit; it does not extend to all permitless carriers under the same terms.

College and university: § 2923.126(B)(5) bars carry inside any building owned or leased by a public college, university, or other institution of higher education and on the campus grounds, with a vehicle-storage carve-out under § 2923.126(C)(3) for a CHL holder who keeps the loaded handgun locked in a motor vehicle. Private colleges may post additional restrictions. Postsecondary "campus carry" by ordinary CHL holders inside buildings is not authorized in Ohio. See PROHIBITED_PLACES.

Q: Can I carry in my car?

Yes, with the vehicle-carry rules of § 2923.16. § 2923.16(B) makes it an offense to knowingly transport or have a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle in such a manner that the firearm is accessible to the operator or any passenger without leaving the vehicle. The cleanest path to lawful loaded carry inside the cabin is the CHL-holder/qualifying-adult exception in § 2923.16(F)(5) - a CHL holder or § 2923.111 qualifying adult may have a loaded handgun on or about the person while in the vehicle. § 2923.16(C) governs transport of an unloaded firearm in a motor vehicle and requires that an unloaded firearm be carried in one of four ways: in a closed package, box, or case; in a compartment that can be reached only by leaving the vehicle; in plain sight and secured in a rack or holder; or in plain sight with the action open or stripped. The duty-to-inform rules of § 2923.16(E) attach during any traffic stop where a CHL holder or qualifying adult is transporting or has a loaded handgun in the vehicle. See VEHICLE_CARRY.

Q: What about long guns in my vehicle?

Long guns are reached by § 2923.16(B) and (C). A loaded rifle or shotgun accessible to the operator or passenger without leaving the vehicle is a violation of § 2923.16(B) regardless of CHL status - the § 2923.16(F)(5) carve-out is handgun-only. An unloaded long gun must be transported under one of the four § 2923.16(C) methods described above. Federal interstate-transport protection under 18 U.S.C. § 926A applies when crossing state lines through restrictive jurisdictions, provided the firearm is unloaded and stored according to the statute. See VEHICLE_CARRY and TRANSPORT.

Stops, Self-Defense, and Conduct

Q: Do I have to tell the police I'm armed during a traffic stop?

Yes - Ohio is a duty-to-inform state. This is the single most important thing to teach an Ohio carrier. R.C. § 2923.12(B) makes it a criminal offense for a CHL holder, and through § 2923.111(C)(1) for any permitless qualifying adult, to fail to disclose the concealed handgun to a peace officer who asks during a lawful stop. Four discrete duties attach the moment the stop begins: (B)(1) disclose the concealed handgun before or at the time the officer asks; (B)(2) keep hands in plain sight while the officer is approaching and present; (B)(3) do not touch, grasp, or have contact with the loaded handgun; (B)(4) comply with any lawful order. § 2923.16(E) imposes the same duties on the driver or passenger of a stopped vehicle who is transporting or has a loaded handgun in the vehicle. § 2923.12(F) grades penalties: failure to disclose when asked is a misdemeanor of the second degree under (F)(3); the no-touch violation is a felony of the fifth degree under (F)(5).

This is a sharp departure from Texas (no statutory duty since the 2017 repeal), Florida (production-on-demand only), and Pennsylvania (production-on-demand only). The cleanest practical answer when an officer approaches an Ohio carrier is a calm sua sponte disclosure with hands visible on the steering wheel: "Officer, I need to tell you I have a CHL and I am carrying a concealed handgun on my hip." Then wait for instructions. Lying to a peace officer about a material fact remains a separate offense under R.C. § 2921.13. See DUTY_TO_INFORM.

Q: When am I justified in using force in self-defense?

Ohio self-defense law lives in R.C. § 2901.05 and § 2901.09. Ordinary self-defense requires that the actor (1) was not at fault in creating the situation, (2) had a bona fide belief in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that the only means of escape was the use of force, and (3) did not violate any duty to retreat - which § 2901.09(B) now eliminates anywhere the actor lawfully has a right to be. R.C. § 2901.05(B)(2) creates a Castle Doctrine presumption when an intruder is unlawfully and without privilege entering or having entered the actor's residence or occupied vehicle. § 2901.05(B)(1) places the disproof burden on the prosecution beyond a reasonable doubt once the defendant produces evidence tending to support self-defense. See USE_OF_FORCE for the elements and CASTLE_DOCTRINE for the presumption.

Q: What's the difference between Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground in Ohio?

They are two distinct rules in two different statutes. Castle Doctrine, codified at § 2901.05(B)(2), creates a rebuttable presumption that the defender acted in self-defense or defense of another when using deadly-force-level defensive force against someone unlawfully and without privilege entering or having entered the defender's residence or occupied vehicle. § 2901.05(D)(2)-(D)(4) define "dwelling," "residence," and "vehicle"; the presumption does not extend to a place of business or employment, which is a structural difference between Ohio and Texas. § 2901.05(B)(3) carves out the cohabitant exception (a person with a right to be in the residence) and the unlawful-defender exception (a defender who is unlawfully present).

Stand Your Ground, codified at § 2901.09(B), eliminates any duty to retreat for a defender who is in a place where he or she lawfully has a right to be. § 2901.09(C) bars the trier of fact from even considering whether the defender failed to retreat as a factor in reasonableness. § 2901.09(B) was enacted by Senate Bill 175 of the 133rd General Assembly and took effect April 6, 2021. A defender can have one rule without the other - the workplace gets the no-retreat rule but not the (B)(2) presumption. See CASTLE_DOCTRINE.

Q: What was the 2018-2019 burden-of-proof flip?

Until March 28, 2019, when House Bill 228 of the 132nd General Assembly took effect, Ohio was the lone state nationally that placed the burden of proving self-defense on the defendant by a preponderance of the evidence. Every other state required the prosecution to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. HB 228 amended R.C. § 2901.05(B)(1) to provide that once the defendant produces evidence tending to support a claim of self-defense, defense of another, or defense of the accused's residence, the prosecution must disprove that claim beyond a reasonable doubt. This is now the strongest version of the burden rule in any state. Older Ohio case law that allocates the burden to the defendant is no longer good law on this point. See USE_OF_FORCE.

Q: Can I drink alcohol while carrying?

No. R.C. § 2923.15 makes it a misdemeanor of the first degree to carry or use any firearm while under the influence of alcohol or any drug of abuse. R.C. § 2923.121 prohibits carry inside a Class D liquor permit premises while consuming. The CHL holder's § 2923.121(B)(1)(a) carve-out for non-consuming carry inside a restaurant requires the holder to remain not under the influence. Federal law at 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) adds a separate prohibition on firearm possession by any unlawful user of a controlled substance. The bright-line rule to teach is straightforward: if you are carrying loaded, do not drink. See UNDER_INFLUENCE.

Restrictions and Reciprocity

Q: How does Ohio reciprocity work?

The Ohio Attorney General administers reciprocity under R.C. § 2923.126(D) (inbound recognition) and R.C. § 109.69 (AG authority to enter agreements; substantially-comparable-state determinations). Ohio's recognition statute is among the broadest in the country, and the breadth is in § 109.69(B). Under § 109.69(B)(3), a non-resident who holds a valid concealed handgun license from another license-issuing state and is temporarily in Ohio has that license recognized here, with the same right to carry as an Ohio CHL holder, regardless of whether that state has a reciprocity agreement with the Ohio Attorney General. There is no reciprocal condition on the visitor. The reciprocal condition sits one level up, in § 109.69(A)(1)(b), which is a precondition to the Attorney General negotiating a formal agreement with that state, not a precondition to recognizing a visiting non-resident's license. A new Ohio resident is treated differently: under § 109.69(B)(1) an out-of-state license is recognized if the issuing state has an agreement or the Attorney General has found its eligibility requirements substantially comparable to § 2923.125, and under § 109.69(B)(2) a license from a state with no agreement is good for only six months after the person becomes an Ohio resident. As of the publication date of this guide, Ohio honors concealed-carry licenses from roughly three dozen jurisdictions, and the Ohio CHL is honored in roughly the same number, but specific counts shift as states amend their statutes. A non-resident in Ohio who is 21 or older and not a prohibited person is also covered by § 2923.111 permitless carry on Ohio soil regardless of reciprocity status; permitless concealed carry in Ohio is not restricted to Ohio residents. Permitless carry does not travel out of Ohio. Pull the current list from the Ohio Attorney General within 30 days of any out-of-state trip.

Q: Can I carry NFA items (SBR, suppressor) in Ohio?

Yes, with proper federal NFA registration. R.C. § 2923.17(A) and (B) prohibit the unlawful possession of "dangerous ordnance" - defined at § 2923.11(K) and (L) to include automatic firearms, sawed-off firearms, zip guns, and certain explosive and incendiary devices - but § 2923.17(C) carves out items "registered in the federal national firearms registration and transfer record" or otherwise lawfully possessed under federal law. § 2923.17(C)(5) and (C)(7) reach the suppressor/short-barreled-rifle pathway through proper federal compliance. A Form 1 or Form 4 short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun, or suppressor is lawful in Ohio with the federal tax stamp in hand. Civilian-transferable machine guns are limited by federal law to those lawfully registered before May 19, 1986. Unregistered NFA items are a state felony under § 2923.17 and a federal felony under 26 U.S.C. ch. 53. § 2923.18 governs the state license-to-possess-dangerous-ordnance procedure. See RESTRICTIONS.

Q: What's the magazine capacity limit in Ohio?

There is no Ohio magazine capacity limit. Chapter 2923 does not regulate magazine capacity for handguns or rifles, and R.C. § 9.68(A) preempts any city or county from imposing one. A standard-capacity or extended magazine is lawful in Ohio regardless of round count. Federal law similarly imposes no general magazine capacity limit. See PREEMPTION.

Q: Does Ohio have a red flag law?

No. Ohio has no Extreme Risk Protection Order or "red flag" statute. Multiple bills have been introduced in successive General Assemblies but none has become law. The closest existing pathways for involuntary disarmament are mental-health commitment under R.C. Chapter 5122 (which triggers the § 2923.13(A)(5) state prohibitor and 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(4) federal prohibitor) and civil protection orders under R.C. § 3113.31 (domestic-violence civil protection order), § 2151.34 (juvenile menacing-by-stalking CPO), § 2903.213/§ 2903.214 (criminal and stalking CPOs), and § 2919.26 (criminal-case temporary protection order in domestic-violence cases). A § 3113.31 CPO commonly carries a firearm-surrender provision and triggers 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8). See RED_FLAG.

Q: Can a city or county pass its own gun law?

Generally no. R.C. § 9.68 broadly preempts local-government regulation of the ownership, possession, purchase, sale, transfer, transport, storage, or keeping of firearms, parts of firearms, components, ammunition, and ammunition components. A municipality may not adopt or enforce a regulation in those fields, with narrow carve-outs for discharge ordinances and zoning regulation of commercial firearm sales. § 9.68(B) imposes a fee-shifting remedy: a person who successfully challenges a non-conforming local ordinance recovers reasonable expenses, costs, and attorney fees. A local ordinance that targets lawful firearm activity does not survive. See PREEMPTION.

Q: What happens if my CHL application is denied?

The sheriff must issue a written denial stating the specific ground under § 2923.125(D)(2)(b). You may appeal to the court of common pleas of the county in which the sheriff is located under R.C. § 119.12 within the time prescribed in that chapter. The court reviews the sheriff's decision under the standard of § 119.12 and may affirm, reverse, vacate, or modify. § 2923.128 governs suspension and revocation of an issued CHL after disqualifying conduct or a § 2923.125(D)(1)(j) protection order. If the denial rests on a stale arrest record, the right path is often to clear the record and reapply rather than litigate.

Q: Where do I find the official Ohio firearm law in writing?

The Ohio Revised Code is published online by the Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Chapter 2923 (Conspiracy, Attempt, and Complicity; Weapons Control) is the operative chapter for licensing, possession, transfer, and carrying. Chapter 2901 (General Provisions; § 2901.05 and § 2901.09 in particular) governs self-defense. R.C. § 9.68 is the statewide firearm preemption provision. The Ohio Attorney General hosts the reciprocity matrix and the OPOTC pamphlet referenced in § 2923.125(B)(4). The county sheriff's office is the application intake under § 2923.125(B). For close calls, read the statute itself - the operative text of § 2923.111, § 2923.12, § 2923.125, § 2923.126, § 2923.16, § 2901.05, and § 2901.09 controls.

Ohio Firearms Transport Beyond the Vehicle

Transporting a firearm through Ohio - by car, plane, train, or boat - is governed by federal law primarily and Ohio law secondarily. The federal Firearm Owners' Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 926A) gives an interstate traveler a transport defense if the firearm is lawful at origin and destination, unloaded and not readily accessible from the passenger compartment, with ammunition stored separately. Ohio's in-state vehicle baseline under Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.16 is permissive for handguns when the driver is a concealed handgun license (CHL) holder or a qualifying permitless carrier under § 2923.111, and largely unregulated for unloaded long guns transported under § 2923.16(C). Ohio recognizes any other state's concealed handgun license under § 2923.126(D) for visiting carriers.

This section covers everything beyond the everyday vehicle baseline: federal interstate transit, commercial air, Amtrak, intercity bus, recreational watercraft, and the federal-facility traps. For the in-state vehicle rule, see VEHICLE_CARRY; for prohibited places generally, see PROHIBITED_PLACES; for on-person carry across state lines and out-of-state license recognition, see RECIPROCITY.

How Ohio transport law fits together

Three Ohio statutes and one federal statute do most of the work.

• Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.16 - "Improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle." § 2923.16(B) bars knowingly transporting or having a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle if the firearm is accessible to the operator or any passenger without leaving the vehicle. § 2923.16(C) requires that any unloaded long gun (rifle or shotgun) transported in a vehicle be carried in a closed package, box, or case; in a compartment that can be reached only by leaving the vehicle; in plain sight and secured in a rack or holder; or in plain sight with the action open or the firearm stripped. § 2923.16(D) addresses loaded handguns; § 2923.16(E) sets duties when a CHL holder is stopped by law enforcement. § 2923.16(K)(5)-(6) define "unloaded" with the storage geometry that controls magazines, speed loaders, and stripper clips.
• Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.126(D) - Out-of-state license recognition. A person holding a valid concealed handgun license issued by another state recognized by the Ohio Attorney General under a reciprocity agreement may carry concealed in Ohio while in compliance with Ohio law.
• Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.123 - "Illegal conveyance of deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into courthouse." Subsection (B) bars knowingly conveying a deadly weapon into a courthouse or any building containing a courtroom; (C) bars possession in such a building. (D) provides a CHL-holder protocol: a license holder who notifies the officer in charge of the courthouse and surrenders the handgun for the duration of the visit does not violate (B) or (C). (D) is a courthouse-specific rule and does not apply to airports.
• 18 U.S.C. § 926A - Federal FOPA safe harbor for interstate transport. It preempts hostile state and local laws when the traveler complies with its conditions.

The hard questions arise at three boundaries: state lines (§ 926A), security checkpoints (TSA at the airport, courthouse magnetometers), and the door of a common carrier (Amtrak, intercity bus, airline tariffs).

In-state vehicle baseline (cross-reference)

For a personal motor vehicle inside Ohio with a handgun, the driver must (1) not be a prohibited person under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 922(g) or (n)) or Ohio law (§ 2923.13), (2) be a CHL holder under § 2923.125 or a qualifying permitless carrier under § 2923.111 (21 or older, not prohibited), (3) comply with § 2923.16(E), which on a stop for a traffic or other law enforcement purpose requires disclosing the loaded handgun in the vehicle before or at the time an officer asks whether the person is carrying a concealed handgun, and (4) keep loaded magazines and speed loaders configured per § 2923.16(K)(5) when the firearm is treated as "unloaded" for § 2923.16(C) long-gun rules.

For long guns specifically, § 2923.16(C) is the governing rule: an unloaded rifle or shotgun in a personal vehicle must be in a closed container, in a compartment reachable only from outside the vehicle, in plain sight in a rack or holder, or in plain sight with the action open. A loaded long gun in a motor vehicle is a § 2923.16(B) offense unless the driver is a peace officer or fits one of the narrow statutory exceptions; the CHL does not authorize a loaded long gun in a vehicle.

Full in-state details - including the § 2923.16(E) disclose-when-asked protocol, the "unloaded" definition for handguns and long guns, and the workplace-parking-lot rule - live in VEHICLE_CARRY. The rest of this section assumes the traveler has cleared that baseline and is moving across a state line, into a federal facility, or onto a common carrier.

Interstate transport under 18 U.S.C. § 926A

The federal Firearm Owners' Protection Act preempts state and local restrictions on a person moving a firearm between two states where possession is lawful. § 926A is the only protection an Ohio traveler has when the route crosses a state where the Ohio CHL is not honored or state law is hostile to firearm possession.

You qualify for § 926A if all of the following are true:

• You are not a prohibited person under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) or (n) or any state law that applies to you.
• You may lawfully possess and carry the firearm at both the start and end of the trip.
• During transport the firearm is unloaded.
• Neither the firearm nor any ammunition is readily accessible from the passenger compartment.
• If the vehicle has no separate trunk (a hatchback, SUV, or pickup), the firearm and any ammunition must be stored in a locked container other than the glove compartment or center console.

Practical notes for Ohio travelers:

1. § 926A protects transport, not stopping. Overnight stays, non-emergency hotel layovers, or unrelated errands in a state where possession is unlawful fall outside the safe harbor. New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, D.C., and Illinois have prosecuted travelers who deviated from the safe-harbor configuration.
2. § 926A says any "lawful purpose" and does not require a home destination. An Ohio CHL holder driving to a Wyoming hunt through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wyoming is in the safe harbor for the Illinois leg even though Illinois does not recognize the Ohio CHL. An Ohio resident driving to in-laws in New Jersey is not in the safe harbor at the New Jersey end, because lawful possession at the destination is a § 926A predicate.
3. § 926A does not preempt magazine capacity, assault-weapon, or feature-restriction bans along the route. The safe answer is to comply with the most restrictive state's hardware rules for the entire interstate leg.
4. § 926A is a defense, not an affirmative authorization. A traveler stopped in a hostile state during transit may still be detained, charged, and forced to plead the defense in court. Documentation reduces risk: a printout of § 926A, an itinerary showing both endpoints, and a copy of any Ohio CHL or destination-state permit kept with the firearm.

An Ohio CHL holder driving from Cleveland to Buffalo has two distinct legal regimes on the route. From Cleveland to the Pennsylvania border, Ohio law applies. Pennsylvania honors the Ohio CHL by reciprocity. Once into New York, the Ohio CHL is not recognized; the only lawful posture is § 926A configuration. An overnight stay in Buffalo with the firearm takes the trip outside the safe harbor. Most practitioners advise leaving the handgun at home for short trips into hostile states, or routing around them when the destination is farther east.

A non-resident transiting Ohio between two other states needs no more than § 926A compliance to cross. Ohio's own vehicle baseline under § 2923.16 is broadly permissive for unloaded long guns and, for handgun carriers with a recognized out-of-state license under § 2923.126(D), permits CHL-equivalent on-person carry during the Ohio leg.

Air travel: TSA, federal aviation security, and the airport line

Air travel with firearms is governed by federal aviation security law (49 C.F.R. parts 1540 and 1544) and TSA regulations. Unlike some other states that have a stand-alone state offense for firearm possession in the secured area of an airport, Ohio does not; the felony exposure for an Ohioan caught at a TSA checkpoint comes from federal aviation security law and any applicable airport-operator rule, not from Chapter 2923. § 2923.123 reaches courthouses, not airports. § 2923.126(B) lists places where the Ohio CHL is no defense, and federal aviation rules are picked up through § 2923.126(B)(8)'s catchall for places where federal law prohibits possession.

Three rules to internalize:

1. You may not bring a firearm, loaded or unloaded, through a TSA passenger screening checkpoint. Doing so is a federal civil violation with TSA penalties starting at several thousand dollars per offense. Local prosecutors may also charge state weapons offenses depending on the firearm's status (loaded/unloaded), the carrier's CHL status, and the airport-jurisdiction rule.
2. You may not carry a firearm in the sterile area of an airport, on a jet bridge, or aboard a passenger aircraft as a civilian. This is a federal felony under aviation security law.
3. You may carry a handgun in the public, non-sterile terminal areas (curb, ticketing lobby, baggage claim) under your Ohio CHL or under § 2923.111 permitless-carry authority - subject to the airport operator's posted policy and any local ordinance preserved by federal law. CHL and permitless-carry authority end at the screening checkpoint.

There is no Ohio analogue to a checkpoint-exit defense found in some other states. An Ohio CHL holder who reaches a TSA line with a holstered handgun has the same posture as any other traveler: leave the checkpoint, secure the firearm off-airport, and re-enter unarmed. Surrendering the firearm to TSA, arguing the rule, or attempting to walk through screening forfeits any informal opportunity to leave and exposes the carrier to federal civil penalties plus state charges from the airport's local prosecutor.

How to fly with a firearm lawfully

Firearms travel as checked baggage only:

1. Confirm the firearm is unloaded. Inspect the chamber and any magazine.
2. Place the firearm in a hard-sided container only you can unlock. Use a non-TSA lock; soft cases are not acceptable. The traveler retains the only key or combination.
3. Place the locked case inside checked baggage. Some airlines permit the hard case to be checked alone; others require it inside a larger bag. Confirm the airline tariff before traveling.
4. Pack ammunition separately, in original packaging or in a box designed for ammunition. Loose rounds are not permitted. TSA caps ammunition at 11 pounds per passenger absent airline approval.
5. At the airline counter, declare the firearm verbally. The agent will issue a declaration tag for you to sign and place inside the case.
6. Wait at the counter or accompany the bag to TSA inspection if instructed. Lock the case yourself before it goes onto the belt.
7. At your destination, claim the bag at the regular carousel. If the bag is missing or shows tampering, report immediately to airline baggage service before leaving the airport.

Common mistakes. A handgun in carry-on at the X-ray belt is the most common TSA violation nationwide; CLE, CMH, CVG, and DAY all see steady annual numbers. A forgotten round in a coat pocket or range bag is the second most common. An "antique firearm" carried in carry-on is not exempt from TSA rules; § 2923.11(K)'s exclusions for antiques do not control 49 C.F.R. compliance.

Amtrak, intercity bus, and other common carriers

Amtrak. Amtrak permits unloaded firearms in checked baggage on trains with checked-baggage service. Three long-distance routes cross Ohio: the Capitol Limited (Washington-Chicago, stations at Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Toledo), the Lake Shore Limited (New York/Boston-Chicago, stations at Cleveland, Sandusky, Toledo), and the Cardinal (New York-Chicago via West Virginia, stations at Cincinnati). Each carries checked baggage and accepts firearms by Amtrak's standard procedure. The traveler must give at least 24 hours' advance notice at booking, declare the firearm at station check-in, and pack it unloaded in a locked, hard-sided container. Ammunition up to 11 pounds may travel in the same locked container or a separate one. Amtrak bars firearms on trains without checked-baggage service; corridor and shuttle trains in Ohio do not accept checked baggage and therefore do not accept firearms.

Intercity bus. Carrier policy controls. Greyhound permits unloaded firearms in checked baggage with declaration, locked hard-sided, ammunition separate. Megabus, FlixBus, Barons Bus, and most Ohio regional carriers bar firearms entirely. Treat each carrier as a separate contract; violations are contract issues but may also expose the traveler to local trespass or weapons-under-disability charges depending on the facility.

Charter and rental vehicles. A rented car is a "motor vehicle" for § 2923.16 purposes. The rental agreement does not change Ohio law. A CHL holder or qualifying permitless carrier under § 2923.111 may carry in a rental the same as in a personal car, subject to § 2923.16(B)-(D). Some rental companies prohibit firearms by contract; that is a contract issue, not a criminal one.

Recreational boats and personal watercraft. Ohio Rev. Code Chapter 1547 governs watercraft, and § 1547.69 prohibits carrying a loaded firearm aboard a watercraft if the operator or any other person is operating the watercraft while under the influence. The Chapter 2923 vehicle-carry rules do not by their terms apply to a watercraft as a "motor vehicle"; recreational boats on Lake Erie, the Ohio River, and Ohio's inland lakes are governed by Chapter 1547 and the federal admiralty/Coast Guard layer beyond it. The conservative posture for a CHL holder afloat is the same § 2923.16-style discipline used in a vehicle: unloaded and cased unless and until on-person concealed carry under the CHL is needed, and never any firearm aboard while a boat operator is impaired. On Lake Erie's Canadian half and any approach to a Canadian port, Canadian firearms law controls and the Ohio CHL has no effect.

Federal facilities and the post-office trap

18 U.S.C. § 930 prohibits firearm possession in federal facilities, regardless of state license:

• Federal courthouses. A handgun in a parked vehicle in a federal courthouse lot is a § 930 issue. The Ohio CHL provides no defense in any federal facility. Ohio's own state courthouse rule is § 2923.123, which is a separate state offense; federal courthouses are governed by § 930.
• United States Post Office facilities. USPS regulations (39 C.F.R. § 232.1) prohibit firearms on postal property "for any purpose." Federal courts have split post-Bruen on whether the regulation reaches postal parking lots; the Sixth Circuit has not squarely resolved the parking-lot question for Ohio. The safe answer is to leave firearms off USPS property entirely.
• VA medical facilities and military installations. § 930 and base-specific regulations apply. Wright-Patterson AFB, Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, and Camp Perry enforce strict installation-commander policies that reach the parking lots and approach roads.

The 1,000-foot Gun-Free School Zone Act, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q), exempts holders of state licenses (Ohio CHL). Permitless carriers under § 2923.111 lack the § 922(q) state-license exemption and must route around K-12 school zones when carrying outside a personal vehicle. Ohio's own school-grounds prohibition is § 2923.122; the federal § 922(q) layer applies on top.

Ohio courthouses: the § 2923.123 protocol

Ohio's courthouse statute deserves separate attention because it has a CHL-holder check-in protocol that does not exist for airports. § 2923.123(B) makes it a felony of the fifth degree (fourth degree on a prior conviction) to knowingly convey a deadly weapon into a courthouse or any building containing a courtroom. § 2923.123(C) makes the same offense out of possession or control inside such a building. § 2923.123(D) provides a structured protocol: a CHL holder may convey a handgun into the courthouse if the licensee notifies the officer in charge of the courthouse, who must secure the handgun for the duration of the visit. The officer's surrender desk is not a magic bypass - many Ohio courthouses do not maintain a surrender desk and the (D) protocol collapses if the officer in charge declines to take custody. The conservative posture is to leave firearms in the vehicle when visiting any Ohio courthouse, and to verify in advance whether the courthouse offers § 2923.123(D) check-in service.

The § 2923.123(D) protocol does not apply to federal courthouses (covered by 18 U.S.C. § 930), to airports, or to any other facility outside the courthouse statute's reach.

Hunting, range, and out-of-state hunt transport

Ohio does not impose a "secure wrapper" rule for in-state long-gun transport beyond what § 2923.16(C) already provides. A hunter or shooter driving to an Ohio range, hunting club, or public hunting area with rifles, shotguns, and a personal handgun is on the in-state vehicle baseline. Long guns must be transported unloaded in one of the four § 2923.16(C) configurations (closed container; outside-access compartment; plain sight in a rack or holder; or plain sight with action open or stripped). The handgun follows the CHL or § 2923.111 permitless-carry rule for on-person carry, and § 2923.16(B)/(D) for any in-vehicle handgun carry by a non-CHL driver.

An Ohio-licensed hunter driving to an out-of-state hunt is on a § 926A interstate trip the moment the route crosses a state line. For hunts in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan, most border states recognize the Ohio CHL by reciprocity. For New England hunts that route through New York, the magazine and feature rules of New York apply during transit; § 926A protects the transport configuration but does not preempt hardware bans.

Out-of-state license holders driving in or through Ohio

Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.126(D) directs the Ohio Attorney General to enter reciprocity agreements with other states. A person holding a valid concealed handgun license issued by a recognized state may carry concealed in Ohio while in compliance with Ohio law - including the § 2923.16(E) duty to disclose a loaded handgun in the vehicle when an officer asks, the § 2923.123 courthouse rule, and every other Ohio prohibited-place rule under § 2923.126(B). The non-resident license holder is not held to Ohio's state-specific training requirements but is held to Ohio's place restrictions.

For a non-license, non-resident traveler at least 21 years of age and not prohibited, Ohio's permitless carry under § 2923.111 is available on the same terms as for an Ohio resident - § 2923.111 is not residency-restricted. A non-license, non-resident under 21 must transport under § 2923.16 (unloaded and cased per (C) for long guns; a § 926A configuration for handguns during the Ohio leg) and may not carry on the person.

Full reciprocity details - including which states are recognized at any given moment - live in RECIPROCITY. The Ohio Attorney General's reciprocity list is the authoritative source; check it before any trip.

Ohio-specific traps for travelers

• § 2923.16(E) disclose-when-asked is mandatory. A CHL holder who is the driver or an occupant of a vehicle stopped for a traffic stop or any other law enforcement purpose, and who is transporting or has a loaded handgun in the vehicle, must disclose the loaded handgun before or at the time an officer asks whether the person is carrying a concealed handgun under § 2923.16(E)(1). The statute keys the disclosure to the officer's question, not to the officer's approach, and what must be disclosed is the loaded handgun in the vehicle rather than the license. Under § 2923.16(E)(3)-(5) the person must also remain in the vehicle, keep hands in plain sight from the moment the officer begins approaching until the officer leaves, and comply with lawful orders; § 2923.16(E)(4) bars touching the loaded handgun without the officer's direction. Disclosing to one officer during a stop satisfies (E)(1) as to every other officer on that same stop. The trigger is a loaded handgun in the vehicle, not merely a firearm on the person. A failure-to-disclose violation under § 2923.16(I) is a separate misdemeanor independent of any underlying weapons charge.
• Permitless carry stops at the federal facility line, the courthouse door, and the airport sterile area. § 2923.111 authority does not extend to federal courthouses, post offices, VA hospitals, military installations, beyond the TSA checkpoint, or into the courthouse rule of § 2923.123 except through the (D) check-in protocol.
• Loaded handguns in a vehicle without a CHL or § 2923.111 authority is a § 2923.16(B) violation. The "in plain sight" carve-outs in § 2923.16(C) apply to long guns, not to handguns. A non-CHL, non-permitless-eligible driver with a loaded handgun in the passenger compartment is exposed to a fourth-degree felony under § 2923.16(I).
• Federal indictment changes the rule under § 922(n). A person under federal indictment for a crime punishable by more than one year may not ship, transport, or receive a firearm in interstate or foreign commerce, regardless of state license status. § 926A does not save a § 922(n) violation.
• Boating under the influence with a loaded firearm aboard is a § 1547.69 offense independent of any Chapter 2923 violation. Lake Erie and Ohio River carriers should treat the firearm as off-limits any time the operator's sobriety is in question.
• The § 2923.123(D) courthouse-surrender protocol depends on the courthouse offering it. Many Ohio counties do not have a surrender desk. Verify in advance.

Penalties at a glance

Two lines catch most non-prohibited Ohio travelers: accidental TSA checkpoint violations and accidental USPS-property violations. Both are avoidable with a one-minute pre-trip check - sweep every bag and pocket for ammunition before leaving for the airport, and verify whether the day's itinerary touches a federal facility or an Ohio courthouse.

Key statutes reference

Ambiguities and notes

• "Readily accessible" in 18 U.S.C. § 926A is a fact question and the federal definition is not the same as Ohio's § 2923.16(K)(5) "unloaded" rule. For an interstate trip, treat the firearm as inaccessible only when locked in a hard-sided container in the trunk, separate from ammunition. Ohio's in-state § 2923.16(C) configurations are more permissive for long guns, but federal § 926A geometry controls in any state where Ohio law does not.
• Ohio has no stand-alone state offense for firearm possession in the secured area of an airport. The state-side exposure for a TSA-checkpoint violation in Ohio comes from § 2923.126(B)(8) (federal-law catchall for CHL-prohibited places) and from any local airport-authority rule, plus the federal civil and criminal layer.
• The § 2923.123(D) courthouse surrender protocol depends on the officer in charge accepting custody of the handgun. Subsection (D)(1) does not require the officer to accept custody; many county courthouses do not maintain a surrender desk. Do not rely on (D) without confirming the specific courthouse offers the service.
• USPS parking-lot enforcement is in flux post-Bruen. The Sixth Circuit has not squarely resolved whether 39 C.F.R. § 232.1 reaches postal parking lots in Ohio; the safe answer is to leave firearms off USPS property absent a clear circuit ruling.
• Permitless carriers under § 2923.111 lack the § 922(q) Gun-Free School Zone exemption that CHL holders have - a real continuing value of the Ohio CHL on top of reciprocity.
• Lake Erie's international border with Canada is a hard wall for Ohio firearms law. A CHL holder whose vessel drifts into Canadian waters with a firearm aboard is exposed to Canadian prosecution; the Ohio CHL has no extraterritorial effect.
• Airline tariffs, Amtrak policies, and TSA penalty schedules update over time. Confirm before each trip.

Source information

• Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2923: §§ 2923.11, 2923.12, 2923.123, 2923.124, 2923.126, 2923.13, 2923.16. Scraped from FindLaw 2026-05-08.
• Ohio Revised Code § 2923.16: re-verified against the official codified text at codes.ohio.gov on 2026-07-29 for the subsection (E) disclosure duties.
• Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1547: § 1547.69 (loaded firearms on watercraft). Scraped from FindLaw 2026-05-08.
• 18 U.S.C. § 926A: Federal FOPA interstate-transport safe harbor.
• 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), (n), (q): Federal prohibited persons; indictment-based transport bar; Gun-Free School Zones Act.
• 18 U.S.C. § 930: Federal facility prohibition.
• 49 C.F.R. parts 1540 and 1544: TSA aviation security rules.
• 39 C.F.R. § 232.1: USPS conduct on postal property.

Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground in Ohio

Ohio's Castle Doctrine, codified at R.C. § 2901.05(B)(2), creates a rebuttable presumption that a person acted in proper self-defense or defense of another when using defensive force intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm against someone unlawfully and without privilege entering, or having so entered, the defender's residence or occupied vehicle. The presumption was added to Ohio law by Senate Bill 184 of the 127th General Assembly, effective September 9, 2008, codifying home-and-vehicle protection that had previously existed only in patchwork case law. Ohio extends the presumption to two protected places: residence and occupied vehicle. It does not extend to a place of business or employment. That is the central structural difference between Ohio and Texas, and it matters in classrooms and courtrooms.

Ohio pairs the (B)(2) castle-doctrine presumption with a separate stand-your-ground rule at R.C. § 2901.09(B) that removes any duty to retreat anywhere the defender lawfully has a right to be. The two rules sit in different statutes and do different jobs, and a third statute - R.C. § 2901.05(B)(1) - flips the burden of disproving self-defense to the prosecution beyond a reasonable doubt. The companion USE_OF_FORCE section walks through the broader self-defense framework - the elements of self-defense in Ohio, the deadly-force baseline, the aggressor and provocation rules, and defense of others. This section drills into the home, vehicle, and no-retreat rules specifically.

How § 2901.05 and § 2901.09 fit together

Ohio self-defense law for individuals is structured across two short Revised Code sections rather than a unified Chapter 776-style framework. The relevant pieces:

• § 2901.05(A) - accused presumed innocent; prosecution bears burden of all elements beyond a reasonable doubt.
• § 2901.05(B)(1) - burden flip (effective March 28, 2019, House Bill 228 of the 132nd General Assembly). Once the defendant presents evidence that tends to support self-defense, defense of another, or defense of the accused's residence, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused did not so act. Before 2019, Ohio was the only state placing the burden of proving self-defense on the defendant; Ohio is now in line with the rest of the country.
• § 2901.05(B)(2) - castle-doctrine presumption.
• § 2901.05(B)(3) - two exceptions that turn (B)(2) off.
• § 2901.05(B)(4) - presumption rebuttable by preponderance; (A) and (B)(1) burdens unchanged.
• § 2901.05(D)(2), (D)(3), (D)(4) - definitions of "dwelling," "residence," and "vehicle."
• § 2901.09(B) - no-duty-to-retreat rule.
• § 2901.09(C) - bars trier of fact from considering retreat as a factor in reasonableness.

The three central pieces - presumption, no-retreat rule, and prosecution's BRD burden - have different conditions and apply in different places. They layer together when the defender is in a residence or occupied vehicle and apply piecemeal everywhere else.

The castle-doctrine presumption (R.C. § 2901.05(B)(2))

Under R.C. § 2901.05(B)(2), a person is presumed to have acted in self-defense or defense of another when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another, if the person against whom defensive force is used was in the process of unlawfully and without privilege entering, or had unlawfully and without privilege entered, the residence or vehicle occupied by the person using the defensive force.

Three things to notice.

The presumption is about the self-defense conclusion, not just one element. Ohio's drafting differs from Florida's "presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril" or Pennsylvania's "presumed to have a reasonable belief that deadly force is immediately necessary." Ohio presumes the broader proposition that the actor acted "in self-defense or defense of another" - a substantively richer presumption that covers the actor's belief, its reasonableness, and the proper purpose of the force in one. When (B)(2) applies, the defendant has effectively shown self-defense by presumption, and the prosecution must rebut it.

The triggering force is "intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm." The presumption is keyed to deadly-force-level defensive force only. Non-deadly defensive force inside a residence or vehicle is governed by ordinary self-defense doctrine, with the no-retreat rule of § 2901.09(B) layered on top.

The intruder must be "unlawfully and without privilege" entering or having entered - not "forcefully." Ohio's text is meaningfully different from Pennsylvania's "unlawfully and forcefully" and Florida's "unlawfully and forcibly" formulations. Ohio's statute does not require force at the moment of entry. A burglar who slips quietly through an unlocked back door at 3 a.m. is "unlawfully and without privilege" entering for purposes of § 2901.05(B)(2). Ohio's presumption thus reaches a wider class of threshold intruders than Pennsylvania's or Florida's.

The two protected places: residence and occupied vehicle

R.C. § 2901.05(B)(2) covers exactly two places. The definitions in § 2901.05(D) control.

"Residence" under § 2901.05(D)(3) means "a dwelling in which a person resides either temporarily or permanently or is visiting as a guest." "Dwelling" under § 2901.05(D)(2) means "a building or conveyance of any kind that has a roof over it and that is designed to be occupied by people lodging in the building or conveyance at night, regardless of whether the building or conveyance is temporary or permanent or is mobile or immobile." The statute expressly states that a building or conveyance "includes, but is not limited to, an attached porch," and that "a building or conveyance with a roof over it includes, but is not limited to, a tent."

A house, apartment, mobile home, RV used as a home, occupied hotel room, tent at a campsite, and attached porch all fit. The defining features are (i) a roof, and (ii) a design for overnight lodging. A detached garage with no living quarters and a storage shed do not fit. The "residence" definition also covers the invited guest: a relative staying for the holidays or an Airbnb guest who has lawfully booked the stay is in a "residence" while present, and the presumption is available to the guest.

"Vehicle" under § 2901.05(D)(4) means "a conveyance of any kind, whether or not motorized, that is designed to transport people or property." Cars, trucks, motorcycles, RVs in their vehicular function, boats, and trailers are included. The vehicle must be occupied at the moment defensive force is used - § 2901.05(B)(2) requires the residence or vehicle to be "occupied by the person using the defensive force." An empty parked car does not fit.

No "place of business or employment." This is the structural difference between Ohio and some other states. Several jurisdictions extend the castle-doctrine presumption to the actor's occupied habitation, vehicle, AND place of business or employment. Ohio's § 2901.05(B)(2) does not. A shop owner behind the counter, an office worker at a desk, a warehouse worker on a job site, and a gas-station clerk during an armed robbery are all outside the (B)(2) presumption - though Ohio's general self-defense doctrine and the § 2901.09(B) no-retreat rule still cover them. The workplace gets the no-retreat rule and the prosecution's BRD burden but not the presumption.

Exceptions to the presumption (R.C. § 2901.05(B)(3))

The (B)(2) presumption does not apply in two situations.

(a) Lawful resident or person with right to be present. The presumption does not apply if "the person against whom the defensive force is used has a right to be in, or is a lawful resident of, the residence or vehicle." Spouses, roommates, co-tenants, and joint owners do not lose lawful-resident status simply by being involved in a heated argument. The (B)(3)(a) carve-out is the cohabitant exception, and it does most of its work in domestic-violence situations where two people share the residence.

Ohio's drafting on this point is structurally simpler than some other states'. Some jurisdictions carve out the cohabitant exception but then carve the carve-out back if a DV injunction or pretrial no-contact order is in force against that person. Ohio's § 2901.05(B)(3) does not contain that carve-back. As a textual matter, a cohabitant with a lawful right to be in the residence retains lawful-resident status for (B)(2) purposes regardless of any pending civil protection order. The prosecution may still be unable to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt under (B)(1) given the protective-order facts, but the (B)(2) thumb on the scale is unavailable when the person against whom defensive force is used had a right to be there.

(b) Defender unlawfully present. The presumption does not apply if "the person who uses the defensive force uses it while in a residence or vehicle and the person is unlawfully, and without privilege to be, in that residence or vehicle." A trespasser or burglar who shoots an occupant during an in-progress crime does not get the (B)(2) presumption.

When either exception applies, the (B)(2) presumption is gone. The defender does not necessarily lose the right of self-defense - § 2901.05(B)(1) and Ohio's general self-defense doctrine remain available, and the prosecution still bears the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt burden. The case becomes a fact-intensive reasonableness inquiry.

The presumption is rebuttable (R.C. § 2901.05(B)(4))

R.C. § 2901.05(B)(4) declares the (B)(2) presumption rebuttable by a preponderance of the evidence, provided that the prosecution's BRD burden under (A) and (B)(1) remains intact.

