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Ohio

Ohio does not license or decertify corrections officers. The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) sets and enforces minimum jail standards, including staff training, and jail officers complete a basic corrections academy under Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission rules or an equivalent. Since 2023 the State has loosened its limits on restraining pregnant women in custody, abolished the legislature’s prison inspection committee, closed most DRC inmate records, required free menstrual products and daily showers, required parole board hearings to be recorded, and required jails and prisons to check veteran status.

Sources checked
Part of
Corrections Ledger

At a glance

Certifying body
Split, with no corrections officer certificate. DRC sets and enforces minimum jail standards, including jail staff training (R.C. 5120.10; Ohio Adm.Code 5120:1-8). Jail correctional officers must complete, within their first year, a basic corrections academy consistent with the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission’s corrections-training rules (Ohio Adm.Code 109:2-9) or an equivalent such as DRC new employee orientation (Ohio Adm.Code 5120:1-8-18(A)(3)). DRC trains state prison officers. County probation officers must meet qualifications prescribed by the DRC Adult Parole Authority (R.C. 2301.27(A)(1)(c)). The Commission and the peace officer certificate are covered on the Ohio Officer Ledger page.
Statute
R.C. 5120.10 (jail standards; DRC investigation and supervision of jails through the Division of Parole and Community Services); R.C. 109.71 to 109.803 (Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission); R.C. 2301.27 (county probation departments); R.C. 2901.10 (restraint of pregnant women in custody); R.C. chapters 341 and 753 (county and municipal jails). Rules: Ohio Adm.Code 5120:1-8 (Minimum Standards for Jails), 109:2-9 (corrections training for jail personnel), and 5120-9 (DRC use of force and restrictive housing).
Minimum standards
No statutory hiring standard (age, education, background) for jail or state correctional officers was found in the sections reviewed. Since April 9, 2025, DRC may not adopt a rule requiring jail support staff to hold an occupational license (R.C. 5120.10(A)(1); entry below).
Basic training
Full service jails: orientation (facility tour, ethics, personnel rules), then on-the-job training before working independently (policies, inmate rules, communication, use of force, report writing, suicide prevention, key control, emergency and medical response, sexual assault and misconduct, programs, cultural diversity), and a basic corrections academy within the first year. Supervisors need 40 hours in their first year (Ohio Adm.Code 5120:1-8-18, effective January 1, 2026). The Commission’s executive director sets the topics and minimum hours of the jail corrections course, in units on administration, legal issues, jail security, human relations, special inmate needs, and technical skills (Ohio Adm.Code 109:2-9-02). Hour totals were not verified.
In-service training
Jail correctional officers must receive annual in-service training; rule 5120:1-8-18(A) states no hour figure for officers. Support staff with routine inmate contact, and administrators and supervisors, need at least 8 hours in each later year, and suicide-cue training is required at hire and every year (Ohio Adm.Code 5120:1-8-18(A) to (D)).
Decertification
None for corrections officers. No certificate revocation or decertification process specific to jail or prison correctional officers was found. Revocation of the peace officer basic-training certificate under R.C. 109.77 applies to peace officers; see the Officer Ledger page. County probation officers have “all the powers of regular police officers” (R.C. 2301.27); whether they hold peace officer certificates was not checked. No public decertification list was found.
Jail standards
The DRC director must adopt minimum standards for jails, including minimum security jails: Ohio Adm.Code 5120:1-8, refiled effective June 28, 2024 and again January 1, 2026. DRC’s Division of Parole and Community Services investigates and supervises county and municipal jails and workhouses and reviews jail construction plans. The director may sue to enforce compliance and may grant variances for undue hardship (R.C. 5120.10(A) to (D)). The legislature’s Correctional Institution Inspection Committee, which inspected state prisons, was abolished in 2025 (entry below).
Probation and parole officers
A court of common pleas may create a county probation department, and may not appoint as a probation officer anyone who lacks the training, experience, and qualifications prescribed by the DRC Adult Parole Authority. Probation officers have “all the powers of regular police officers” (R.C. 2301.27(A)(1)). State parole officers belong to the Adult Parole Authority within DRC (R.C. 5149.02, 5149.04).
Restrictive housing
No statutory limit was found. In prisons, DRC rule defines “restrictive housing” as confinement to a cell at least 22 hours a day. It is allowed for investigations, pending a Rules Infraction Board hearing, pending transfer, or after a guilty finding, only with written justification of why limited-privilege housing is not enough, and for set periods (Ohio Adm.Code 5120-9-10, effective January 9, 2020). In jails, administrative segregation may not be used as a penalty; the inmate gets written reasons within 24 hours, a review within 72 hours, and reviews every 30 days (5120:1-8-15, effective January 1, 2026).
Corrections use of force
R.C. 2901.10 bars any law enforcement, court, or corrections official from knowingly restraining a woman in custody, once a health care professional has confirmed her pregnancy, during pregnancy, transport to a hospital, labor and delivery, and 6 weeks of postpartum recovery, unless she presents a risk of physical harm, a risk to property, a security risk, or a substantial flight risk. Waist restraints are never allowed in those periods, and a restraint must be removed when a treating professional asks (R.C. 2901.10, as amended effective April 4, 2023; entry below). DRC prison use of force is governed by Ohio Adm.Code 5120-9-01 (effective October 19, 2019) and 5120-9-02 (reporting and investigation).