The prosecution can rebut the presumption by showing it is more likely than not that the defender did not actually act in self-defense - a substantially lighter standard than beyond a reasonable doubt. But even if the (B)(2) presumption is rebutted, the (B)(1) burden does not move: the prosecution still has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defender did not act in self-defense. (B)(4) clarifies that rebutting the presumption is not a substitute for the prosecution's ultimate proof obligation. The presumption is most powerful as an evidentiary thumb on the scale at trial; once rebuttal evidence comes in, the jury weighs the entire record under the prosecution's BRD burden.

Stand your ground: R.C. § 2901.09(B) and the no-consideration rule in (C)

Ohio's stand-your-ground rule is a separate doctrine from the (B)(2) castle-doctrine presumption. It does not establish a presumption. It removes a duty to retreat, and it applies anywhere the defender lawfully has a right to be - not just in the residence or vehicle.

R.C. § 2901.09(B) provides that, for purposes of any section of the Revised Code that sets forth a criminal offense, a person has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person's residence if the person is in a place in which the person lawfully has a right to be. The rule was added by Senate Bill 175 of the 133rd General Assembly, effective April 6, 2021, and replaced what had been a longstanding Ohio duty to retreat outside the home.

The "right to be present" condition does the central work. A defender on a public sidewalk, in their own home, on their own property, in a friend's home where they are a welcome guest, in a workplace, or in a parking lot of a business open to the public meets the condition. A trespasser or burglar inside someone else's house does not.

The rule covers self-defense, defense of another, and defense of the actor's residence. Defense of the residence is named explicitly, so a homeowner inside their own home is doubly covered: by the (B)(2) presumption (when its conditions are met) and by the (B) no-retreat rule.

There is no requirement that the attacker be armed. This is one of the key distinctions between Ohio's no-retreat rule and some other states', which condition the no-retreat rule on the attacker's display or use of a firearm or other weapon readily or apparently capable of lethal use. A defender attacked with bare fists in a public place, where the size or strength differential or other circumstances make deadly force a reasonable response under the general self-defense framework, is covered by Ohio § 2901.09(B). Whether deadly force is justified at all in such an encounter remains a question of ordinary self-defense reasonableness, but the duty to retreat is not part of that analysis.

R.C. § 2901.09(C) reinforces (B) with an evidentiary instruction: a trier of fact shall not consider the possibility of retreat as a factor in determining whether a person who used force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of residence reasonably believed that the force was necessary to prevent injury, loss, or risk to life or safety. This is the rule that makes Ohio a true stand-your-ground state. Even if jurors privately think the defender could have walked away, they are forbidden from treating the failure to retreat as a factor in the reasonableness analysis. Failure to retreat is off the table.

Castle doctrine and stand your ground are not the same

This is the single most important thing to understand about Ohio self-defense law.

A defender in their own home dealing with an unprivileged entry gets both the (B)(2) presumption and the § 2901.09(B) no-retreat rule. A defender in a parking lot dealing with an attempted carjacking of an occupied vehicle gets both. A shop owner in their own retail store dealing with an armed robbery gets the § 2901.09(B) no-retreat rule and the (B)(1) prosecution's BRD burden but not the (B)(2) presumption. A defender on a public sidewalk dealing with an unarmed shoving match gets the no-retreat rule (assuming the right to be there) but not the presumption, and whether deadly force is justified at all turns on ordinary self-defense reasonableness.

The "tends to support" gateway in (B)(1)

The (B)(1) burden flip applies in every Ohio self-defense case - inside or outside the home, with or without the (B)(2) presumption. The "tends to support" threshold is the gating language. The defendant does not have to prove self-defense from the witness stand. Some evidence in the record - the defendant's testimony, a neighbor's account, video, or a forensic detail - that tends to support each element is enough. Once that bar is cleared, the burden moves to the prosecution to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. The (B)(2) presumption layers on top of (B)(1) when its conditions are met; (B)(1) operates standalone everywhere else.

Civil liability after a justified use of force

Ohio does not contain a broad pretrial-immunity provision like some other states have. A criminal acquittal or dismissal based on self-defense in Ohio helps in a subsequent civil case under preclusion principles, but Ohio's statutes do not create a freestanding pretrial civil-immunity hearing or a clear-and-convincing-evidence prosecution burden of the variety some jurisdictions provide.

Practical scenarios

These scenarios are illustrative, not legal advice. Every real case turns on facts a paragraph cannot capture.

Scenario 1: 2 a.m. forced entry. You wake to a back door being kicked in. The intruder advances into your bedroom, and you fire. R.C. § 2901.05(B)(2) gives you the presumption: someone unlawfully and without privilege entered your occupied residence, you used defensive force intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm, and neither (B)(3) exception applies. R.C. § 2901.09(B) gives you the no-retreat rule, and § 2901.09(C) bars the jury from considering whether you could have retreated. R.C. § 2901.05(B)(1) puts the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt burden of disproof on the prosecution.

Scenario 2: Unprivileged entry through an unlocked door. A stranger walks through your unlocked back door at 3 a.m. and advances toward your children's bedroom. You confront and fire. The (B)(2) presumption is available even though the entry was not "forceful" in the sense Pennsylvania and Florida require - Ohio's text turns on "unlawfully and without privilege" entry, not on force at the threshold. The intruder was unlawfully and without privilege in your residence; you used defensive force at the deadly-force level; you were lawfully present.

Scenario 3: Carjacking. Two armed men attempt to drag you out of your occupied vehicle in a parking lot. § 2901.05(B)(2) is satisfied - the persons against whom you use defensive force are unlawfully and without privilege entering an occupied vehicle. § 2901.09(B) covers you in the parking lot. The prosecution's BRD burden under § 2901.05(B)(1) applies.

Scenario 4: Cohabitant argument. Your spouse, who lawfully resides in your home, escalates an argument and shoves you. You draw and fire. The § 2901.05(B)(3)(a) lawful-resident exception applies - your spouse has a right to be in the residence - and the (B)(2) presumption is off. You can still argue self-defense under § 2901.05(B)(1) and Ohio's general self-defense doctrine, and the prosecution still has to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. § 2901.09(B) gives you the no-retreat rule. But the case turns on ordinary reasonableness, not on the presumption.

Scenario 5: Defender unlawfully present. You are a trespasser inside a vacation home you have no right to be in, encounter the owner, and shoot the owner. The § 2901.05(B)(3)(b) exception applies. The (B)(2) presumption is unavailable. § 2901.09(B) likewise does not protect you because you were not in a place where you lawfully had a right to be.

Scenario 6: Workplace robbery. An armed man enters the gas station where you work and points a firearm at you. The § 2901.05(B)(2) presumption is not available because a place of business or employment is not a "residence" or an "occupied vehicle." You can still raise self-defense under § 2901.05(B)(1), and § 2901.09(B) gives you the no-retreat rule because you have a lawful right to be at your workplace. The prosecution still has to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. The (B)(2) thumb on the scale that some other states extend to workplaces is not part of Ohio law.

Scenario 7: Tent or invited guest. You are sleeping in a tent at a campground or staying overnight at a friend's house when an intruder enters unlawfully and without privilege. The § 2901.05(D)(2) definition of "dwelling" expressly includes a tent with a roof, and the § 2901.05(D)(3) definition of "residence" expressly covers a person "visiting as a guest." § 2901.05(B)(2) applies in either setting.

Scenario 8: Empty parked truck. A thief tries to break into your unoccupied pickup. § 2901.05(B)(2) does not apply because the vehicle was not occupied at the time. The vehicle prong of the presumption requires occupancy.

Scenario 9: Public sidewalk encounter. A stranger pulls a knife and demands your wallet on a public sidewalk. The § 2901.05(B)(2) presumption is unavailable because you are not in a residence or occupied vehicle. § 2901.09(B) gives you the no-retreat rule because you have a lawful right to be on the public sidewalk. § 2901.05(B)(1) puts the BRD burden on the prosecution. § 2901.09(C) keeps any "could you have walked away" argument out of the jury's reasonableness analysis.

Reference table

Ohio Concealed Carry Laws

Ohio allows concealed carry of handguns through two paths. First, constitutional (permitless) carry under Ohio Revised Code § 2923.111 covers any "qualifying adult" 21 or older who is not a prohibited person. No license is required, and the rule has been in effect since Am. Sub. S.B. 215 (134th Gen. Assemb.) took force on June 13, 2022. Second, the Concealed Handgun License (CHL) under R.C. § 2923.125, issued by the county sheriff, remains the permit-based path. The CHL adds out-of-state reciprocity through the Attorney General's agreements under R.C. § 109.69, NICS-exempt purchases under 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3), and the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act exemption under 18 U.S.C. § 922(q). Ohio is a duty-to-inform state. Under R.C. § 2923.12(B)(1), a person carrying a concealed handgun who is stopped for a law enforcement purpose must disclose that fact before or at the time a law enforcement officer asks whether the person is carrying a concealed handgun, and that duty applies to both CHL holders and qualifying-adult permitless carriers - § 2923.111(C)(1) deems a qualifying adult to have been issued a valid CHL for purposes of every R.C. § 2923.12 provision, including the (B) duty-to-inform.

This section covers concealed handgun carry by civilians. Open carry is in OPEN_CARRY; the SB 215 history is in CONSTITUTIONAL_CARRY; CHL issuance is in PERMIT_BASICS, APPLICATION_PROCESS, FEES_COSTS, and TRAINING_REQUIREMENTS; prohibited places are in PROHIBITED_PLACES; vehicle carry under R.C. § 2923.16 is in VEHICLE_CARRY; the duty-to-inform mechanics are in DUTY_TO_INFORM; defensive draw is in USE_OF_FORCE and CASTLE_DOCTRINE. Bottom line on concealment: if you are 21 or older, qualify under § 2923.111, and keep the handgun concealed on or about your person, you do not need a license to carry concealed in Ohio - but every prohibited place in § 2923.126(B) still applies, and the four § 2923.12(B) duties still apply from the moment a peace officer stops you.

The two-path framework

Before SB 215, R.C. § 2923.12(A)(2) made it a first-degree misdemeanor (or fourth-degree felony for repeat or violent offenders) to knowingly carry or have, concealed on the person or concealed ready at hand, a handgun other than a dangerous ordnance. The CHL issued under § 2923.125 was the only general civilian path that took conduct outside § 2923.12(A). SB 215 added § 2923.111 ("qualifying adult"), creating a permitless-carry path for adults 21 and older who satisfy the substantive CHL eligibility floor without going through the license process. The result: the same conduct (carrying a handgun concealed on or about the person in public) can now be lawful under either of two independent legal authorities.

1. Constitutional carry under § 2923.111. A "qualifying adult" - defined in § 2923.111(A)(2) as a person who is (a) 21 or older, (b) not legally prohibited from possessing a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)-(9) or under R.C. § 2923.13 or any other Revised Code provision, and (c) satisfies the criteria in § 2923.125(D)(1)(a)-(j), (m), (p), (q), and (s) - may carry a concealed handgun that is not a "restricted firearm" anywhere a CHL holder may carry, without a license. § 2923.111(B)(1)-(2). The right "is the same right as is granted to a person who has been issued a concealed handgun license," and the qualifying adult is "subject to the same restrictions as apply to a person who has been issued a concealed handgun license." § 2923.111(B)(3).

2. CHL carry under § 2923.125. A person issued a CHL by the county sheriff under § 2923.125(D)(1) may carry a concealed handgun "anywhere in this state if the license is valid when the licensee is in actual possession of a concealed handgun." § 2923.126(A). The license adds reciprocity, NICS-exempt purchases, the federal school-zone exemption, and a structurally simpler stop interaction (more on this below).

SB 215 did not repeal the CHL. The two paths coexist. § 2923.111(C)(1) is the structural bridge: any provision of R.C. § 1547.69, § 2923.12, or §§ 2923.124 to 2923.1213, or any other Revised Code section, "that refers to a concealed handgun license or a concealed handgun licensee, except when the context clearly indicates otherwise," is read to deem a qualifying adult carrying a non-restricted handgun "to have been issued a valid concealed handgun license." § 2923.111(C)(1)(a). Subsections (C)(1)(b)-(e) apply that deeming rule to the conduct, sanction, and licensee-status provisions. The practical effect: almost every rule that names a "concealed handgun licensee" - including the duty-to-inform in § 2923.12(B), the prohibited places in § 2923.126(B), and the vehicle-carry rules in § 2923.16 - automatically applies to constitutional carriers as well.

The biggest exception, by force of § 2923.111(C)(2): the expiration, suspension, and revocation provisions of §§ 2923.125, 2923.1213, and 2923.128 do not apply to a qualifying adult unless that person actually holds a CHL. There is no "constitutional-carry card" to suspend. The moment a qualifying adult comes within any § 922(g)(1)-(9) or R.C. § 2923.13 prohibitor, both the carry right and the deemed-licensee status drop "automatically and immediately." § 2923.111(C)(2)(a)-(b).

The § 2923.12(A) baseline

R.C. § 2923.12(A) is the carrying-concealed-weapons offense. It provides that no person shall knowingly carry or have, concealed on the person's person or concealed ready at hand:

• (A)(1) a deadly weapon other than a handgun;
• (A)(2) a handgun other than a dangerous ordnance; or
• (A)(3) a dangerous ordnance.

Subsection (C) lists the carve-outs that take conduct outside (A) entirely. Two are operationally critical for civilians:

• § 2923.12(C)(1)(c) - vehicle storage. Transportation or storage of a non-dangerous-ordnance firearm in a motor vehicle for any lawful purpose, if the firearm is not on the actor's person. The vehicle rules run through R.C. § 2923.16 - see VEHICLE_CARRY.
• § 2923.12(C)(1)(d) - home carve-out. Storage or possession of a non-dangerous-ordnance firearm in the actor's own home for any lawful purpose. The home is outside § 2923.12(A) regardless of license or qualifying-adult status.
• § 2923.12(C)(2) - CHL/qualifying-adult exception. Subsection (A)(2) does not apply to a person with a valid CHL, or to an active-duty servicemember carrying a valid military ID and documentation of training meeting § 2923.125(G)(1), unless the person is knowingly in a § 2923.126(B) place. By force of § 2923.111(C)(1), (C)(2) runs to qualifying adults the same way it runs to license holders.

§ 2923.12(D) provides affirmative defenses to (A)(1) charges only - the qualifying-adult exception under (C)(2) plus § 2923.111 is the operative civilian path for handguns under (A)(2).

What § 2923.12(B) actually requires (the duty to inform)

Section 2923.12(B) is the rule that distinguishes Ohio from neighboring states like Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Kentucky, and from constitutional-carry states like Florida and Texas where there is no statutory duty-to-inform. The literal text of (B) addresses "No person who has been issued a concealed handgun license," but § 2923.111(C)(1)(c)-(e) extends every such reference to qualifying-adult constitutional carriers. The four duties in (B) apply during a stop "for a law enforcement purpose" - which includes traffic stops, Terry stops, and any other detention.

• § 2923.12(B)(1) - disclose when asked. If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and is carrying a concealed handgun, before or at the time a law enforcement officer asks if the person is carrying a concealed handgun, the carrier must not knowingly fail to disclose that fact. There is a one-disclosure-per-stop rule: a failure to disclose to a second officer is not a violation if the carrier already disclosed to another officer during the same stop.
• § 2923.12(B)(2) - keep hands in plain sight. After the officer begins approaching and before the officer leaves, the carrier must keep the hands in plain sight, unless directed otherwise by the officer.
• § 2923.12(B)(3) - do not touch the firearm. Once the officer is approaching, the carrier must not knowingly remove or attempt to remove, grasp, hold, or even touch the loaded handgun, unless directed by the officer.
• § 2923.12(B)(4) - comply with lawful orders. The carrier must not disregard or fail to comply with any lawful order during the stop, including a specific order to keep the hands in plain sight.

The grading and consequences vary across the four (B) duties. § 2923.12(F)(3) makes a (B)(1) disclosure failure a misdemeanor of the second degree. § 2923.12(F)(4) makes a (B)(2) or (B)(4) violation a first-degree misdemeanor on first offense, escalating to a fifth-degree felony for a repeat conviction; in addition, the offender's CHL is suspended under § 2923.128(A)(2). § 2923.12(F)(5) makes a (B)(3) touch-the-handgun violation a fifth-degree felony outright. The grading reflects the safety-to-the-officer concern at the heart of (B): a quiet failure to disclose is a misdemeanor, but reaching for the holster while the officer is approaching is a felony.

Practical training points:

• (B)(1) is a disclose-when-asked rule, not a report-on-approach rule. The duty attaches when the officer asks whether the carrier is carrying a concealed handgun, and the disclosure must come before or at the time of that question. Volunteering it as soon as the officer reaches the window is still the safest course, because it satisfies (B)(1) no matter when the question comes.
• One-disclosure-per-stop covers second and third officers in the same stop.
• The hands-in-plain-sight rule starts the moment the officer "begins approaching." Hands at 10 and 2 before the officer arrives is the operational rule.
• Do not reach for the firearm until the officer specifically directs it. (B)(3) is a felony with no first-offense misdemeanor option. If asked where the firearm is, answer with words, do not point.
• The duty applies during any stop "for a law enforcement purpose" - traffic, Terry, or otherwise. It does not apply during truly voluntary encounters, but the line is fact-specific; disclose if in doubt.

A § 2923.12(F)(2) procedural rule sits alongside (B): a person shall not be arrested for an (A)(2) handgun-carry violation solely because the person does not promptly produce a valid CHL. Presenting a valid CHL within ten days to the arresting agency, when the person was not knowingly in a § 2923.126(B) place, reduces the offense to a minor misdemeanor under § 2923.12(F)(2)(a). DUTY_TO_INFORM walks through this in detail.

What "concealed" means in Ohio

§ 2923.12(A) prohibits carrying a handgun "concealed on the person's person or concealed ready at hand." Ohio courts apply an ordinary-observer test consistent with § 2923.11's definitions. Under § 2923.11(C), a "handgun" is any firearm with a short stock designed to be held and fired with a single hand; under § 2923.11(B)(1), a "firearm" includes an unloaded firearm and any firearm readily rendered operable. The concealment inquiry asks whether the handgun, in its current location and configuration, is hidden from ordinary observation by another person at conversational distance.

Operational rules an instructor should drill into students:

• A holstered handgun under an untucked shirt or jacket is concealed.
• A handgun in a closed bag carried on the person is concealed and "ready at hand."
• A handgun visible on the hip in a hip holster, with no garment over it, is not concealed - that is open carry, governed by OPEN_CARRY.
• A holstered handgun whose grip prints through a shirt is a closer call. Ohio courts have not adopted a printing-equals-display rule; the safer practical advice is to dress around the holster.
• "Concealed ready at hand" covers a handgun in the immediate reach of the actor (under the seat, in the center console). The vehicle context is governed by § 2923.16 - see VEHICLE_CARRY.
• Under § 2923.12(H), "deadly weapon" does not include any knife, razor, or cutting instrument unless used as a weapon.

Eligibility (constitutional carry vs CHL)

Constitutional carry under § 2923.111(A)(2) requires:

• Age 21 or older. § 2923.111(A)(2)(a).
• Not federally prohibited. Not within any of the categories in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)-(9): convicted felon (§ 922(g)(1)), fugitive (§ 922(g)(2)), unlawful drug user (§ 922(g)(3)), mental adjudication or commitment (§ 922(g)(4)), illegal alien (§ 922(g)(5)), dishonorable-discharge veteran (§ 922(g)(6)), renounced U.S. citizenship (§ 922(g)(7)), qualifying protective order (§ 922(g)(8)), or qualifying domestic-violence misdemeanant (§ 922(g)(9)). § 2923.111(A)(2)(b).
• Not state-prohibited. Not under R.C. § 2923.13 weapons-under-disability (drug dependence, prior felony of violence, prior drug-trafficking conviction, mental adjudication, etc.) or any other Revised Code provision.
• Substantive CHL criteria. Satisfies the listed CHL criteria in § 2923.125(D)(1)(a)-(j), (m), (p), (q), and (s). Those subsections cover U.S. residency, age 21, not a fugitive, no pending felony or violent misdemeanor indictment, no qualifying conviction history, no mental commitment, no protective order, no current CHL suspension, alien status compliance, no dishonorable discharge, and no R.C. § 2919.25 domestic-violence conviction. Notably omitted from the qualifying-adult floor: the (D)(1)(k) declaration of defensive purpose, the (D)(1)(l) competency-certificate-and-pamphlet requirement, and (D)(1)(n) (employment-in-Ohio for non-residents).

CHL eligibility under § 2923.125(D)(1) adds a few requirements on top:

• Competency certification (§ 2923.125(D)(1)(l) + (B)(3) + (G)). A CHL applicant must submit a competency certification attesting to a course of at least eight hours that includes safe handling, ammunition handling, demonstrated shooting competence, gun-handling training, and a minimum of two hours of in-person range time and live fire, plus a written and physical-demonstration competency examination. TRAINING_REQUIREMENTS covers the (G) details. A constitutional carrier under § 2923.111 is not statutorily required to take this training.
• Application, fingerprints, photo, and fee. § 2923.125(B). Sixty-seven dollars for a five-year-resident initial application; fee waived for active/reserve military and certain retired peace officers.
• Pamphlet and defensive-purpose certifications. § 2923.125(B)(4), (D)(1)(k)-(l). The applicant must certify reading the OPOTC pamphlet and a desire for a legal means to carry for defense.

The practical difference: a person disqualified from a CHL solely under (D)(1)(k), (l), or (n) - for example, a non-resident not employed in Ohio - may still qualify under § 2923.111, since § 2923.111(A)(2)(c) does not incorporate (k), (l), or (n). The substantive disqualifiers - felony conviction, misdemeanor of violence within three years, domestic-violence conviction, mental commitment, active protective order - apply to both paths through (a)-(j), (m), (p), (q), and (s).

Penalties for unlawful concealed carry

The grading distinction students miss: the unlawful-carry offense under (A)(2) is a misdemeanor at base, but the officer-interaction offenses under (B) range from M2 to F5. The riskiest moment for an Ohio carrier is not in a coffee shop; it is when an officer approaches the car window after a traffic stop.

What the CHL still buys you

Constitutional carry covers most everyday in-Ohio handgun carry by a qualifying adult. The CHL is still meaningfully different in five ways an instructor should be able to explain.

1. Reciprocity outside Ohio. § 2923.111 is an Ohio-only rule. The Ohio CHL is honored under reciprocity agreements administered by the Attorney General under R.C. § 109.69 and codified at § 2923.126(D), with a current list maintained by the Attorney General. RECIPROCITY covers the operational details. As of 2026, the Ohio CHL is honored in roughly three dozen states. A constitutional carrier crossing into Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, or Michigan has no Ohio-derived statutory authority in the receiving state.

2. NICS-exempt purchases under federal law. A current Ohio CHL issued after the federal qualification process is recognized by the ATF as a Brady alternative under 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3). At a federally licensed dealer, a CHL holder skips the NICS check on a 4473 purchase. A qualifying-adult constitutional carrier does not.

3. Federal Gun-Free School Zones Act exemption. 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) prohibits firearm possession within 1,000 feet of K-12 school grounds, but exempts persons "licensed to do so by the State in which the school zone is located" if the licensing process verified the licensee. An Ohio CHL qualifies. § 2923.111 carry does not, because there is no licensing process to verify against. This matters most for Ohioans who live or routinely drive within 1,000 feet of a K-12 school. Ohio itself does not enforce § 922(q), but federal prosecutors can.

4. Cleaner stop interaction. The duty-to-inform applies to both paths, but producing a wallet-sized CHL alongside the disclosure short-circuits the eligibility inquiry and the (F)(2) ten-day-late-presentation procedure. A constitutional carrier relies on the officer's record check; a CHL holder hands over the card.

5. Procedural protection under § 2923.12(F)(2). The "no arrest for failure to promptly produce a CHL" rule and the ten-day late-presentation reduction are simpler for actual license holders, even though § 2923.111(C)(1) extends the grading benefit to deemed-licensee qualifying adults.

If a student carries only inside Ohio, only outside § 2923.126(B) prohibited places, and only on private property without no-firearms posting, the CHL is largely a convenience document. For instructors, professionals who travel, frequent firearm purchasers, parents who live near K-12 schools, and anyone whose work takes them within 1,000 feet of a school zone, the CHL is still worth getting. APPLICATION_PROCESS, FEES_COSTS, and TRAINING_REQUIREMENTS cover how to obtain one.

The defensive-draw interaction with USE_OF_FORCE

Concealed carry intersects with USE_OF_FORCE the moment a carrier needs to draw. Ohio's justification framework runs through R.C. § 2901.05 (burden on the state to disprove self-defense BRD) and R.C. § 2901.09 (no duty to retreat in any place lawfully present, plus the Castle Doctrine presumption). A defensive draw responsive to an articulable threat does not violate § 2923.12(A)(2) - the (C)(2) qualifying-adult / CHL-holder exception was authorizing the carry. Nor does a defensive draw violate § 2923.12(B), because (B) addresses conduct during a law-enforcement stop, not conduct in response to a private-party threat.

If an officer arrives in response to a defensive-draw incident, the (B) duties attach the moment the officer "begins approaching." The carrier should holster (if safely possible without disturbing the scene), keep hands visible, comply with verbal commands, and disclose the concealed carry.

Common scenarios

A few scenarios an Ohio instructor should be able to walk through cold:

• A 20-year-old otherwise-qualified Ohio resident carries concealed. First-degree misdemeanor under § 2923.12(A)(2). The age 21 floor in § 2923.111(A)(2)(a) and § 2923.125(D)(1)(b) is non-negotiable; SB 215 did not lower it.
• A 25-year-old qualifying adult with no CHL is pulled over and the officer asks "Anything I should know about?" § 2923.12(B)(1) requires prompt disclosure of the concealed handgun; "anything I should know about" is operationally an inquiry. M2 if the carrier says no.
• A 25-year-old qualifying adult immediately announces "Officer, I'm a permitless carrier with a handgun in the center console." Compliant with (B)(1). The officer will then direct any handgun-handling under (B)(3).
• A CHL holder rests his hand on the wheel near the holster while the officer approaches. The (B)(3) rule against "touching" is read literally; reaching across the holster for the registration is the textbook prosecution scenario.
• A Pennsylvanian with a PA License to Carry Firearms carries concealed in Cleveland. Authorized via § 2923.126(D) and § 109.69 reciprocity (Ohio currently recognizes PA licenses). § 2923.12(B) duty-to-inform applies identically. RECIPROCITY covers the list.
• A CHL holder walks into a sheriff's-office lobby with a concealed handgun. Prohibited place under § 2923.126(B)(1). § 2923.12(F)(2) procedural protections do not cover § 2923.126(B) places - graded under § 2923.12(F)(1), not the minor-misdemeanor reduction.
• A qualifying adult crosses into Indiana while carrying. The carrier is governed by Indiana law (which itself permits constitutional carry) the moment they cross the line.

The takeaway: SB 215 lowered the entry barrier to lawful concealed carry, but it did not change the duty-to-inform under § 2923.12(B), the prohibited-places list under § 2923.126(B), or the prohibited-person disqualifiers under § 922(g) and § 2923.13. An Ohio instructor's job is to walk every student through the § 2923.111(A)(2) qualifying-adult floor, the § 2923.12(B) stop-interaction protocol, and the § 2923.126(B) places list before that student leaves the classroom. Permitless does not mean unregulated, and Ohio's duty-to-inform makes the cost of a single bad stop higher here than in any of the surrounding states.

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Federal context

N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen (2022). Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022), eliminated "proper cause" / "good cause" discretionary CCW frameworks and required states to apply objective issuance criteria. The decision converted formerly may-issue states to shall-issue. States that were already shall-issue or permitless before Bruen experience the case primarily through its broader historical-tradition test for evaluating subsequent Second Amendment claims.

Open Carry Laws in Ohio

General Legality

Open carry of firearms is legal in Ohio for qualifying adults without any permit. Ohio Constitution Article I § 4 protects the right to bear arms ("The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security"), and Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2923 regulates only concealed carry, prohibited places, and prohibited persons - there is no general open-carry prohibition. Open carry by adults 18+ (long guns) and 21+ (handguns from FFL purchase) is permitted in any non-prohibited place. Critically, the R.C. § 2923.12(B) statutory duty-to-inform applies ONLY to CONCEALED carry - an open carrier is NOT statutorily required to inform a peace officer that they are armed.

Open carry is legal in Ohio not because a statute affirmatively grants the right, but because the Crimes Code does not prohibit it. R.C. § 2923.12(A) prohibits only "concealed" carry of a handgun (with a constitutional-carry carve-out for qualifying persons 21+ under SB 215, effective June 13, 2022, and a longstanding CHL exception). It does not reach a holstered handgun visible on the hip or a long gun slung over the shoulder. R.C. § 9.68(A), strengthened by SB 58 of the 135th General Assembly (effective April 9, 2025), declares that any person, "without further license, permission, restriction, delay, or process," may "transport, store, carry, sell, transfer, manufacture, or keep any firearm" except as specifically restricted by state or federal law. R.C. § 9.68(C)(1) extends the preemption to "the possession, transporting, or carrying, openly or concealed on a person's person or concealed ready at hand, of firearms."

Bottom line: open carry of a handgun or long gun is lawful for any non-prohibited adult who meets the federal age threshold and is not in a place off-limits under R.C. § 2923.122 (school safety zones), § 2923.123 (courthouses), § 2923.126(B), or federal law. No CHL is required.

Who May Open Carry

Open carry of a firearm in Ohio requires no state license. The eligibility test is whether you can lawfully possess the firearm under federal and state law and whether you meet the minimum age. There is no application, fee, training requirement, or state-issued endorsement.

Age Threshold

Ohio does not set a statutory minimum age for open carry. The practical floor for long-gun open carry is 18, the federal minimum age to purchase a long gun from a licensed dealer under 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(1). For handgun open carry, the practical floor is 21 under § 922(b)(1). Ohio law does not categorically prohibit possession or open carry of a lawfully acquired handgun by a non-prohibited 18-to-20-year-old, but the lawful acquisition path is narrower than for long guns. The SB 215 constitutional-carry framework retains a 21-year minimum for concealed carry under R.C. § 2923.125; that threshold has no parallel in the open-carry analysis.

Prohibited Persons

Federal and state firearm prohibitions apply in full. You may not openly carry if disqualified under R.C. § 2923.13 ("having weapons while under disability"), which reaches persons under indictment or convicted of a felony of violence or felony drug offense, persons convicted of a misdemeanor crime of violence against a family or household member, persons adjudicated mentally incompetent, and persons subject to a qualifying domestic-violence civil protection order. Federal disabilities under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) cover convicted felons, persons under felony indictment, unlawful drug users, persons adjudicated mentally defective, dishonorably discharged service members, persons subject to qualifying domestic-violence orders or convictions, fugitives, persons who have renounced U.S. citizenship, and illegal aliens.

Non-Residents

Ohio does not require state residency for open carry. A non-resident who meets the federal age threshold, can lawfully possess the firearm, and is not subject to an Ohio § 2923.13 disability may openly carry under the same rules as a resident.

The Line Between Open and Concealed

Ohio does not statutorily define "concealed" in R.C. § 2923.12. Courts apply the ordinary-observer test: a handgun is concealed if it is not readily observable to a casual observer in normal public interaction, and openly carried if it is visible. An outside-the-waistband (OWB) holster on the belt, exposed to view, is open carry. An inside-the-waistband (IWB) holster covered by a tucked shirt or a closed jacket is concealed. A handgun in a closed bag, backpack, or purse on the person is concealed under longstanding Ohio case law construing "ready at hand" in § 2923.12(A).

If you are 21 or older and constitutional-carry-eligible under R.C. § 2923.12(C)(2), or you hold a valid CHL, the open/concealed line is much less consequential because both modes are lawful - but it matters for the duty-to-inform rule below.

Open Carry in Vehicles (R.C. § 2923.16)

R.C. § 2923.16 is the operative motor-vehicle carry statute and applies to open carry as well as concealed. § 2923.16(A) prohibits discharge of a firearm in or on a motor vehicle (with narrow agricultural and hunting carve-outs in § 2923.16(F)). § 2923.16(B) prohibits transporting a loaded firearm "accessible to the operator or any passenger without leaving the vehicle." § 2923.16(C) requires an unloaded firearm in a vehicle to be in a closed case, in a compartment reached only by leaving the vehicle, in a permanent rack, or (for qualifying long guns) in plain sight with the action open. § 2923.16(F)(5) exempts CHL holders and constitutional-carry-eligible persons from § 2923.16(B) and (C). § 2923.16(D) prohibits transport of a loaded handgun by a person under the influence.

Practical vehicle rule for open carriers:

• A constitutional-carry-eligible person 21+ or a CHL holder may transport a holstered loaded handgun anywhere in the vehicle - § 2923.16(F)(5) covers it.
• A non-eligible carrier may not have a loaded handgun "accessible" in a vehicle. The firearm must be unloaded and in a closed case, in the trunk, or in a permanent rack per § 2923.16(C).
• A loaded long gun "accessible" in the passenger compartment violates § 2923.16(B) regardless of CHL or constitutional-carry status, except under the § 2923.16(F) agricultural and hunting carve-outs.

Where Open Carry Is Prohibited

The critical point for open carriers is that R.C. § 2923.126(B) - the CHL prohibited-places list - is not strictly limited to CHL holders. Several of its component statutes (the school-safety-zone rule in R.C. § 2923.122 and the courthouse rule in R.C. § 2923.123) apply to "any person" carrying a deadly weapon, not just CHL holders. The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act in 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) and the federal-facilities rule in 18 U.S.C. § 930 likewise reach all carriers. The list below summarizes where open carry is prohibited in Ohio.

State-Law Off-Limits Locations

• School safety zones under R.C. § 2923.122. "No person shall knowingly convey . . . a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a school safety zone" (§ 2923.122(A)) and no person shall knowingly possess one there (§ 2923.122(B)). The statute reaches any carrier, open or concealed. CHL holders have narrow carve-outs in § 2923.122(D)(3) (transit without entering school premises) and § 2923.122(D)(4) (handgun left in a locked motor vehicle). A non-CHL open carrier has no equivalent carve-out. Violation is a felony of the fifth degree under § 2923.122(E)(1), fourth degree on a second offense.
• Courthouses and buildings containing courtrooms under R.C. § 2923.123. § 2923.123(A) prohibits any person from conveying a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a courthouse. CHL holders have a narrow surrender-and-store option under § 2923.123(C)(6) where the officer in charge offers that service. Violation is a felony of the fifth degree, fourth degree on a second offense.
• The R.C. § 2923.126(B) list. Primarily governs CHL holders, but subdivisions incorporate universally-applicable statutes or federal limits that reach any carrier: police/sheriff/highway patrol stations, BCI premises, correctional institutions, jails, detention facilities, and secure airport areas (B)(1); school safety zones (B)(2); courthouses (B)(3); D-permit liquor premises (B)(4); higher-education premises (B)(5); places of worship without posting permission (B)(6); state and local government facilities (B)(7); places where federal law prohibits handguns (B)(8). Open carriers should treat the list as binding for handguns.
• Posted private property under R.C. § 2923.126(C)(3). The owner or person in control may post a sign in a conspicuous location prohibiting firearms. A knowing violation is criminal trespass under R.C. § 2911.21(A)(4), a misdemeanor of the fourth degree; on a posted child day-care center or type A/B family day-care home, the offense escalates to aggravated trespass under R.C. § 2911.211. A "no firearms" posting on a parking lot produces a civil-trespass cause of action rather than a criminal charge. Treat any clearly posted "no firearms" sign as binding.

Federal Prohibitions

• Federal facilities under 18 U.S.C. § 930 - federal courthouses, federal office buildings, military installations, secure airport areas.
• Post offices including parking lots under 39 C.F.R. § 232.1.
• The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q), which makes possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of K-12 school property a federal felony unless the carrier holds a state-issued license meeting § 922(q)(2)(B)(ii). An Ohio CHL qualifies; permitless open carry does not. An Ohioan driving a child to school with a holstered handgun but no CHL commits a federal crime by passing within 1,000 feet of school property.

State Preemption Under R.C. § 9.68

Ohio has one of the strongest state firearm-preemption statutes in the country, and it expressly protects open carriers. R.C. § 9.68(A) - as amended by SB 58 (135th Gen. Assemb.), effective April 9, 2025 - bars any "ordinance, rule, regulation, resolution, practice, or other action" of a political subdivision that imposes a "further license, permission, restriction, delay, or process" beyond what the U.S. Constitution, Ohio Constitution, state law, or federal law specifically provides. § 9.68(C)(1) defines the protected conduct to "include, but are not limited to, the possession, transporting, or carrying, openly or concealed on a person's person or concealed ready at hand, of firearms" - a textual lock-in for open carriers.

§ 9.68(B) provides a private right of action: a person adversely affected by a conflicting ordinance may sue for damages, declaratory or injunctive relief, and reasonable expenses including attorney's fees, court costs, expert witness fees, and lost income. Local "no open carry" ordinances on city streets, in parks, or on transit systems are unenforceable. The narrow exceptions in § 9.68(D) cover only zoning of commercial firearm sales, not carry rules.

Duty to Inform - Concealed Only

This is the most important rule for an Ohio open carrier to understand. R.C. § 2923.12(B) imposes a statutory duty to inform on a person "stopped for a law enforcement purpose and . . . carrying a concealed handgun." The duty has two operative components: (1) the person must, "before or at the time a law enforcement officer asks" whether they are carrying a concealed handgun, "knowingly disclose" that they are; and (2) the person must keep their hands in plain sight and refrain from contact with the handgun while the officer is approaching. R.C. § 2923.16(E) imposes the mirror rule during a vehicle stop where a CHL holder or constitutional-carry-eligible carrier has a loaded handgun in the vehicle.

By its express terms, § 2923.12(B) reaches a person "carrying a concealed handgun." A person openly carrying a holstered handgun visible to a casual observer is not "carrying a concealed handgun" within the meaning of the statute, and the duty to inform does not apply. § 2923.16(E) likewise attaches only to a CHL holder or active-duty servicemember with a loaded handgun in the vehicle; it does not reach a person openly carrying outside the vehicle context.

Practical implications for an open carrier:

• No statutory obligation to volunteer that you are armed.
• An officer who can plainly see the holstered firearm does not need to be "informed" of what is already visible.
• Hands should remain visible; do not move toward the firearm without instruction. The hand-position and no-contact rules in § 2923.12(B)(2)-(4) are concealed-only, but the practical safety reasons apply equally.

The conservative recommendation is still to identify yourself and the firearm calmly. That is officer-safety etiquette, not a statutory requirement.

Long-Gun Open Carry

Long-gun open carry is unregulated by state firearm law except for prohibited places. A non-prohibited adult 18+ may openly carry a rifle or shotgun on foot in any non-prohibited place. The § 2923.122 and § 2923.123 prohibitions reach "any deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance" - long guns included. § 2923.126(B) is by its terms primarily a CHL handgun list; long-gun open carry into a government building, higher-education campus, or place of worship is governed by the underlying premises rule (trespass under § 2911.21 if posted, aggravated trespass under § 2911.211 if a day-care). The § 2923.16(B) and (C) vehicle rules apply to long guns and are stricter than for handguns.

Comparison to Other Permissive States

Ohio's open-carry posture aligns closely with Texas (post-HB 1927), Arizona, and Alaska. Like Texas, Ohio requires no permit; unlike Texas, Ohio imposes no statutory holster requirement. Like Arizona and Alaska, Ohio combines permitless concealed carry (SB 215, June 13, 2022) with permitless open carry. The distinctive Ohio feature is the § 9.68 preemption with a § 9.68(B) private right of action and fee-shifting.

The Ohio CHL still confers practical advantages: federal Gun-Free School Zones Act exemption under 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2)(B)(ii), reciprocity in roughly 30 other states under R.C. § 109.69, and the § 2923.122(D)(3)-(4) safe harbor for school-safety-zone transit and parking-lot storage.

Common Questions

Do I need a CHL or any permit to open carry? No. Open carry of a handgun or long gun by a qualifying non-prohibited adult is lawful without any state permit.

Do I have to inform a peace officer I'm openly carrying? No. R.C. § 2923.12(B) imposes a duty to inform only on a person "carrying a concealed handgun."

Can a city ban open carry on public streets or in parks? No. R.C. § 9.68(A) preempts local firearm regulation, and § 9.68(C)(1) expressly extends the preemption to carrying "openly or concealed."

Can a private business ban open carry? Yes. R.C. § 2923.126(C)(3) authorizes posting; a knowing violation is criminal trespass under R.C. § 2911.21(A)(4).

Can I open carry into a school? No. R.C. § 2923.122 prohibits any person from possessing a deadly weapon in a school safety zone. The CHL transit and locked-vehicle carve-outs in § 2923.122(D)(3)-(4) are not available to non-CHL carriers.

Can I open carry in my vehicle? A constitutional-carry-eligible person 21+ or a CHL holder may. A non-eligible carrier must comply with R.C. § 2923.16(B) and (C) - unloaded and in a case, the trunk, or a permanent rack.

Can I open carry a long gun? Yes, on foot, in any non-prohibited place. Vehicle carry under § 2923.16(B) and (C) is stricter than for handguns.

Key Statutes Reference

Ambiguities and Notes

• "Concealed" is not statutorily defined in R.C. § 2923.12. The line is fact-specific under the ordinary-observer test.
• R.C. § 2923.126(B) by its terms governs CHL holders. Several subdivisions cross-reference statutes (§ 2923.122, § 2923.123) that apply to "any person." Open carriers should treat the cross-referenced statutes as binding and treat § 2923.126(B)(1), (B)(4)-(B)(8) as a strong practical guide for handgun open carry.
• Long-gun open carry in higher-education premises, government buildings, and places of worship is governed by the underlying premises rule (trespass, agency-specific rules) rather than by § 2923.126(B). A posted "no firearms" sign supports a § 2911.21 trespass charge regardless of long-gun or handgun.
• The April 9, 2025 SB 58 amendment to § 9.68 strengthened the preemption language. The private right of action and fee-shifting in subsection (B) were retained from prior versions.
• Handgun open carry by a non-prohibited 18-to-20-year-old who lawfully acquired the handgun by intrastate private transfer is not categorically prohibited by Ohio statute, but the federal acquisition path is narrower than for long guns under 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(1).

Source Information

• R.C. § 2923.12 ("Carrying concealed weapons"), current as of Jan. 1, 2024, FindLaw. Scraped 2026-05-08.
• R.C. § 2923.122 ("Illegal conveyance . . . in a school safety zone"), current as of Jan. 1, 2024, FindLaw. Scraped 2026-05-08.
• R.C. § 2923.123 ("Illegal conveyance . . . in a courthouse"), current as of Jan. 1, 2024, FindLaw. Scraped 2026-05-08.
• R.C. § 2923.126 ("Where CHL holders may carry; prohibited places"), current as of Jan. 1, 2024, FindLaw. Scraped 2026-05-08.
• R.C. § 2923.16 ("Improperly handling firearms in motor vehicle"), current as of Jan. 1, 2024, FindLaw. Scraped 2026-05-08.
• R.C. § 9.68 ("Regulation of arms prohibited"), effective Apr. 9, 2025 (SB 58, 135th Gen. Assemb.), OH LSC. Scraped 2026-05-08.

Ohio Weapon Restrictions

Ohio restricts firearm possession on two axes. The first axis is person: fugitives, persons under indictment for or convicted of any felony offense of violence, persons under indictment for or convicted of any felony drug offense, drug-dependent persons and chronic alcoholics, and persons under adjudication of mental incompetence or commitment cannot acquire, have, carry, or use firearms or dangerous ordnance. Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.13 ("Having weapons while under disability") is the operative statute and is graded as a felony of the third degree. The second axis is item: dangerous ordnance - automatic firearms, sawed-off firearms, zip-guns, ballistic knives, explosive devices, incendiary devices, high explosives, military weapons and ammunition for them, firearm mufflers or suppressors, and combinations of parts intended for conversion into the same - is categorically restricted unless the possessor falls into one of the eight exceptions in Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.17(C). Federal law at 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) runs in parallel and reaches several categories Ohio does not directly criminalize at § 2923.13, including drug users who are not drug-dependent, illegal aliens, dishonorably discharged servicemembers, persons who have renounced citizenship, and certain misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (MCDV) convictions.

This section is the person-and-item companion to PROHIBITED_PLACES, which covers the place-based bans.

Person-Based Prohibitions: § 2923.13 Disability Categories

Section 2923.13 ("Having weapons while under disability") defines five disqualifying categories. Each is a lifetime bar absent relief from disability under § 2923.14. Subsection (C) is emphatic: "under operation of law or legal process" does not include the mere completion, termination, or expiration of a sentence imposed as a result of a criminal conviction. Serving the prison time, paying the fine, and finishing parole does not lift the § 2923.13 disability - Ohio runs the disability indefinitely until a court of common pleas grants relief. The statutory verb list - "acquire, have, carry, or use" - reaches every interaction with a firearm or dangerous ordnance.

The five categories

§ 2923.13(A)(1) - Fugitive from justice. Barred for as long as the fugitive status persists. Federal § 922(g)(2) is parallel.

§ 2923.13(A)(2) - Felony offense of violence. A person under indictment for or convicted of any felony offense of violence is barred. The trigger is either the indictment or the conviction - a person awaiting trial is already prohibited before any guilty verdict. The disability also reaches juveniles adjudicated for an offense that would have been a felony of violence if committed by an adult.

§ 2923.13(A)(3) - Felony drug offense. A person under indictment for or convicted of any felony offense involving the illegal possession, use, sale, administration, distribution, or trafficking of any drug of abuse is barred - broader than § 922(g)(1) because it activates upon indictment. Also reaches juveniles adjudicated for a drug-felony equivalent.

§ 2923.13(A)(4) - Drug dependence or chronic alcoholism. A person who has a drug dependency, is in danger of drug dependence, or has chronic alcoholism is barred. This is a status bar - no indictment or predicate proceeding required. Federal § 922(g)(3) is parallel but distinct: it reaches "unlawful users" of any controlled substance regardless of dependency, while § 2923.13(A)(4) requires dependency or imminent danger of dependency (or chronic alcoholism). A casual marijuana user is exposed federally under § 922(g)(3) without falling within § 2923.13(A)(4); a person with diagnosed alcohol use disorder is exposed under § 2923.13(A)(4) without necessarily being exposed under § 922(g)(3).

§ 2923.13(A)(5) - Mental health. A person is barred if: under adjudication of mental incompetence; committed to a mental institution; found by a court to be a person with a mental illness subject to court order (defined in § 5122.01); or an involuntary patient other than one held only for purposes of observation. Federal § 922(g)(4) is parallel.

Penalty and scope

A violation of § 2923.13 is a felony of the third degree under § 2923.13(B); each separate possession event during the disability period is a separate offense. Constructive possession applies: a prohibited person who lives in a household with firearms titled to a non-prohibited spouse or roommate has unlawful "having" if those firearms are accessible. The standard remedy is a locked safe with the combination held only by the non-prohibited owner.

§ 2923.14 Relief from Disability

Ohio is unusual among states with permanent firearm disabilities in that it provides a clean state-court pathway to restoration. Section 2923.14 lets a person prohibited under § 2923.13 apply to the court of common pleas in the county of residence for relief.

Eligibility limits (§ 2923.14(A)(2)). Two categories of applicants are categorically ineligible: a person convicted of or who has pleaded guilty to § 2923.132 (the "violent career criminal" weapons offense); and a person who, two or more times, has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a felony and a firearm specification under § 2941.141, § 2941.144, § 2941.145, § 2941.146, § 2941.1412, or § 2941.1424. Everyone else under § 2923.13 disability may apply, including (A)(4) drug-dependency and (A)(5) mental-health disabilities.

Application and process (§ 2923.14(B), (C)). The application must recite all indictments, convictions, adjudications, sentences, community control or post-release control or parole, partial or conditional pardons, and other dispositions underlying the disability - or, if the disability is based on a non-conviction factor, that factor and all related details - plus facts showing the applicant to be a fit subject for relief. A copy is served on the county prosecutor, who must investigate and raise any objections.

Court findings (§ 2923.14(D)). The court may grant relief only if all three of the following apply: (1) the applicant has been fully discharged from imprisonment, community control, post-release control, and parole (or, if under indictment, has been released on bail or recognizance), or - for non-conviction factor disabilities - that factor is no longer applicable; (2) the applicant has led a law-abiding life since discharge or release and appears likely to continue to do so; and (3) the applicant is not otherwise prohibited by law from acquiring, having, or using firearms (including no independent § 922(g) federal disability).

Effect of relief (§ 2923.14(F)). Relief restores the applicant to all civil firearm rights "to the full extent enjoyed by any citizen," subject to four conditions: it applies only to the factors recited in the application; it applies only to firearms lawfully acquired, possessed, carried, or used; it may be revoked at any time for good cause shown; and it is automatically void if the applicant commits any (A)(2) or (A)(3) offense, or becomes one of the (A)(1), (A)(4), or (A)(5) classes.

Federal interaction. Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20), a state conviction for which a person has had civil rights restored is generally not a "conviction" for § 922(g)(1) purposes unless the restoration expressly forbids firearms. ATF generally treats § 2923.14 relief as a qualifying restoration for the Ohio conviction recited in the application. A § 2923.14 grant lifts § 2923.13 statewide and lifts § 922(g)(1) for the specific Ohio conviction(s) recited; it does not lift federal disabilities arising from federal or out-of-state predicates.

§ 2923.15 Intoxicated Possession

Section 2923.15: no person, while under the influence of alcohol or any drug of abuse, shall carry or use any firearm or dangerous ordnance. Violation is a misdemeanor of the first degree. The statute is narrower than § 2923.13 in that it reaches only "carry" and "use," not "acquire" or "have." It applies to everyone - CHL holder, non-resident reciprocity carrier, or permitless carrier under § 2923.111 alike. Section 2923.20(A)(1) cross-references § 2923.15: a seller who recklessly furnishes a firearm to a person under the influence commits a separate offense.

Item-Based Prohibitions: § 2923.17 Dangerous Ordnance

Section 2923.17 prohibits any person from knowingly acquiring, having, carrying, or using any dangerous ordnance. The definition of "dangerous ordnance" is at § 2923.11(K) and reaches:

Exclusions (§ 2923.11(L))

Several categories are excluded from "dangerous ordnance": black-powder and obsolete-ignition firearms; ordinary sporting pistols, rifles, and shotguns (including military weapons as issued or modified, and their ammunition) unless automatic or sawed-off; pre-1887 black-powder cannons; small-arms propellant powder, primers, and percussion caps; inoperable trophy, souvenir, curio, or museum pieces; items excepted from the federal "destructive device" definition under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(4); and firearms with overall length at least 26 inches approved for sale by ATF under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3) and found by ATF not to be regulated under 26 U.S.C. § 5845(a) - the carve-out that reaches firearms like the Mossberg Shockwave that ATF has determined are neither short-barreled shotguns nor "any other weapons."

NFA-registered carve-out (§ 2923.17(C)(5))

The most important practical exception is the NFA registration carve-out. Owners of dangerous ordnance registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record under 26 U.S.C. § 5841 are exempt from § 2923.17(A). A federally registered Title II machine gun, SBR, SBS, destructive device, suppressor, or "any other weapon" lawfully held under 26 U.S.C. ch. 53 is lawful in Ohio. The carve-out is registration-keyed, not item-keyed. An unregistered DIAS, an unlawfully manufactured auto-sear, or a converted Glock with an aftermarket switch is unlawful in Ohio under § 2923.17(A) regardless of what its owner believes about it. A suppressor built on a Form 1 that has not yet been approved is unlawful pre-approval - possession before ATF stamps the Form 1 is § 2923.17(A) exposure.

Other § 2923.17(C) exceptions

Section 2923.17(C) also exempts: officers, members of the armed forces or organized militia, and law enforcement officers acting within scope of duty ((C)(1)); federal explosives licensees under 18 U.S.C. § 843 ((C)(2)); federal destructive-device dealers under 18 U.S.C. § 923 ((C)(3)); recipients of surplus ordnance from the Secretary of the Army ((C)(4)); carriers and warehouses ((C)(6)); holders of a § 2923.18 license or permit ((C)(7)); and owners of a federally registered firearm muffler or suppressor attached to a gun authorized for hunting under § 1533.16 and used under § 1533.04 ((C)(8)).

Grading. Violation of § 2923.17(A) is a felony of the fifth degree under § 2923.17(D). Violation of § 2923.17(B) (illegally manufacturing or processing explosives without a state fire-marshal license) is a felony of the second degree under § 2923.17(E).

§ 2923.20 Unlawful Transactions in Weapons

Section 2923.20 targets the transfer side of weapons offenses and reaches both licensed dealers and private sellers.

The (A)(3)-(A)(5) anti-straw-purchase provisions are felonies of the third degree - the same grade as § 2923.13 disability possession - and do not apply to a law-enforcement officer acting within scope of duty or to a person acting in accordance with directions given by such an officer (§ 2923.20(B)). The (A)(7) loss-or-theft reporting requirement is one of the few affirmative duties on lawful firearm owners under chapter 2923; the duty is "forthwith."

§ 2923.21 Improperly Furnishing Firearms to a Minor

Section 2923.21 is the adult-side furnishing prohibition. It bars: selling any firearm to a person under 18 ((A)(1)); selling any handgun to a person under 21 ((A)(2)); furnishing any firearm to a person under 18 or any handgun to a person under 21 ((A)(3)), except for lawful hunting, sporting, or educational purposes, including instruction in firearms or handgun safety, care, handling, or marksmanship under the supervision or control of a responsible adult - the supervised-instruction carve-out that is critical for instructors running youth firearm-safety classes; and selling, furnishing, or purchasing a firearm with the knowledge or intent that it will be resold or furnished to a minor in violation of (A)(1)-(A)(3) ((A)(4)-(A)(7)) - the straw-purchase-to-minor offense.

Subsections (A)(1) and (A)(2) do not apply (§ 2923.21(B)) when the buyer is: a person 18-20 who is a properly appointed or employed law enforcement officer with firearms training approved by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Council (or equivalent); or an active-duty member of the U.S. armed forces with firearms training meeting or exceeding the requirements at § 2923.125(G)(1). A violation of § 2923.21 is a felony of the fifth degree under § 2923.21(C).

§ 2923.211 Underage Purchase

Section 2923.211 is the buyer-side companion to § 2923.21. § 2923.211(A) bars any person under 18 from purchasing or attempting to purchase a firearm - violation is a delinquent act that would be a felony of the fourth degree if committed by an adult. § 2923.211(B) bars any person under 21 from purchasing or attempting to purchase a handgun - violation is a misdemeanor of the second degree. The (B) handgun bar does not apply to LEOs 18-20 with OPOTC-approved training, or to active/reserve U.S. armed forces or Ohio National Guard members (or honorably discharged veterans) with armed-forces or national-guard firearms training or equivalent.

The 18-to-20 handgun gap is real. Federal § 922(b)(1) bars FFLs from selling handguns to anyone under 21; Ohio § 2923.211(B) bars 18-to-20-year-olds from purchasing them (LEO/military carve-outs aside). The practical effect: an 18-to-20-year-old Ohio resident generally cannot acquire a handgun from any FFL. Long-gun purchases at 18+ remain lawful and are not barred by § 2923.211.

Federal § 922(g) Overlay

18 U.S.C. § 922(g) prohibits firearm or ammunition possession (and shipment, transport, and receipt in or affecting interstate commerce) by:

Four federal-overlay scenarios Ohio instructors see often:

1. Out-of-state felonies. § 2923.13(A)(2) and (A)(3) reach felony convictions under any jurisdiction; § 922(g)(1) reaches the same. A § 2923.14 relief grant does not lift § 922(g)(1) for an out-of-state or federal felony.
2. Marijuana users. Recreational and medical marijuana users (including Ohio medical marijuana program cardholders) are unlawful users under § 922(g)(3) regardless of state legalization. Ohio § 2923.13(A)(4) reaches drug dependency, which is narrower. A casual cannabis user may be federally barred without being state-barred.
3. MCDV. § 922(g)(9) bars anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence under § 921(a)(33). A first-offense Ohio domestic violence conviction is generally a § 921(a)(33) MCDV. Ohio § 2923.13 does not directly bar MCDV-only misdemeanants, but federal § 922(g)(9) does, and the bar is permanent absent expungement, set-aside, pardon, or restoration of civil rights under § 921(a)(33).
4. Protective orders. Ohio § 2923.13 does not include a protective-order subcategory. Federal § 922(g)(8) operates independently and reaches qualifying intimate-partner civil protection orders (CPOs) issued under R.C. § 3113.31 or comparable statutes meeting the federal due-process and findings requirements. An Ohio CPO respondent not otherwise under § 2923.13 disability remains subject to § 922(g)(8) for the duration of the order.

CHL Eligibility and Restoration

PERMIT_BASICS walks through the CHL eligibility test at § 2923.125(D)(1). Several prongs map directly onto § 2923.13 disabilities and § 922(g) bars: no felony of violence indictment or conviction, no felony drug indictment or conviction, no § 922(g) federal disability, no mental-defective adjudication, no current domestic-violence CPO. A person prohibited under § 2923.13 will fail § 2923.125(D)(1) and cannot obtain or retain a CHL.

Ohio offers four practical paths out of a § 2923.13 disability: (1) § 2923.14 relief - the state-court petition described above, effective for Ohio convictions and (A)(4)/(A)(5) factor disabilities, but not reaching federal or out-of-state predicates for § 922(g)(1); (2) gubernatorial pardon - restores state firearm rights and generally lifts § 922(g)(1) under § 921(a)(20) unless the pardon expressly restricts firearms; (3) expungement or sealing - effect depends on the order's specific terms; and (4) federal § 925(c) relief - currently unfunded and unavailable to most applicants. A federal felony or federal MCDV requires federal restoration; an Ohio § 2923.14 grant or Governor's pardon does not lift a federal disability arising from a federal conviction.

Quick Reference

Ohio Firearm Storage Requirements

The Bottom Line

Ohio has no general statutory storage requirement for firearms. The Revised Code does not contain a "safe storage," "secure storage," "negligent storage," or "child access prevention" statute. The General Assembly has not enacted any provision that makes "unsafe storage" by itself a criminal offense, and no Ohio statute requires firearms to be locked, kept in a safe, secured with a trigger lock, or stored separately from ammunition.

One narrow change is coming. Senate Bill 273 of the 136th General Assembly, the "Keep Them Safe Act," enacts R.C. § 2923.26 effective September 17, 2026. It creates a voluntary framework under which an owner may deposit a firearm with a federally licensed firearms dealer or a law enforcement agency, and it gives the accepting dealer or agency civil immunity. It is an option an owner may choose to use, not a duty, and it is not law before September 17, 2026. Details are in the R.C. § 2923.26 section below.

If you live in Ohio, your home storage practices are not directly regulated by state law. The only Ohio-law constraints are downstream: a separate criminal offense if a firearm is furnished to a minor in violation of R.C. § 2923.21, possession exposure for a prohibited person under R.C. § 2923.13, transport exposure under R.C. § 2923.16, or ordinary civil tort liability where a stored firearm causes foreseeable harm. Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 922(z)) layers a one-time point-of-sale device requirement on every Ohio FFL transfer of a handgun to a non-licensed individual.

For Ohio Concealed Handgun License (CHL) holders, no storage condition attaches to the license. The county sheriff who issues a CHL under R.C. § 2923.125 does not inspect home storage, and a CHL is not subject to suspension under R.C. § 2923.128 based on how the holder keeps a firearm at home. Constitutional carry under R.C. § 2923.12(C)(2) does not change the storage analysis either way.

What the Ohio Revised Code Says (and Does Not Say) About Storage

Title XXIX (Crimes-Procedure), Chapter 2923 (Weapons Control), contains no provision directly regulating how a lawful owner stores a firearm at home, in a vehicle, or in a place of business. Chapter 2923 governs concealed carry (§ 2923.12), prohibited persons (§ 2923.13), the CHL framework at §§ 2923.124 through 2923.130, prohibited places (§ 2923.126), vehicle carry (§ 2923.16), furnishing firearms to minors (§ 2923.21), and underage purchase or possession (§ 2923.211). None of these statutes imposes an affirmative storage duty on a non-prohibited adult owner.

The Ohio Attorney General's Concealed Carry Laws and License Application pamphlet - the same pamphlet that R.C. § 2923.125(B)(4) requires CHL applicants to certify they have read - treats safe storage as voluntary safety advice, not a statutory obligation. The CHL competency course required by R.C. § 2923.125(G) must include "the rules for safe handling of a handgun and proper storage practices for handguns and ammunition," but the curriculum requirement is on the instructor and the course; the statute does not impose an outside-the-classroom storage duty on the licensee.

The only Ohio statutes that touch firearm storage do so indirectly, through the transfer and access offenses described below.

Improperly Furnishing Firearms to a Minor (R.C. § 2923.21)

Section 2923.21 prohibits a person from selling any firearm to a person under 18, selling any handgun to a person under 21 (subject to law-enforcement and active-duty military exceptions in subsection (B)), or furnishing any firearm to a person under 18 (or any handgun to a person under 21) "except for lawful hunting, sporting, or educational purposes, including, but not limited to, instruction in firearms or handgun safety, care, handling, or marksmanship under the supervision or control of a responsible adult." Subsections (A)(4) and (A)(5) extend the rule to a seller or furnisher who knows or has reason to know the adult buyer is acquiring the firearm or handgun in order to transfer it down to a person below the statutory age. Subsection (C) makes any violation a fifth-degree felony.

Section 2923.21 is a transfer rule, not a storage rule. The prohibited verbs are "sell" and "furnish," not "store" or "leave accessible." A passive failure to lock up a firearm at home, where a minor child finds it, is not a § 2923.21 violation by the storage act alone. The statute's plain text targets affirmative supply, not negligent storage. The lawful-supervision carve-out in (A)(3) matters for instructors and parents: a parent who hands a child a rifle for hunting under direct supervision, or a CHL instructor who places a handgun in the hands of a 19-year-old student during an R.C. § 2923.125(G) course, is not "furnishing" within the criminal sense of § 2923.21.

Underage Purchase or Possession (R.C. § 2923.211)

Section 2923.211 prohibits a person under 18 from purchasing or attempting to purchase a firearm (subsection (A)) and a person under 21 from purchasing or attempting to purchase a handgun (subsection (B)), with law-enforcement-officer and active-or-reserve military exceptions in subsection (B). Subsection (C) makes the under-18 firearm offense a delinquent act that would be a fourth-degree felony if committed by an adult; the under-21 handgun offense is a second-degree misdemeanor. The statute does not impose any storage duty on any adult; it punishes the minor's own purchase. Read together, § 2923.21 (supply-side) and § 2923.211 (demand-side) form Ohio's complete statutory framework on minor access to firearms - built on transfer and acquisition criminal offenses, not on a storage duty against the lawful adult owner.

What Ohio Does Not Have

A complete picture of Ohio storage law is largely a list of regulations Ohio does not impose:

• No child-access-prevention (CAP) statute. Ohio has no counterpart to the CAP laws other states impose. A loaded handgun left on a coffee table in an Ohio living room, where a six-year-old finds it, does not by itself violate any provision of the Revised Code.
• No locked-container or trigger-lock requirement beyond the federal point-of-sale device rule.
• No state notice or signed-statement requirement on FFL dealers beyond federal law. Ohio has no posting requirement directed at the storage topic.
• No firearm-safety-device sales-tax exemption. Ohio applies its state sales tax to gun safes and locks at retail.
• No state lost-or-stolen reporting duty for private owners. Federal law requires FFLs to report inventory theft to ATF and local police under 18 U.S.C. § 923(g)(6); private Ohio owners are not statutorily required to report a theft, although doing so is strongly advised.
• No registration of stored firearms. Ohio does not maintain a registry of privately held firearms. R.C. § 9.68 precludes any local registration scheme.
• No criminally negligent storage offense. Ohio's recklessness and negligence offenses (R.C. § 2903.13 assault, R.C. § 2903.14 negligent assault) reach storage-adjacent conduct only when the storage is so egregious that it itself amounts to recklessness or negligence in causing a separate harm. There is no Ohio statute criminalizing storage as a stand-alone offense.

The General Assembly has considered child-access-prevention bills in multiple sessions. As of the 135th General Assembly (2023-2024), no such bill has passed. Ohio's posture remains the absence of a state storage rule.

Voluntary Storage With a Dealer or Law Enforcement Agency: R.C. § 2923.26 (Signed June 18, 2026, Effective September 17, 2026)

Status and dates. Senate Bill 273 of the 136th General Assembly is titled "Enact the Keep Them Safe Act." It amends R.C. §§ 4501.11 and 5503.02 and enacts R.C. § 2923.26. The Senate passed the bill 33-0 on November 19, 2025. The House passed it 95-0 on June 9, 2026. The Senate concurred in the House amendments 32-0 on June 10, 2026, the bill was sent to the Governor on June 12, 2026, and the Governor signed it on June 18, 2026. The general provisions, including R.C. § 2923.26, take effect September 17, 2026; only the bill's appropriations took effect on June 18, 2026. The Legislative Service Commission's posting of the codified section carries the notice "Section 2923.26 is not yet in effect. It takes effect September 17, 2026." Treat R.C. § 2923.26 as signed and scheduled, not as current law, in any class taught before September 17, 2026.

What R.C. § 2923.26 does. Subsection (B) provides that "any owner of a lawfully possessed firearm or a person authorized by the owner of a lawfully possessed firearm may, upon application and agreement, store a firearm with a federally licensed firearms dealer or with a law enforcement agency pursuant to this section." The transaction is initiated by the owner (or someone the owner authorizes) and requires both an application and an agreement. Two custodians are named and only two: a federally licensed firearms dealer, and a law enforcement agency. R.C. § 2923.26 does not create any framework for leaving a firearm with a friend, a neighbor, or a relative. A private hand-off is still governed by the ordinary rules discussed elsewhere in this section, including § 2923.13 disability, § 2923.21 furnishing to a minor, and federal transfer law.

It is not a mandate, and nobody has to accept the firearm. R.C. § 2923.26 imposes no storage duty on any owner and prescribes no storage method. Subsection (E) states that nothing in the section "shall be construed as a requirement for a federally licensed firearms dealer or law enforcement agency to accept a firearm for storage." Subsection (F) adds that nothing requires a dealer or agency to accept a firearm "for voluntary storage free of charge." Participation is voluntary on both sides, and the custodian may charge for it.

Terms that apply to a dealer (subsection (C)). (C)(1) bars a dealer from entering a storage agreement if the dealer's federal firearms license will expire during the term of storage, unless the dealer has submitted a timely renewal application to ATF and is authorized to continue operations under federal law. (C)(2) requires the dealer to follow all federal laws on acquisition, transfer, and disposition of firearms under 18 U.S.C. § 921 et seq. and 26 U.S.C. § 53 et seq. (C)(3) permits the dealer to set its own policies and procedures on acceptance and return of a firearm and to provide a copy to any person placing a firearm in storage. (C)(4) prohibits the dealer from returning a firearm if the return would result in a direct violation of state or federal law.

Terms that apply to a law enforcement agency (subsection (D)). (D)(1) permits the agency to establish policies on the return of firearms. (D)(2) prohibits the agency from returning a firearm if the return would result in a direct violation of state or federal law. "Law enforcement agency" is defined in (A)(3) as a police department, the office of a sheriff, the state highway patrol, or a federal, state, or local governmental body that enforces criminal laws and has employees with a statutory power of arrest.

Who the civil immunity protects. The immunity runs to the party holding the firearm, not to the owner who deposited it.

• Subsection (G): a federally licensed firearms dealer that accepts storage "is immune from liability in a civil action for any injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly is caused by or related to the acceptance, storage, or return of a firearm," unless the dealer "acts with malicious purpose or intent to withhold the return of the firearm without legal cause."
• Subsection (H): a law enforcement agency or political subdivision is immune in a civil action for the same categories of harm, but only "to the extent and in the manner provided in Chapter 2744. of the Revised Code," which is Ohio's existing political-subdivision immunity chapter. "Political subdivision" carries the R.C. § 2744.01 meaning per (A)(4). The agency-side immunity is therefore a cross-reference to existing law rather than a new absolute shield.
• "Legal cause" is defined in (A)(1) as "any legal authority that would prohibit receiving or possessing a firearm, including disability under section 2923.13 of the Revised Code or under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)."

Nothing in R.C. § 2923.26 immunizes the depositing owner from anything, and nothing in it alters § 2923.13, § 2923.21, § 2923.211, or civil negligence exposure. Do not teach it as owner protection.

Getting the firearm back, and fee shifting (subsection (I)). If a court of competent jurisdiction finds that a dealer or a law enforcement agency withheld return of a firearm after a demand by the owner or an authorized person, without legal cause, then "in addition to any other relief ordered, the court shall award reasonable costs and attorney's fees to the person who sought a court order finding the firearm stored was illegally withheld." The award is mandatory once the court makes that finding, which is the practical enforcement mechanism behind the whole framework.

Confidentiality (subsection (J)). Any information a person submits in an application or agreement to store a firearm under R.C. § 2923.26 "is confidential, is not a public record under section 149.43 of the Revised Code, and may not be used for any purpose except as described under this section." Depositing a firearm under this section does not create a public record of the deposit.

A definitional wrinkle instructors should know about. "Federally licensed firearms dealer" is not defined in Chapter 2923. R.C. § 2923.26(A)(2) borrows the definition from R.C. § 5502.63, which reads: "an importer, manufacturer, or dealer having a license to deal in destructive devices or their ammunition, issued and in effect pursuant to the federal 'Gun Control Act of 1968,' 82 Stat. 1213, 18 U.S.C. 923 et seq." The Legislative Service Commission bill analysis recites that same destructive-devices definition. Because the section is not yet in effect, no Ohio court has construed how that borrowed definition applies to an ordinary Type 01 dealer. The practical takeaway for a student is procedural rather than theoretical: ask the specific shop whether it accepts storage under R.C. § 2923.26 and ask for its written (C)(3) policies before relying on it, instead of assuming that every FFL is a statutory custodian.

What to tell students. Before September 17, 2026: signed, scheduled, not yet operative. On and after that date: an owner-initiated option with two possible custodians, no obligation on either side, an accepting dealer or agency that carries immunity, a mandatory fee award if a firearm is withheld without legal cause, and confidential paperwork. It remains true both before and after that date that Ohio imposes no storage requirement on a lawful owner.

Federal Storage-Related Requirements That Apply in Ohio

While Ohio imposes no general state storage rule, two narrow federal requirements touch storage. They apply identically in every state.

Trigger or Locking Device at the Point of Sale (18 U.S.C. § 922(z))

Federal law requires every FFL dealer to provide a "secure gun storage or safety device" (cable lock, trigger lock, or comparable device) with each handgun transferred to a non-licensed individual. The transfer-side compliance obligation is on the dealer; the buyer has no continuing federal obligation to use the device after leaving the store. The implementing regulation, 27 C.F.R. Part 478, requires FFL applicants to certify that secure gun storage or safety devices will be available at every place where firearms are sold to non-licensed individuals. None of this regulation reaches the buyer's home use of the device after leaving the store, and there is no federal counterpart of "registration" for stored firearms. This federal point-of-sale rule is the closest analogue to a storage law that touches Ohio residents.

Federal Interstate Transport (18 U.S.C. § 926A)

The Firearm Owners Protection Act peaceable-journey rule, 18 U.S.C. § 926A, governs firearm transport across state lines and generally requires that a firearm be unloaded and that neither the firearm nor any ammunition be readily accessible from the passenger compartment, with both stored in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console, or in the trunk. This is a transport rule, not a storage rule, and applies only during interstate travel covered by § 926A. It is treated in detail in TRANSPORT.

Storage-Adjacent Ohio Offenses to Be Aware Of

Although no Ohio statute directly mandates storage practices, several Revised Code provisions can become relevant if a poorly stored firearm contributes to a separate criminal harm:

The practical point: Ohio has no statute that makes "unsafe storage" by itself a crime. Liability arises, if at all, downstream from a separate harm.

R.C. § 9.68 Preemption and Local Storage Ordinances

Ohio is a strong-preemption state under R.C. § 9.68, which forbids any political subdivision from enacting, adopting, enforcing, or applying any ordinance, resolution, or rule that purports to "restrict the ownership, possession, purchase, other acquisition, transport, storage, carrying, sale, or other transfer" of firearms or their components except as expressly authorized by the Revised Code. The statute names "storage" explicitly. A municipal ordinance imposing a child-access-prevention rule, a locked-container rule, or a trigger-lock rule on lawful owners would be preempted under R.C. § 9.68 and would expose the political subdivision to the cost-shifting and attorney's-fee remedies in the statute. R.C. § 9.68 was amended by Senate Bill 58 (135th General Assembly), effective April 9, 2025, to strengthen the preemption challenge framework - reinforcing the bar on local storage ordinances. Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, and Akron cannot enact storage ordinances on lawful owners. The full preemption framework is in PREEMPTION.

Voluntary Best-Practice Guidance (Not Ohio Law)

The following recommendations are not Ohio law. They reflect general firearm-safety best practice taught by NRA-certified, USCCA-certified, and Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission-aligned CHL instructors, and they track the safe-handling-and-storage curriculum element required by R.C. § 2923.125(G). An Ohio owner who ignores all of these recommendations violates no Revised Code provision, provided the household otherwise complies with §§ 2923.13, 2923.21, and 2923.211.

In a home with children, regular minor visitors, or anyone prohibited under R.C. § 2923.13 or 18 U.S.C. § 922(g):

1. Store firearms in a locked container (handgun safe, gun safe, or lockbox) when not on your person or under your direct control. This is the cleanest practical defense to a § 2923.21 furnishing inquiry and forecloses civil-negligence exposure where a known minor was in the home.
2. Use a cable lock or trigger lock as a second layer for long-term storage. The federal point-of-sale device under 18 U.S.C. § 922(z) was provided for this purpose.
3. Store ammunition separately from firearms not designated for home defense.
4. For a designated home-defense firearm, use a quick-access biometric or push-button safe at the bedside if children, teenagers, or unauthorized adults reside in or visit the home.
5. Re-evaluate when household composition changes: a new child, a new roommate, a family member's prohibited status under § 2923.13 or § 2919.25, or a court-ordered firearm relinquishment.

For an adults-only home with no minor visitors and no prohibited persons: Ohio law does not require any particular storage method. A nightstand pistol is lawful, and the Castle Doctrine presumption under R.C. § 2901.05(B)(2) reinforces the lawfulness of staged home-defense storage. Practical risk management still suggests locked storage when the home is unattended (theft is the leading source of trafficked firearms).

For roommate or family situations involving a prohibited person: R.C. § 2923.13 puts the third-degree-felony exposure on the prohibited person. Locked storage to which only you have the key or combination is the cleanest separation and the cleanest defense to any complicity inquiry against you.

For vehicle storage: Ohio does not require a container, but R.C. § 2923.16 imposes a no-loaded-firearm-accessible rule for non-licensees and other vehicle-carry constraints described in VEHICLE CARRY. A vehicle-rated lockbox cabled to the seat frame for any extended absence is best practice.

Practical Guidance for CHL Holders and Instructors

For CHL holders, no storage rule attaches to the license. R.C. § 2923.125 governs licensing, R.C. § 2923.126 governs prohibited places, R.C. § 2923.12(B) governs the duty to inform during a stop, and R.C. § 2923.16 governs vehicle carry. None of these statutes touches home storage. A CHL is not subject to suspension under R.C. § 2923.128 based on how the licensee keeps a firearm at home, and the issuing sheriff does not inspect home storage practices.

For instructors, the safe-handling-and-storage portion of the R.C. § 2923.125(G) competency course is curriculum-driven. The cover-the-topic obligation is on the instructor and the course, not a statutory storage duty on the student after class ends. Cover storage as a matter of pedagogical responsibility under § 2923.125(G), but be clear with students that what they learn about home storage is best practice, not Ohio law. When a student asks, "do I have to lock up my gun at home in Ohio?" the accurate answer is: no, Ohio does not require it. When the student asks, "should I?" - that is a separate question, and the safe-handling rationale is independent of any legal compulsion. The R.C. § 2923.125(G)(2) competency exam may include questions on safe handling and storage; those questions should track best practice without asserting that any particular method is "required by Ohio law" - because none is.

Civil Exposure and Insurance

Even where no Ohio criminal storage rule exists, an Ohio firearm owner whose stored firearm causes injury may face civil liability. Ohio tort law recognizes negligence claims against firearm owners who fail to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm, particularly where a minor accesses a firearm and discharges it. Insurers writing homeowner policies in Ohio increasingly inquire about firearm storage practices and may exclude coverage for incidents involving improperly stored firearms. An owner who relies solely on the absence of a criminal-storage threshold has not addressed civil exposure.

Pending or Recent Legislation

Through the 135th General Assembly (2023-2024) and into the 136th (2025-2026), no Ohio safe-storage, child-access-prevention, or negligent-storage law has been enacted. Mandatory-storage bills have not advanced past committee. The April 2025 amendment to R.C. § 9.68 tightened, not loosened, the bar on local storage rules.

The one storage-related enactment of the 136th General Assembly is Senate Bill 273, the "Keep Them Safe Act," signed June 18, 2026 and effective September 17, 2026. It enacts R.C. § 2923.26 and creates a voluntary framework for depositing a firearm with a federally licensed firearms dealer or a law enforcement agency, with civil immunity for the accepting custodian. It does not impose any storage duty on an owner. See the R.C. § 2923.26 discussion above.

Key Statutes Referenced

Ohio law as of the 2025-2026 session imposes no general storage duty on lawful firearm owners. The federal point-of-sale device rule under 18 U.S.C. § 922(z) is the only storage-touching rule with operative force in an Ohio household. The downstream Ohio rules (§ 2923.21 furnishing-to-minor, § 2923.13 prohibited-person possession, § 2923.16 vehicle carry, civil negligence) reach storage only when storage failures contribute to a separate harm. There is no Ohio child-access-prevention statute, no locked-container requirement, no trigger-lock requirement, and no CHL-conditioned home storage rule. R.C. § 2923.26, effective September 17, 2026, adds a voluntary option rather than a duty: an owner may deposit a firearm with a federally licensed dealer or a law enforcement agency, no custodian is obliged to accept it, and the immunity the section creates protects the custodian rather than the owner.

Other Ohio Firearm Laws Worth Knowing

Ohio firearm law has several topics that don't fit neatly into the canonical permit, carry, and use-of-force sections. This catalog covers magazine capacity (no state limit), body armor, knives after HB 263, the federal pistol-brace rule, suppressors and the R.C. § 2923.17(C)(8) hunting carve-out, antique firearms, lost-and-stolen reporting (no mandate), estate inheritance, the R.C. § 2923.1213 emergency CHL for at-risk persons, and gun trusts as the dominant Ohio NFA-planning tool. Each topic gives the bottom-line answer first, then the statute, then the nuance.

Magazine Capacity: No State Limit

Ohio does not impose any magazine capacity limit. Standard-capacity and high-capacity magazines are lawful to own, possess, transport, and use anywhere in the state. The R.C. Chapter 2923 prohibited-weapons framework focuses on machine guns, short-barrel firearms, "dangerous ordnance" as defined in R.C. § 2923.11, and federally regulated NFA items. The chapter contains no magazine-capacity item; "magazine" appears in Chapter 2923 only in incidental, definitional contexts (notably R.C. § 2923.16(L), which excludes ammunition loaded into a long-gun magazine from the loaded-firearm rule for vehicle transport).

This matters operationally because several states impose hard capacity caps (California, New York, New Jersey, Colorado, Washington, and others). An Ohio CHL holder or qualifying adult under R.C. § 2923.111 who travels with a 17-round factory Glock 17 magazine, a 30-round AR-pattern magazine, or a 33-round PMAG is lawful in Ohio without qualification. Cross a state line into a capacity-limit jurisdiction and the federal Firearm Owners Protection Act safe-harbor at 18 U.S.C. § 926A may protect transport (unloaded, locked, separate from ammunition, in a vehicle making an otherwise-lawful trip), but it does not protect possession at the destination.

Ohio's preemption statute at R.C. § 9.68 further blocks any municipality, township, or county from adopting a magazine-capacity ordinance. Local rules that purport to cap capacity beyond state law are void on their face under § 9.68's general-laws supremacy. There is no Ohio jurisdiction in which a different rule applies.

For instructors: when a student asks "how big a magazine can I carry in Ohio," the answer is whatever fits and whatever the firearm will accept. There is no ceiling.

Body Armor

Body armor is generally lawful for civilian purchase, possession, and use in Ohio. There is no Ohio CHL or registration requirement to own body armor, and no general state-law prohibition on wearing it in public. Ohio's prohibited-weapons framework at R.C. § 2923.17 does not list body armor, soft carriers, or rifle plates. R.C. § 9.68 preempts any local ordinance that would purport to license or restrict body-armor possession beyond state law.

The federal layer is the operative restriction. Under 18 U.S.C. § 931, a person convicted of a federal or state "crime of violence" felony is barred from purchasing, owning, or possessing body armor, with a narrow employment-related affirmative defense. Ohio's general weapons-under-disability framework at R.C. § 2923.13 covers firearms and dangerous ordnance for persons in the five categorical disability classes (fugitive status, conviction of any felony offense of violence, certain felony drug offenses, drug dependency or chronic alcoholism, and adjudication of mental incompetence or commitment), but does not separately reach body armor outside that framework. Sentencing enhancements for use of body armor in the commission of an offense fall under generally applicable Ohio sentencing rules rather than a separate possession offense.

For non-prohibited civilians, soft Level IIIA carriers and Level III/IV rifle plates are lawful to buy, own, wear, and store.

Knives After HB 263 (2021)

Ohio knife law was substantially deregulated in 2021. HB 263 (133rd General Assembly), effective April 12, 2021, rewrote R.C. § 2923.20(A) to remove automatic-opening knives, switchblades, gravity knives, and ballistic knives from the unlawful-transactions-in-weapons offense. Possession, manufacture, and sale of automatic and switchblade knives became lawful in Ohio for non-prohibited persons.

The deeper structural reason a pocket knife is rarely an Ohio criminal-law issue runs through R.C. § 2923.12(H), which expressly excludes from the carrying-concealed-weapon "deadly weapon" definition "any knife, razor, or cutting instrument" unless the instrument was used as a weapon. The Ohio Supreme Court's longstanding "design and use" doctrine (State v. Anderson, State v. Cattledge, and progeny) treats most ordinary folding and fixed-blade knives as tools rather than per se "deadly weapons" until carried with a weapon's purpose or used as one. The combination of HB 263 plus the § 2923.12(H) carve-out means a routine pocket knife - folding, automatic, fixed-blade hunting, or otherwise - is generally lawful to carry in Ohio without qualification.

The location-restricted layer comes through the prohibited-places framework rather than a knife-specific statute. School premises under R.C. § 2923.122 reach "deadly weapons," and a knife carried with a weapon's purpose onto K-12 grounds is reachable under that statute. Court facilities, government buildings posted under § 2923.126(B), and the federal facility rule at 18 U.S.C. § 930 are agnostic to firearm versus knife.

For instructors: a folding pocket knife of any blade length is lawful in nearly all Ohio settings; an automatic or switchblade knife became lawful in 2021; the operative criminal exposure runs through "use as a weapon" under § 2923.12(H), not blade-length or opening-mechanism rules.