Changes, 2023 to 2026

  • Jails and prisons must check the veteran status of everyone booked

    S.B. 179 (136th G.A.), enacting R.C. 341.43 and amending 341.02 and 5901.03Signed June 24, 2026; effective September 23, 2026

    Each “incarcerating institution” (every DRC institution, and every county, municipal, municipal-county, and multicounty correctional institution with a jail, workhouse, minimum security jail, or community-based correctional facility on its premises, including for people awaiting disposition) must register with the Veterans Reentry Search Service run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. At booking, it must collect the information needed to determine veteran status, and within three days of each booking it must use the service to check whether the person served in the military. Verified veterans are noted on records as set by rule. A second check is not needed if another institution already checked the same person and charge. Institutions must train staff to use the service, seeking free training from the Department of Veterans Affairs first.

    For corrections staff: Booking staff must collect veteran-identifying information and run the federal check within three days of each booking.

    R.C. 341.43 S.B. 179 (Ohio LIS)

  • Parole board hearings must be recorded; full board recordings become public records

    H.B. 31 (136th G.A.), enacting R.C. 5149.102 and amending 149.43, 2929.20, 5120.115, 5120.21, 5149.10, 5149.101Signed June 8, 2026; effective September 7, 2026

    Parole board rules must require “electronic recordings be made of full parole board hearings, revocation hearings under section 2967.15 of the Revised Code, and post-release control violation hearings under section 2967.28 of the Revised Code.” Recordings of full board hearings are public records, but must exclude victim and victim representative statements and any information likely to identify a victim or the victim’s family. Recordings of revocation and post-release control violation hearings go, on request, only to the person who was the subject of the hearing, that person’s attorney, the prosecuting attorney, and the victim, who may not copy or post them. An incarcerated person whose protected health information, or a victim whose identifying information, is disclosed in violation of the section may sue the person who disclosed it. The act also gives prosecuting attorneys access to DRC health care records in certain parole and judicial release cases.

    For corrections staff: Adult Parole Authority staff should expect revocation and post-release control hearings to be recorded and the recordings to go to the parties on request.

    H.B. 31 as enrolled (Ohio LIS) R.C. 5120.21

  • Community-based correctional facilities and halfway houses must help residents get state IDs before release

    H.B. 393 (136th G.A.), enacting R.C. 2301.551 and 5120.106; amending 4507.01, 4507.50 to 4507.52, 5120.102Signed May 27, 2026; effective August 26, 2026

    Within a reasonable time before a prisoner completes programming at a community-based correctional facility, or an offender completes programming at a halfway house, the facility or halfway house organization must try to verify the person’s age and identity. It must give anyone without a current state identification card or driver’s license the application, and submit the completed application with a color photograph and proof of age and identity to the registrar of motor vehicles.

    For corrections staff: Community-based correctional facility and halfway-house staff handle state ID applications as part of release planning.

    R.C. 2301.551 R.C. 5120.106

  • Jails and prisons must provide free menstrual products and daily showers

    H.B. 29 (136th G.A.), enacting R.C. 341.261, 753.321, 5120.631Signed December 19, 2025; effective March 20, 2026

    Each county and municipal correctional facility, and each state institution housing women, must provide an adequate, individualized supply of tampons and pads at no cost, “in perpetuity and without reprimand.” Facilities must have written non-discrimination, storage, and sanitation policies and lidded disposal containers. Menstruating inmates must get “a minimum of one shower per day with access to hot water for washing, regardless of whether the inmates are separated from the general population for disciplinary status,” except during a defined emergency such as a riot, escape, staff shortage or strike, disease outbreak, suicide or self-harm incident, gang violence, natural disaster, or hostage situation.

    For corrections staff: Staff may not deny or ration menstrual products or the daily shower, including on segregation units, outside a listed emergency.

    H.B. 29 as enrolled (Ohio LIS)

  • Budget act abolishes the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee and closes most DRC inmate records

    Am. Sub. H.B. 96 (136th G.A.), repealing R.C. 103.71; amending 5120.034, 5120.16, 5120.21, 5145.162, and othersSigned June 30, 2025. Ohio LIS gives June 30, 2025 for appropriations and September 30, 2025 for most other provisions; section-specific dates for these provisions were not checked

    The act repeals R.C. 103.71, which created the legislature’s Correctional Institution Inspection Committee, and strikes references to it: reports under 5120.034 now go to the General Assembly under section 101.68, and the committee’s seat in 5145.162 is removed. New 5120.21(E)(1): “Records regarding inmates committed to the department of rehabilitation and correction or records of persons under the supervision of the adult parole authority are not public records under section 149.43 of the Revised Code,” except for listed basic information. Under 5120.16, sheriffs may commit sentenced people to DRC electronically under court and DRC agreements.