Pistol Braces and the Federal ATF Rule

Ohio has no state-law rule on pistol braces. The state Revised Code's "short-barrel firearm" framework at R.C. § 2923.11(E) tracks the federal NFA definition of a short-barreled rifle by reference, which means whatever the federal rule says about braced pistols controls in Ohio.

The federal status is currently disputed. ATF Final Rule 2021R-08F, "Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached 'Stabilizing Braces,'" 88 Fed. Reg. 6478 (Jan. 31, 2023), declared that most braced pistols meet the NFA definition of a short-barreled rifle, requiring registration and a $200 making tax. Subsequent federal litigation in the Fifth and Eighth Circuits and the Northern District of Texas has produced injunctions, vacaturs, and stays of varying scope, and the legal posture continues to evolve through appeals.

For Ohio residents, the practical guidance is conservative: Ohio has no state-level pistol-brace rule, but the federal rule and the federal litigation control. An owner of a braced pistol should track the current status of the rule, the scope of any nationwide injunction, and any open ATF amnesty registration window before relying on a particular configuration. An Ohio CHL class is not the place to give definitive federal-rule advice; it is the place to flag that the rule is federal, that it is disputed, and that the student needs current counsel before building or modifying.

Suppressors and the R.C. § 2923.17(C)(8) Hunting Carve-Out

Suppressors are lawful in Ohio for civilians who comply with the federal National Firearms Act process. The federal NFA at 26 U.S.C. ch. 53 and ATF regulations at 27 C.F.R. § 479.11 are the entire process for civilians: select the suppressor from a licensed dealer, submit a Form 4 transfer application (or Form 1 to manufacture) with fingerprints, photographs, and the $200 transfer or making tax, wait for ATF approval, then take possession on the tax stamp. There is no separate Ohio state permit, registration, or fee for a suppressor.

Ohio's suppressor framework runs through R.C. § 2923.17, which makes unlawful possession of "dangerous ordnance" a fourth-degree felony. R.C. § 2923.11(K)(4) defines dangerous ordnance to include any firearm muffler or suppressor. The categorical felony is then disarmed for properly registered suppressors by R.C. § 2923.17(C), which exempts persons authorized to acquire, possess, carry, or use dangerous ordnance under federal law.

R.C. § 2923.17(C)(8) supplies the Ohio-specific operational carve-out that matters in the field: the dangerous-ordnance offense does not apply to "[p]ersons who own a dangerous ordnance that is a firearm muffler or suppressor attached to a gun that is authorized to be used for hunting by section 1533.16 of the Revised Code and who are authorized to use such a dangerous ordnance by section 1533.04 of the Revised Code." R.C. § 1533.04 authorizes the Ohio Division of Wildlife to permit suppressor use for taking game; R.C. § 1533.16 authorizes the use of long guns and handguns for hunting under licensed rules. The combined effect is that a federally registered suppressor on a hunting firearm, used in compliance with Ohio Wildlife rules, is lawful in the field without any additional Ohio paperwork beyond the federal tax stamp.

For machine guns, the federal Hughes Amendment limits civilian-transferable machine guns to those registered before May 19, 1986, and the same NFA process applies. SBRs and SBSs follow the suppressor procedure. An item registered on a current ATF tax stamp is not Ohio "dangerous ordnance" contraband under § 2923.17(C).

Antique Firearms

Antique firearms occupy a separate space under federal law that flows through into Ohio practice. Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(16), an "antique firearm" is any firearm manufactured in or before 1898, or any replica of such a firearm not designed to use rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition, or a muzzleloading rifle, shotgun, or pistol designed to use black powder or a black-powder substitute and not capable of using fixed ammunition. Antique firearms are excluded from the federal definition of "firearm" at 27 C.F.R. § 478.11, which means they are not subject to FFL transfer requirements, Form 4473, or NICS background checks at retail.

Ohio does not impose a separate antique-firearm regime. R.C. § 2923.11(B) defines "firearm" as "any deadly weapon capable of expelling or propelling one or more projectiles by the action of an explosive or combustible propellant," which reaches a black-powder firearm by operation rather than by 1898 cutoff. The § 2923.13 weapons-under-disability statute therefore can reach a functioning black-powder revolver in the hands of a person under disability even though federal § 922(g) does not. An Ohio resident with a felony conviction should not assume the federal antique carve-out resolves their state-law disability without specific legal advice.

For estate, gift, and private-sale purposes among non-prohibited persons, antiques can be transferred without an FFL or background check. Common-sense limits apply: do not assume an antique reproduction with modern centerfire chambering falls within the carve-out.

Lost or Stolen Firearm Reporting

Ohio does not impose a statutory duty to report a lost or stolen firearm to law enforcement. There is no R.C. Chapter 2923 provision that makes failure to report a missing firearm a separate offense. Ohio sheriff's offices and local police departments uniformly accept lost-and-stolen reports and recommend filing them, but the recommendation is operational, not statutory.

The practical reasons to file anyway are substantial. A timely lost-and-stolen report with serial number, make, model, and date creates the record that protects the original owner if the firearm is later recovered at a crime scene or used in an offense. NCIC entry by the receiving agency creates a national hit at any future law-enforcement contact. The report is also evidence of due diligence in any later civil claim or insurance recovery.

The 2022 federal Bipartisan Safer Communities Act expanded the federal straw-purchase statute (now 18 U.S.C. § 932) but did not create a federal lost-or-stolen reporting mandate for private owners. The FFL-side reporting obligation under 18 U.S.C. § 923(g)(6) (dealers must report theft within 48 hours) is unchanged and applies only to FFLs, not private owners.

Instructor takeaway: there is no Ohio state mandate to report. There are good reasons to do it anyway, and a student's choice to file or not is not a state-law violation either way.

Estate Inheritance and NFA Items

Inheriting a non-NFA firearm in Ohio involves no special state-law process. The personal representative of the estate distributes the firearm to the named beneficiary or to the heir under the Ohio Probate Code, and the receiving heir must be eligible to possess under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) and R.C. § 2923.13. There is no Ohio-specific transfer paperwork, no FFL requirement, and no background check between estate and beneficiary.

NFA items (suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, machine guns, AOWs, destructive devices) are governed by federal law. The transfer mechanism on death is ATF Form 5, "Application for Tax-Exempt Transfer and Registration of Firearm" (per 27 C.F.R. § 479.90 and ATF guidance). Form 5 transfers an NFA item from the estate of a deceased registered owner to a lawful heir tax-free, but the heir must still be a person not prohibited under federal law and must complete the ATF approval process before taking possession. The executor's lawful possession during probate is recognized under federal law, but actual transfer to the heir requires Form 5 approval. Ohio imposes no separate state-level estate paperwork on an NFA item beyond what applies to any other tangible personal property.

For Ohio residents with multiple NFA items or a planned estate, the gun-trust route generally produces a smoother transition than the personal-registration route. See the gun-trusts subsection below.

Emergency CHL Under R.C. § 2923.1213

R.C. § 2923.1213 is an Ohio-specific statute that has no direct analog in most other states. It creates an expedited "temporary emergency" concealed handgun license for an at-risk person who needs to carry concealed before the standard 45-day R.C. § 2923.125(D)(1) issuance window can run. The statute predates SB 215 (2022) and continues to operate even in Ohio's constitutional-carry environment because the temporary CHL preserves reciprocity, the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act exception, and the dealer-counter NICS-alternative status during the period of imminent danger.

Under R.C. § 2923.1213(B)(1), an applicant submits to the sheriff of the county of residence (or county of temporary stay for an out-of-state applicant) three components: (a) "evidence of imminent danger" - a sworn statement of reasonable cause to fear a criminal attack or, more typically, a court protection order, court report, or law-enforcement report describing the threat; (b) a sworn affidavit attesting to all of the substantive eligibility criteria of the standard CHL under R.C. § 2923.125(D)(1) (age, residency, no disqualifying convictions, no mental-incompetence adjudication, no controlled-substance use, no dishonorable discharge, no current § 2923.128 suspension); and (c) a non-refundable fee.

Under R.C. § 2923.1213(B)(2), the sheriff must perform an immediate criminal-records check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and then issue a temporary emergency license if the records check returns no disqualifier. The sheriff may not require the standard R.C. § 2923.125(G) competency course or in-person range training as a precondition to the temporary license - the statutory tradeoff is that the imminent-danger showing replaces the training showing on a time-limited basis. R.C. § 2923.1213(B)(3) sets a 90-day duration with no renewal of the emergency license itself; the holder must file a standard R.C. § 2923.125 application during the 90-day window if continued licensure is needed.

R.C. § 2923.1213(D) preserves the same prohibited-places, duty-to-inform, and disability rules as the standard CHL - a temporary emergency licensee is held to the same R.C. § 2923.126(B) prohibited-places list and the same R.C. § 2923.12(B) duty-to-inform a peace officer. The temporary license is the credential to bridge a stalking, domestic-violence, or workplace-threat situation through the application period, not a parallel less-regulated permit.

For instructors: the emergency CHL is a real Ohio tool that students in active threat situations should know about. The path is the same sheriff's office; the showing is the imminent-danger document plus the eligibility affidavit; the lifespan is 90 days with no renewal; and the standard CHL application must run in parallel if the threat continues.

Gun Trusts and Ohio NFA Planning

NFA gun trusts are widely used in Ohio for the same reasons they are used in Florida and Texas: they simplify shared possession among trustees, eliminate the Form 5 estate-transfer process for items already held in trust, and provide a structured path for successor control after the settlor's death. Ohio recognizes revocable inter vivos trusts under the Ohio Trust Code (R.C. Chapter 5801 et seq.), and a properly drafted NFA trust is a "person" for purposes of the federal NFA registration system at 26 U.S.C. § 5841.

The federal mechanics are the operative ones. ATF Form 4 (transfer to a trust) and Form 1 (manufacture by a trust) require fingerprints and photographs of all "responsible persons" of the trust under the 41F amendments to 27 C.F.R. § 479.11 (effective July 13, 2016). Each trustee with the authority to direct trust action over an NFA item is a responsible person; a beneficiary with no current control authority typically is not. The trust must be valid under Ohio law to be recognized by ATF.

The operational benefits in Ohio are concrete. First, multiple co-trustees may possess and use the trust's NFA items without each separately registering a transfer; possession by a co-trustee is possession by the trust. Second, on the settlor's death, control passes through the trust instrument to a successor trustee without a Form 5 estate transfer, which preserves the items inside the existing registration and avoids the ATF approval window during probate. Third, the trust can name multiple generations of successor trustees, allowing long-term family planning for a suppressor, SBR, or machine-gun collection in a way that personal registration cannot.

The limits are also concrete. A trust does not waive the federal § 922(g) prohibitions for any individual responsible person - a person under federal disability cannot be a trustee with NFA-item authority. A trust does not avoid R.C. § 2923.13 weapons-under-disability for any Ohio resident trustee under one of the categorical state disabilities. And a trust does not exempt the underlying item from the federal NFA: every Form 4 transfer to a trust still pays the $200 tax (or $5 for AOWs) and waits for ATF approval.

For Ohio residents with a single suppressor, individual registration is often sufficient. For multi-item collections, multi-generational planning, or a household with multiple adult shooters, a gun trust drafted by an NFA-experienced Ohio attorney generally produces the cleaner answer. An Ohio CHL class is not the place to draft a trust; it is the place to flag the trust route as an option and refer the student to counsel.

Carrying Under the Influence in Ohio

The Bottom Line

Ohio's primary firearm-while-intoxicated statute is R.C. § 2923.15, "using weapons while intoxicated." Subsection (A): "No person, while under the influence of alcohol or any drug of abuse, shall carry or use any firearm or dangerous ordnance." Subsection (B) makes it a misdemeanor of the first degree. The verbs are "carry or use" - the holstered concealed carrier is on the same footing as the discharging shooter. The substances reach "alcohol or any drug of abuse," disjunctively.

Section 2923.15 writes no separate per-se BAC. The "under the influence" element tracks the vehicle-DUI standard in R.C. § 4511.19. Section 4511.19(A)(1)(a) reaches anyone "under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination." Per-se thresholds at § 4511.19(A)(1)(b)-(i) - 0.08 percent BAC standard, 0.17 percent BAC high "super-drunk" tier - and § 4511.19(A)(1)(j) supplies per-se controlled-substance thresholds (amphetamine, cocaine, heroin, L.S.D., marihuana, methamphetamine, phencyclidine). A 0.08 BAC or proof of impairment from any drug of abuse supports the firearm charge on the same record that would support an OVI charge.

A DUI stop produces stacked exposure. § 2923.12(B) is the CHL duty-to-inform statute. § 2923.15 reaches any intoxicated carry. § 2923.16(D) separately prohibits transporting or having a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle while under the influence or at the § 4511.19(A) prohibited concentrations - a fifth-degree felony, escalating to a fourth-degree felony if the loaded handgun is concealed on the person. One stop can produce three separate criminal exposures.

CHL eligibility runs through R.C. § 2923.125(D)(1). Subsection (D)(1)(o) requires the applicant to certify "that the applicant is not an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance as defined in 21 U.S.C. § 802." R.C. § 2923.13(A)(4) creates a separate "weapons under disability" framework barring firearm possession by any person with "a drug dependency, [who] is in danger of drug dependence, or has chronic alcoholism" - a third-degree felony under § 2923.13(B), potentially restorable through R.C. § 2923.14.

Federal 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) bars firearm possession by any "unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance." 27 C.F.R. § 478.11 treats every current marijuana user as a § 922(g)(3) trigger because marijuana remains Schedule I federally. Any current Ohio cannabis user - recreational or medical - is federally prohibited regardless of Ohio law.

Practical takeaway: do not carry while drinking, while impaired by any drug of abuse, or while a current cannabis user. There is no holstered-carry safe harbor.

The Controlling Statute: R.C. § 2923.15

Section 2923.15(A) reads in full: "No person, while under the influence of alcohol or any drug of abuse, shall carry or use any firearm or dangerous ordnance." Subsection (B): "Whoever violates this section is guilty of using weapons while intoxicated, a misdemeanor of the first degree." Three structural points define the statute's reach.

The verbs are "carry or use," disjunctively. The statute reaches simple carrying - there is no statutory limitation to discharge or loaded-in-hand handling. A holstered, concealed, non-handled firearm on the carrier's person is "carried" within § 2923.15(A) the moment the carrier's blood alcohol crosses the impairment line. The CHL holder who has a beer with dinner while wearing a holstered handgun is exposed on the carry verb alone - no draw, display, or discharge required.

The substance list is "alcohol or any drug of abuse," disjunctively. "Drug of abuse" reaches alcohol, any Schedule I-V controlled substance, and any other substance taken outside the scope of a valid prescription that produces impairment. Lawfully prescribed medication taken as prescribed is not a "drug of abuse," but medication taken in excess, without a prescription, or producing observable impairment is reachable.

The firearms list is "any firearm or dangerous ordnance." R.C. § 2923.11 supplies the chapter definitions; "dangerous ordnance" reaches automatic firearms, sawed-off shotguns, and certain explosive devices. The offense applies equally to a holstered handgun, a long gun in a truck rack, an NFA short-barreled rifle, and an NFA machine gun. There is no carve-out for sporting use, hunting, or target practice.

The "Under the Influence" Element and § 4511.19

Section 2923.15 does not define "under the influence" internally. The phrase tracks R.C. § 4511.19. Section 4511.19(A)(1)(a) reaches anyone operating a vehicle "under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them" - the impairment-by-faculties prong, proved on the totality of the evidence. Section 4511.19 also supplies per-se thresholds:

A § 2923.15 prosecution does not require proof of a specific BAC - the State can prove "under the influence" on officer observations and field sobriety evidence - but a 0.08 BAC settles the impairment element on the same record that would support a per-se OVI charge. Section 4511.19(A)(1)(j)(vii) sets the marihuana per-se threshold at 2 ng/mL whole blood (10 ng/mL urine); § 4511.19(A)(1)(j)(viii) sets per-se metabolite thresholds. The same numbers anchor § 2923.15 prosecution evidence.

Penalty Grade

Section 2923.15(B) makes the offense a misdemeanor of the first degree - up to 180 days in jail and up to a $1,000 fine under Ohio's general misdemeanor framework, plus a permanent record on background checks, professional licensing, future firearm purchases, and CHL renewal-cycle exposure under § 2923.125(D)(1) and § 2923.128(A)(2).

The Vehicle Stack: § 2923.16(D) Plus § 2923.12(B) Plus § 2923.15

The DUI stop with a loaded handgun in the vehicle is Ohio's worst-case scenario. Three statutes converge.

R.C. § 2923.16(D) prohibits knowingly transporting or having a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle if, at the time, either: (1) the person is under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination (§ 2923.16(D)(1)); or (2) the person's whole blood, blood serum or plasma, breath, or urine contains a concentration of alcohol, a listed controlled substance, or a listed metabolite prohibited for vehicle operators under § 4511.19(A) (§ 2923.16(D)(2)). The (D)(2) cross-reference imports the OVI per-se thresholds directly. The prohibition applies "regardless of whether the person ... is the operator of or a passenger in the motor vehicle" - passengers face the same exposure as drivers.

The penalty under § 2923.16(I) is severe: a (D) violation is a felony of the fifth degree - or, if the loaded handgun is concealed on the person, a felony of the fourth degree. The intoxicated CHL holder driving with a holstered, concealed, loaded handgun has committed § 2923.15 (first-degree misdemeanor) and § 2923.16(D) (fourth-degree felony) on one set of facts.

R.C. § 2923.12(B) is the duty-to-inform layer. (B)(1) requires the CHL holder stopped for a law-enforcement purpose and carrying a concealed handgun to "knowingly" disclose that fact to the officer "before or at the time" the officer asks. (B)(2) requires hands in plain sight after the officer approaches. (B)(3) prohibits contact with the loaded handgun during the stop except per officer direction. (B)(4) requires compliance with lawful officer orders. R.C. § 2923.16(E) parallels these duties at vehicle stops. Failure to disclose at a vehicle stop is a misdemeanor of the second degree under § 2923.16(I); failure to keep hands in sight is a first-degree misdemeanor (fifth-degree felony on prior conviction) and triggers CHL suspension under § 2923.128(A)(2).

Combined exposure from one drunk-driving stop: § 4511.19 OVI; § 2923.15; § 2923.16(D) (felony, fourth-degree if concealed on person); § 2923.12(B)/§ 2923.16(E) duty-to-inform offenses; § 2923.128(A)(2) CHL suspension; federal § 922(g)(3) exposure if the carrier is a current controlled-substance user.

CHL Eligibility, Drug Dependency, and the Disability Statute

Ohio's CHL framework includes two distinct intoxication-related eligibility hooks plus a separate weapons-disability framework.

§ 2923.125(D)(1)(o) - The Federal Cross-Reference

Section 2923.125(D)(1)(o) requires the applicant to certify "that the applicant is not an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance as defined in 21 U.S.C. § 802." That is a direct importation of federal § 922(g)(3) into Ohio CHL eligibility. The certification reaches every Schedule I-V controlled substance taken outside a valid prescription, every recreational drug user, and every cannabis user (medical or adult-use) under federal law. It operates at initial application and at every renewal.

§ 2923.13(A)(4) - Drug Dependency / Chronic Alcoholism Disability

Section 2923.13 is Ohio's "having weapons while under disability" statute. Subsection (A) lists categorical disabilities: fugitive (A)(1), felony offense of violence (A)(2), felony drug offense (A)(3), drug dependency / chronic alcoholism (A)(4), adjudicated mental incompetence (A)(5). A person within any category who knowingly acquires, has, carries, or uses any firearm or dangerous ordnance commits the offense. Subsection (B) makes a violation a felony of the third degree.

Section 2923.13(A)(4) reaches "a drug dependency, [a person who] is in danger of drug dependence, or [a person with] chronic alcoholism." These are clinical terms that turn on diagnosis and adjudication evidence rather than a count of convictions. A physician diagnosis of substance dependence, an inpatient or residential rehab admission, or a court adjudication of dependency feeds (A)(4). Chronic alcoholism is an (A)(4) trigger but not a § 922(g)(3) trigger because alcohol is not a controlled substance under 21 U.S.C. § 802 - § 2923.13(A)(4) reaches alcoholism scenarios federal law does not. Section 2923.13(A)(3) reaches "any felony offense involving the illegal possession, use, sale, administration, distribution, or trafficking in any drug of abuse."

The disability is potentially restorable. R.C. § 2923.14 establishes a relief process: the disabled person applies to the court of common pleas; the prosecutor receives a copy and may object; the court may grant relief on findings that the disability factor no longer applies, the applicant has led a law-abiding life since discharge, and the applicant is not otherwise prohibited. Relief restores "all civil firearm rights to the full extent enjoyed by any citizen" subject to § 2923.14(F) conditions. Section 2923.14 relief restores Ohio rights only - it does not remove a federal § 922(g)(3) bar.

Section 2923.125(D)(1)(d) bars an applicant under indictment for or charged with a felony, a Chapter 2925/3719/4729 drug-of-abuse offense, or a misdemeanor offense of violence; § 2923.125(D)(1)(e) imposes a categorical conviction bar.

Federal Layer: 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) and Ohio Cannabis

18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) makes it unlawful for any person who is "an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance" to possess any firearm or ammunition in or affecting interstate commerce. The offense is a federal felony with up to 10 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. 27 C.F.R. § 478.11 reaches any current user of a controlled substance taken other than as prescribed. Marijuana is the leading trigger because marijuana remains Schedule I federally regardless of state law.

Ohio voters approved Issue 2 in November 2023, legalizing adult-use recreational cannabis under state law; Ohio also operates a separate medical marijuana control program. Under federal law, every Ohio cannabis user - recreational under Issue 2 or medical under the medical program - is an "unlawful user of [a] controlled substance" within § 922(g)(3).

ATF Form 4473 asks every purchaser, under penalty of perjury, to certify that they are not an unlawful user of any controlled substance, and the form expressly notes that marijuana use disqualifies regardless of state law. A current Ohio cannabis user who answers "no" on Form 4473 commits a federal felony under 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6) (false statement) and § 922(g)(3) (possession by prohibited person). The exposure attaches even when the purchaser is sober at the dealer counter and the firearm is kept at home - there is no Ohio § 2923.15 offense for sober home possession by a cannabis user (the state offense requires "under the influence"), but the federal exposure does not require concurrent impairment. Section 2923.125(D)(1)(o) imports federal § 922(g)(3) by reference: a current cannabis user who applies for or renews a CHL while certifying "no unlawful user" status commits a false certification under Ohio's CHL framework and walks into the same § 922(a)(6) federal exposure.

Self-Defense While Intoxicated

Ohio's use-of-force framework does not categorically bar an intoxicated person from claiming self-defense. Three practical points limit it.

The underlying § 2923.15 charge survives even if the defensive use is justified. A homeowner who is intoxicated and lawfully defends against an unlawful intruder has a complete justification defense to any homicide or assault charge, but the § 2923.15 "carry while intoxicated" charge stands as a separate count on its own elements.

Intoxication degrades the justification proof. Self-defense in Ohio requires reasonable belief in imminent unlawful force and reasonable proportionality. An impaired defender's perception of threat, judgment about timing, and accuracy in deploying force are subject to attack on cross-examination.

The § 2923.13(A)(4) disability applies at home. A homeowner who is in an (A)(4) drug-dependency disability and possesses a firearm at home commits the disability offense regardless of intoxication at the moment of defensive use. The home is not a safe harbor against the disability statute.

What § 2923.15 Does Not Cover

• No locational safe harbor. The statute reaches "carry or use" with no home, consented-private-property, or own-vehicle exception. Prosecution discretion and proof-of-impairment limits are the practical filters; the statute does not write a home exception.
• No discharge or display required. Mere carry while intoxicated is the offense.
• No firearm-specific per-se BAC threshold. The "under the influence" element runs through the § 4511.19 vocabulary.
• No firearm-specific implied-consent regime. Officers rely on the same investigative tools used for OVI.
• No state offense for sober possession by a current drug user. The state offense requires impairment. Sober possession by a current cannabis user is a federal § 922(g)(3) offense, an Ohio § 2923.13(A)(4) offense if dependency is established, and a § 2923.125(D)(1)(o) CHL false-certification offense - but not a § 2923.15 offense.

Practical Guidance for Instructors and Students

1. Do not carry while drinking, period. Section 2923.15(A) reaches "carry or use" without a holstered-carry safe harbor. The rule is "no drinking with a firearm on you," not "stay under 0.08." Cost of being wrong: up to 180 days, up to $1,000 fine, plus CHL renewal-cycle exposure.

2. Do not drive impaired with a loaded handgun in the vehicle. The stack - § 4511.19 OVI plus § 2923.15 plus § 2923.16(D) (fifth-degree felony, or fourth-degree if concealed on the person) plus § 2923.12(B) / § 2923.16(E) duty-to-inform exposure - is the worst-case scenario. One stop produces three or four separate exposures.

3. The § 4511.19 thresholds anchor § 2923.15. Per-se BAC: 0.08 percent (standard) and 0.17 percent (high). Marijuana per-se: 2 ng/mL whole blood. The State uses the same chemical-test record in both prosecutions.

4. § 2923.13(A)(4) is a clinical-evidence disability. Drug dependency, danger of dependence, or chronic alcoholism - established by physician diagnosis, residential-treatment admission, or court adjudication - feeds the third-degree felony disability under § 2923.13(B). Repeated OVI convictions are evidence of dependency, not themselves the trigger.

5. Cannabis ends CHL eligibility through § 2923.125(D)(1)(o). A current cannabis user - recreational under Issue 2 or medical - cannot truthfully sign the certification under federal law, which controls the meaning. Federal § 922(g)(3) reaches every current cannabis user regardless of compliance with Ohio law; the Form 4473 trap and the federal possession exposure attach independently.

6. § 2923.14 relief restores Ohio rights only. A § 2923.13(A)(4) drug-dependency or chronic-alcoholism disability is restorable through the § 2923.14 court-of-common-pleas process. State relief does not remove a federal § 922(g)(3) bar.

7. The duty-to-inform stack is real. § 2923.12(B) at any law-enforcement stop and § 2923.16(E) at vehicle stops impose four overlapping duties: disclose, hands in plain sight, no contact with the loaded handgun without officer direction, comply with lawful orders. Failure produces independent exposure plus CHL suspension under § 2923.128(A)(2).

8. Plan the night. If a student plans to drink, the firearm should be stored and unloaded first. There is no Ohio "safe transport while drinking" exception and no holstered-carry safe harbor.

Statute Reference

Ohio State Preemption of Firearm Regulation

Ohio Rev. Code § 9.68 is the operative state preemption statute for firearms in Ohio. It declares the right to keep and bear arms a "fundamental individual right that predates the United States Constitution and Ohio Constitution," finds a statewide need for "uniform laws throughout the state regulating the ownership, possession, purchase, other acquisition, transport, storage, carrying, sale, other transfer, manufacture, taxation, keeping, and reporting of loss or theft of firearms, their components, and their ammunition, and knives," and preempts any local ordinance, rule, regulation, resolution, practice, or other action that imposes "further license, permission, restriction, delay, or process" on top of state and federal law. Section 9.68(B) gives any person, group, or entity adversely affected a private right of action against the offending political subdivision for damages, declaratory relief, and injunctive relief, and requires the court to award reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, expert-witness fees, and compensation for loss of income to a prevailing plaintiff or to a plaintiff whose lawsuit causes the local rule to be repealed before final judgment.

For an Ohio CCW licensee or a permitless carrier, the practical takeaway is short. Your right to carry under Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.125 (the licensed-carry framework) and Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.12 (which now permits qualifying adults to carry concealed without a license under the constitutional-carry amendments) is the same in every Ohio city, every Ohio county, every Ohio village, and every Ohio township. No municipality, no county, and no township board can layer a local permit, a local registration scheme, a local "no firearms in the park" rule, an assault-weapon ban, a magazine-capacity limit, an ammunition tax, a local waiting period, a local liability-insurance mandate, or a local fee on the possession or carrying of a firearm or its components. Any such local rule is void from inception, exposes the political subdivision to a fee-shifted civil action under § 9.68(B), and - under language House Bill 228 added to § 9.68(A), in force since December 28, 2019 - is barred even when the local government tries to reach the conduct through "practice" or by "threat of citation, prosecution, or other legal process" rather than through a formal ordinance. The April 9, 2025 amendment enacted by Senate Bill 58 is what added the two separate guarantees that a person may keep and carry arms "without being required to have firearm liability insurance, and without being required to pay a fee for the possession of a firearm, part of a firearm, its components, its ammunition, or a knife."

The Operative Statute: Ohio Rev. Code § 9.68(A)

Section 9.68(A), the "regulation of arms prohibited" provision, is the heart of Ohio preemption. The version below carries the April 9, 2025 effective date of Senate Bill 58, but nearly all of it has been in force since House Bill 228 (December 28, 2019) and Senate Bill 156 (September 13, 2022). Senate Bill 58's only change to divisions (A) and (B) was to insert the firearm-liability-insurance and possession-fee guarantees into the operative sentence, which is set out under "Amendment History" below. The current text reads:

"The individual right to keep and bear arms, being a fundamental individual right that predates the United States Constitution and Ohio Constitution, and being a constitutionally protected right in every part of Ohio, the general assembly finds the need to provide uniform laws throughout the state regulating the ownership, possession, purchase, other acquisition, transport, storage, carrying, sale, other transfer, manufacture, taxation, keeping, and reporting of loss or theft of firearms, their components, and their ammunition, and knives. . . . Except as specifically provided by the United States Constitution, Ohio Constitution, state law, or federal law, a person, without further license, permission, restriction, delay, or process, including by any ordinance, rule, regulation, resolution, practice, or other action or any threat of citation, prosecution, or other legal process, may own, possess, purchase, acquire, transport, store, carry, sell, transfer, manufacture, or keep any firearm, part of a firearm, its components, and its ammunition, and any knife, without being required to have firearm liability insurance, and without being required to pay a fee for the possession of a firearm, part of a firearm, its components, its ammunition, or a knife. Any such further license, permission, restriction, delay, or process interferes with the fundamental individual right described in this division and unduly inhibits law-abiding people from protecting themselves, their families, and others from intruders and attackers and from other legitimate uses of constitutionally protected arms, including hunting and sporting activities, and the state by this section preempts, supersedes, and declares null and void any such further license, permission, restriction, delay, or process."

Five things to notice in that text.

1. Statewide concern, expressly declared. The General Assembly did not leave the field-occupation question to judicial inference. Section 9.68(A) opens with a legislative finding that the right to bear arms is "a constitutionally protected right in every part of Ohio" and that uniform statewide regulation of firearms, their components, and their ammunition is necessary. That declaration is what carried § 9.68 through the home-rule challenge in Cleveland v. State, 128 Ohio St.3d 135, 2010-Ohio-6318, 942 N.E.2d 370 (discussed below), where the Ohio Supreme Court held that § 9.68 is a "general law" and therefore displaces conflicting municipal firearm ordinances without unconstitutionally infringing the home-rule authority granted by Section 3, Article XVIII of the Ohio Constitution.

2. The list of preempted subjects is broad. Ownership, possession, purchase, "other acquisition," transport, storage, carrying, sale, "other transfer," manufacture, taxation, keeping, and "reporting of loss or theft." The statute reaches firearm components and ammunition by name, and it reaches knives in parallel. The reference to taxation forecloses local firearm or ammunition excises. The reference to "reporting of loss or theft" forecloses local mandatory-reporting ordinances. The reference to "other acquisition" closes off attempts to regulate non-sale transfers (gifts, inheritance, loan) that fall outside the word "purchase."

3. "Practice" and "threat of citation" close the back door. This clause is not new, and it is not a 2025 addition. The original 2007 statute barred a "further license, permission, restriction, delay, or process" without saying what could carry one. House Bill 228 inserted the phrase that spells out the vehicles, and it has been in force since December 28, 2019. The First District put it in exactly those terms in Cincinnati v. State when it compared the amended statute to the original: the amended third sentence "makes two additions to the original law: expansions to the types of firearm regulations with which a municipal ordinance cannot conflict, and a clause specifying that 'further license, permission, restriction, delay, or process' (which was also included in Original R.C. 9.68) includes 'any ordinance, rule, regulation, resolution, practice, or other action or any threat of citation, prosecution, or other legal process.'" A municipality cannot accomplish through enforcement practice - a sheriff's department directive, a city-attorney charging policy, a parks-department policy memo, an unwritten "we always cite for X" rule - what § 9.68(A) forbids it from accomplishing through formal legislation. A pattern of threatening citations to enforce a void rule is itself preempted state action.

4. No license, no fee, no insurance. Three specific prohibitions appear in the operative sentence. A person may own, possess, purchase, acquire, transport, store, carry, sell, transfer, manufacture, or keep a firearm "without further license, permission, restriction, delay, or process," "without being required to have firearm liability insurance," and "without being required to pay a fee for the possession of a firearm, part of a firearm, its components, its ammunition, or a knife." A municipal mandatory-insurance ordinance is preempted on its face. A municipal possession fee or tax is preempted on its face. A municipal local-permit-on-top-of-state-licensing scheme is preempted on its face. Two of those three prohibitions are the newest text in the statute: the insurance guarantee and the possession-fee guarantee are what Senate Bill 58 added effective April 9, 2025. The no-further-license language they sit inside dates to the original 2007 enactment, and § 9.68(C)(6) supplies the definition of "firearm liability insurance" that the insurance guarantee runs on.

5. Automatically null and void. The closing clause provides that "the state by this section preempts, supersedes, and declares null and void any such further license, permission, restriction, delay, or process." There is no transition period, no presumption-of-validity defense, and no requirement that the political subdivision repeal the rule before it becomes inoperative. A preempted ordinance has no legal effect from the moment it is adopted.

"Openly or Concealed" Lock-In: § 9.68(C)(1)

Section 9.68(C)(1) is a uniquely Ohio textual feature. It defines the manner of carrying that the preemption rule reaches:

"The possession, transporting, or carrying of firearms, their components, their ammunition, or knives include, but are not limited to, the possession, transporting, or carrying, openly or concealed on a person's person or concealed ready at hand, of firearms, their components, their ammunition, or knives."

Two implications follow. First, every mode of carrying - open carry on the person, concealed carry on the person, and concealed-ready-at-hand (which includes carry in a vehicle, in a bag, or in a holster within reach) - falls inside the preempted field. A local ordinance that purports to regulate "open carry" specifically, or "concealed carry" specifically, or "carry in a vehicle" specifically, cannot escape § 9.68 by claiming it regulates only one mode. The statute reaches all of them.

Second, the "but are not limited to" phrasing closes a categorization argument. A municipality cannot invent a fourth category of carrying - "carrying in a public park," "carrying in a city building," "carrying within 500 feet of a city facility" - and claim that the legislature did not preempt it. The categories listed are illustrative. The preempted field is the field of carrying, full stop.

Definitions and Remedies: § 9.68(C)

The remaining definitions in § 9.68(C) calibrate the statute's reach.

• § 9.68(C)(2) - "Firearm." "Firearm" has the same meaning as in Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.11. That cross-reference incorporates the broad statutory definition - any deadly weapon capable of expelling or propelling a projectile by the action of an explosive or combustible propellant, whether or not it is operable, including unloaded firearms and antique or unserviceable firearms that can be readily rendered operable. The preempted field tracks the same definition the criminal code uses.
• § 9.68(C)(3) - "Reasonable expenses." "Reasonable expenses" include, but are not limited to, reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, expert-witness fees, and compensation for loss of income. The "include, but are not limited to" phrasing leaves room for the trial court to award additional categories of expenses. The reference to "compensation for loss of income" is unusual among state preemption statutes - it allows a private plaintiff who took time off work to litigate the preemption challenge to recover wage-loss as part of the fee award.
• § 9.68(C)(4) - "Knife." "Knife" means a cutting instrument and includes a sharpened or pointed blade. The preempted field reaches knives on parallel terms with firearms.
• § 9.68(C)(5) - "Arms." "Arms" includes firearms and knives. The general operative phrase in § 9.68(A) covers both.
• § 9.68(C)(6) - "Firearm liability insurance." "Firearm liability insurance" means a policy of liability insurance covering losses resulting from the use of a firearm owned by the person covered by the policy. The cross-reference to (A)'s no-insurance prohibition uses this definition - a municipality cannot impose any insurance requirement that meets this description as a condition of firearm possession.

Private Right of Action: § 9.68(B)

Section 9.68(B) is the enforcement mechanism. Unlike Texas, Ohio does not give the state Attorney General a special role in preemption enforcement. Instead, the statute opens the courthouse to "any person, group, or entity adversely affected by any manner of ordinance, rule, regulation, resolution, practice, or other action enacted or enforced by a political subdivision in conflict with division (A)."

The available remedies are broad. The plaintiff may seek "damages from the political subdivision, declaratory relief, injunctive relief, or a combination of those remedies." Damages run against the political subdivision and are paid by the political subdivision - Ohio does not have Florida's personal-fines-for-officials structure, but it does ensure that the local treasury, not just the local lawbooks, feels the consequence of a void ordinance.

The fee-shifting rule is the most important practical feature of § 9.68(B). The court "shall award reasonable expenses" - an obligation, not a discretion - in two situations:

"(1) The person, group, or entity prevails in a challenge to the ordinance, rule, regulation, resolution, practice, or action as being in conflict with division (A) of this section.

(2) The ordinance, rule, regulation, resolution, practice, or action or the manner of its enforcement is repealed or rescinded after the civil action was filed but prior to a final court determination of the action."

Subdivision (B)(2) closes the voluntary-cessation workaround. A municipality that adopts a preempted ordinance, gets sued, and quietly repeals the ordinance to moot the challenge cannot escape fees. The plaintiff is treated as the prevailing party and recovers expenses anyway. That rule is the reason most preempted Ohio ordinances are not quietly repealed in committee; they are repealed only after a fee-shifting demand has already issued.

Statutory Exceptions: § 9.68(D)

Section 9.68(D) carves out two narrow exceptions that survive preemption. The list is closed.

• § 9.68(D)(1) - Residential and agricultural zoning. A "zoning ordinance that regulates or prohibits the commercial sale of knives, firearms, firearm components, or ammunition for firearms in areas zoned for residential or agricultural uses." A municipality may keep a gun shop out of a residential subdivision or an agricultural zone on the same terms it keeps any other commercial establishment out of those zones. The exception runs only against the commercial sale of firearms, components, or ammunition; it does not authorize a residential ordinance reaching ownership, possession, storage, or carrying by individual residents.
• § 9.68(D)(2) - Hours-of-operation and geographic-area zoning, with anti-circumvention. A "zoning ordinance that specifies the hours of operation or the geographic areas where the commercial sale of knives, firearms, firearm components, or ammunition for firearms may occur, provided that the zoning ordinance is consistent with zoning ordinances for other retail establishments in the same geographic area and does not result in a de facto prohibition of the commercial sale" in commercial, retail, or industrial zones. Two qualifications close the back door. The hours and geographic restrictions must be "consistent with zoning ordinances for other retail establishments" - the ordinance cannot single out firearm dealers for shorter hours or smaller permitted areas than other retail businesses face. And the ordinance cannot "result in a de facto prohibition of the commercial sale" of firearms or ammunition in commercially-zoned areas. A municipality cannot zone gun stores out of every commercial district by stacking hours and area restrictions; the de facto prohibition doctrine catches the workaround.

The (D) list is exhaustive. There are no other exceptions to § 9.68 within § 9.68's own four corners. Other state-law authorities that operate alongside § 9.68 (the Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.126 location list of statutory off-limits places, federal restrictions, private-property rules) are not preemption "exceptions" - they are independent legal regimes that operate outside the preempted field.

What Is NOT Preempted by § 9.68

Ohio preemption reaches political subdivisions. It does not reach private actors, the federal government, or the State of Ohio itself. The following are outside § 9.68's scope.

• Private property rules. A homeowner, a landlord, a shopping-mall owner, a stadium operator, a private employer, or a place of worship can prohibit firearms on its own property. Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.126(C) preserves the private-property rule against any contrary reading of the licensed-carry framework: a private business may post its premises and a CCW licensee who refuses to leave after notice is subject to criminal trespass. Section 9.68 does not change that.
• Federal law. Federal restrictions operate independently of Ohio preemption. The federal felon-in-possession and prohibited-person rules in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), the Gun-Free School Zones Act in 18 U.S.C. § 922(q), and the federal-building bans in 18 U.S.C. § 930 apply in Ohio on the same terms they apply nationwide. Section 9.68 cannot validate conduct federal law forbids, and federal law cannot validate a local ordinance § 9.68 forbids.
• State statutory location bars. Ohio itself prohibits firearms in certain locations regardless of license status - the Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.126 list of off-limits places (school safety zones, courthouses, secured airport areas, government buildings posted under § 2923.1212, places of worship that have not opted in, and the rest of the list). Those rules sit alongside § 9.68 as state-law restrictions, not local ones. They are not "exceptions" to preemption; they are restrictions imposed by the General Assembly itself, which § 9.68 expressly preserves through the "except as specifically provided by . . . state law" language in subsection (A).
• Constitutional baseline. Article I, § 4 of the Ohio Constitution provides that "[t]he people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security; but standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, and shall not be kept up; and the military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power." The Ohio Supreme Court has read the state right to bear arms as a fundamental individual right. Section 9.68(A) tracks that constitutional baseline by characterizing the right to keep and bear arms as "a fundamental individual right" and "a constitutionally protected right in every part of Ohio." Section 9.68 cannot be read to authorize state-level conduct that violates Article I, § 4, and the constitutional right operates as a separate floor under the preemption statute.
• Internal employee-conduct rules of state and local government employers, as employers. Section 9.68 does not preclude a state or local government employer from setting on-duty rules for its own employees during the course of their work. The boundary line is contested at the margins, but a sheriff's department duty-weapon policy or a county engineer's office no-firearms-during-work-hours policy is a separate question from a regulation directed at the public.

The Controlling Case: Cleveland v. State (2010)

The decision that makes § 9.68 enforceable against Ohio municipalities is Cleveland v. State, 128 Ohio St.3d 135, 2010-Ohio-6318, 942 N.E.2d 370 (decided December 29, 2010). The syllabus is one sentence: "R.C. 9.68 is a general law that displaces municipal firearm ordinances and does not unconstitutionally infringe on municipal home rule authority."

The procedural posture matters. The General Assembly enacted § 9.68 in 2006 as a component of Sub. H.B. No. 347, effective March 14, 2007. Cleveland had already adopted a stack of firearm ordinances before that date, including Cleveland Codified Ordinances 627.08 (possession by minors), 627.09 (deadly weapons on private property), 627.10 (certain weapons at or about public places), 627A.02 (children's access to firearms), 628.03 (possession and sale of assault weapons), and 674.05 (handgun registration). In March 2007 the city sued the State seeking a declaration that § 9.68 was an unconstitutional infringement of its home-rule powers under Section 3, Article XVIII, an abuse of legislative power, and a violation of the one-subject rule in Section 15(D), Article II. The trial court sided with the State. The Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals reversed, holding § 9.68 was not a general law. The Ohio Supreme Court then reversed the court of appeals.

The analysis runs through the four-part general-law test from Canton v. State, 95 Ohio St.3d 149, 2002-Ohio-2005, 766 N.E.2d 963, which the court quoted from the Canton syllabus. To be a general law for home-rule purposes, a statute must "(1) be part of a statewide and comprehensive legislative enactment, (2) apply to all parts of the state alike and operate uniformly throughout the state, (3) set forth police, sanitary, or similar regulations, rather than purport only to grant or limit legislative power of a municipal corporation to set forth police, sanitary or similar regulations, and (4) prescribe a rule of conduct upon citizens generally." Prong three is a comparison, not a single requirement: the question is whether the statute regulates conduct itself or instead does nothing but hand municipalities their police power or take it away. The court of appeals had found § 9.68 failed prongs one, three, and four. The Ohio Supreme Court disagreed on all three. On prong one it held the appellate court erred by "analyzing R.C. 9.68 in a vacuum" rather than as part of Ohio's broader collection of firearm statutes, and reaffirmed Ohioans for Concealed Carry, Inc. v. Clyde, 120 Ohio St.3d 96, 2008-Ohio-4605, 896 N.E.2d 967, which had already held that "[t]he General Assembly reiterated the need for uniformity in R.C. 9.68(A), which represents an attempt by that body to nullify all municipal laws impeding uniform application of the state statute." On prong three it held § 9.68 establishes police regulations rather than merely limiting municipal legislative power. The court also held that the authorization for awards of attorney fees and costs in § 9.68 does not violate the separation-of-powers doctrine, which is the holding that keeps the § 9.68(B) fee-shifting machinery alive. The judgment was reversed and the cause remanded to the court of appeals to address the one-subject argument it had previously treated as moot.

Cleveland v. State, not any earlier decision, is the authority for the proposition that a conflicting municipal firearm ordinance is displaced by § 9.68.

What Cincinnati v. Baskin Actually Held (and Why It Is Not a § 9.68 Case)

Cincinnati v. Baskin, 112 Ohio St.3d 279, 2006-Ohio-6422, 859 N.E.2d 514, is frequently miscited in secondary firearm-law writing as a § 9.68 preemption win. It is the opposite, and it is not a § 9.68 case at all.

Baskin was decided December 8, 2006, roughly three months before § 9.68 took effect on March 14, 2007. The statute was not in play. The question was whether Cincinnati Municipal Code 708-37, which prohibited possession of any semiautomatic rifle with a magazine capacity of more than ten rounds, conflicted with the state weapons-control statutes for purposes of Section 3, Article XVIII of the Ohio Constitution. The syllabus holds that it did not: "Cincinnati Municipal Code 708-37, which prohibits the possession of any semiautomatic rifle with a magazine capacity of more than ten rounds, is not in conflict with R.C. 2923.17(A) for purposes of Section 3, Article XVIII of the Ohio Constitution."

The reasoning was that R.C. 2923.11(E) and R.C. 2923.17(A) prohibit possession of semiautomatic firearms designed or adapted to fire more than 31 cartridges without reloading, but they do not affirmatively permit possession of semiautomatic firearms below that threshold. Because nothing in the criminal code declared the 31-round line to be the only limit, the court concluded the General Assembly "intended to allow municipalities to regulate the possession of lower-capacity semiautomatic firearms in accordance with local conditions." The trial court had dismissed the charge against Baskin and the Hamilton County Court of Appeals had affirmed that dismissal in a split decision; the Ohio Supreme Court reversed and remanded to the trial court for further proceedings, meaning the city ordinance stood and the prosecution could go forward.

Baskin is therefore a home-rule decision that upheld a municipal magazine-capacity ordinance under the pre-§ 9.68 conflict analysis. Section 9.68 was the General Assembly's answer to exactly that result. Any statement that Baskin held § 9.68 preempted a Cincinnati ordinance inverts both the holding and the chronology. Baskin still surfaces in later § 9.68 litigation, but only through Justice O'Connor's concurring opinion, which the court of appeals in Cleveland v. State quoted for the observation that "[i]n comparison to other states, Ohio has barely touched upon the subject of firearm possession, use, transfer, and ownership" and which the Ohio Supreme Court rejected as a basis for finding § 9.68 non-comprehensive.

Amendment History

Section 9.68 has been amended three times since it was enacted, and which amendment added which clause matters, because a clause is only as old as the act that put it there. The Legislative Service Commission's own page for § 9.68 lists four versions: March 14, 2007 (House Bill 347), December 28, 2019 (amended by House Bill 228), September 13, 2022 (amended by Senate Bill 156), and April 9, 2025 (amended by Senate Bill 58).

• House Bill 347, effective March 14, 2007. The original statute. As the First District quoted it in Cincinnati v. State, original § 9.68(A) declared the individual right, found a need for uniform laws on "the ownership, possession, purchase, other acquisition, transport, storage, carrying, sale, or other transfer of firearms, their components, and their ammunition," and provided that a person, "without further license, permission, restriction, delay, or process, may own, possess, purchase, sell, transfer, transport, store, or keep any firearm, part of a firearm, its components, and its ammunition." Original § 9.68(B) was a single sentence awarding costs and reasonable attorney fees to a challenger who prevailed. The original text did not say what a "further license, permission, restriction, delay, or process" could consist of, and it did not use the words "null and void."
• House Bill 228, enacted in 2018, § 9.68 amendment effective December 28, 2019. This is the amendment that did the heavy lifting. Per the First District, H.B. 228 "expanded the list of firearm regulations for which R.C. 9.68 demanded statewide uniformity, added language about the importance of self-protection, specified the types of local regulations subject to preemption (including 'any ordinance, rule, regulation,' etc. not provided by state or federal law), and explicitly declared such local regulations 'null and void.'" It also rebuilt § 9.68(B) into an express private right of action carrying damages, declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and reasonable expenses paid by the losing political subdivision. So both the "practice, or other action or any threat of citation, prosecution, or other legal process" clause and the closing "preempts, supersedes, and declares null and void" sentence belong to H.B. 228, not to any later amendment. H.B. 228 carried a general effective date of March 28, 2019, but its amendment to § 9.68 did not take effect until December 28, 2019.
• Senate Bill 156, enacted in 2022, effective September 13, 2022. The First District's account of it is one sentence: "the legislature for some reason added knives to this firearms uniformity scheme." Knives now run through the operative text and through the § 9.68(C)(4) and (C)(5) definitions of "knife" and "arms."
• Senate Bill 58, effective April 9, 2025. Narrow. Set the current § 9.68 text published by the Legislative Service Commission next to the text the First District quoted on June 26, 2024 as the statute's "current, amended form," and divisions (A) and (B) are word for word identical except for one inserted string in the operative sentence of (A): a person may keep and carry arms "without being required to have firearm liability insurance, and without being required to pay a fee for the possession of a firearm, part of a firearm, its components, its ammunition, or a knife." That insertion is the whole of S.B. 58's change to (A) and (B). Everything else in both divisions, including the practice and threat-of-citation clause and the null-and-void sentence, S.B. 58 left exactly as H.B. 228 and S.B. 156 had left it. The 2024 opinion does not quote divisions (C) or (D), so it cannot be used to date the definitions in (C) or the zoning carve-outs in (D).

Secondary writing that credits the "practice, or other action or any threat of citation, prosecution, or other legal process" language to the 2025 amendment has the date wrong, and the error is easy to check: the First District quoted that clause verbatim from the operative statute on June 26, 2024, more than nine months before S.B. 58 took effect.

The 2019 to 2026 Litigation Wave

Columbus and Cincinnati each mounted a constitutional challenge to § 9.68 in its amended form, and a set of private plaintiffs used § 9.68 as a sword against Columbus ordinances. Four developments define where the field stands. Everything below comes from the four slip opinions themselves, each scraped from the Ohio Supreme Court's Reporter of Decisions archive.

1. Columbus v. State, 2023-Ohio-2858 (10th Dist., decided August 15, 2023). Before the H.B. 228 amendment to § 9.68 took effect, Columbus sued the State in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas (No. 19CV-2281) seeking a declaration that both the original and amended versions of § 9.68 were unconstitutional, plus injunctive relief. The trial court held its preliminary-injunction hearing in May 2019 and then, on November 2, 2022, granted a preliminary injunction against the original and amended versions of § 9.68 and against H.B. 228 in its entirety, with no time limitation. The Tenth District reversed that judgment, vacated the preliminary injunction, and remanded. Its grounds were procedural and discretionary rather than a merits ruling on § 9.68: the injunction failed the specificity requirements of Civ.R. 65(D), was overbroad, rested on evidence that had gone stale between 2019 and 2022, misstated the burden of proof on two of the preliminary-injunction factors, and disregarded that a permanent injunction or a post-trial declaration was an adequate remedy at law. Having sustained the State's second and third assignments of error, the court rendered the State's first assignment of error moot, so the Tenth District did not reach whether § 9.68 as amended is constitutional.

2. Cincinnati v. State, 2024-Ohio-2425 (1st Dist., decided June 26, 2024). Cincinnati, its mayor, and its vice-mayor sued the State in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas (No. A-2300389). The trial court preliminarily enjoined the 2018 and 2022 amendments to § 9.68 (H.B. 228 and S.B. 156) while leaving the original § 9.68 in effect, reasoning that the amended statute, parsed sentence by sentence, failed prongs three and four of the Canton general-law test. The First District reversed and remanded. Unlike the Tenth District, it reached the merits question: "under City of Canton, especially as applied in City of Cleveland (2010), Amended R.C. 9.68 is a 'general law' for the purposes of the Mendenhall Home Rule Amendment analysis." It rejected the city's free-speech and separation-of-powers theories as well, and held the city had not shown by clear and convincing evidence that the 2018 and 2022 amendments "change the constitutional calculus forged by City of Cleveland (2010)." The court was explicit that it considered itself bound: Supreme Court precedent "ties the city's hands."

3. The Columbus ordinances (December 2022 and February 2023). On December 5, 2022, Columbus City Council passed Ordinance No. 3176-2022, which among other things enacted C.C.C. 2323.32(A), barring knowing possession, purchase, sale, transfer, distribution, or importation of a "large capacity magazine," defined in C.C.C. 2323.11(N) as a magazine or similar device able to accept thirty or more rounds, and C.C.C. 2323.191(A)(1), barring "negligent storage of a firearm" at a residence when the person knows or reasonably should know a minor can gain access, subject to a safe-storage exception. On February 27, 2023, Ordinance No. 0680-2023 amended the magazine-capacity restriction and gave prosecution immunity until July 1, 2023, to people who had lawfully acquired the prohibited magazines before December 5, 2022.

4. Doe v. Columbus, Slip Opinion No. 2026-Ohio-1095 (Ohio Sup. Ct., decided April 1, 2026). Six anonymous plaintiffs sued Columbus in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas (No. 23 CV H 02 0089), claiming the two ordinances violated both § 9.68 and Article I, Section 4 of the Ohio Constitution. On April 25, 2023, the trial court granted a preliminary injunction barring the city from enforcing C.C.C. 2303.05(D) and (E), 2303.14(D) and (E), 2323.11(N) and (O), 2323.191, 2323.23(E) and (F), 2323.32, and 2323.321. Columbus appealed. On November 29, 2023, the Fifth District dismissed the appeal for want of a final order. The Ohio Supreme Court reversed that dismissal 5 to 2 (Hawkins, J., writing for Kennedy, C.J., and DeWine, Deters, and Shanahan, JJ.; Fischer, J., and Brunner, J., dissenting), holding that a municipality has a sovereign interest in enforcing its own duly enacted ordinances, that an order facially enjoining that enforcement causes irreparable injury to that interest, and that such an order is therefore a final appealable order under R.C. 2505.02(B)(4). The court decided appellate jurisdiction only. It did not reach whether the Columbus ordinances survive § 9.68 or Article I, Section 4, and it remanded to the Fifth District to address the merits of the city's appeal.

Current Status as of July 29, 2026

This is a live docket. Read the following as a snapshot with a known expiration date, not as settled law.

• Section 9.68 is enforceable, and both injunctions against it were undone on appeal. Cleveland v. State upheld the original statute against a home-rule challenge in 2010. Cincinnati v. State (1st Dist. 2024) held the amended statute is still a general law and reversed the only injunction that had reached the amendments on the merits. Columbus v. State (10th Dist. 2023) vacated the other injunction on procedural and discretionary grounds. No reported appellate decision leaves an injunction against § 9.68 standing. Whether either trial court has entered anything new since remand is outside the record relied on here, so confirm the docket rather than assuming nothing has moved.
• Both § 9.68 challenges are still pending below. The Tenth District remanded Columbus's case to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas and the First District remanded Cincinnati's case to the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, each for further proceedings. Neither appellate decision is a final judgment on the constitutionality of amended § 9.68. A different result on a fuller record is possible in either case.
• Columbus's magazine-capacity and negligent-storage ordinances are enjoined, with the merits unresolved. The April 25, 2023 Delaware County preliminary injunction was still the order under appeal when the Ohio Supreme Court decided Doe v. Columbus on April 1, 2026, and that decision did not disturb it. The Supreme Court ruled on appellate jurisdiction alone and sent the case to the Fifth District to address the merits of Columbus's appeal for the first time. So the Columbus thirty-round magazine cap in C.C.C. 2323.32 and the negligent-storage rule in C.C.C. 2323.191 were unenforceable as of that decision, and no appellate court has yet answered whether § 9.68 or Article I, Section 4 actually voids them.
• Live-status item: revisit this heading when the Fifth District rules on remand in Doe v. Columbus, and when either the Franklin County or Hamilton County trial court enters a final judgment. Any one of those three events can change the answer. Verify the current posture before relying on the enjoined status of a Columbus ordinance or on the finality of § 9.68's validity.

Bottom Line for Ohio Carriers and Dealers

• One state, one set of carry rules. Your Ohio CCW license under § 2923.125 - and your permitless-carry authority under § 2923.12 if you are a qualifying adult under the constitutional-carry framework - operates identically in every Ohio political subdivision. No municipality, county, township, or village can require you to obtain a separate local permit, register your handgun locally, pay a local possession fee, carry firearm liability insurance, or comply with a local ordinance that purports to regulate ownership, possession, purchase, transport, storage, carrying, sale, transfer, manufacture, taxation, or loss/theft reporting of firearms, components, or ammunition.
• State location restrictions still apply. Section 9.68 does not free you from state-law location restrictions in Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.126 (school safety zones, courthouses, secured airport areas, government buildings posted under the statutory framework, places of worship that have not opted in, and the rest of the § 2923.126 list). It does not free you from federal restrictions (18 U.S.C. § 922(g), the Gun-Free School Zones Act in 18 U.S.C. § 922(q), federal-building bans under 18 U.S.C. § 930).
• All modes of carry are protected. The "openly or concealed on a person's person or concealed ready at hand" language in § 9.68(C)(1) means the preemption rule applies whether you are openly carrying, concealed-carrying on the body, or carrying concealed-ready-at-hand in a vehicle or bag. No local ordinance can carve out a particular mode of carrying for special restriction.
• Improper local rules are void from inception. If you encounter an Ohio municipal or county rule purporting to regulate ownership, possession, transport, storage, or carrying of firearms or ammunition outside the narrow zoning carve-outs in § 9.68(D), that rule is null and void by operation of § 9.68(A). The political subdivision cannot enforce it. A private right of action under § 9.68(B), with mandatory fee-shifting under § 9.68(C)(3), is the available remedy.
• Practice and threat-of-citation are reached, and have been since December 28, 2019. Under the House Bill 228 amendment to § 9.68(A), a sheriff's department enforcement practice, a city-attorney charging policy, or a pattern of threatening citations under a void ordinance is itself preempted. You do not need a formal ordinance to invoke § 9.68(B); a "practice, or other action or any threat of citation, prosecution, or other legal process" is enough. Senate Bill 58's April 9, 2025 contribution is a different and narrower one: it added the guarantees that no one can be required to carry firearm liability insurance or to pay a fee for possessing a firearm, its parts, its components, its ammunition, or a knife.
• Zoning carve-outs are narrow. Ohio municipalities retain authority over residential and agricultural zoning of commercial firearm sales and over hours-of-operation and geographic-area zoning of commercial firearm sales. Both must be consistent with how the same zoning ordinances treat other retail establishments, and neither can result in a de facto prohibition of commercial firearm sales in commercial, retail, or industrial zones. There are no other preemption exceptions.
• Fee-shifting is mandatory. A prevailing § 9.68(B) plaintiff - and a § 9.68(B) plaintiff whose lawsuit causes the local rule to be repealed before final judgment - recovers reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, expert-witness fees, and compensation for loss of income from the political subdivision. The Ohio Supreme Court held in Cleveland v. State that this fee authorization does not violate the separation-of-powers doctrine, so the remedy is available. That fee-shifting structure is the practical reason most preempted Ohio ordinances do not survive a first challenge letter.
• Check the live docket before you rely on any of this in Columbus or Cincinnati. Section 9.68 is enforceable statewide today, and no injunction against it is in force. But Columbus's and Cincinnati's constitutional challenges to the amended statute are both back in the trial courts on remand, and Columbus's own thirty-round magazine cap and negligent-storage ordinances sit under a preliminary injunction whose merits are pending before the Fifth District after the Ohio Supreme Court's April 1, 2026 jurisdictional ruling in Doe v. Columbus. See "Current Status as of July 29, 2026" above. Confirm the posture before you act on it.

Ohio Red Flag / Extreme Risk Protection Orders

Ohio does NOT have an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) or "red flag" law. Multiple bills have been introduced in successive General Assembly sessions - including HB 60 ("Safer Ohio") and HB 354 - and each has stalled. There is no Ohio Revised Code chapter that lets a family member, household member, or law enforcement officer petition a civil court to temporarily remove firearms from a person believed to be a danger to themselves or others, the way Florida, California, Indiana, Michigan, and 17 other states do.

That does not mean Ohio has no involuntary-disarmament tool. The available tools are narrower, slower, and tied to specific predicates. Ohio's closest analogs are (1) the "weapons under disability" prohibition at Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.13, which attaches automatically to several categories of person including those committed for mental illness, and (2) civil protection orders under § 3113.31 (domestic violence), § 2151.34 (juvenile / minor cases), § 2903.213 / § 2903.214 (menacing-by-stalking), and § 2919.26 (criminal TPOs), which produce ERPO-like firearm consequences when their predicates are satisfied. Neither is a true ERPO. § 2923.13 attaches as a consequence of a separate adjudication; § 3113.31 requires a domestic relationship and an act of domestic violence, not generalized dangerousness.

One Ohio statute uses the words "evidence of imminent danger" - § 2923.1213, the temporary-emergency CHL provision. That section is not a red-flag statute. It runs in the opposite direction: it lets a person at imminent risk of a criminal attack obtain a CHL on an expedited, 90-day basis. Do not confuse § 2923.1213 with an ERPO; it arms the at-risk person rather than disarming a dangerous one.

Why this matters for Ohio CHL holders and constitutional carriers

Since June 13, 2022, Ohio has been a permitless-carry state for qualifying adults age 21+ (Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.111). The CHL under § 2923.125 remains useful for reciprocity, NICS-bypass at purchase, and the licensee carve-outs in § 2923.125 and § 2923.126. None of that immunizes a CHL holder - or a permitless carrier - from § 2923.13 status or federal § 922(g) status.

The moment a person falls within § 2923.13(A): (1) firearm acquisition, possession, carry, or use becomes a third-degree felony under § 2923.13(B); (2) the CHL is subject to suspension or revocation under § 2923.128; and (3) any new application will be denied because § 2923.125(D)(1) cross-references the same § 2923.13 disqualifiers. There is no Ohio analog to a "red flag adjudication" that triggers § 2923.13 on its own - disability flows through the predicates the statute already lists.

Pathway 1: "Weapons under disability" by mental-incompetency adjudication or commitment (§ 2923.13(A)(5))

Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.13 is Ohio's prohibited-person statute. The disability attaches automatically on the predicate event - there is no separate "firearm adjudication." Five categories are covered: § 2923.13(A)(1) fugitives; § 2923.13(A)(2) persons under indictment for or convicted of a felony offense of violence; § 2923.13(A)(3) persons under indictment for or convicted of a felony drug offense; § 2923.13(A)(4) persons with drug dependency, in danger of drug dependence, or with chronic alcoholism; and § 2923.13(A)(5) persons "under adjudication of mental incompetence," "committed to a mental institution," "found by a court to be a person with a mental illness subject to court order," or an involuntary patient other than one held only for observation.

For ERPO-comparison purposes, § 2923.13(A)(5) is the operative subsection. "Person with a mental illness subject to court order" tracks the definitions in Ohio Rev. Code § 5122.01. A short-term § 5122.10 emergency hold without a subsequent § 5122.15 court order generally does NOT place the person within § 2923.13(A)(5) or 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(4). The disability attaches on a § 5122.15 commitment order, on an involuntary-patient determination beyond the observation-only carve-out, or on a guardianship-of-the-person order following a finding of mental incompetence.

Once § 2923.13(A)(5) attaches:

• State: Knowing acquisition, possession, carry, or use of any firearm or dangerous ordnance is a third-degree felony under § 2923.13(B). The disability is indefinite - § 2923.13(C) clarifies that mere completion of any underlying sentence does not, by itself, count as "relief from disability."
• Federal: The same person is also prohibited under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(4) as a person who has been "adjudicated as a mental defective" or "committed to a mental institution" within the meaning of 27 C.F.R. § 478.11. The federal prohibition is independent of state law and is indefinite; it does not lapse when the commitment ends.

Restoration: Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.14

Ohio is one of relatively few states with a genuine state-court restoration mechanism for "weapons under disability." Under § 2923.14(A)(1), a person prohibited under § 2923.13 (subject to a narrow carve-out at § 2923.14(A)(2) for repeat firearm-specification felonies and § 2923.132 violations) may apply to the court of common pleas in the county of residence for relief from disability. The application must recite the predicate and show "facts showing the applicant to be a fit subject for relief." The county prosecutor receives a copy and may oppose. After hearing, the court may grant relief if § 2923.14(D) is satisfied: the underlying sentence has been fully discharged (or the underlying non-conviction factor no longer applies), the applicant has led a law-abiding life since discharge and is likely to continue to do so, and the applicant is not otherwise prohibited by law from acquiring firearms.

A successful § 2923.14 order, under § 2923.14(F), restores the applicant "to all civil firearm rights to the full extent enjoyed by any citizen," but only as to the predicate recited and only as to lawfully acquired firearms. The order is automatically void if the applicant reenters the § 2923.13(A) class. § 2923.14 relief lifts the state disability. It does not, by itself, lift the federal § 922(g)(4) prohibition; federal relief requires the NICS Improvement Amendments Act (NIAA) program at 34 U.S.C. § 40915. § 2923.14 relief is granted in some Ohio counties at meaningful rates and almost never in others.

What § 2923.13(A)(5) does NOT do

The mental-incompetency / commitment route is not an ERPO. It cannot be initiated against a person whose only "warning signs" are statements, social-media posts, threats to others, or stockpiling - the Chapter 5122 petitioner must show mental illness under the § 5122.01 definitions. It does not authorize a stand-alone civil search warrant for firearms. § 2923.13(B) makes possession a felony once disability has attached, but the statute does not contain an ERPO-style judicial order directing seizure. The § 5122.10 emergency hold does not, standing alone, satisfy § 2923.13(A)(5) or 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(4) unless followed by a § 5122.15 court order - practitioners should not assume an ER psychiatric hold equals a federal prohibition.

Pathway 2: Civil protection orders (§ 3113.31; § 2151.34; § 2903.213 / § 2903.214; § 2919.26)

Civil protection orders are Ohio's most-used tool for stripping firearms from a person who poses an articulable danger. They are not red-flag orders - each requires a specific statutory predicate - but they produce ERPO-like firearm consequences when the resulting order satisfies 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) or contains an express firearm-relinquishment term.

The four civil-protection-order routes

1. Domestic-violence civil protection order (DVCPO), Ohio Rev. Code § 3113.31. Issued by the domestic-relations division. Predicate: "domestic violence" against a "family or household member" or "person with whom the respondent is or was in a dating relationship," as defined in § 3113.31(A)(1) (attempting or recklessly causing bodily injury; threat-of-force placing in fear of imminent serious physical harm; menacing-by-stalking under § 2903.211; aggravated trespass under § 2911.211; abuse of a child; or a sexually oriented offense). § 3113.31(D)(1) authorizes a same-day ex parte order for "immediate and present danger," lasting until the full hearing scheduled within seven to ten court days. § 3113.31(E)(1) allows the court to "grant any protection order" reasonably calculated to bring about cessation of domestic violence; subsection (E)(1)(h)'s "other relief that the court considers equitable and fair" is routinely used to require firearm relinquishment. A final order is valid up to five years under § 3113.31(E)(3) and is renewable.

2. Juvenile / minor-victim civil protection order, Ohio Rev. Code § 2151.34. Issued by the juvenile division when § 3113.31 is unavailable because the relationship is not "family or household." Available relief mirrors § 3113.31(E).

3. Stalking / sexually-oriented-offense civil protection order, Ohio Rev. Code §§ 2903.213 and 2903.214. § 2903.213 governs criminal-case TPOs pending prosecution; § 2903.214 governs the freestanding civil order against a respondent who has engaged in menacing by stalking under § 2903.211 or in a sexually oriented offense, irrespective of any domestic relationship. This is Ohio's closest analog to a non-domestic civil firearm-removal order.

4. Criminal-case temporary protection order, Ohio Rev. Code § 2919.26. Issued at the first appearance of a defendant charged with a domestic-violence offense, menacing by stalking, aggravated trespass, or a sexually oriented offense. Effective until disposition. May include a firearm prohibition.

State firearm consequences

Ohio's § 2923.13 does not contain a stand-alone "subject to a protection order" disability category in the (A)(1)-(A)(5) list. State-law firearm prohibition under an Ohio civil protection order therefore runs through three paths: (i) the order's own express terms requiring relinquishment under § 3113.31(E)(1)(h) "equitable and fair" relief or comparable provisions in § 2151.34 / § 2903.214 / § 2919.26; (ii) CHL ineligibility under § 2923.125(D)(1)(j) and CHL suspension under § 2923.128(A)(2), both of which expressly reach a person currently subject to a civil protection order, temporary protection order, or out-of-state protection order; and (iii) the federal prohibitor at 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8). A respondent who possesses a firearm in violation of an order's express relinquishment term may be held in contempt and, if the order satisfied § 922(g)(8), prosecuted federally.

Federal firearm consequences: 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8)

A § 3113.31, § 2151.34, § 2903.214, or § 2919.26 order also triggers federal § 922(g)(8) if it satisfies three elements: (1) it issued after a hearing of which the respondent received actual notice and at which the respondent had an opportunity to participate (an ex parte order under § 3113.31(D)(1) generally does NOT satisfy this element); (2) it restrains the respondent from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child, or restrains conduct placing them in reasonable fear of bodily injury; AND (3) it either includes a finding of credible threat OR explicitly prohibits the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force. The federal prohibition is independent of the state one. It was upheld against a Bruen-era Second Amendment challenge in United States v. Rahimi, 144 S. Ct. 1889 (2024).

If the underlying conduct results in conviction for misdemeanor domestic violence under § 2919.25, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) imposes a federal lifetime prohibition that survives the protective order's expiration.

What the protection-order pathway is good for, and what it isn't

Ohio civil protection orders can produce same-day, ex parte firearm-relinquishment terms. That makes them functionally similar to an ERPO temporary order. But each route requires its statutory predicate. A neighbor, classmate, coworker, or unrelated friend who is alarmed by a person's behavior - without one of these predicates - cannot obtain an Ohio civil order that removes firearms. Generalized "danger to self," including suicide risk against the respondent's own life only, is not within these statutes. A spouse worried her husband will use a firearm to kill himself, with no act of domestic violence directed at her, has no Ohio civil-protection-order route. The available tools are voluntary surrender and Pathway 1.

What § 2923.1213 actually is (and why it is NOT a red-flag statute)

Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.1213 governs temporary emergency CHLs for persons facing imminent danger. It is the closest thing in Title XXIX to a statute using red-flag-style language, and it is regularly mistaken for an ERPO analog. It is not.

Under § 2923.1213(A)(1), "evidence of imminent danger" means either (a) a sworn statement that the person has reasonable cause to fear a criminal attack on self or family member, or (b) a written document prepared by a governmental entity or public official describing facts giving the person such reasonable cause - including a temporary protection order, civil protection order, an out-of-state order, a court report, or a law-enforcement report. § 2923.1213(B)(1) permits a person facing imminent danger to apply to the sheriff of residence for a temporary emergency CHL, on the strength of that evidence, a sworn affidavit confirming the § 2923.125(D)(1)(a)-(j) and (m)-(s) criteria, a $15 fee plus background-check costs, and fingerprints. The CHL is valid 90 days, non-renewable, and unavailable again until four years elapse. The competency-certificate (training) requirement is waived.

The point is that § 2923.1213 operates for the at-risk person, not against the dangerous person. It accelerates lawful concealed carry for the threatened individual; it does not authorize a court to disarm the person making the threat. The fact that an active CPO can serve as documentary "evidence of imminent danger" under § 2923.1213(A)(1)(b) underscores the asymmetry: the same CPO that may produce ERPO-like consequences for the respondent under federal § 922(g)(8) may, in parallel, qualify the protected petitioner for an expedited Ohio CHL under § 2923.1213.

Pathway 3: What an ERPO would do (proposed, NOT enacted)

Ohio ERPO bills - including HB 60 ("Safer Ohio") and HB 354 - track the structure used in Florida, Indiana, Michigan, and Connecticut: petitioner is a family/household member or law enforcement officer; probable cause for an ex parte order (typically 14 days); preponderance or clear-and-convincing evidence for a final order (typically up to one year, renewable); surrender of firearms and CHL suspension; right to counsel and hearing within a fixed window; criminal penalties for false swearing. None of this is current Ohio law. The bills have not advanced past committee, and Republican legislative leadership has consistently opposed ERPO frameworks on Second Amendment and procedural-due-process grounds. Treat ERPO as proposed, not enacted, when teaching an Ohio CCW class.

Reciprocity considerations: out-of-state ERPO orders

Ohio has not enacted ERPO-specific full-faith-and-credit legislation. An Ohio resident subject to an out-of-state ERPO is not automatically a "weapons under disability" person under § 2923.13 - § 2923.13(A) does not list "subject to an ERPO." The person may still be subject to CHL suspension or denial under § 2923.128(A)(2) and § 2923.125(D)(1)(j), which reach a person "currently subject to a civil protection order, a temporary protection order, or a protection order issued by a court of another state"; sheriffs and BCI in practice treat clearly-styled out-of-state ERPOs as triggering CHL ineligibility. Federal § 922(g)(8) may apply if the order's intimate-partner and procedural elements are satisfied. An out-of-state ERPO will appear on NICS, so a point-of-sale denial is likely regardless. Do not tell a client moving to Ohio with an active ERPO that "the order will not follow you."

Quick-reference table

Practical guidance for instructors and licensees

1. If a student was briefly held under § 5122.10 and released, ask whether a court ever entered a § 5122.15 commitment order. The court order, not the emergency hold, is what triggers § 2923.13(A)(5) and 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(4).

2. If a student is served with a § 3113.31 ex parte CPO containing a firearm-relinquishment term, that term is enforceable from service. Counsel immediate surrender to law enforcement or transfer to a federally licensed dealer. Ohio's § 3113.31 does not prescribe a single statewide surrender timeline; the order itself controls.

3. If a client is restored under § 2923.14 from a § 2923.13(A)(5) commitment predicate, the federal § 922(g)(4) prohibition is not automatically lifted. The federal record must be updated through Ohio's NIAA relief process before NICS will return a proceed.

4. If a household member is at risk to themselves but has not committed an act of domestic violence and is not committable under § 5122.15, the available state-law tools may not reach the situation. Outside Pathway 1 and the protection-order routes, the options are voluntary surrender, voluntary commitment, and persuasion. Ohio does not provide a third option today. Effective September 17, 2026, Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.26 (Senate Bill 273, the "Keep Them Safe Act") gives that voluntary-surrender route a statutory framework in which the owner, or a person the owner authorizes, may deposit a firearm with a federally licensed firearms dealer or a law enforcement agency under a confidential application that is not a public record, with civil immunity for the accepting custodian, but it confers no authority on anyone to remove another person's firearms and so is still not an ERPO (the full framework is in STORAGE).

5. If a client was convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence under § 2919.25, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) imposes a federal LIFETIME bar. There is no Ohio mechanism - including § 2923.14 - to lift § 922(g)(9). A § 2923.14 order may restore Ohio firearm rights as to that conviction, but the federal prohibition survives unless the underlying conviction is set aside.

6. Do NOT teach students that Ohio "has" a red flag law, that § 2923.1213 is one, or that the protection-order or commitment pathways equal an ERPO. They are predicate-bound tools that produce ERPO-like consequences only when the predicates are met. § 2923.1213 is a tool for the threatened person, not against the dangerous one.

Ohio Concealed Carry Laws Overview

Ohio is a constitutional-carry state for handguns. As of June 13, 2022, qualifying adults 21 and older may carry concealed handguns without a permit under Ohio Revised Code § 2923.12, enacted via Senate Bill 215 (134th General Assembly). The Ohio Concealed Handgun License (CHL), issued by the county sheriff under R.C. § 2923.125, remains valuable for reciprocity in roughly 38 jurisdictions, exemption from a NICS check at the dealer counter, and the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act exemption inside the issuing state. Ohio has a Stand Your Ground rule under R.C. § 2901.09 (effective April 6, 2021), a prosecution-disproves-self-defense burden under R.C. § 2901.05(B)(1) (effective March 28, 2019), and a statutory duty to inform any peace officer who stops the carrier under R.C. § 2923.12(B). The duty-to-inform rule is a defining Ohio feature and distinguishes Ohio from many constitutional-carry states that have repealed or never enacted a notification duty.

If you are an Ohio adult who can pass a federal background check:

• Carry without a permit: lawful for handguns at age 21+ under R.C. § 2923.12(C)(2), in the same places where a CHL holder may carry concealed.
• Carry with a permit: also lawful, with reciprocity benefits, NICS-exemption purchasing, and a written eligibility framework under R.C. § 2923.125(D)(1).
• Open carry: legal in Ohio with no licensing statute. Ohio does not criminalize open carry of a handgun by a non-prohibited adult, and R.C. § 9.68 expressly preempts local ordinances that would restrict open or concealed carry beyond state law.
• Vehicle carry: lawful for a non-prohibited adult 21+ under the same constitutional-carry rule that applies on foot, subject to the no-loaded-firearm-accessible rule for non-licensees in R.C. § 2923.16 and the duty-to-inform rule that applies during any traffic stop to a CHL holder and, through R.C. § 2923.111(C)(1), to a permitless qualifying adult.

Deep dives live in PERMIT BASICS, APPLICATION PROCESS, TRAINING REQUIREMENTS, PROHIBITED PLACES, VEHICLE CARRY, USE OF FORCE, CASTLE DOCTRINE, RECIPROCITY, DUTY TO INFORM, and PREEMPTION.

Constitutional Carry: Who Qualifies and What It Covers

Senate Bill 215 (2022) rewrote R.C. § 2923.12 and added the qualifying-adult exemption that operates as Ohio constitutional carry. Under R.C. § 2923.12(A), no person shall knowingly carry or have, concealed on the person or concealed ready at hand, a deadly weapon other than a handgun, a handgun other than a dangerous ordnance, or a dangerous ordnance. R.C. § 2923.12(C)(2) lifts the (A)(2) handgun-concealment offense for any person who has a valid CHL, and R.C. § 2923.111(C)(1)(a) extends that carve-out to a "qualifying adult" by deeming the qualifying adult to have been issued a valid concealed handgun license. Under R.C. § 2923.111(A)(2), a qualifying adult is a person 21 or older who is not legally prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) to (9), R.C. § 2923.13, or any other Revised Code provision, and who satisfies the criteria listed in R.C. § 2923.125(D)(1)(a) to (j), (m), (p), (q), and (s). That cross-reference is a subset of the CHL eligibility list, not the whole of it. The certification and application-process criteria are left out, including the R.C. § 2923.125(D)(1)(l) competency certification, which is why permitless carry carries no training prerequisite, and R.C. § 2923.125(D)(1)(n), the requirement that a non-resident applicant be employed in Ohio. R.C. § 2923.111(C)(2) separately makes the R.C. § 2923.128 suspension and revocation provisions inapplicable to a qualifying adult who has not been issued a CHL, so the only suspension in play is the one R.C. § 2923.125(D)(1)(m) reaches: an active R.C. § 2923.128(A)(2) suspension of a license the person was previously issued. On the substantive disqualifiers the qualifying-adult test tracks the CHL eligibility test, so a person who could lawfully obtain a CHL can lawfully carry concealed without one.

R.C. § 2923.12(F) sets the penalty floor for unlawful carrying. Carrying a handgun while concealed in violation of (A)(2) without qualifying-adult status or a CHL is a first-degree misdemeanor on a clean record, or a fourth-degree felony if the offender has a prior § 2923.12 conviction or any prior offense of violence, the weapon is loaded or has ammunition ready at hand, or the weapon is a dangerous ordnance. Carrying concealed aboard an aircraft, or with purpose to do so, is a third-degree felony. R.C. § 2923.12(C)(2) requires the qualifying adult to comply with R.C. § 2923.126(B), so the prohibited-places list applies the same way it applies to a CHL holder. Reciprocity, however, does not travel: another state's recognition of an Ohio CHL does not extend to a non-licensee.

What the Ohio CHL Still Buys You

SB 215 did not eliminate the CHL. The license is the affirmative authority where R.C. § 2923.12(C)(2) alone is not enough. An Ohio CHL operates as a NICS-alternative permit at the dealer counter and travels through the Ohio Attorney General's reciprocity list to roughly 38 jurisdictions. Permitless carry under R.C. § 2923.12(C)(2) does not travel. The CHL also unlocks the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act license-holder exception under 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2)(B)(ii) inside Ohio; the qualifying-adult exemption is a state-law construct that does not satisfy the federal carve-out. For instructors selling CHL training in a constitutional-carry environment, the case for the license is reciprocity, NICS exemption, the federal school-zone exception, the structured sheriff records under R.C. § 311.41 and § 311.42, and the formal eligibility determination that resolves close cases before any court appearance.

CHL Eligibility (R.C. § 2923.125(D)(1))

Under R.C. § 2923.125(D)(1), the sheriff shall issue a CHL if the applicant is legally living in the United States and at least 21; is not a fugitive from justice; is not under indictment for a felony, certain drug offenses, an assault on a peace officer, or a misdemeanor offense of violence; has not been convicted of a felony, an enumerated drug offense, an R.C. § 2903.13 assault on a peace officer, or any misdemeanor punishable by more than one year; has not within three years been convicted of a misdemeanor offense of violence; has not within five years been convicted of two or more R.C. § 2903.13 or § 2903.14 violations; has not within ten years been convicted of resisting arrest under R.C. § 2921.33; has not been adjudicated mentally incompetent or committed to a mental institution; is not currently subject to a civil, temporary, or out-of-state protection order; certifies a desire for a legal means to carry concealed for self-defense or defense of family; submits the R.C. § 2923.125(B)(3) competency certification and the R.C. § 2923.125(B)(4) pamphlet-review certification; is not currently under a § 2923.128 suspension; if a non-resident, is employed in Ohio; certifies non-use of any controlled substance under 21 U.S.C. § 802; has not been dishonorably discharged from the armed forces; and has not been convicted of domestic violence under R.C. § 2919.25.

Federal disqualifiers under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) sit on top of the state list. The Ohio companion is R.C. § 2923.13, which makes it a third-degree felony for any person under any of five categorical disabilities to acquire, have, carry, or use a firearm: fugitive status; conviction of any felony offense of violence; conviction of certain felony drug offenses; drug dependency, danger of drug dependence, or chronic alcoholism; and adjudication of mental incompetence or commitment. An R.C. § 2923.13 disability is a per se bar to a CHL and to the qualifying-adult exemption.

Application and Training (R.C. § 2923.125(B), (D), (G))

The application packet under R.C. § 2923.125(B) must include a non-refundable license fee of $67 for an Ohio resident of five-plus years, and $67 plus the actual FBI background-check cost for shorter-term residents and non-residents employed in Ohio. The fee is waived for active or reserve military, honorably discharged or retired military, retired peace officers, and qualifying retired federal law enforcement officers (unless retired for mental disability). The packet also requires a 30-day color photograph; a competency certification under R.C. § 2923.125(B)(3); a certification that the applicant has read the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission pamphlet on firearms, dispute resolution, and the use of deadly force; and fingerprints under R.C. § 311.41. A resident files with the sheriff of the county of residence or an adjacent county; a non-resident employed in Ohio files with the sheriff of the county of employment or an adjacent county. Under R.C. § 2923.125(D)(1), the sheriff shall issue or deny within 45 days. A denial must specify grounds in writing and is appealable under R.C. § 119.12.

The competency course required by R.C. § 2923.125(G) must include at least eight hours of training in the safe handling and use of a firearm, covering the rules for safe handling and storage, ammunition handling, the knowledge and skills to shoot a handgun safely, gun-handling training, and a minimum of two hours of in-person range time with live-fire training. R.C. § 2923.125(G)(2) requires a written competency examination on safe handling and storage and an in-person physical demonstration. R.C. § 2923.125(G)(3) allows the classroom portion (other than the hands-on component) to be delivered online or in a hybrid format when the course operates under a national gun advocacy organization or another approved channel and the online training includes a regularly engaging interactive component. The two-hour in-person range component is non-waivable.

Open Carry, Long Guns, Vehicle Carry

Open carry of a handgun is legal in Ohio for any non-prohibited adult. Ohio has no statute that prohibits open carry, and R.C. § 9.68 forecloses local restrictions. The R.C. § 2923.12 concealed-carry framework reaches only handguns "concealed on the person's person or concealed ready at hand," so a holstered handgun that is not concealed falls outside § 2923.12(A)(2). Open carriers without a CHL are not subject to the R.C. § 2923.12(B) duty-to-inform rule, which by its terms applies only when the carrier is carrying a concealed handgun. R.C. § 2923.12(A)(1) reaches concealed carry of a deadly weapon other than a handgun, but the long-gun prohibition operates on concealment; open carry of a long gun by a non-prohibited adult is generally lawful.

Vehicle carry is governed by R.C. § 2923.16 (improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle). A CHL holder or a qualifying adult under R.C. § 2923.111 may carry a loaded handgun on the person inside the vehicle. R.C. § 2923.16 imposes duty-to-inform rules on a CHL holder during a traffic stop and prohibits a CHL holder from knowingly transporting a loaded handgun while under the influence, and R.C. § 2923.111(C)(1) applies both rules to a permitless qualifying adult in the same manner. The full vehicle-carry analysis lives in VEHICLE CARRY.

Duty to Inform (R.C. § 2923.12(B))

R.C. § 2923.12(B) is the operative Ohio duty-to-inform rule and applies to "any person who has been issued a concealed handgun license," which R.C. § 2923.111(C)(1) extends to a permitless qualifying adult. Under R.C. § 2923.12(B)(1), a CHL holder who is stopped for a law-enforcement purpose and is carrying a concealed handgun must, before or at the time a law-enforcement officer asks if the person is carrying, knowingly disclose that the person is carrying a concealed handgun. A safe-harbor in (B)(1) excuses a second disclosure during the same stop after disclosure to another officer. A violation of (B)(1) is a second-degree misdemeanor under R.C. § 2923.12(F)(3).

R.C. § 2923.12(B)(2), (3), and (4) layer on three additional duties during the same stop: keep hands in plain sight after the officer begins approaching and before the officer leaves; do not remove, grasp, hold, or touch the loaded handgun unless the officer directs the action; and do not disregard or fail to comply with any lawful order. A violation of (B)(2) or (B)(4) is a first-degree misdemeanor or, on a prior such conviction, a fifth-degree felony, with mandatory CHL suspension under R.C. § 2923.128(A)(2). A violation of (B)(3) is a fifth-degree felony.

Three structural points matter. First, the duty reaches permitless carriers. R.C. § 2923.12(B) is written for a person "who has been issued a concealed handgun license," but R.C. § 2923.111(C)(1)(a) deems a qualifying adult who is carrying a concealed handgun that is not a restricted firearm "to have been issued a valid concealed handgun license" for purposes of § 2923.12, and R.C. § 2923.111(C)(1)(c) applies any conduct a licensee is required to engage in to a qualifying adult "in the same manner." A qualifying adult carrying without a license therefore owes the identical (B)(1) disclosure duty, and staying silent when an officer asks is the same second-degree misdemeanor under R.C. § 2923.12(F)(3) that it would be for a licensee. Second, the duty triggers on a "stop for a law enforcement purpose," meaning an investigative or traffic stop, not every consensual encounter. Third, R.C. § 2923.12(F)(2) bars arrest for a violation of R.C. § 2923.12(A)(2) "solely because the person does not promptly produce a valid concealed handgun license" and creates a minor-misdemeanor disposition for a CHL holder who presents a valid license within ten days. The full duty-to-inform analysis lives in DUTY TO INFORM.

Prohibited Places (R.C. § 2923.126(B))

R.C. § 2923.126(B) lists the locations where a CHL holder (and, by reference under R.C. § 2923.12(C)(2), a qualifying adult) may not carry a concealed handgun: police stations, sheriff's offices, state highway patrol stations, BCI premises, state correctional institutions and detention facilities, secure airport areas beyond a screening checkpoint, and certain mental-health institutions; school safety zones in violation of R.C. § 2923.122 (with parking-lot and locked-vehicle carve-outs); courthouses and buildings containing courtrooms in violation of R.C. § 2923.123; Class D liquor-permit premises and open-air arenas in violation of R.C. § 2923.121; institutions of higher education, except inside a locked motor vehicle or under a governing-body policy authorizing carry; churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship that have not posted permission; Ohio and political-subdivision government buildings (other than shelters, restrooms, parking facilities, and rest facilities), unless the governing body has enacted a permitting policy; and any place federal law prohibits handgun carry.

R.C. § 2923.126(C) preserves a private employer's right to ban firearms on its premises and grants civil-liability immunity (absent malicious purpose) to private employers, political subdivisions, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit corporations for injuries related to a licensee bringing a handgun on the premises or to the entity's decision to permit or prohibit it. Private landowners may post a conspicuous no-carry sign; a knowing violation is fourth-degree-misdemeanor criminal trespass under R.C. § 2911.21. The full prohibited-places analysis lives in PROHIBITED PLACES.

Self-Defense Framework (R.C. § 2901.05, § 2901.09)

Ohio codifies the burden-of-proof rule and Castle presumption in R.C. § 2901.05 and the Stand Your Ground rule in R.C. § 2901.09.

R.C. § 2901.05(B)(1), enacted by HB 228 (132nd General Assembly, effective March 28, 2019), shifts the trial burden on self-defense in any case involving the use of force against another. Once the defendant introduces evidence that tends to support a claim of self-defense, defense of another, or defense of the defendant's residence, "the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused person did not use the force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person's residence." The Ohio Supreme Court has confirmed (State v. Brooks, State v. Messenger) that R.C. § 2901.05(B)(1) operates as a true burden-of-proof shift, not merely a burden of going forward.

R.C. § 2901.05(B)(2) creates the Ohio Castle Doctrine presumption: a person is presumed to have acted in self-defense or defense of another when using defensive force intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm against a person who is in the process of unlawfully and without privilege entering, or has unlawfully and without privilege entered, the residence or vehicle occupied by the defender. The Ohio presumption covers residence and occupied vehicle. R.C. § 2901.05(B)(3) excludes the presumption when the person against whom force was used has the right to be in or is a lawful resident of the location, or when the defender is unlawfully present. R.C. § 2901.05(B)(4) makes the presumption rebuttable by a preponderance of the evidence, while preserving the prosecution's beyond-a-reasonable-doubt burden under (B)(1). R.C. § 2901.05(D) defines "residence" to mean a dwelling in which a person resides temporarily or permanently or is visiting as a guest, and "vehicle" to mean any conveyance designed to transport people or property.

R.C. § 2901.09 is Ohio's no-duty-to-retreat statute, enacted by Senate Bill 175 (133rd General Assembly, effective April 6, 2021). Under R.C. § 2901.09(B), "for purposes of any section of the Revised Code that sets forth a criminal offense, a person has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person's residence if that person is in a place in which the person lawfully has a right to be." R.C. § 2901.09(C) directs that "a trier of fact shall not consider the possibility of retreat as a factor in determining whether or not a person who used force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person's residence reasonably believed that the force was necessary to prevent injury, loss, or risk to life or safety." The full self-defense analysis lives in USE OF FORCE and CASTLE DOCTRINE.

State Preemption (R.C. § 9.68)

R.C. § 9.68 is one of the strongest firearms-preemption statutes in the country. R.C. § 9.68(A) declares the individual right to keep and bear arms a fundamental right and announces a uniform-laws policy: except as specifically provided by the U.S. Constitution, Ohio Constitution, state law, or federal law, a person may own, possess, purchase, acquire, transport, store, carry, sell, transfer, manufacture, or keep any firearm, part, component, ammunition, or knife without further license, permission, restriction, delay, or process by any local ordinance, rule, regulation, resolution, practice, or other action, and without being required to carry firearm liability insurance or pay a possession fee. The statute expressly preempts and declares null and void any local rule imposing additional licensing, permission, restriction, delay, or process beyond state and federal law. R.C. § 9.68(C)(1) defines covered carry to include open and concealed carry on the person and concealed ready at hand.

R.C. § 9.68(B) layers civil consequences. A person, group, or entity adversely affected by a conflicting local ordinance, rule, regulation, resolution, practice, or other action may sue the political subdivision for damages, declaratory relief, injunctive relief, or a combination. The court must award reasonable expenses (including reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, expert witness fees, and compensation for loss of income) to the prevailing challenger or where the offending rule is repealed or rescinded after suit but before final judgment. R.C. § 9.68(D) preserves narrow zoning exceptions for commercial sale in residential or agricultural zones and for hours-and-geography rules consistent with other retail-establishment ordinances. The current version of R.C. § 9.68 took effect April 9, 2025, after amendment by Senate Bill 58 (135th General Assembly). The full preemption analysis lives in PREEMPTION.

Federal Law Sits On Top

Federal restrictions apply in Ohio regardless of state authority. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) prohibits felons, persons subject to qualifying domestic-violence protective orders, persons with misdemeanor crime of domestic violence convictions, unlawful drug users, persons committed to mental institutions, and others from possessing firearms in or affecting interstate commerce. Ohio R.C. § 2923.13 incorporates many of these and adds chronic-alcoholism and drug-dependency disabilities. 18 U.S.C. § 930 criminalizes possession of a firearm in a federal facility regardless of CHL status, and the R.C. § 2923.126(B)(8) catch-all incorporates federal-law prohibitions into Ohio's prohibited-places list. 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) (Gun-Free School Zones Act) restricts possession within 1,000 feet of a school, with a license-holder exception inside the licensing state; Ohio R.C. § 2923.122 sits on top and applies to anyone, with the locked-vehicle exception described in that statute. 18 U.S.C. § 926A protects interstate transport of an unloaded firearm. 18 U.S.C. § 926C (LEOSA) authorizes carry by qualified active and retired law-enforcement officers; R.C. § 2923.12(C)(1)(a) and (b) recognize peace-officer authority. Under the National Firearms Act, suppressors, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, machine guns, destructive devices, and "any other weapons" are defined in 26 U.S.C. § 5845 and require federal registration. Ohio R.C. § 2923.17 governs unlawful possession of dangerous ordnance and operates in parallel with the federal NFA framework.

R.C. § 2923.128 governs CHL suspension and revocation. The sheriff must suspend a CHL on arrest or charge for a disqualifying offense, on charge under R.C. § 2923.15 (using a firearm while intoxicated), or on entry of a temporary protection order or substantially equivalent out-of-state order. A misdemeanor conviction under R.C. § 2923.12(B)(2) or (B)(4) or under R.C. § 2923.16(E)(3) or (E)(5) carries a mandatory one-year or two-year suspension. Revocation follows disqualifying convictions, age failure, and false-statement findings, with notice by certified mail and a ten-day surrender deadline.

Numbers a Student Asks About

• Constitutional carry trigger: June 13, 2022 (SB 215, 134th General Assembly), codified at R.C. § 2923.12(C)(2) and § 2923.111.
• Permitless and CHL minimum age: 21 under R.C. § 2923.125(D)(1)(b) and § 2923.111.
• CHL fee: $67 for Ohio residents of five-plus years; $67 plus FBI background-check cost for shorter-term residents and non-residents employed in Ohio (R.C. § 2923.125(B)(1)). Waived for active or retired military and certain peace officers.
• CHL term: 5 years under R.C. § 2923.126(A), with a 30-day grace period after expiration during which the license remains valid.
• Sheriff decision deadline: 45 days under R.C. § 2923.125(D)(1).
• Issuing authority: county sheriff under R.C. § 2923.125(B), not the state attorney general or a municipal police department.
• Training: 8 hours of instruction with a 2-hour in-person range minimum under R.C. § 2923.125(G)(1).
• Stand Your Ground: R.C. § 2901.09(B), effective April 6, 2021.
• Burden of proof on self-defense: prosecution must disprove beyond a reasonable doubt under R.C. § 2901.05(B)(1), effective March 28, 2019.
• Castle Doctrine presumption: R.C. § 2901.05(B)(2), covering residence and occupied vehicle.
• Duty to inform: R.C. § 2923.12(B)(1), on a "stop for a law enforcement purpose." It binds CHL holders and permitless qualifying adults alike, because R.C. § 2923.111(C)(1) deems a qualifying adult to hold a valid license for purposes of § 2923.12.
• Open carry: legal in Ohio without a license under R.C. § 9.68.
• Preemption: R.C. § 9.68, with attorney-fee shifting to prevailing challengers.
• Reciprocity: roughly 38 jurisdictions honor the Ohio CHL; the Ohio Attorney General publishes the current list.
• Federal disability statute: Ohio counterpart at R.C. § 2923.13 (having weapons while under disability), a third-degree felony.

Ohio Concealed Handgun License (CHL) Permit Basics

Bottom Line

Ohio's Concealed Handgun License (CHL) is issued by the county sheriff under Ohio Revised Code § 2923.125. The license costs $67 for an original and $50 for a renewal (with a surcharge for the actual cost of an FBI background check if the applicant has been an Ohio resident for less than five years or is a non-resident applying based on Ohio employment), is valid 5 years from the date of issuance, and requires an 8-hour competency course that includes at least 2 hours of in-person range time and live-fire training. Even with constitutional carry effective June 13, 2022 under SB 215, the CHL remains valuable: it travels under reciprocity to roughly three dozen states, qualifies the holder for the NICS purchase exemption under 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3), and is the predicate for several § 2923.126 carve-outs (notably the locked-vehicle carry exception on the premises of public colleges and universities) that a permitless carrier cannot invoke. The application is built around § 2923.125(B) (submission), § 2923.125(D)(1) (the 19-paragraph eligibility test plus the 45-day sheriff's decision deadline), § 2923.125(G) (the 8-hour course and competency examination), and § 2923.125(F) (renewal).

Issuing Authority: The County Sheriff

Ohio runs a fully decentralized licensing system. § 2923.125(A) directs that "a sheriff ... shall provide to the person free of charge an application form" and "shall accept a completed application form and the fee, items, materials, and information specified in divisions (B)(1) to (5) of this section." Unlike Florida (where the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services issues licenses statewide) or Texas (where the Department of Public Safety runs the LTC program centrally), in Ohio the county sheriff is the issuing authority for CHLs. There is no statewide handgun-licensing bureau.

Where to file is set by § 2923.125(B). An Ohio resident applies to the sheriff of the county in which the applicant resides, or to the sheriff of any adjacent county. A non-resident applying based on Ohio employment files with the sheriff of the county in which the applicant is employed, or any adjacent county. The adjacent-county lever is built into the statute and is a practical workaround when an applicant's home-county sheriff has long backlogs or limited intake hours.

Ohio is shall-issue by statutory design. § 2923.125(D)(1) opens "the sheriff ... shall issue to the applicant a concealed handgun license" if the 19 listed criteria are met, and § 2923.125(D)(2)(b) confirms that any denial must specify "the grounds for the denial in a written notice to the applicant," with appeal rights under § 119.12 to the county court of common pleas. The sheriff has no good-cause discretion: if the applicant satisfies § 2923.125(D)(1)(a) through (s), the license issues.

A sheriff must accept applications "during at least fifteen hours a week" and post the available hours under § 2923.125(I)(1). Sheriffs distribute fees collected under § 2923.125(B)(1) into the sheriff's concealed handgun license issuance fund established by § 311.42, which the county distributes to fund the program.

Eligibility: The 19-Paragraph Test in § 2923.125(D)(1)

To receive a CHL, the applicant must satisfy all nineteen of the criteria in § 2923.125(D)(1)(a) through (s). The list is conjunctive - failing any one is disqualifying. Three federal-law overlays anchor the test: the chapeau to § 2923.125 declares the General Assembly's intent that "no person shall be eligible to receive a concealed handgun license permit ... unless the person is eligible lawfully to receive or possess a firearm in the United States," and § 2923.125(D)(1)(o) and (p) wire in the federal controlled-substance and immigration prohibitors directly.

• § 2923.125(D)(1)(a) - Legal U.S. presence. The applicant must be "legally living in the United States." A member of the U.S. armed forces who is absent on military or naval orders does not, by reason of that absence alone, lose status as legally living in the United States.
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(b) - Age 21. The age floor is 21. Unlike some other states that drop the threshold to 18 for active or veteran military, § 2923.125 contains no military or under-21 carve-out - every CHL applicant must be at least 21.
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(c) - Not a fugitive from justice.
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(d) - Not under indictment or charge for a felony, a Chapter 2925, 3719, or 4729 drug-trafficking or other drug-of-abuse offense, a misdemeanor offense of violence, or a violation of § 2903.14 (negligent assault) or § 2923.1211 (illegally obtaining a license). § 2923.125(D)(3) layers in a procedural rule: if the sheriff becomes aware that the applicant has been arrested or charged with a disqualifying offense, the sheriff "shall suspend the processing of the application until the disposition of the case."
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(e) - No qualifying conviction. The applicant must not have been convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or adjudicated a delinquent child for committing a felony or a Chapter 2925, 3719, or 4729 drug-of-abuse offense. The same paragraph reaches a § 2903.13 (assault) violation when the victim is a peace officer (regardless of whether sentencing was under § 2903.13(C)(4)) and any other misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. Sealed or expunged convictions are excluded under § 2923.125(D)(4); minor misdemeanors are excluded under § 2923.125(D)(5).
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(f) - 3-year misdemeanor-of-violence lookback. Within the three years preceding the date of the application, the applicant must not have been convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or adjudicated a delinquent child for committing a misdemeanor offense of violence (other than a misdemeanor § 2921.33 resisting-arrest violation or a peace-officer-victim § 2903.13 assault, which are handled under (D)(1)(e) regardless of timing).
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(g) - 5-year multiple-assault lookback. Within the five years preceding the date of the application, the applicant must not have been convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or adjudicated a delinquent child for committing two or more violations of § 2903.13 (assault) or § 2903.14 (negligent assault).
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(h) - 10-year resisting-arrest lookback. Within the ten years preceding the date of the application, the applicant must not have been convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or adjudicated a delinquent child for committing a violation of § 2921.33 (resisting arrest).
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(i) - Mental-health bar. The applicant must not have been committed to any mental institution, must not be under adjudication of mental incompetence, must not have been found by a court to be a person with a mental illness subject to court order, and must not be an involuntary patient (other than a patient solely for purposes of observation). The defined terms borrow from § 5122.01.
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(j) - No active protection order. The applicant must not currently be subject to a civil protection order, a temporary protection order, or a substantially equivalent protection order issued by a court of another state.
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(k) - Self-defense purpose. The applicant must certify that the applicant "desires a legal means to carry a concealed handgun for defense of the applicant or a member of the applicant's family while engaged in lawful activity."
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(l) - Competency certification. The applicant must submit a competency certification of the type described in § 2923.125(B)(3) (the eight categories of training and equivalency documents) and the certification under § 2923.125(B)(4) that the applicant has read the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission pamphlet on firearms, dispute resolution, and use of deadly force. (D)(1)(l) is the only paragraph not required at renewal: § 2923.125(F)(2) expressly excuses the renewal applicant from re-satisfying it.
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(m) - No active CHL suspension. The applicant must not currently be subject to a suspension under § 2923.128(A)(2) of a previously issued Ohio CHL or temporary emergency license, or a substantially equivalent suspension imposed by another state.
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(n) - Ohio employment if non-resident. A non-resident applicant must be employed in Ohio.
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(o) - No unlawful controlled-substance use. The applicant must certify that the applicant is not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, any controlled substance as defined in 21 U.S.C. § 802. This overlays the federal § 922(g)(3) prohibitor.
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(p) - No nonimmigrant-visa alien. A non-citizen applicant must be an alien who has not been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(26).
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(q) - No dishonorable discharge. The applicant must not have been discharged from the U.S. armed forces under dishonorable conditions. This mirrors federal § 922(g)(6).
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(r) - No renunciation of citizenship. The applicant must certify that the applicant has not renounced U.S. citizenship (mirrors federal § 922(g)(7)).
• § 2923.125(D)(1)(s) - No § 2919.25 domestic-violence conviction. The applicant must not have been convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or adjudicated a delinquent child for committing a violation of § 2919.25 (domestic violence) or a substantially similar violation in another state. This overlay is broader than the federal § 922(g)(9) misdemeanor-DV prohibitor because it applies to any § 2919.25 violation regardless of the relationship element.

The eligibility test does not contain an Ohio-specific time-limited path back to eligibility for a felony conviction. A felony bar under (D)(1)(e) is lifetime unless the applicant obtains relief under operation of law or legal process from the disability imposed by § 2923.13 or the records are sealed or expunged under § 2151.355 to § 2151.358 or § 2953.31 to § 2953.35 - at which point § 2923.125(D)(4) instructs the sheriff to disregard the conviction in making the (D)(1) determination.

What the Application Asks For

§ 2923.125(B) sets the contents of the application package. The applicant submits:

1. A completed application form on the form developed under § 109.731(B), provided free of charge by the sheriff under § 2923.125(A). The application captures full name, place and date of birth, race, sex, residence and business addresses, criminal-history information, and - where applicable - alien-registration data.
2. The license fee under § 2923.125(B)(1)(a):
   • § 2923.125(B)(1)(a)(i) - for an applicant who has been an Ohio resident for five or more years, a fee of $67.
   • § 2923.125(B)(1)(a)(ii) - for an applicant who has been an Ohio resident for less than five years, or who is a non-resident applying based on Ohio employment, a fee of $67 plus the actual cost of having a background check performed by the FBI.
   • § 2923.125(B)(1)(b) - the sheriff may not pass through the cost of the background check performed by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI). That cost is absorbed by the issuance fund.
   • § 2923.125(B)(1)(c) - fee waiver for an applicant who is an active or reserve member of the U.S. armed forces, has retired from or was honorably discharged from active or reserve military service, is a retired peace officer, is a retired person described in § 109.77(B)(1)(b), or is a retired federal law enforcement officer who, prior to retirement, was authorized under federal law to carry a firearm in the course of duty. The waiver does not apply if the retired peace officer or federal officer retired as the result of a mental disability. The military waiver is subject to a statewide annual cap under § 2923.125(I)(2): once aggregate waived payments reach $1,500,000 in any year, sheriffs stop waiving for armed-forces applicants for the remainder of that year.
3. A color photograph of the applicant taken within the 30 days preceding the application date (§ 2923.125(B)(2)).
4. A competency certification under § 2923.125(B)(3). The statute lists seven acceptable forms of certification (subsections (a) through (g)), including: a certificate of completion from a national-gun-advocacy-organization course (e.g., NRA), a certificate from a course open to the public taught by qualified instructors and offered under the auspices of a law-enforcement agency or a public or private educational institution, a peace-officer training certificate, a document evidencing active or honorably discharged military service combined with handgun-handling experience equivalent to a § 2923.125(B)(3)(a)-(c) course, a certificate from another instructor-certified course, an instructor-subscribed affidavit attesting to course completion, or a document evidencing successful completion of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Program under § 109.79. For most applicants, the certificate from a state-approved 8-hour CHL course is the operative path. Detail on course content and instructor qualifications is in TRAINING_REQUIREMENTS.
5. A certification by the applicant that the applicant has read the OPOTC pamphlet under § 109.731 reviewing firearms, dispute resolution, and use of deadly force matters (§ 2923.125(B)(4)).
6. A set of fingerprints taken under § 311.41 - through an electronic fingerprint reading device, or, if the sheriff does not have ready access to one, on a standard impression sheet prescribed under § 109.572(C)(2). Fingerprints feed both the BCI criminal-records check and the FBI check (§ 2923.125(C)).
7. Alien-registration data if the applicant is not a U.S. citizen or national, including the country of citizenship and the alien-registration number (§ 2923.125(B)(6)).
8. Adequate proof of Ohio employment if the applicant resides in another state (§ 2923.125(B)(7)).

Records confidentiality is handled at § 2923.129(B): completed applications, criminal-records and incompetency-records check reports, Social Security numbers, and fingerprints obtained under § 311.41(A) "are confidential and are not public records." Notwithstanding § 149.43 (Ohio's public-records law), no person shall release these records except pursuant to court order. Willful violation is illegal release of confidential concealed handgun license records, a felony of the fifth degree under § 2923.129(E).

The Competency Course

§ 2923.125(G) is the training spine of the CHL. The course must include at least eight hours of training in the safe handling and use of a firearm, covering the rules for safe handling and proper storage of a handgun and ammunition, gun-handling training, and the knowledge, skills, and attitude necessary to shoot a handgun safely. § 2923.125(G)(1)(e) requires a minimum of two hours of in-person training that consists of range time and live-fire training. The remaining six hours of classroom-style instruction may, under § 2923.125(G)(3)(a), be delivered "online or as a combination of in-person and online training, as long as the online training includes an interactive component that regularly engages the person" - with the carve-out that any training "that requires the person receiving the training to demonstrate handling abilities" must be in-person.

Competency is verified through the examination required by § 2923.125(G)(2):

• § 2923.125(G)(2)(a) - a written section on the rules for safe handling and proper storage of a handgun and ammunition (which may be administered online for courses meeting the conditions in § 2923.125(G)(3)(b)).
• § 2923.125(G)(2)(b) - an in-person physical demonstration of competence in handgun use, the rules for safe handling and storage, and the attitude necessary to shoot a handgun safely.

The competency certificate issued at course completion must be dated and must attest that the course met the (G)(1) training requirements and that the applicant passed the (G)(2) competency examination (§ 2923.125(G)(4)). Certificates from § 2923.125(B)(3)(a), (b), (c), (e), or (f) courses must reflect that the applicant completed the underlying course within three years preceding the application - a hard recency rule. Military-experience equivalency certificates under § 2923.125(B)(3)(d) operate on a different recency rule (active or retired status, or up to ten years post-retirement for peace officers).

The course is not waivable by prior out-of-state CHL training. Active-duty servicemembers and honorably discharged veterans get the equivalency pathway under § 2923.125(B)(3)(d); other applicants take the course. Detail on instructor qualifications and course content is in TRAINING_REQUIREMENTS.

Issuance Timeline

§ 2923.125(D)(1) sets a 45-day decision window: within 45 days after the sheriff's receipt of a complete application form, the supporting documentation, and (if not waived) the license fee, the sheriff "shall make available through the law enforcement automated data system ... the information described in [§ 2923.125(H)] and, upon making the information available through the system, shall issue to the applicant a concealed handgun license."

Two extension levers apply:

• Pending criminal disposition (§ 2923.125(D)(3)). If the sheriff becomes aware that the applicant has been arrested for or charged with an offense that would disqualify the applicant from holding the license, the sheriff suspends the processing of the application until the disposition of the case arising from the arrest or charge. This is the most common cause of a CHL application running past the 45-day target.
• Sealing or expungement (§ 2923.125(D)(4)). If a court has ordered the sealing or expungement of records of a conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent-child adjudication for an offense identified in (D)(1)(e), (f), or (h), or the applicant has been relieved under operation of law or legal process from the disability imposed by § 2923.13, the sheriff "shall not consider" that conviction in the (D)(1) determination.

If the sheriff denies the application, § 2923.125(D)(2)(b) requires written notice specifying the grounds for the denial. The applicant may appeal under § 119.12 to the court of common pleas of the county served by the denying sheriff. If the denial was based on the criminal-records check and the applicant uses the § 2923.127 challenge-and-review procedure to dispute that record, the § 119.12 appeal clock is tolled during the pendency of the challenge. Under § 2923.125(D)(2)(c), if the court sustains the sheriff's refusal to issue, the applicant may file a new application beginning one year after the judgment is entered.

A CHL issued under § 2923.125 is effective from the date of issuance.

Term and Validity

§ 2923.125(D)(2)(a) is direct: a CHL "shall expire five years after the date of issuance." § 2923.126(A) repeats the term and adds a 30-day grace period after expiration "during which the licensee's license remains valid" - i.e., the licensee may continue carrying for 30 days past the printed expiration date while pursuing renewal.

Two carry-related obligations apply during the 5-year term:

• § 2923.126(A) - 45-day address-change notice. "The licensee shall give notice of any change in the licensee's residence address to the sheriff who issued the license within forty-five days after that change."
• § 2923.125(E) - Lost or destroyed license. A licensee whose CHL is lost or destroyed may obtain a duplicate from the issuing sheriff upon payment of a $15 fee and submission of an affidavit attesting to the loss or destruction. The replacement license carries a different unique identifier than the original.

A licensee who is no longer a resident of Ohio and (if the license was issued on the basis of Ohio employment) no longer employed in Ohio may use the CHL until its printed expiration date but is prohibited from renewing under § 2923.125(F)(5). The license effectively self-terminates at the next renewal cycle.

Renewal

§ 2923.125(F) sets the renewal mechanics. A licensee may file for renewal "at any time before the expiration date of the license or at any time after the expiration date." There is no statutory renewal-window cutoff that bars late renewal, but a licensee who carries past the 30-day § 2923.126(A) grace period without a renewed license loses the carve-out from § 2923.12(A)(2) and is exposed to the carrying-concealed-weapons offense.

The renewal package under § 2923.125(F)(1)(a) consists of:

1. A renewal application filed with the sheriff of the county in which the applicant resides or any adjacent county (or, for a non-resident, the sheriff of the county that issued the previous CHL).
2. A certification by the applicant that, subsequent to issuance of the prior license, the applicant has reread the OPOTC pamphlet under § 109.731.
3. The renewal fee under § 2923.125(F)(4):
   • § 2923.125(F)(4)(a) - for an applicant who has been an Ohio resident for five or more years, $50.
   • § 2923.125(F)(4)(b) - for an applicant who has been an Ohio resident for less than five years, or who is a non-resident applying based on Ohio employment, $50 plus the actual cost of an FBI background check.
   • The military and retired-LEO fee waivers in § 2923.125(B)(1)(c) apply to renewals as well as original applications, subject to the same $1.5 million annual cap.

Under § 2923.125(F)(2), the sheriff conducts the criminal-records check and incompetency-records check under § 311.41 again at renewal. The sheriff renews the license if the applicant continues to satisfy the (D)(1) eligibility criteria - except the (D)(1)(l) competency-certification criterion, which is not required at renewal. A licensee who took the original course within the three years preceding the original application is not required to retake the course or competency examination at the 5-year renewal mark. The renewal cadence in Ohio is therefore meaningfully cheaper and faster than the original application: $50 instead of $67, and no course retake.

Under § 2923.125(F)(3), the renewal application requires the licensee to list only information and matters occurring since the date of the licensee's last application. The criminal-records check covers only the period from the last application to the renewal application - a narrow refresh, not a full re-investigation. A renewed license expires five years after the date of issuance, and the renewal is subject to the same suspension and revocation rules in § 2923.128 as the original.

§ 2923.125(F)(1)(b) carves out a military-service exemption: a person on active duty in the U.S. armed forces, peace corps, VISTA, or U.S. foreign service is exempt from the CHL renewal requirements during the period of active duty or service and for six months thereafter, provided the person was a CHL holder at the time the active duty or service commenced or obtained a CHL while on active duty or service. The same exemption extends to a spouse or dependent who relocated outside Ohio because of the servicemember's service. The exemption does not prevent the servicemember (or spouse or dependent) from filing a renewal application during the period of active duty or service.

What the CHL Authorizes

§ 2923.126(A) authorizes a CHL holder to "carry a concealed handgun anywhere in this state if the license is valid when the licensee is in actual possession of a concealed handgun" - subject to the prohibited-place list in § 2923.126(B) and the carrying-concealed-weapons rules in § 2923.12. Three benefits explain why the CHL is still worth getting after Ohio's June 13, 2022 constitutional-carry change:

• § 2923.126 carve-outs. Several § 2923.126(B) prohibited-place rules contain license-specific exceptions. Most notably, § 2923.126(B)(5) authorizes a CHL holder to carry on the premises of a public or private college or university if the handgun is in a locked motor vehicle or the licensee is in the immediate process of placing the handgun in a locked motor vehicle (or under a campus-board policy that authorizes specific carry). A permitless carrier under R.C. § 2923.111 has no equivalent campus carve-out. Detail in PROHIBITED_PLACES.
• NICS purchase exemption. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3), a state-issued carry permit that requires a NICS-equivalent background check at issuance and is no more than five years old exempts the holder from the NICS check at handgun retail purchase. The Ohio CHL qualifies - the chapeau to § 2923.125 expressly states the General Assembly's intent that Ohio CHL law "be compliant with the national instant criminal background check system, that the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives is able to determine that Ohio law is compliant with the national instant criminal background check system." A permitless carrier does not get this exemption.
• Reciprocity. An Ohio CHL is recognized in roughly three dozen other states under the reciprocity framework administered by the Attorney General. Ohio's permitless concealed carry under R.C. § 2923.111 is an Ohio-only authorization - a Buckeye who travels into Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan, or any other state is relying on the host state's recognition of the Ohio CHL, not on Ohio's permitless statute. Detail in RECIPROCITY.

The CHL does not override § 2923.126(B) prohibited places, federal facilities under 18 U.S.C. § 930, the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act under 18 U.S.C. § 922(q), the school-safety-zone bar in § 2923.122, or the courthouse bar in § 2923.123. Detail on those limits is in PROHIBITED_PLACES.

Permitless Carry vs. CHL: Why the License Still Matters

Senate Bill 215 (134th General Assembly, 2022), effective June 13, 2022, added R.C. § 2923.111 to authorize permitless concealed carry of a handgun by a "qualifying adult" - generally, a person 21 or older who is not federally or state-disabled from possessing a firearm and who would otherwise satisfy the CHL eligibility test. The CHL was not displaced. § 2923.12(C)(2) added an express carve-out from the carrying-concealed-weapons offense for "any person who has been issued a concealed handgun license that is valid at the time of the alleged carrying or possession of a handgun" - and after June 13, 2022 a parallel carve-out applies under § 2923.111 for qualifying adults carrying without a license.

A CHL still provides several advantages a permitless carrier does not get:

• Reciprocity with roughly three dozen states. Permitless carry under § 2923.111 is Ohio-only.
• NICS purchase exemption under 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3) at handgun retail purchase.
• § 2923.126(B)(5) campus carve-out allowing locked-vehicle carry on public-college and -university premises. A permitless carrier has no equivalent carve-out.
• Faster traffic-stop interactions. A CHL is in the sheriff's records and surfaces on the law-enforcement automated data system under § 2923.125(H) when the licensee's driver's license is run. After 2022 SB 215, BOTH CHL holders and permitless qualifying adults have the SAME disclosure duty under § 2923.12(B)(1) - neither is required to proactively volunteer the information; both must respond truthfully if asked. § 2923.111(C)(1) deems qualifying adults to be licensees for § 2923.12 purposes. The LEADS-surfaced CHL preempts much of the early-stop guesswork. Detail in DUTY_TO_INFORM.
• Predictability of the (D)(1) checklist. A CHL applicant has been adjudicated against the 19-paragraph eligibility test by a sheriff. A permitless carrier under § 2923.111 self-assesses against the qualifying-adult criteria; an officer in the field (or a prosecutor charging under § 2923.12) can revisit that self-assessment.

The trade-off: a permitless carrier saves the $67 fee, the 8-hour course tuition and time, the BCI/FBI fingerprint capture, and the 45-day wait. The General Assembly deliberately left the choice with the carrier.

Suspension and Revocation

§ 2923.128 sets the suspension and revocation framework. The sheriff who issued the license:

• Shall suspend under § 2923.128(A)(1)(a) upon becoming aware that the licensee has been arrested for or charged with an offense described in § 2923.125(D)(1)(d) (felony, drug-of-abuse offense, misdemeanor of violence, § 2903.14 negligent assault, or § 2923.1211 fraudulent license), or with a violation of § 2923.15 (using weapons while intoxicated), or has become subject to a temporary protection order or substantially equivalent order from another state. The suspension begins on the date of arrest, charge, or protection order - not the date of notice to the licensee - and ends on dismissal of the charges, a not-guilty finding, or termination of the protection order.
• Shall suspend under § 2923.128(A)(2)(a) on conviction of, or guilty plea to, a misdemeanor violation of § 2923.12(B)(2) or (4) (failure to keep hands in plain sight; failure to comply with a lawful order) or § 2923.16(E)(3) or (5) (vehicle-carry duty-to-inform violations). The suspension runs for one year from the conviction date for a (B)(2)/(E)(3) violation and two years for a (B)(4)/(E)(5) violation.
• Shall revoke under § 2923.128(B)(1) on becoming aware that the licensee is under 21, was not eligible at the time of issuance, has been convicted of a § 2923.15 violation or an offense in § 2923.125(D)(1)(e), (f), (g), or (h) after the license issued, has become subject to a civil protection order, has knowingly carried into a § 2923.126(B) prohibited place, has been adjudicated mentally incompetent or committed to a mental institution after issuance, no longer satisfies the residency requirements, or submitted a forged or fraudulent competency certificate. The revocation procedure under § 2923.128(B)(2) gives the licensee fourteen days after certified-mail notice to contest the proposed revocation in the sheriff's office.

The licensee has the same § 119.12 appeal pathway for a revocation as for a denial, and may invoke the § 2923.127 criminal-records-challenge procedure if the revocation rests on a disputed record.

Fee Structure (Summary)

The fees recited in § 2923.125 are statutory amounts, not caps - a sheriff cannot raise or discount the $67 / $50 figures except through the (B)(1)(c) waiver. The actual FBI background-check pass-through is variable and reflects the FBI's published fingerprint-processing cost at the time of application; the BCI check cost is absorbed by the sheriff's concealed handgun license issuance fund under § 311.42 and may not be passed through to the applicant. Course tuition is set by the qualified instructor and is separate from the sheriff's fee - the statute does not regulate course tuition.

Key Ohio Statutes Referenced in This Section

Constitutional Carry in Ohio

Ohio became a constitutional-carry state on June 13, 2022, when Senate Bill 215 of the 134th General Assembly took effect. SB 215 amended Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.12 (carrying concealed weapons) and added a new section, Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.111, that allows any "qualifying adult" to carry a concealed handgun in Ohio without first obtaining a Concealed Handgun License (CHL). A "qualifying adult" under § 2923.111(A)(2) is a person 21 or older who is not legally prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)-(9)), under § 2923.13, or under any other Revised Code provision. The CHL issued under § 2923.125 remains available - and is still required for reciprocity outside Ohio. Open carry was lawful before SB 215 and remains lawful; SB 215 added permitless concealed carry. Permitless concealed carriers are still subject to the duty-to-inform rules in § 2923.12(B), including the duty to disclose to a peace officer who asks during a lawful stop.

The rest explains the SB 215 rewrite, who qualifies, what it does not change, and why the CHL still matters.

Background: SB 215 and the 2022 Rewrite

SB 215 was passed by the 134th General Assembly and signed by Governor Mike DeWine on March 14, 2022, taking effect on June 13, 2022. SB 215 did two things: it amended § 2923.12 to carve out conduct by a "qualifying adult" carrying a concealed handgun, and it added § 2923.111 to define "qualifying adult" and supply the statutory authority for permitless concealed carry.

The amendment is structural rather than declaratory. Ohio did not enact a free-standing "Constitutional Carry Act." It modified the existing concealed-weapons offense so that a qualifying adult is no longer subject to it and is treated, for almost all other Revised Code purposes, as if the person had been issued a valid CHL. The CHL-only carve-outs in §§ 2923.12, 2923.124, 2923.126, and related provisions all extend to qualifying adults by operation of § 2923.111(C)(1). The expungement provision at § 2923.12(E)(2) provides a date-stamp by allowing any person convicted of § 2923.12(B)(1) "as it existed prior to June 13, 2022" to apply for expungement under § 2953.35.

The Statutory Framework After SB 215

§ 2923.111 - The Qualifying-Adult Definition and the Carry Authorization

Section 2923.111(A)(2) defines "qualifying adult" as a person who is all of:

"(a) Twenty-one years of age or older; (b) Not legally prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) to (9) or under section 2923.13 of the Revised Code or any other Revised Code provision; (c) Satisfies all of the criteria listed in divisions (D)(1)(a) to (j), (m), (p), (q), and (s) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code."

Subsection (B) is the operative carry rule: a qualifying adult is not required to obtain a CHL and may carry a concealed handgun that is not a restricted firearm "anywhere in this state in which a person who has been issued a concealed handgun license may carry a concealed handgun."

Two structural points matter. First, § 2923.111(B)(3) makes the qualifying-adult right co-extensive with the licensed-CHL right: a qualifying adult "is subject to the same restrictions as apply to a person who has been issued a concealed handgun license." The two pathways converge inside Ohio. Second, § 2923.111(C)(1) deems a qualifying adult to "have been issued a valid concealed handgun license" for purposes of every other Revised Code section that references a CHL. Rather than rewriting every cross-reference in Title 29, the legislature collapsed the two categories. The duty-to-inform in § 2923.12(B), the prohibited-places list in § 2923.126, the vehicle rules in § 2923.16, and the suspension regime in § 2923.128 all apply to qualifying adults exactly as they apply to CHL holders, with the exceptions called out in § 2923.111(C)(2).

§ 2923.12 - The Carve-Out for Qualifying Adults

Section 2923.12(A)(2) makes it an offense to knowingly carry, concealed on the person or concealed ready at hand, a handgun other than a dangerous ordnance. Section 2923.12(C)(2) creates the licensee carve-out: (A)(2) does not apply to any person who has been issued a valid CHL. Combined with § 2923.111(C)(1)(a) - which deems a qualifying adult to have been issued a valid CHL - the (C)(2) carve-out reaches qualifying adults too. A § 2923.12(A)(2) violation by a person under 21 or a § 2923.13 prohibited person remains a first-degree misdemeanor under § 2923.12(F)(1), with felony enhancements for priors, loaded firearms with ammunition ready at hand, dangerous ordnance, or aircraft.

Who Qualifies for Permitless Concealed Carry

You can carry a concealed handgun in Ohio without a CHL if you meet all of the following criteria from § 2923.111(A)(2):

• You are at least 21 years of age. § 2923.111(A)(2)(a). There is no permitless concealed-carry route for 18-to-20-year-olds.
• You are not federally prohibited. § 2923.111(A)(2)(b) incorporates the full federal disability list at 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) through (9): convicted felons, persons under indictment for a felony, fugitives, unlawful drug users or addicts, persons adjudicated mentally defective or committed, unlawful aliens, persons dishonorably discharged, persons who have renounced U.S. citizenship, persons subject to qualifying domestic-violence protective orders, and persons convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
• You are not state-prohibited under § 2923.13. Section 2923.13 ("having weapons while under disability") bars possession or carry by fugitives; persons under indictment for or convicted of any felony offense of violence or any felony drug offense; persons suffering from drug dependency or chronic alcoholism; and persons under adjudication of mental incompetence or commitment. A § 2923.13 violation is itself a third-degree felony.
• You are not prohibited under any other Revised Code provision. § 2923.111(A)(2)(b) is a catch-all.
• You meet the CHL eligibility floor at § 2923.125(D)(1)(a)-(j), (m), (p), (q), and (s). § 2923.111(A)(2)(c). The qualifying-adult definition incorporates by reference the substantive eligibility criteria a CHL applicant must satisfy - U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residency, no qualifying juvenile delinquency adjudications, no qualifying misdemeanor convictions within the lookback windows, no record of intoxication-related offenses meeting the statutory threshold, and so on. Training and application-process subsections are deliberately excluded from the cross-reference; that is why permitless carry has no training prerequisite. But the substantive disqualifiers still apply.

If any of these conditions fails, permitless carry does not protect you. The fix is not "get a CHL instead" - a § 2923.13 prohibited person cannot lawfully possess a firearm at all. An 18-to-20-year-old in Ohio cannot carry concealed in public absent the narrow active-duty military exception; open carry is the only practical pathway.

What Permitless Carry Covers - and What It Does Not

Ohio's permitless-carry framework is concealed-only by addition, not by extension. SB 215 did not change open carry, because Ohio open carry was already lawful for adults 18 or older not otherwise prohibited. Compare to Texas: HB 1927 (2021) extended permitless authority to both concealed and open handgun carry, because Texas had previously required a license for both. Ohio's structure is closer to Florida, where HB 543 (2023) made permitless concealed carry lawful but left a longstanding open-carry prohibition intact.

For an Ohio carrier, the practical map looks like this:

• Concealed carry of a handgun in public. Lawful for qualifying adults under § 2923.111(B)(2); lawful for CHL holders under § 2923.126(A). The pathways converge.
• Open carry of a handgun in public. Lawful for any adult 18 or older not federally or state-prohibited, no license required, subject to school safety zone (§ 2923.122) and courthouse (§ 2923.123) rules that apply to any firearm. R.C. § 9.68 preempts most local firearm regulation.
• Vehicle carry of a loaded handgun. Governed by § 2923.16. CHL holders and qualifying adults may transport a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle; anyone else is subject to § 2923.16's loaded-firearm-in-vehicle prohibitions.

Long guns are not subject to § 2923.111 or § 2923.12(A)(2) - those reach concealed handguns.

What Permitless Carry Does Not Change

SB 215 stripped out the licensing requirement for concealed handgun carry by qualifying adults. It left the rest of Ohio firearms law intact.

Prohibited Places Under § 2923.126(B)

Section 2923.126(B) lists locations where a CHL - and, by operation of § 2923.111(C)(1), a qualifying adult - may not carry a concealed handgun: police stations, sheriff's offices, and BCI premises; correctional institutions, jails, and detention facilities; the secured area of an airport passenger terminal; mental-health institutions operated under § 5119.14 or § 5123.03; school safety zones in violation of § 2923.122; courthouses in violation of § 2923.123; D-permit liquor establishments and certain open-air arenas in violation of § 2923.121; college and university premises (with narrow locked-vehicle and written-policy exceptions); places of worship that have not posted or otherwise permitted; state or political-subdivision government buildings (with narrow exceptions); and any place where federal law prohibits carry. See PROHIBITED_PLACES for the complete treatment.

Prohibited Persons Under § 2923.13 and Federal Law

The state-law disabilities in § 2923.13 and the federal disabilities in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) are unaffected by SB 215. SB 215 actually layers an additional automatic-loss provision on top: § 2923.111(C)(2) provides that if a qualifying adult subsequently becomes a person within any § 922(g)(1)-(9) category or any § 2923.13 category, "both of the following apply automatically and immediately": the (B) carry authority no longer applies, and the person is no longer deemed to have been issued a valid CHL. There is no grace period and no notice requirement.

Duty to Inform - Still Applies

This is the part students most often miss. Ohio retained the duty-to-inform rule in § 2923.12(B), and § 2923.111(B)(3) and (C)(1)(c) extend it to qualifying adults. When stopped for a law-enforcement purpose, it is an offense to: (B)(1) knowingly fail to disclose, before or at the time the officer asks, that the person is carrying a concealed handgun; (B)(2) knowingly fail to keep hands in plain sight after the officer begins approaching; (B)(3) knowingly remove, grasp, hold, or have hand contact with the loaded handgun after the officer begins approaching, except as directed; or (B)(4) knowingly disregard a lawful order of the officer.

SB 215 narrowed (B)(1) from a pre-existing affirmative "promptly notify" duty to a "do not lie or stay silent if asked" duty - the duty triggers when the officer asks. But the duty did not disappear, and (B)(2), (B)(3), and (B)(4) remain unchanged. A first violation of (B)(1) is a second-degree misdemeanor under § 2923.12(F)(3); (B)(2) or (B)(4) is a first-degree misdemeanor on first offense and a fifth-degree felony on subsequent offenses; (B)(3) is a fifth-degree felony. See DUTY_TO_INFORM.

Restricted Firearms

Section 2923.111(A)(1) defines a "restricted firearm" as a firearm that is dangerous ordnance or that any law of Ohio prohibits the subject person from possessing. The qualifying-adult authority covers only "a concealed handgun that is not a restricted firearm." Permitless carry does not authorize concealed carry of dangerous ordnance and does not override any other Revised Code provision that bars a particular person from possessing a particular firearm.

Federal Prohibitions

Federal law overlays Ohio law. The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q), continues to apply and prohibits possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a K-12 school, with an exemption at § 922(q)(2)(B)(ii) for license holders carrying within their issuing state. An Ohio permitless carrier does not get the § 922(q) license-holder exemption; an Ohio CHL holder does. Federal prohibitions on possession in federal facilities, post offices, federal courthouses, military installations, and the secure areas of airports apply regardless of state law.

Private Property Posting

Section 2923.126(C) preserves the right of private employers and property owners to exclude firearms. A property owner who posts a firearms-prohibited notice can lawfully exclude both CHL holders and permitless carriers; entering or remaining after notice is criminal trespass under R.C. § 2911.21.

Why the CHL Still Matters

The Ohio CHL is technically optional for in-state concealed carry by qualifying adults. It is not optional for several adjacent purposes:

• Reciprocity. Ohio constitutional carry stops at the state line. An Ohio CHL is recognized by 38 or more states under reciprocity agreements. Permitless-carry status is not portable.
• Federal Gun-Free School Zone exemption. 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2)(B)(ii) exempts license holders carrying inside their issuing state; an Ohio CHL fits, permitless status does not.
• NICS exemption at the point of sale. ATF exempts holders of qualifying state-issued carry licenses from the NICS background check at FFL purchase. An Ohio CHL is on the qualifying-permit list; permitless status is not.
• A formal training credential. Ohio CHL applicants must complete eight hours of training under § 2923.125(G), including a competency component. Permitless carry imposes no training requirement.
• A documented identity check. A CHL is issued only after the sheriff completes a background investigation. Some employment and federal-contractor contexts require a state-issued credential.

Treat the CHL as optional for in-state concealed carry and effectively required for out-of-state travel, federal school-zone proximity, and NICS exemption at the point of sale.

How Ohio Differs from Other Constitutional-Carry States

The practical scope of "constitutional carry" varies. Texas (HB 1927, 2021) extends permitless authority to both concealed and open handgun carry for qualifying adults (open must be holstered). Florida (HB 543, 2023) extends permitless authority to concealed only and continues to ban open carry generally. Kansas (SB 45, 2015) extends permitless authority to both modes for adults 21 or older. Ohio (SB 215, 2022) extends permitless authority to concealed only; open carry was already lawful for adults 18+ before SB 215 and remains lawful. Ohio and Florida are structurally similar in tying permitless eligibility to the licensed pathway's substantive eligibility floor - § 2923.111(A)(2)(c) cross-references the CHL floor at § 2923.125(D)(1).

Practical Guidance for Ohio Permitless Carriers

"Do I need to take a class?" No. SB 215 imposes no training requirement on qualifying adults. Ohio still requires eight hours for a CHL under § 2923.125(G). Training is voluntary by statute and necessary in fact.

"Can I carry openly without a permit?" Yes, if you are 18 or older and not federally or state-prohibited.

"What do I tell an officer if I am stopped while carrying concealed?" Comply with § 2923.12(B). Keep your hands in plain sight. Do not touch the handgun unless directed. If the officer asks whether you are carrying, answer truthfully and disclose. Comply with any lawful order. The proactive "promptly notify" duty was narrowed by SB 215, but the duty to disclose when asked is intact.

"Can I carry in my car?" Yes, as a qualifying adult or CHL holder. § 2923.16 governs vehicle carry of loaded handguns. See VEHICLE_CARRY.

"K-12 schools and college campuses?" Off-limits. § 2923.122 makes possession in a school safety zone an offense regardless of carry mode. § 2923.126(B)(5) bars concealed carry on college and university premises except in a locked motor vehicle or under an institution's written policy. Federal § 922(q) compounds the K-12 risk for permitless carriers.

"Visiting from another state?" Yes, if you are 21 or older and meet § 2923.111(A)(2). The catch is the return trip - when you cross the state line, the receiving state's law controls.

"18, 19, or 20?" No permitless concealed carry. Open carry remains available for non-prohibited 18-to-20-year-olds.

"What if I become a prohibited person after I started carrying permitlessly?" Stop immediately. § 2923.111(C)(2) terminates the (B) carry authority and deemed-CHL status "automatically and immediately." Continued carry exposes you to § 2923.12(A)(2) and § 2923.13 third-degree-felony prosecution.

Quick-Reference Table

The Bottom Line for Instructors and Students

Ohio permitless concealed carry says one thing clearly: an adult 21 or older who is not a prohibited person and who meets the eligibility floor cross-referenced into § 2923.111(A)(2)(c) does not need a CHL to carry a concealed handgun in Ohio. Everything else - the federal § 922(g) prohibitions, the state § 2923.13 disabilities, the prohibited-places list in § 2923.126(B), the duty-to-inform in § 2923.12(B), the vehicle rules in § 2923.16, the school safety zone and courthouse restrictions, the under-21 bar, and the reciprocity question - remains in full force. Permitless carry adds a concealed-carry pathway; it does not roll back any other restriction in Title 29. Treat the CHL as optional for in-state carry and effectively required for out-of-state travel, federal school-zone proximity, and NICS at the point of sale.

Ohio Prohibited Places for Concealed Carry

The bottom line

Ohio Revised Code § 2923.126(B) lists eight places where a Concealed Handgun License (CHL) holder may not carry: police and patrol stations and BCI-controlled premises (grouped with detention facilities, the secured side of airport terminals, and state mental-health and developmental-disability institutions); school safety zones (cross-referenced through § 2923.122); courthouses and any other building containing a courtroom (cross-referenced through § 2923.123); Class D liquor-permit premises (cross-referenced through § 2923.121); college and university premises (locked-vehicle exception); churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship unless the institution permits or posts otherwise; state and local government buildings unless the governing body has opted in; and any place where federal law prohibits firearms. Federal law adds postal property under 39 C.F.R. § 232.1(l), federal facilities under 18 U.S.C. § 930, and the 1,000-foot Gun-Free School Zone under 18 U.S.C. § 922(q).

The list applies identically to CHL holders and to Ohio's permitless "qualifying adults" under § 2923.111. § 2923.111(C)(1)(d) provides that any Revised Code provision whose application turns on whether the person is or is not a concealed handgun licensee "shall be applied to a person who is a qualifying adult in the same manner as if the person was a concealed handgun licensee." Ohio's 2022 constitutional-carry framework did not relax the § 2923.126(B) map. The same eight statutory prohibitions and the same § 2923.122 and § 2923.123 offenses run on the same terms for both groups.

The CHL still buys two practical advantages. First, the federal Gun-Free School Zone exemption at 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2)(B)(ii) requires a state-issued license tied to a background-check qualifications determination - Ohio's CHL qualifies, permitless carry does not. Second, the two motor-vehicle-based carve-outs in § 2923.122(D)(3) and (D)(4) are written for CHL holders and active-duty military with documentation; a qualifying adult reads into those carve-outs through § 2923.111(C)(1)(d), but the cleaner posture for school-zone carry is to hold the license.

The § 2923.126(B) enumeration

§ 2923.126(B) is the operative list. The text says a "valid license does not authorize the licensee to carry a concealed handgun into any of the following places," and § 2923.111(C)(1)(d) carries the same restriction across to qualifying adults.

The (B) list is the umbrella, but the operative criminal offenses are spread across several Revised Code sections. § 2923.122 sets the school-safety-zone offense and its penalty. § 2923.123 sets the courthouse offense. § 2923.121 sets the liquor-permit-premises offense. § 2923.126(B) itself operates as a permission-scope rule on the CHL and qualifying-adult right to carry. Add the posted-sign trespass framework in § 2923.126(C)(3) and § 2911.21(A)(4), and the practical map of off-limits places is broader than § 2923.126(B) alone.

Police stations, jails, airports, and state institutions: § 2923.126(B)(1)

§ 2923.126(B)(1) groups several distinct categories into one prohibition:

• Police, sheriff, and state highway patrol stations. The reach is the entire station, not just the secure interior. A carrier walking into a police-department lobby to file a report has crossed into a (B)(1) location. Some Ohio sheriff's offices accept a firearm at a front-desk locker; many do not. Leave the firearm secured in the vehicle before approaching the building.
• Premises controlled by the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI). Narrower in reach but covering BCI's London, Bowling Green, and Richfield facilities.
• State correctional institutions, jails, workhouses, and other detention facilities. The entire facility, including jail visitor entrances.
• Airport passenger terminals beyond a passenger or property screening checkpoint, and any restricted-access area. The Ohio rule begins at the federal screening checkpoint, not at the terminal entrance. Curbside, ticket counters, and baggage claim are outside the (B)(1) reach. Crossing the TSA line with a firearm is the violation; federal aviation security law and TSA civil penalties operate independently.
• Institutions operated under § 5119.14(A) or § 5123.03(A)(1). State-operated mental-health hospitals and state-operated developmental-disability institutions.

There is no licensee carve-out for any of the (B)(1) categories.

School safety zones: § 2923.122

§ 2923.122 is the operative school-property statute. § 2923.122(A) prohibits knowingly conveying a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a school safety zone; § 2923.122(B) prohibits knowingly possessing one in a school safety zone. The default penalty under § 2923.122(E)(1) is a fifth-degree felony, escalating to a fourth-degree felony on a prior § 2923.122 conviction. § 2923.122(C) creates a separate offense for possession of an object indistinguishable from a firearm - first-degree misdemeanor on first offense, fifth-degree felony on prior.

CHL and qualifying-adult exposure on school grounds runs through § 2923.122(D), which contains two motor-vehicle-based carve-outs and an armed-school-personnel pathway.

§ 2923.122(D)(3) - perimeter carry without entering. § 2923.122 does not apply if all four of the following apply: (a) the person does not enter into a school building or onto school premises and is not at a school activity; (b) the person holds a valid CHL or is active-duty military with § 2923.125(G)(1) documentation; (c) the person is in the school safety zone in accordance with 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2)(B); and (d) the person is not knowingly in a place described in § 2923.126(B)(1) or (B)(3) to (8). This is the carve-out that lets a CHL holder carry concealed on a public sidewalk adjacent to a school, drive past a school, or walk a residential block within the federal 1,000-foot zone.

§ 2923.122(D)(4) - locked-vehicle storage on school property. § 2923.122 does not apply if all four of the following apply: (a) the person holds a valid CHL or is active-duty military with documentation; (b) the person leaves the handgun in a motor vehicle; (c) the handgun does not leave the motor vehicle; and (d) if the person exits the vehicle, the person locks it. A parent picking up a child can lawfully leave a handgun secured in a locked vehicle in the school parking lot. Walking the handgun into the building, into the gym, or onto the athletic field strips the carve-out.

Both (D)(3) and (D)(4) are written for CHL holders and active-duty military. Qualifying adults read into both carve-outs through § 2923.111(C)(1)(d).

§ 2923.122(D)(1)(d) - armed school personnel. Following 2022's HB 99, § 2923.122(D)(1)(d) creates a written-authorization pathway for school personnel to go armed on school grounds. The path requires written authorization from the school board or governing body, completion of the curriculum and training established under § 5502.703 (or completion of an approved basic peace-officer training program, or status as a law enforcement officer), and a public-notice step by the board. The board must also require an annual criminal-records check. § 2923.122(D)(1)(a)-(c) cover parallel exemptions for state and federal officers, sworn law enforcement, and contracted school security officers. § 2923.122(D)(1)(e) extends to other state-employed personnel authorized to carry under § 109.801 unless the appointing authority has expressly disclaimed the exemption.

Courthouses: § 2923.123

§ 2923.123(A) prohibits knowingly conveying a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a courthouse or another building in which a courtroom is located; § 2923.123(B) prohibits knowingly possessing or controlling one. The reach is the entire building when a courtroom is inside - clerk's offices, probation offices, mediation rooms, and adjoining municipal-services offices in a multi-use building containing a courtroom all fall within § 2923.123. Penalties under § 2923.123(D)(1) and (D)(2) are fifth-degree felonies by default, escalating to fourth-degree felonies on a prior § 2923.123 conviction.

The CHL exemption is narrow. § 2923.123(C)(6) exempts a person who conveys a handgun into a courthouse if the person holds a valid CHL (or is active-duty military with § 2923.125(G)(1) documentation) and transfers possession of the handgun to the officer or officer's designee in charge of the courthouse, who then secures it until the licensee is ready to leave. The exemption applies only if the officer in charge provides services of that nature; the officer is not required to offer those services. Most Ohio courthouses do not run a check-and-store program. Crossing the screening line in reliance on (C)(6) at a courthouse that does not is a § 2923.123 felony. § 2923.123(E) further overrides every (C) exemption - including (C)(6) - if a Supreme Court rule of superintendence or a local court rule prohibits weapons in the courthouse. Local rules are common.

Class D liquor permit premises: § 2923.126(B)(4)

§ 2923.126(B)(4) prohibits CHL or qualifying-adult carry on the premises or open-air arena of any business holding a Class D liquor permit under Revised Code Chapter 4303 if the carry would violate § 2923.121. § 2923.121 prohibits possessing a firearm on Class D premises while consuming any beer or intoxicating liquor, and prohibits possession when the carrier is under the influence. Class D permits cover bars, restaurants serving on-premises alcohol, hotels with on-premises liquor service, and similar venues. A CHL holder who walks into a restaurant to pick up takeout has not violated (B)(4) merely by being on the premises with a concealed handgun. A CHL holder who orders a beer at the bar has - consumption-while-armed is the operative element under § 2923.121. The cleaner posture for any on-premises drinking is to disarm and store before consuming any alcohol. A Class D permittee may also post a § 2923.126(C)(3) "no firearms" sign that converts the carry exposure into a fourth-degree-misdemeanor criminal-trespass offense regardless of whether alcohol is being consumed.

College and university premises: § 2923.126(B)(5)

§ 2923.126(B)(5) prohibits carry on premises owned or leased by any public or private college, university, or other institution of higher education. Two carve-outs.

Locked-vehicle exception. The (B)(5) prohibition does not apply if the handgun is in a locked motor vehicle, or if the licensee is in the immediate process of placing the handgun in a locked motor vehicle. A CHL holder or qualifying adult may drive onto a public-university or community-college campus and store the firearm in the locked vehicle while attending class, working, or visiting. The handgun must be inside the vehicle and the vehicle must be locked at any time the carrier is not actively placing or retrieving it.

Institutional-policy carve-out. The (B)(5) prohibition does not apply if the licensee is carrying pursuant to a written policy, rule, or other authorization adopted by the institution's board of trustees or other governing body authorizing specific individuals or classes to carry on the premises. Most Ohio public universities have not adopted one. Where an institution has, the permission is limited to the named categories.

§ 2923.126(C)(2)(c) gives the institution civil immunity for injury, death, or loss allegedly caused by a licensee bringing a handgun onto the premises (absent malicious purpose) and for the institution's decision to permit or prohibit carry - the immunity protects discretion in either direction.

Places of worship: § 2923.126(B)(6)

§ 2923.126(B)(6) prohibits carry in any church, synagogue, mosque, or other place of worship "unless the church, synagogue, mosque, or other place of worship posts or permits otherwise." The default is no-carry; the institution's permission, by posting or other means, opens the premises. Many Ohio congregations have adopted written firearms policies - some permitting carry by named security-team members, some permitting general member carry, some preserving the default. Confirm the institution's policy before relying on (B)(6) permission. A posted "no firearms" sign also triggers the § 2923.126(C)(3) trespass framework.

Government buildings: § 2923.126(B)(7) and § 2923.126(G)(3)

§ 2923.126(B)(7) prohibits carry in any building that is a government facility of the state or a political subdivision and that is not used primarily as a shelter, restroom, parking facility, or rest facility, and is not a courthouse or other building containing a courtroom subject to (B)(3) - unless the governing body with authority over the building has enacted a statute, ordinance, or policy permitting a licensee to carry. § 2923.126(G)(3) defines a covered "government facility" as a building or part of a building owned or leased by the government where employees regularly are present to perform their official duties, plus the office of a deputy registrar serving Chapter 4503 functions.

The reach is broad: township halls, city halls, county administration buildings, public libraries operated as governmental units, public health departments, license bureaus, and deputy-registrar BMV offices all fall within (B)(7). The four narrow exceptions - shelter, restroom, parking facility, rest facility - are typically free-standing structures, not offices in a multi-use government building. The opt-in mechanism is the escape valve: a municipal council, township trustees, county commissioners, library board, or other governing body may enact a statute, ordinance, or policy permitting carry in a specified building. Some Ohio political subdivisions have; many have not. The default is no-carry.

Federal-law-prohibited places: § 2923.126(B)(8)

§ 2923.126(B)(8) is the federal-incorporation hook. Any place where the carrying of handguns is prohibited by federal law is also prohibited under Ohio law.

• Federal facilities under 18 U.S.C. § 930. Federal buildings owned or leased by the federal government where federal employees are regularly present to perform their official duties - IRS offices, Social Security offices, federal agency headquarters. § 930(a) is a federal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year. § 930(e) is the felony tier for federal court facilities, up to two years (and § 930(b) adds up to five years for possession with intent to commit a crime). Notice must be posted at each public entrance under § 930(h); a person cannot be convicted under § 930(a) or (e) without posted notice unless the person had actual notice.
• U.S. Postal Service property under 39 C.F.R. § 232.1(l). "No person while on postal property may carry firearms, other dangerous or deadly weapons, or explosives, either openly or concealed, or store the same on postal property, except for official purposes." Reaches the entire postal property, including parking lots.
• VA facilities under VA regulations; military installations under DOD policy; secured areas of airports under federal aviation security law (§ 2923.126(B)(1) covers a broader Ohio perimeter). National parks allow carry to the extent state law allows; federal buildings within the park are still § 930 facilities.

The Gun-Free School Zones Act: 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)

18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2)(A) makes it a federal offense to knowingly possess a firearm at a place the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe is a school zone. A "school zone" is the grounds of a public, parochial, or private K-12 school and the area within 1,000 feet of those grounds.

§ 922(q)(2)(B)(ii) exempts a person "licensed to do so by the State in which the school zone is located" if the law of the state requires the law-enforcement authorities to verify, before issuance, that the individual is qualified under law to receive the license. Ohio's CHL qualifies; § 2923.125 requires a fingerprint-based background check and a sheriff's qualifications determination. Permitless qualifying adults under § 2923.111 do not qualify. A qualifying adult carrying without a CHL through a residential block within 1,000 feet of a K-12 school can violate § 922(q) even though Ohio's § 2923.122(D)(3) carve-out lets the carrier walk past the same school under Ohio law. § 922(q) is punishable by up to five years. K-12 zones blanket large portions of urban and suburban Ohio. The CHL removes the federal exposure; permitless carry does not.

Posted private property: § 2923.126(C)(3) and § 2911.21(A)(4)

Ohio gives private property owners (and certain leaseholders of government-owned land) a statutory mechanism to convert "no firearms" notice into a criminal offense. § 2923.126(C)(3)(a) authorizes the owner or person in control of private land or premises to "post a sign in a conspicuous location on that land or on those premises prohibiting persons from carrying firearms or concealed firearms on or onto that land or those premises." A knowing violation is criminal trespass under § 2911.21(A)(4) - a fourth-degree misdemeanor.

Two refinements. Parking-lot rule. If the posted land or premises is primarily a parking lot or other parking facility, the violation is not a criminal trespass under § 2911.21 or any other criminal law; the violator is subject only to a civil cause of action. Day-care upgrade. If the posted land or premises is a child day-care center, type A family day-care home, or type B family day-care home, the violation is aggravated trespass under § 2911.211 - a first-degree misdemeanor by default, escalating to a fourth-degree felony if the offender has a prior (C)(3) violation or any offense of violence, if the firearm is loaded or has ammunition ready at hand, or if the weapon is dangerous ordnance. A posted in-home day-care looks like an ordinary residence, and an unwary carrier walking up the front walk to drop off a child has crossed into elevated criminal exposure.

§ 2923.126(C)(3)(b) preserves a residential-tenant carve-out: a landlord may not prohibit or restrict a tenant who is a licensee, and who entered into a rental agreement on or after September 9, 2008, from lawfully carrying or possessing a handgun on the residential premises, including by the tenant's guest while the tenant is present. "Residential premises" excludes a dwelling unit owned or operated by a college or university.

Private employers: § 2923.126(C)(1) and (C)(2)

§ 2923.126(C)(1) preserves a private employer's right (other than a private college or university) to set rules concerning or prohibiting firearms on the employer's premises, including in motor vehicles owned by the employer. Nothing in § 2923.126 requires a private employer to adopt such a rule. A private employer's "no firearms" policy is enforced through the employment relationship and the (C)(3) posted-sign framework, not through (B) directly. § 2923.126(C)(2) provides civil immunity to private employers, political subdivisions (through Chapter 2744), institutions of higher education, and nonprofit corporations for injury, death, or loss allegedly caused by a licensee bringing a handgun onto the premises (absent malicious purpose), and for the entity's decision to permit or prohibit carry.

Penalties, in plain language

A felony conviction under § 2923.122 or § 2923.123 is a federal § 922(g)(1) lifetime prohibitor. A momentary lapse at a courthouse metal detector or a step into a posted school building can end a person's ability to lawfully possess any firearm anywhere. The day-care first-degree-misdemeanor floor under § 2911.211 also matters - a posted in-home day-care looks like an ordinary residence, and an unwary carrier walking up the front walk to drop off a child has crossed into elevated criminal exposure.

The licensee's edge

An Ohio CHL removes categories of legal exposure that a permitless qualifying adult under § 2923.111 faces:

1. Federal Gun-Free School Zones Act exemption. The 1,000-foot zone around every K-12 school in Ohio disappears for a CHL holder under 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2)(B)(ii). The qualifying-adult carrier carries the federal exposure wherever a school sits, even where § 2923.122(D)(3) would not reach the conduct under Ohio law.
2. Cleaner reading of the § 2923.122(D)(3) and (D)(4) carve-outs. Both school-safety-zone exceptions are written for "a person who has been issued a concealed handgun license" plus active-duty military. § 2923.111(C)(1)(d) extends the carve-outs to qualifying adults by operation of law, but the operative document at the moment of charging is the CHL.
3. Reciprocity. The CHL unlocks recognition under reciprocity agreements with most other states; qualifying-adult permitless carry does not travel.

The map of off-limits locations under § 2923.126(B), § 2923.122, § 2923.123, and federal law is identical for both groups. § 2923.111(C)(1)(d) makes that explicit. The defenses, the carve-outs, and the federal-law exposure are not.

Ohio Vehicle Carry Laws

In Ohio, you may have a loaded handgun accessible to the operator or passengers in a motor vehicle if you are a concealed handgun license (CHL) holder or a "qualifying adult" under Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.111. Without CHL or qualifying-adult status, the rule reverses: under Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.16(B) you cannot knowingly transport or have a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle in such a manner that it is accessible to the operator or any passenger without leaving the vehicle, and any firearm in the car must be unloaded and carried in one of the four configurations enumerated in § 2923.16(C). Ohio's in-vehicle framework is built around § 2923.16 ("Improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle"), and that single statute governs the loaded-handgun rule, the unloaded-transport configurations, the impairment prohibition, and the duty-to-inform that applies during traffic stops.

The Operative Rule: § 2923.16

§ 2923.16 contains four prohibitions plus a duty-to-inform overlay:

• § 2923.16(A): No knowing discharge from a motor vehicle. Felony 4th degree under § 2923.16(I). Narrow agricultural and hunting carve-outs in § 2923.16(F)(2)-(3) authorize discharge at coyote, groundhog, or game birds under specific permit and zoning conditions.
• § 2923.16(B): No knowing transport or possession of a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle "in such a manner that the firearm is accessible to the operator or any passenger without leaving the vehicle." Felony 4th degree. Core prohibition for non-CHL non-qualifying-adult drivers.
• § 2923.16(C): Any firearm in a motor vehicle must be lawfully possessed, unloaded, and carried in one of four enumerated configurations. Misdemeanor 4th degree.
• § 2923.16(D): No loaded handgun in a motor vehicle while impaired under § 4511.19(A) (Ohio's OVI statute). Felony 5th degree, escalating to 4th if the handgun is concealed on the person.
• § 2923.16(E): Duty-to-inform during a stop. Applies to CHL holders and qualifying military service members with a loaded handgun in the vehicle.

§ 2923.16 borrows the § 4511.01 traffic-code definition of "motor vehicle."

The Unloaded-Transport Configurations: § 2923.16(C)

For a non-CHL non-qualifying-adult driver, § 2923.16(C) requires the firearm be unloaded and carried in one of four configurations:

1. § 2923.16(C)(1) - Closed package, box, or case. A factory pistol box, a hard-sided gun case, a soft zippered case, or any closed container. The container must be closed.
2. § 2923.16(C)(2) - Compartment reachable only by leaving the vehicle. A sedan trunk, a locked truck-bed toolbox, or a separate cargo compartment with no interior pass-through. An SUV cargo area accessible from the back seat does not.
3. § 2923.16(C)(3) - In plain sight and secured in a rack or holder made for the purpose. A purpose-built gun rack or rear-window long-gun rack qualifies.
4. § 2923.16(C)(4) - Long-arm rule. If the firearm is at least 24 inches overall (muzzle to furthest point of stock) with at least an 18-inch barrel, it may be carried in plain sight with the action open or stripped, or - if the action will not stay open and the weapon cannot easily be stripped - simply in plain sight.

What does not satisfy (C): a handgun loose under a seat; a handgun in an unzipped soft case; a handgun in an open glove compartment; a long gun on the back seat with action closed and not stripped (fails (C)(4) - not in a "rack or holder").

"Unloaded" - § 2923.16(K)(5)

§ 2923.16(K)(5)(a) defines "unloaded" precisely: no ammunition in the firearm; no magazine or speed loader with ammunition inserted; and either no compatible loaded magazine anywhere in the vehicle, or any such loaded magazine stored in a compartment that cannot be accessed without leaving the vehicle, or in a "container that provides complete and separate enclosure."

§ 2923.16(K)(5)(b) defines the container generously: a multi-compartment case with firearm and loaded magazine in different compartments; or in the same compartment, a separate fastened enclosure (snap, button, zipper, hook-and-loop). A pocket on the carrier's person closed by such a fastener also qualifies. Stripper-clips and en-bloc clips are not "magazines" (§ 2923.16(K)(5)(c)).

A non-CHL driver cannot have a loose handgun and a loose loaded magazine in the same cabin - the magazine must live in a separate fastened pouch, in the trunk, or in a separate compartment.

§ 2923.16(L) CHL allowance. A valid CHL holder may keep loaded magazines or speed loaders "anywhere in a vehicle without further restriction," provided no ammunition is loaded into any firearm in the vehicle other than a handgun. Qualifying adults inherit this via § 2923.111(C)(1).

The CHL / Qualifying-Adult Exception: § 2923.16(F)(5)

§ 2923.16(F)(5) is the gateway. Divisions (B) and (C) do not apply to a person who transports or possesses a handgun in a motor vehicle if both of the following apply:

• The person has been issued a CHL valid at the time, or is an active-duty service member with a valid military ID card and documentation of firearms training meeting § 2923.125(G)(1).
• The person is not knowingly in a place described in § 2923.126(B) - the prohibited-places list (police stations, courthouses, K-12 safety zones, college and university premises subject to the (C)(3)(a) carve-out, detention facilities, places of worship that posted otherwise, and any place federal law prohibits firearms).

§ 2923.111(C)(1) extends every CHL right and limit in § 2923.16 and § 2923.12 to a "qualifying adult" - a person 21 or older who is not federally prohibited under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) to (9) and who meets the § 2923.125(D)(1) federal-disqualifier criteria. A qualifying adult is "deemed to have been issued a valid concealed handgun license" for these purposes.

The practical effect: a loaded handgun may be carried anywhere in the vehicle - holstered, in the glove compartment, console, seat, or under the seat. No closed package, separate compartment, rack, or stripped configuration is required. Magazines may be anywhere (§ 2923.16(L)).

Driving onto a § 2923.126(B) prohibited place withdraws the (F)(5) exception, and the CHL holder is back under § 2923.16(B) (likely also facing a § 2923.122 school-safety-zone or § 2923.123 courthouse charge).

Long Guns

§ 2923.16(F)(5) reaches "a handgun" only. A CHL holder transporting a rifle or shotgun is governed by § 2923.16(B) and (C) on the same terms as any non-licensed driver. § 2923.16(G)(1) preserves the § 2923.12(D)(1)-(2) affirmative defenses (defensive purpose during lawful business or activity) for a long-arm charge. § 2923.16(L) excludes ammunition loaded into long guns from the magazine allowance.

Impairment: § 2923.16(D)

§ 2923.16(D) is an absolute impairment prohibition that overrides the § 2923.16(F)(5) CHL exception. No person - CHL holder or otherwise - may knowingly transport or have a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle if either applies:

• § 2923.16(D)(1): Under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination.
• § 2923.16(D)(2): Alcohol or controlled-substance concentration "prohibited for persons operating a vehicle, as specified in division (A) of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code." Ohio's per se OVI thresholds (0.08 BAC and listed drug levels) are imported by reference.

§ 2923.16(D) applies "regardless of whether the person ... is the operator of or a passenger." A CHL-holding passenger over the OVI per se limit with a loaded handgun commits the offense even if a sober driver is at the wheel. Felony 5th, escalating to 4th if the handgun is concealed on the person.

Duty to Inform at Traffic Stops: § 2923.16(E)

§ 2923.16(E) applies to any CHL holder, any qualifying adult (via § 2923.111(C)(1)), or any qualifying active-duty service member who has a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle that is stopped "as a result of a traffic stop or a stop for another law enforcement purpose." Five duties apply:

• § 2923.16(E)(1): Before or at the time the officer asks if the person is carrying a concealed handgun, the person must disclose that he or she possesses or has a loaded handgun in the vehicle. Disclosure to one officer satisfies the duty as to other officers in the same stop. Misdemeanor of the second degree.
• § 2923.16(E)(2): Same rule for a motor carrier enforcement unit employee during a commercial-vehicle stop. Misdemeanor of the second degree.
• § 2923.16(E)(3): Remain in the vehicle and keep hands in plain sight from the moment the officer begins approaching until the officer leaves, unless directed otherwise. Misdemeanor of the first degree, escalating to a felony of the fifth degree on a second offense.
• § 2923.16(E)(4): No knowing contact with the loaded handgun - no touching it with hands or fingers - at any time after the officer begins approaching and before the officer leaves, unless directed by the officer. Felony of the fifth degree.
• § 2923.16(E)(5): No knowing disregard of a lawful officer order, including a specific order to keep hands in plain sight. Misdemeanor of the first degree, escalating to a felony of the fifth degree on a second offense.

The § 2923.16(E)(1) "before or at the time the officer asks" trigger is Ohio's affirmative duty-to-inform formulation. It is keyed to the officer's question, not to unprompted disclosure, but voluntarily disclosing on first contact is the safe practice - waiting for the question creates ambiguity about timeliness. § 2923.12(B)(1), the on-foot CHL parallel, uses identical phrasing. A § 2923.16(E)(3) or (E)(5) misdemeanor also triggers automatic CHL suspension under § 2923.128(A)(2).

College and University Locked-Vehicle Exception: § 2923.126(C)(3)(a)

§ 2923.126(B)(5) prohibits a CHL holder (or qualifying adult via § 2923.111(C)(1)) from carrying a concealed handgun on premises of any public or private college, university, or other institution of higher education. The prohibition does not apply if "the handgun is in a locked motor vehicle or the licensee is in the immediate process of placing the handgun in a locked motor vehicle."

The practical rule on a campus parking lot:

• A handgun in a locked vehicle parked on campus is permitted. Lock the doors. Lock the handgun inside the locked vehicle.
• The carrier may step out armed only "in the immediate process of placing the handgun in a locked motor vehicle." Walking the campus with a holstered handgun falls outside the carve-out.
• The carve-out is one direction only - carry in to lock up; do not carry out for any campus errand.

This is one of only a handful of § 2923.126(B) prohibited places with a locked-vehicle escape valve. The school-safety-zone provision in § 2923.126(B)(2) (incorporating § 2923.122) and the courthouse provision in § 2923.126(B)(3) (incorporating § 2923.123) do not have one.

Posted Parking Lots: § 2923.126(C)(3)(a)

§ 2923.126(C)(3)(a) authorizes the owner or person in control of private land to post a no-firearms sign. A knowing violation is criminal trespass under § 2911.21(A)(4), a misdemeanor 4th. The same provision contains a parking-lot relaxation: if the posted premises "primarily was a parking lot or other parking facility," the violator "is not guilty of criminal trespass ... and instead is subject only to a civil cause of action for trespass."

A no-firearms sign on a parking-lot-primary premises does not create a criminal violation for the CHL holder who drives onto the lot. A sign covering the building itself can ground a § 2911.21 criminal trespass when the carrier walks in armed; the lot is downgraded to civil exposure only.

Federal Interstate Transport: 18 U.S.C. § 926A

18 U.S.C. § 926A (FOPA) provides an interstate transport defense. A person who may lawfully possess the firearm at origin and destination may transport it through any state if: the firearm is unloaded; neither firearm nor ammunition is "readily accessible or directly accessible from the passenger compartment"; and if the vehicle has no separate compartment from the passenger area (hatchback, SUV, pickup with no cap), both must be in a "locked container other than the glove compartment or console."

For an Ohio CHL holder driving in Ohio, § 926A is unnecessary because § 2923.16(F)(5) already permits loaded carry. § 926A becomes relevant when crossing into a more restrictive jurisdiction (Illinois, New York, New Jersey, D.C.). § 926A is an affirmative defense - a driver can be arrested in a transit state even when the statute applies. Reasonable continuous transit is implied; long stops or side trips risk losing the protection.

Federal Facilities, Postal Property, and School Zones

• 18 U.S.C. § 930 prohibits firearms in a federal facility; Ohio's § 2923.126(B)(8) incorporates this into the prohibited-places list.
• 39 C.F.R. § 232.1 prohibits firearms on USPS real property, which courts have read to include post office parking lots. A handgun in a vehicle on a post office lot is exposed under federal law even though Ohio § 2923.16(F)(5) allows it.
• 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) prohibits firearms within 1,000 feet of K-12 school grounds. § 922(q)(2)(B)(ii) exempts state license holders. Ohio CHL holders are exempt; qualifying adults under § 2923.111 are not, because § 2923.111 is not a license. A qualifying adult with a handgun in the glove compartment commits a federal misdemeanor by passing within 1,000 feet of a K-12 school. The CHL closes the federal gap.

Agriculture and State Capitol Carve-Outs

§ 2923.16(F)(1) exempts government officers and qualifying private security under § 109.801. § 2923.16(F)(4) lifts § 2923.16(B) and (C) for a driver on real property in an unincorporated township zoned for or used for agriculture, where the person owns or is a spouse / child / tenant of the owner, and the firearm was not transported on a public road in violation of (B) or (C) before arriving. § 2923.16(F)(7) authorizes a firearm in a locked vehicle parked in the State Capitol underground garage or the Riffe Center garage in Columbus, provided the transport there was lawful.

Traffic-Stop Procedure

The § 2923.16(E) duties create real exposure. Pull over promptly, turn off engine and radio, lower the window, and place both hands on the steering wheel. § 2923.16(E)(3) requires hands stay in plain sight from the moment the officer begins approaching. Do not retrieve documents from any compartment until instructed - reaching into a compartment containing a handgun before disclosure invites a § 2923.16(E)(4) firearm-contact charge.

If you are a CHL holder or qualifying adult with a loaded handgun in the vehicle, disclose immediately on first contact. § 2923.16(E)(1) requires disclosure "before or at the time" the officer asks. A typical statement: "Officer, I have a Concealed Handgun License (or I am a qualifying adult under § 2923.111). I have a loaded handgun (location). My license is in my back pocket." Hand over only the documents requested and surrender the firearm if asked. § 2923.16(J) requires the officer to return the firearm at the end of the stop unless the person is charged, arrested, prohibited, or the firearm is contraband.

Common Scenarios

CHL holder driving home from a gun store. § 2923.16(F)(5) permits loaded carry anywhere in the vehicle. § 2923.16(L) allows loaded magazines anywhere.

Non-CHL under-21 driving home from a gun store. § 2923.16(C) controls. Handgun must be unloaded under § 2923.16(K)(5) in a closed package, box, or case (factory pistol box satisfies (C)(1)). Loaded magazines must live in a separate compartment, multi-compartment container with the firearm in another section, or separately fastened enclosure.

CHL holder pulling into a public university parking lot. § 2923.126(B)(5) prohibits carrying on campus, but § 2923.126(C)(3)(a) authorizes leaving the handgun in the locked car. The carrier may walk armed only "in the immediate process of placing the handgun in a locked motor vehicle."

CHL holder pulling into an elementary school parking lot. § 2923.126(B)(2) and § 2923.122 govern. The (C)(3)(a) locked-vehicle carve-out does not extend to K-12 safety zones. Federal § 922(q) is the harder rule for non-CHL qualifying adults.

Two beers and a loaded handgun in the console. § 2923.16(D) prohibits it. The (F)(5) exception does not save the impaired driver. Felony 5th, escalating to 4th if the handgun is concealed on the person.

CHL holder pulling into a courthouse parking lot. § 2923.126(B)(3) prohibits carrying into the courthouse. § 2923.126(C)(3)(a) reduces a posted-lot violation to civil trespass only, but the courthouse building is the line. Lock the handgun in the car.

Post office parking lot. 39 C.F.R. § 232.1 reaches USPS real property including the lot. The locked car is exposed under federal law even though Ohio law allows the handgun in the car.

Crossing into Indiana, Kentucky, or Pennsylvania. Confirm reciprocity at the Ohio Attorney General's office. If destination law is more restrictive than § 2923.16, plan under 18 U.S.C. § 926A.

Penalty Grid

Key Statutes Reference

Ambiguities and Notes

• § 2923.16(F)(5) requires both a valid CHL (or qualifying-adult status) and that the carrier not be "knowingly in a place described in § 2923.126(B)." Driving onto a § 2923.126(B) prohibited place withdraws the exception.
• The § 2923.126(C)(3)(a) college-campus locked-vehicle exception is one direction only. Carrying in to lock up is permitted; carrying out for a campus errand is not.
• § 2923.16(K)(5)'s "unloaded" definition is more demanding than § 926A's. A loaded magazine cannot ride next to the unloaded firearm in the same compartment without a separate fastened enclosure. § 2923.16(L) waives this for CHL holders only.
• § 2923.16(E)(1) is triggered "before or at the time" the officer asks. Voluntarily disclosing on first contact is the safe practice; waiting for the question creates timing ambiguity.
• § 2923.16(F)(5) reaches "a handgun" only. CHL long-gun transport follows § 2923.16(B) and (C) rules, with § 2923.12(D)(1)-(2) defenses preserved by § 2923.16(G)(1).
• § 926A is litigated as an affirmative defense - arrest is possible even when the statute applies.
• 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2)(B)(ii) is keyed to a state license. CHL holders are exempt; qualifying adults are not, because § 2923.111 is not a license.

Source Information

• Ohio Revised Code, Title XXIX, Chapter 2923 - §§ 2923.111, 2923.12, 2923.16 (operative), 2923.122, 2923.125, 2923.126. Last scraped 2026-05-08.
• Ohio Revised Code § 4511.19 (OVI thresholds incorporated by § 2923.16(D)(2)).
• 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), § 922(q), § 926A; § 930; 39 C.F.R. § 232.1 (federal carry overlay).

Ohio Use of Force Laws

The bottom line

Ohio allows the use of force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of one's residence under R.C. § 2901.05(B)(1). Two structural features distinguish Ohio's framework from every other state. First, in 2018, Ohio became the last state in the country to flip the burden of proof on self-defense onto the prosecution: under H.B. 228 (effective March 28, 2019), once the defendant produces evidence tending to support self-defense, defense of another, or defense of residence, the State must disprove that defense beyond a reasonable doubt. Before 2018, an Ohio defendant carried the burden by a preponderance. Second, in 2021, S.B. 175 (effective April 6, 2021) added R.C. § 2901.09(B), eliminating the duty to retreat in any place a person is lawfully entitled to be. Ohio is now both a Stand Your Ground state and a state in which the prosecution must affirmatively disprove justification.

For an Ohio concealed-handgun-license (CHL) holder, the practical rules are: (1) you may use proportionate force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of your residence under § 2901.05(B)(1); (2) inside your residence or occupied vehicle, the § 2901.05(B)(2) Castle Doctrine presumption treats you as having acted in proper self-defense or defense of another when you use defensive force intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm against a person who unlawfully and without privilege entered or is attempting to enter; (3) the § 2901.05(B)(2) presumption does not apply if the person against whom force is used had a right to be in or is a lawful resident of the residence or vehicle, or if you are unlawfully present yourself (§ 2901.05(B)(3)); (4) the presumption is rebuttable, but the State's underlying burden to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt is unchanged (§ 2901.05(B)(4)); (5) under § 2901.09(B), you have no duty to retreat in any place you lawfully have a right to be - at home, in your vehicle, on the street, in a parking lot, or in a place of business; (6) under § 2901.09(C), the trier of fact may not even consider whether you could have retreated when evaluating whether the force you used was reasonable.

A pair of important Ohio-specific gaps follows. Ohio does not have a statute analogous to the express civil-immunity provisions adopted in some other Stand Your Ground states; civil exposure for a justified use of force is governed by Ohio common-law self-defense doctrines applied in the civil context, not by a dedicated immunity statute. And unlike the codified evidentiary rules in some neighboring states, Ohio's aggressor doctrine, the elements of self-defense beyond what § 2901.05 codifies, and the contours of "reasonable belief" continue to come from Ohio common law and the criminal jury instructions courts give.

Key terms

• Defensive force. R.C. § 2901.05(B)(2) refers to "defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm." Ohio's statutory presumption keys off this category - defensive force at the deadly-force level. Lower-level force (a shove, a strike with the hand, a non-deadly swing of an object) is permitted under the general self-defense rule of § 2901.05(B)(1) without engaging the residential or vehicular presumption.
• Reasonable belief. Ohio applies an objective-plus-subjective standard rooted in case law: you must actually have believed force was necessary, and the circumstances must have been such that a reasonable and prudent person would also have so believed. The statutes do not redefine the term; the criminal jury instructions and the common-law cases do.
• Residence. R.C. § 2901.05(D)(3) defines "residence" as a dwelling in which a person resides either temporarily or permanently or is visiting as a guest. § 2901.05(D)(2) defines "dwelling" as a building or conveyance of any kind that has a roof over it and is designed to be occupied by people lodging at night, regardless of whether it is temporary or permanent or mobile or immobile, and explicitly includes attached porches and tents. A houseguest is in a "residence" for Castle Doctrine purposes.
• Vehicle. R.C. § 2901.05(D)(4) defines "vehicle" as a conveyance of any kind, whether or not motorized, that is designed to transport people or property. The Castle Doctrine presumption attaches to the occupied vehicle, not to a parked and unoccupied one.
• Affirmative defense - § 2901.05(D)(1). A defense expressly designated as affirmative, or a defense involving an excuse or justification peculiarly within the knowledge of the accused on which the accused can fairly be required to adduce supporting evidence. Self-defense, defense of another, and defense of residence are statutorily distinguished from other affirmative defenses by the burden-of-proof rule in § 2901.05(B)(1).

The 2018 burden-of-proof flip - R.C. § 2901.05(A) and (B)(1)

Before 2018, Ohio was the lone outlier nationally: the defendant who raised self-defense at trial bore the burden of proving the defense by a preponderance of the evidence. Every other state placed the disproof burden on the prosecution. H.B. 228 of the 132nd General Assembly closed that gap, amending R.C. § 2901.05 effective March 28, 2019.

R.C. § 2901.05(A) now expressly carves self-defense, defense of another, and defense of one's residence out of the general affirmative-defense burden rule. The general rule is unchanged: the burden of going forward with the evidence of an affirmative defense, and the burden of proof by a preponderance, is on the accused. But that rule "other than self-defense, defense of another, or defense of the accused's residence presented as described in division (B)(1)" - meaning the three statutory defensive-force categories are now treated separately.

R.C. § 2901.05(B)(1) sets the new rule. A person is allowed to act in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person's residence. If, at the trial of a person accused of an offense that involved the person's use of force against another, evidence is presented that tends to support that the accused used the force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person's residence, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused did not use the force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of the residence, as the case may be.

Three procedural features matter. First, the defense need only produce evidence "tending to support" the justification; the defendant does not need to prove anything by a preponderance. Second, once that evidence is in the case - from the defendant's testimony, from the prosecution's own witnesses, from physical evidence, from any source - the State carries the burden of disproving the defense beyond a reasonable doubt. Third, the burden is on a single element: the prosecution must show beyond a reasonable doubt that the use of force did not satisfy at least one element of self-defense, defense of another, or defense of residence as those defenses are defined in Ohio law. Ohio's substantive elements of self-defense - non-aggressor status, reasonable belief in imminent danger, and (historically) duty to retreat outside the residence - continue to come from common law and the standard jury instructions, with the retreat element removed by the 2021 § 2901.09 amendment.

The Castle Doctrine presumption - R.C. § 2901.05(B)(2)

R.C. § 2901.05(B)(2) creates Ohio's signature evidentiary presumption. Subject to division (B)(3), a person is presumed to have acted in self-defense or defense of another when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if the person against whom the defensive force is used is in the process of unlawfully and without privilege to do so entering, or has unlawfully and without privilege to do so entered, the residence or vehicle occupied by the person using the defensive force.

Two structural features matter. First, the presumption attaches to deadly-force-level defensive force - force "intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm." A homeowner who uses a non-deadly response to an intruder is justified under the ordinary § 2901.05(B)(1) rule (with the State bearing the disproof burden), not under the heightened presumption of § 2901.05(B)(2). The presumption is reserved for the cases in which the legal stakes are highest - the cases in which the homeowner has used force at the level of a firearm discharge, an effective firearm display, or comparable conduct.

Second, the presumption covers both the residence and the occupied vehicle. The Ohio Castle Doctrine extends to your occupied car, truck, RV, or other conveyance. The vehicle must be occupied - the carjacking-and-attempted-removal scenario where you are physically inside the vehicle when the attacker forces entry is the paradigm. The unoccupied parked vehicle is not within § 2901.05(B)(2).

Third, the trigger covers both the process of entering ("is in the process of unlawfully and without privilege to do so entering") and the completed entry ("has unlawfully and without privilege to do so entered"). The defender does not need to wait until the intruder is fully inside. A defender who fires while the intruder is breaching the threshold is within the presumption; so is a defender who fires after the intruder has crossed the threshold and is now inside. The unlawful-and-without-privilege requirement excludes lawful entries - a peace officer making a lawful entry, an invited guest, or a lawful co-occupant is not within the trigger.

The combined effect of (B)(1) and (B)(2) is powerful. In the residence-or-occupied-vehicle fact pattern, the defender begins the case with two layers of legal protection: the presumption that the defensive force was used in proper self-defense or defense of another (which the prosecution must overcome), and the disproof burden sitting on the prosecution at all times to negate self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt.

Exceptions to the presumption - R.C. § 2901.05(B)(3)

The § 2901.05(B)(2) presumption does not apply if either of the following is true:

1. Right to be in or lawful resident of the residence or vehicle - § 2901.05(B)(3)(a). The presumption does not apply when the person against whom defensive force is used has a right to be in, or is a lawful resident of, the residence or vehicle. The exception covers the co-tenant, the spouse, the adult child living at home, the lessee, and any other person whose presence is authorized. A domestic-violence scenario between two co-residents is not, by itself, a § 2901.05(B)(2) Castle Doctrine case - the defending occupant has the underlying § 2901.05(B)(1) self-defense framework with the prosecution's disproof burden, but the heightened residential presumption is unavailable. The same exception applies to a co-owner of a vehicle who has a right to be in it.

2. Defender unlawfully present - § 2901.05(B)(3)(b). The presumption does not apply when the person who uses the defensive force is using it while in a residence or vehicle and is unlawfully, and without privilege, in that residence or vehicle. A trespasser cannot invoke the residential or vehicular presumption to claim a Castle Doctrine shield against the lawful occupant who confronts him. The trespasser still has access to the underlying § 2901.05(B)(1) self-defense rule (subject to the substantive elements of self-defense including non-aggressor status), but the heightened evidentiary presumption is reserved for those who are themselves lawfully present.

The (B)(3) exceptions are exhaustive of the residential/vehicular contexts. There is no separate carve-out in § 2901.05 for criminal activity unrelated to the lawful-presence question, no separate carve-out for identified peace officers, and no separate carve-out for the lawful-custody-of-a-child scenario. Where those cases arise - for example, an officer entering on a lawful warrant, or a lawful guardian recovering a child - the analysis runs through the "right to be in" and "lawful resident" prongs of § 2901.05(B)(3)(a) and through the underlying substantive elements of self-defense, not through enumerated exceptions modeled on other states' statutes.

The presumption is rebuttable - R.C. § 2901.05(B)(4)

R.C. § 2901.05(B)(4) makes clear that the residential/vehicular presumption is rebuttable. The State may rebut the presumption by a preponderance of the evidence, but doing so does not change the State's underlying disproof burden. The subsection provides: "The presumption set forth in division (B)(2) of this section is a rebuttable presumption and may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence, provided that the prosecution's burden of proof remains proof beyond a reasonable doubt as described in divisions (A) and (B)(1) of this section."

The procedural posture is layered. At the front end, the defender invokes the presumption by producing evidence that defensive force at the deadly-force level was used inside a residence or occupied vehicle against a person unlawfully and without privilege entering or present. The State may then attack the presumption - by showing, for example, that the person against whom force was used had a right to be in the residence (a co-tenant), or by showing that the defender was unlawfully present (a trespasser). The State's preponderance showing on the (B)(3) exception strips the presumption away. But even with the presumption gone, the State still must disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt under § 2901.05(B)(1). The collapse of the presumption is not the collapse of the defense.

No duty to retreat - R.C. § 2901.09 (Stand Your Ground, S.B. 175 effective April 6, 2021)

R.C. § 2901.09 was substantially rewritten by S.B. 175 of the 133rd General Assembly, effective April 6, 2021. Before that date, Ohio retained a common-law duty to retreat outside the home and the occupied vehicle: an actor who could safely retreat was required to do so before resorting to deadly force. S.B. 175 eliminated that duty in any place the actor lawfully has a right to be.

R.C. § 2901.09(A) borrows the definition of "residence" from R.C. § 2901.05.

R.C. § 2901.09(B) is the operative rule. For purposes of any section of the Revised Code that sets forth a criminal offense, a person has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person's residence if that person is in a place in which the person lawfully has a right to be. Three structural features matter. First, the rule applies "for purposes of any section of the Revised Code that sets forth a criminal offense" - the no-retreat rule is a global criminal-law rule, not a special carve-out tied to one offense. Second, it covers all three of the § 2901.05(B)(1) defensive-force categories - self-defense, defense of another, and defense of one's residence - in parallel. Third, the only condition is lawful presence: a person must be in a place where the person lawfully has a right to be.

R.C. § 2901.09(C) closes the loop on the procedural side. A trier of fact shall not consider the possibility of retreat as a factor in determining whether or not a person who used force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person's residence reasonably believed that the force was necessary to prevent injury, loss, or risk to life or safety. The retreat question is not merely removed as a duty; it is removed as evidence the jury or judge can weigh against the defender. A prosecutor may not argue that the defender should have walked away; a jury instruction must not invite the jury to consider whether a retreat was possible. The reasonableness inquiry under § 2901.09(C) is conducted on the threat the defender faced and the force the defender used, not on the route the defender did not take.

Defense of another - R.C. § 2901.05(B)(1) and (B)(2)

Ohio statutorily integrates defense of another into the same § 2901.05 framework as self-defense. R.C. § 2901.05(B)(1) places the disproof burden on the prosecution for "self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person's residence," using the same beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard for all three. R.C. § 2901.05(B)(2) extends the residential/vehicular presumption to defensive force used "in self-defense or defense of another" - a defender who uses deadly-force-level defensive force inside a residence or occupied vehicle to protect a third person against an unlawful entrant gets the same presumption as a defender protecting himself.

The substantive elements of defense of another - including the requirement that the defender be acting in defense of someone the defender reasonably believed to be entitled to use defensive force - continue to come from Ohio common law. Ohio applies a reasonable-belief / subjective-perception standard: the defender's justification turns on the circumstances "as he or she reasonably believed them to be," not on facts the defender could not have known. A defender who intervenes is justified even if the third person turns out, in hindsight, to have been the initial aggressor, provided the defender's belief was reasonable.

Three scenarios

1. Home invasion at night. A stranger kicks in your front door. You retrieve your firearm and confront the intruder inside. You fire. R.C. § 2901.05(B)(2) applies: you used defensive force "intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm" inside your residence against a person "in the process of unlawfully and without privilege" entering. The presumption that you acted in proper self-defense attaches. R.C. § 2901.09(B) confirms no duty to retreat from your residence. R.C. § 2901.05(B)(1) requires the State to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

2. Carjacking in a parking lot. An attacker yanks open your driver-side door and tries to pull you out. You are inside the vehicle. R.C. § 2901.05(B)(2) applies - the attacker is "in the process of unlawfully and without privilege to do so entering" the occupied vehicle. The presumption attaches to defensive force at the deadly-force level. R.C. § 2901.09(B) eliminates any duty to retreat. R.C. § 2901.09(C) bars the trier of fact from considering whether you could have driven away. The State must overcome the presumption (by, for example, showing the attacker had a right to be in the vehicle as a co-owner) and must still disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt.

3. Parking-lot confrontation with an armed assailant. A stranger displays a knife and demands your wallet. You are lawfully in the parking lot, you did not initiate the encounter, and you draw and fire. The § 2901.05(B)(2) presumption is unavailable - the encounter is not inside a residence or occupied vehicle. But § 2901.05(B)(1) places the disproof burden on the prosecution: once your evidence "tends to support" self-defense, the State must disprove it beyond a reasonable doubt. § 2901.09(B) eliminates the duty to retreat. § 2901.09(C) prohibits the trier of fact from holding any failure to retreat against you. The substantive elements of self-defense - non-aggressor status, reasonable belief in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm, proportionate response - come from Ohio common law and the standard criminal jury instructions, but the State carries every one of them beyond a reasonable doubt.

The aggressor doctrine and other common-law elements

Ohio's substantive elements of self-defense - beyond what § 2901.05 codifies - continue to come from common law. The classical formulation requires that the defender (a) was not at fault in creating the situation giving rise to the affray, (b) had a bona fide and reasonable belief that he was in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that the only means of escape from such danger was the use of force, and (c) (historically) had not violated a duty to retreat or avoid the danger. The 2021 amendment to § 2901.09 eliminated element (c) outside the residence by statute; the elements addressing aggressor status and reasonable belief are still drawn from the case law and the criminal jury instructions courts give.

The aggressor doctrine has two practical consequences for the CHL holder. First, a person who provoked the encounter or who initiated the use of unlawful force generally cannot rely on self-defense to justify a subsequent use of force in the same encounter. Withdrawal-and-renewal cases - in which the initial aggressor clearly communicates withdrawal and the other party nevertheless persists in unlawful force - are recognized in Ohio common law as a path back into the justification, but the showing is fact-intensive and runs against the defender at trial. Second, the aggressor inquiry is independent of the burden-of-proof rule: the State must disprove the elements of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt, but if the State produces evidence sufficient to negate the non-aggressor element beyond a reasonable doubt, the defense fails.

Civil exposure

Unlike some Stand Your Ground states, Ohio does not have a freestanding statute that grants explicit civil immunity for force used in self-defense. R.C. § 2901.05 and R.C. § 2901.09 govern criminal cases - the burden of proof in a criminal trial, the presumption in residential and vehicular contexts, and the elimination of any duty to retreat. They do not, by their terms, supply a civil-immunity rule.

Civil exposure for a use of force in Ohio is therefore governed by general civil-liability doctrines: a plaintiff bringing a personal-injury or wrongful-death action on the same set of facts must prove the elements of the underlying tort by a preponderance of the evidence, and the defendant may raise self-defense and defense of another as common-law privileges in the civil case. The civil burden does not track the criminal burden. The criminal acquittal does not bar a subsequent civil action. The CHL holder should plan for the possibility of a civil suit independently of the criminal outcome and should not assume that the § 2901.05(B)(1) burden rule or the § 2901.05(B)(2) Castle Doctrine presumption will operate identically in civil court.

Practical guidance for Ohio CHL holders

• Articulate the threat in self-defense terms. Ohio's substantive self-defense elements come from common law and the criminal jury instructions. Train yourself to evaluate threats in concrete terms - imminent danger of death or great bodily harm, attempted forcible felony, unlawful and forceful entry - not in vague terms like "I felt threatened."
• The prosecution carries the disproof burden - but the defense must produce evidence first. Under § 2901.05(B)(1), the State must disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt, but only after evidence "tending to support" the defense is in the case. Producing that evidence - through your testimony, through witness testimony, or through the State's own evidence - is your responsibility.
• The Castle Doctrine presumption attaches only to defensive force at the deadly-force level inside a residence or occupied vehicle. R.C. § 2901.05(B)(2) covers force "intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm." Lower-level defensive force still gets the § 2901.05(B)(1) burden rule but does not engage the heightened presumption.
• The presumption is rebuttable. § 2901.05(B)(3)(a) takes it back if the person against whom force was used had a right to be in or is a lawful resident of the residence or vehicle. § 2901.05(B)(3)(b) takes it back if you are unlawfully present yourself. Domestic disputes between co-residents are the classic Ohio Castle Doctrine landmine.
• Stand Your Ground is now statewide, but the threat threshold is unchanged. § 2901.09(B) eliminates the duty to retreat in any place you lawfully have a right to be. § 2901.09(C) bars the trier of fact from considering whether you could have retreated. The amendments do not lower the substantive threshold for using deadly force in self-defense.
• Plan for a separate civil case. Ohio does not codify a self-defense civil-immunity statute. A criminal acquittal does not foreclose a civil suit. Document the immediate aftermath, cooperate with police as instructed by counsel, and do not give a long narrative statement before speaking with a lawyer.

Statutory references

• Ohio Rev. Code § 2901.05. Burden of proof; reasonable doubt.
  • § 2901.05(A). General burden-of-proof rule for affirmative defenses, with self-defense, defense of another, and defense of residence carved out and routed through § 2901.05(B)(1).
  • § 2901.05(B)(1). A person is allowed to act in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person's residence. Once evidence tending to support such a defense is presented, the prosecution must disprove the defense beyond a reasonable doubt (the 2018 H.B. 228 burden flip).
  • § 2901.05(B)(2). Castle Doctrine presumption - a person is presumed to have acted in proper self-defense or defense of another when using defensive force intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm against a person unlawfully and without privilege entering or present in the residence or occupied vehicle.
  • § 2901.05(B)(3). Exceptions to the presumption - (a) the person against whom force was used had a right to be in or is a lawful resident of the residence or vehicle; (b) the defender is unlawfully and without privilege in the residence or vehicle.
  • § 2901.05(B)(4). The presumption is rebuttable by a preponderance of the evidence, but the prosecution's underlying burden of proof remains beyond a reasonable doubt.
  • § 2901.05(D)(2)-(4). Definitions of "dwelling" (with attached porch and tent), "residence" (including a guest), and "vehicle" (any conveyance designed to transport people or property).
• Ohio Rev. Code § 2901.09. No duty to retreat.
  • § 2901.09(A). Borrows "residence" definition from § 2901.05.
  • § 2901.09(B). No duty to retreat before using force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of residence in any place the person lawfully has a right to be.
  • § 2901.09(C). The trier of fact may not consider the possibility of retreat in evaluating whether the force used was reasonably believed necessary.
• Am. Sub. H.B. 228 (132nd G.A., 2018). Flipped the burden of proof on self-defense, defense of another, and defense of residence onto the prosecution; effective March 28, 2019. Made Ohio the last state in the country to adopt the prosecution-disproves-self-defense rule.
• Am. Sub. S.B. 175 (133rd G.A., 2020). Substantially rewrote R.C. § 2901.09 to eliminate the duty to retreat and to bar the trier of fact from considering retreat; effective April 6, 2021.

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Federal context

N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen (2022) and United States v. Rahimi (2024). Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022), established the historical-tradition test for Second Amendment claims. Rahimi, 602 U.S. ___ (2024), then applied Bruen to uphold the federal domestic-violence-restraining-order firearm prohibition at 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), confirming that not every firearm disability fails Bruen's test. Practitioners advising on use of force or firearm-disability questions should be familiar with both cases.

Ohio Duty to Inform Law Enforcement

Ohio Has a Statutory Duty to Inform

Ohio is one of the relatively few states that has put a concealed-carrier's interaction with police directly into the criminal code. R.C. § 2923.12(B) makes it a misdemeanor for a concealed-handgun licensee to keep silent about a concealed handgun when an officer asks during a law-enforcement stop, a misdemeanor to fail to keep hands in plain sight while the officer is approaching, a felony to touch the holstered handgun during the encounter, and a misdemeanor to disregard the officer's lawful order. R.C. § 2923.16(E) imposes the same duties on any CHL holder who is a driver or passenger in a vehicle stopped for a traffic stop or other law-enforcement purpose, when the licensee is transporting or has a loaded handgun in the vehicle in any manner. R.C. § 2923.111(C)(1) extends those duties to a permitless "qualifying adult" by deeming the qualifying adult to "have been issued a valid concealed handgun license" for purposes of § 2923.12.

Ohio's rule is not a recommendation or agency guideline. It is a Title XXIX criminal statute, with penalties graded by which subsection of (B) the licensee is alleged to have violated. This contrasts sharply with several other states (Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas), none of which has a statutory duty to inform. A Pennsylvania License to Carry holder has only a production-on-demand duty; a Florida licensee likewise has only a production-on-demand obligation; a Texas LTC holder has no statutory disclosure or production duty at all since the 2017 repeal of its former display-on-demand provision. An Ohio CHL holder operates under a markedly different set of rules.

This section is written for Ohio CHL holders, § 2923.111 qualifying adults carrying without a permit, and active-duty service members who carry under § 2923.12(C)(2) and § 2923.16(E). The duty applies only to concealed handguns; an open carrier on foot is not within the literal text of either statute.

What § 2923.12(B) Actually Requires

R.C. § 2923.12(B) lists four prohibited acts. Each is its own offense, with its own penalty grade in subsection (F). The text below is the operative current version.

(B) No person who has been issued a concealed handgun license shall do any of the following:

(1) If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and is carrying a concealed handgun, before or at the time a law enforcement officer asks if the person is carrying a concealed handgun, knowingly fail to disclose that the person then is carrying a concealed handgun, provided that it is not a violation of this division if the person fails to disclose that fact to an officer during the stop and the person already has notified another officer of that fact during the same stop;

(2) If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and is carrying a concealed handgun, knowingly fail to keep the person's hands in plain sight at any time after any law enforcement officer begins approaching the person while stopped and before the law enforcement officer leaves, unless the failure is pursuant to and in accordance with directions given by a law enforcement officer;

(3) If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose, if the person is carrying a concealed handgun, and if the person is approached by any law enforcement officer while stopped, knowingly remove or attempt to remove the loaded handgun from the holster, pocket, or other place in which the person is carrying it, knowingly grasp or hold the loaded handgun, or knowingly have contact with the loaded handgun by touching it with the person's hands or fingers at any time after the law enforcement officer begins approaching and before the law enforcement officer leaves, unless the person removes, attempts to remove, grasps, holds, or has contact with the loaded handgun pursuant to and in accordance with directions given by the law enforcement officer;

(4) If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and is carrying a concealed handgun, knowingly disregard or fail to comply with any lawful order of any law enforcement officer given while the person is stopped, including, but not limited to, a specific order to the person to keep the person's hands in plain sight.

A few elements bear emphasis:

1. "Stopped for a law enforcement purpose." All four prohibitions are conditioned on a lawful stop. A traffic stop, a Terry stop, a stop in connection with service of process, and a stop incident to investigation all qualify. A purely consensual encounter (no detention) is not a "stop" and the (B) duties do not attach.
2. (B)(1) is triggered by the officer's question. Following the 2022 amendments accompanying Senate Bill 215 (effective June 13, 2022), the licensee must disclose the concealed handgun before or at the time the officer asks. The licensee is not required to make a sua sponte announcement when the officer first walks up, but may not keep silent or deflect at the moment of the question. (B)(1) also has a one-stop-one-disclosure rule: a licensee who has already told one officer at the same stop has no obligation to repeat it to a different officer at the same stop.
3. (B)(2) is independent of (B)(1). The plain-sight-hands duty runs from the moment any officer "begins approaching" until the officer leaves, regardless of whether the officer ever asks about the handgun. Only the officer's own directions excuse failure to keep hands in plain sight.
4. (B)(3) is the strict no-touch rule. Once an officer "begins approaching," the licensee may not remove, grasp, hold, or touch the loaded handgun. Putting fingers on the firearm itself is a violation. Only express officer directions excuse contact.
5. (B)(4) covers everything else. Failure to follow any lawful order during the stop while the licensee is carrying concealed is a separate offense, even if the order has nothing to do with the handgun.

Penalties Under § 2923.12(F)

The grading scheme in subsection (F) is granular. It is not a single "duty to inform" misdemeanor.

A misdemeanor of the second degree in Ohio carries up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $750. A misdemeanor of the first degree carries up to 180 days and a fine of up to $1,000. A felony of the fifth degree carries six to twelve months in prison and a fine of up to $2,500. The offender's CHL "shall be suspended" pursuant to R.C. § 2923.128(A)(2) for any (B)(2) or (B)(4) violation; suspension is mandatory.

The 2022 amendments also created an expungement pathway in § 2923.12(E)(2) for any pre-June-13-2022 conviction under the prior version of (B)(1), reflecting how meaningfully the legislature narrowed the duty. The current (B)(1), with its "before or at the time the officer asks" trigger, is the operative statute today.

Vehicle Stops: § 2923.16(E)

R.C. § 2923.16(E) is the parallel duty for vehicle stops. It applies to a CHL holder, a § 2923.111 qualifying adult, or an active-duty service member who is the driver or an occupant of a motor vehicle stopped for a traffic stop or any other law-enforcement purpose, who is "transporting or has a loaded handgun in the motor vehicle in any manner." The "in any manner" language is broad: it covers a loaded handgun in a holster on the carrier's person, in a console, in a glove box, on a passenger seat, or anywhere else the carrier may lawfully have it.

Subsection (E) lists five prohibited acts:

1. (E)(1) - Before or at the time a law enforcement officer asks if the person is carrying a concealed handgun, knowingly fail to disclose that the person possesses or has a loaded handgun in the motor vehicle. (Misdemeanor of the second degree under (I).)
2. (E)(2) - Before or at the time an employee of the motor carrier enforcement unit asks (commercial-vehicle stops by the State Highway Patrol motor carrier unit), knowingly fail to disclose. (Misdemeanor of the second degree.)
3. (E)(3) - Knowingly fail to remain in the motor vehicle while stopped, or knowingly fail to keep hands in plain sight, after any officer begins approaching and before the officer leaves, unless excused by officer directions. (Misdemeanor of the first degree, or felony 5 on second offense.)
4. (E)(4) - Knowingly have contact with the loaded handgun (touching it) in the motor vehicle after the officer begins approaching, unless excused by officer directions. (Felony of the fifth degree.)
5. (E)(5) - Knowingly disregard or fail to comply with any lawful order of any officer given while the motor vehicle is stopped, including a specific order to keep hands in plain sight. (Misdemeanor of the first degree, or felony 5 on second offense.)

Two aspects of § 2923.16(E) deserve emphasis. First, passengers carrying concealed are inside the rule - the statute applies to "the driver or an occupant," so a passenger CHL holder with a loaded handgun is subject to (E)(1) through (E)(5) just like the driver. Second, § 2923.16(E)(3) commands the licensee to "remain in the motor vehicle while stopped" - getting out without officer direction is a misdemeanor of the first degree, plus mandatory CHL suspension under § 2923.128(A)(2).

R.C. § 2923.16(J) closes the loop with a return-on-no-charge rule: if the licensee surrenders the firearm to the officer (voluntarily or on demand), the officer does not arrest or charge, and the licensee is otherwise eligible to possess the firearm, "the officer shall return the firearm to the person at the termination of the stop." § 2923.12(G) is the parallel return rule for non-vehicle stops.

Permitless Carry: § 2923.111(C)(1) Treats Qualifying Adults Like Licensees

Ohio adopted permitless carry in 2022 (Senate Bill 215). A "qualifying adult" under R.C. § 2923.111(A)(2) is a person who is at least twenty-one years of age, is not federally prohibited under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) to (9), is not state-prohibited under R.C. § 2923.13, and meets the disqualifier criteria that govern CHL eligibility under § 2923.125(D)(1).

The critical text for duty-to-inform purposes is § 2923.111(C)(1), which folds qualifying adults directly into § 2923.12. For purposes of that section, "a person who is a qualifying adult and is carrying or has, concealed on the person's person or ready at hand, a handgun that is not a restricted firearm shall be deemed to have been issued a valid concealed handgun license." Any provision that requires a CHL holder "to engage in specified conduct, or prohibits a concealed handgun licensee from engaging in specified conduct," applies "in the same manner" to a qualifying adult.

The 2022 statute did not create a "no permit, no duty" lane. Ohio's permitless carrier has exactly the same § 2923.12(B) and § 2923.16(E) obligations as a permit holder, and exactly the same penalty exposure under § 2923.12(F) and § 2923.16(I).

Open Carry Is Outside § 2923.12(B) and § 2923.16(E)

R.C. § 2923.12(B) is captioned within Ohio's "carrying concealed weapons" statute and applies by its terms only to a person who "is carrying a concealed handgun." A holstered handgun on the hip in plain view, on foot, off vehicle, is not concealed. The (B) duties - including (B)(1) disclosure-when-asked - are not engaged by open carry on foot.

R.C. § 2923.16(E) similarly applies only to a concealed-handgun licensee or qualifying adult who has a loaded handgun in the motor vehicle. Vehicle storage of an unloaded firearm under § 2923.16(C) (closed package, compartment requiring exit, plain-sight rack, or rifle/shotgun in plain sight) does not engage (E).

Practical point: mode of carry can change mid-encounter. A handgun in plain view on the hip may become "concealed" once the carrier puts on a jacket; a handgun in plain view on a passenger seat may become "concealed" when clothing is placed on top of it. The (B)(1) disclosure-when-asked obligation depends on whether the handgun is concealed at the moment of the encounter.

How Ohio Differs from PA, FL, and TX

The contrast with neighboring and peer states is large enough that it is worth stating explicitly. Ohio CCW students traveling out-of-state, and out-of-state CCW students traveling into Ohio, both regularly assume the wrong rule.

• Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania has no statutory duty to inform. The License to Carry Firearms imposes only a production-on-demand rule; the licensee is not required to volunteer. PennDOT Driver's Manual recommends notifying the officer, but that is agency guidance, not a criminal offense. The same silent conduct in Ohio, with a concealed handgun and an officer who asks, triggers § 2923.12(B)(1) liability.
• Florida. Florida's concealed-weapon-or-firearm-license statute requires presentation of the license on officer demand but does not require proactive disclosure. Ohio's rule is stricter: the (B)(1) trigger is the officer's question, not a license-production demand.
• Texas. Texas eliminated its License-to-Carry display and disclosure duty in 2017. A Texas LTC holder asked whether a handgun is in the vehicle has no statutory disclosure duty. Ohio's (B)(1) makes silence-when-asked a separate misdemeanor.
• Michigan. Michigan's CPL statute imposes a proactive notification duty requiring the licensee to immediately disclose the presence of a pistol. Ohio's rule is reactive (disclosure-when-asked), not proactive.
• Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia. No statutory duty to inform. A traveler should not assume the silent posture lawful in those states is lawful in Ohio.

The portability rule: when an Ohio CHL holder carries in another state under reciprocity, the destination state's duty-to-inform rule controls; when a non-resident carries in Ohio under a recognized permit (R.C. § 2923.126(A)), Ohio's § 2923.12(B) and § 2923.16(E) control.

Recommended Traffic-Stop Procedure

The script below tracks the statutory text. It is conservative; it is not the only lawful approach.

1. Pull off the road promptly. Turn off the engine and radio. At night, turn on the interior dome light before the officer reaches the window.
2. Place both hands on the top of the steering wheel and keep them there. § 2923.16(E)(3) is triggered the moment the officer begins approaching. Hands on the wheel satisfies the "plain sight" duty without ambiguity. Ask passengers to put their hands on the dashboard or seat back.
3. Do not retrieve documents until asked. Reaching into a glove box or center console while the officer is approaching can look exactly like the conduct § 2923.16(E)(4) prohibits.
4. Disclose calmly when asked, or pre-empt the question. The (B)(1) and (E)(1) statutes require disclosure "before or at the time" the officer asks. A volunteer disclosure ("Officer, I have a concealed handgun license and I am carrying. The handgun is on my right hip. How would you like me to proceed?") fully complies and forecloses any later question about timing. Waiting for the officer's question and answering truthfully also complies.
5. Do not touch the firearm. § 2923.12(B)(3) and § 2923.16(E)(4) make any contact with the loaded handgun a felony of the fifth degree unless the officer directs the contact. If the officer asks for the handgun, follow the officer's exact instructions: keep hands visible, narrate the next move, and move slowly.
6. Follow every lawful order. § 2923.12(B)(4) and § 2923.16(E)(5) are catch-alls. Orders to step out of the vehicle, interlace fingers behind the head, or walk to a specific spot are presumptively lawful.
7. Ask for the firearm back if it was surrendered. § 2923.16(J) and § 2923.12(G) require return at termination of the stop if the carrier is not charged and the firearm is not contraband.

Most disclosure prosecutions in Ohio do not turn on whether the licensee said the words; they turn on whether the licensee kept hands visible, kept fingers off the firearm, and complied with the officer's directions.

Quick-Reference Rules

Key Statutes Reference

Ambiguities and Notes

• "Stopped for a law enforcement purpose" is the predicate. All four (B) duties and all five (E) duties depend on a lawful stop. A purely consensual encounter is not a stop, and the statutory predicate may not attach. The safer practice during any officer-initiated contact is to assume the duties attach.
• "Knowingly" is the mens rea. Each prohibition requires the carrier to act knowingly - aware of the relevant fact (carrying concealed; the officer is approaching; the order is being given). A licensee who genuinely does not hear the officer's question or order is not within the statute's reach, but asserting non-awareness during a stop is a poor litigation strategy.
• § 2923.12(B)(1) was narrowed in 2022. The pre-June-13-2022 version had a broader proactive notify-on-approach formulation. Senate Bill 215 (2022) recast (B)(1) into the "before or at the time the officer asks" structure that controls today. Older training materials describing a proactive must-tell-on-approach duty pre-date the current statute.
• The one-disclosure-per-stop rule is officer-specific, not stop-specific. A second, separate stop later in the day is a new stop; the disclosure clock resets.
• § 2923.16(C) unloaded-firearm transport is outside (E). A driver transporting an unloaded firearm under § 2923.16(C) is outside (E)'s "transporting or has a loaded handgun" predicate. The (B)(1) duty under § 2923.12 still applies if the unloaded handgun is concealed on the person and the officer asks, because § 2923.12(B) is not limited to loaded handguns.
• Active-duty military. Service members carrying under § 2923.12(C)(2) and § 2923.16(E) with a valid military identification card and § 2923.125(G)(1)-equivalent training documentation are subject to the same duties on the face of the statute.

Source Information

• Ohio Revised Code § 2923.12 - Carrying concealed weapons; concealed-handgun-license duties on a stop; penalty grades and CHL suspension.
• Ohio Revised Code § 2923.16 - Improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle; vehicle-stop duties for CHL holders, qualifying adults, and active-duty military.
• Ohio Revised Code § 2923.111 - Qualifying-adult permitless carry; "deemed to have been issued a valid concealed handgun license" for § 2923.12 purposes.
• Ohio Revised Code § 2923.125 - Concealed-handgun-license issuance criteria and training requirements; cross-referenced by § 2923.111(A)(2).
• Ohio Revised Code § 2923.128 - CHL suspension and revocation; mandatory suspension for § 2923.12(B)(2) and (B)(4) violations.