    For corrections staff: Independent legislative inspections of state prisons end, and DRC inmate and parolee records are no longer public records, apart from listed basic information.

    H.B. 96 as enrolled (Ohio LIS) R.C. 103.71 (no longer exists)

  • DRC may not require occupational licenses for jail support staff

    H.B. 238 (135th G.A.), amending R.C. 5120.10(A)(1)Effective April 9, 2025, per codes.ohio.gov

    The enrolled text inserts a new sentence into the jail-standards authority: “The director shall not adopt any rule requiring support staff in a jail to obtain an occupational license as defined in section 4798.01 of the Revised Code.” The rest of the jail-standards authority is unchanged. The change is part of an occupational-regulation omnibus.

    For corrections staff: Jail standards cannot make support staff hold a state occupational license as a condition of the job.

    H.B. 238 as enrolled (Ohio LIS) R.C. 5120.10

  • Pregnant-restraint limits loosened: “risk” replaces “serious threat”; leg and ankle restraint ban dropped

    Am. Sub. S.B. 16 (134th G.A.), amending R.C. 2901.10 and 2152.75Signed January 3, 2023; effective April 4, 2023

    In the enrolled bill’s strike-and-underline text for R.C. 2901.10, the exception that allows restraining a pregnant or postpartum woman in custody changes from presenting a “serious threat” of physical harm or to property to presenting a “risk,” and “substantial” is struck before “security risk.” Division (D) had barred “leg, ankle, or waist” restraints during the protected periods; “leg, ankle, or” is struck, so the officer “shall not use any waist restraint to restrain the woman,” and only waist restraints remain barred. The parallel juvenile section, 2152.75, was also amended.

    For corrections staff: Officers may restrain pregnant women in custody on a finding of “risk” and may use leg restraints, but never waist restraints.

    S.B. 16 as enrolled (Ohio LIS) R.C. 2901.10

Enacted, not yet in force, pending, and bills that did not pass

No enacted change was found awaiting its effective date. Introduced only, per Ohio LIS: H.B. 867 (136th G.A., minimum jail and state correctional institution standards), H.B. 923 (Adult Parole Authority Enhancement Act), H.B. 796 (housing inmates by biological sex), and H.B. 542 (reporting inmate pregnancy outcomes to DRC). H.B. 30 (135th G.A., feminine hygiene products in correctional facilities) was reported by the House State and Local Government Committee, passed the House, and died with the 135th General Assembly; the 136th enacted the subject as H.B. 29.

legislature.ohio.gov returned HTTP 403 and was not retried. Bill status comes from Ohio LIS, the legislature’s data service, and codes.ohio.gov. The 135th General Assembly legislation list returned mostly non-final versions, so other 135th enacted bills affecting corrections may be missing.

Checked and unchanged

  • Not credited as changes: Ohio Adm.Code 5120:1-8 (jail standards) was refiled effective June 28, 2024 and January 1, 2026. The Register of Ohio filings were not compared, so what changed was not determined.
  • Not reviewed: S.B. 98 (135th G.A., R.C. 109.79, effective October 24, 2024), and the H.B. 96 amendments to R.C. 109.803 (continuing professional training reimbursement for state-agency peace officers) and to the parole sections in chapter 2967.
  • Not verified: hours of the jail corrections basic course and of DRC new employee orientation for state correctional officers.

Bills in the legislature

Bills in the current session whose title concerns corrections officers, jails, probation and parole, and conditions of confinement, found automatically in LegiScan's copy of the legislature's records and refreshed daily (last on October 21, 2026). This list is not reviewed by an editor and is not a summary of the bills; each links to the legislature's own page, which controls. Bills that become law are added to the dated entries above once checked.

The law, section by section

Every section of the statutes and rules this page relies on that could be read from an official source, 177 in all, each linked to the official text. Headings are copied from the official tables of contents, checked October 21, 2026.

Ohio Revised Code: jails, jail standards, corrections training, probation and parole, and restraint of pregnant women (selected chapters and sections)Statute · 102 sections

Official text current through codes.ohio.gov (Legislative Service Commission) per-section effective dates; latest effective date among listed sections: October 9, 2026 (read 2026-10-21). Chapters 341 (county jails) and 753 (municipal jails and workhouses) are listed whole. From chapter 109 only the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission sections 109.71 to 109.803 are listed, as on the page (the Officer Ledger library lists the same run through 109.804); from chapters 2301, 2901, 5120, and 5149 only the sections the page cites. Headings are the section captions on the official chapter pages, trailing periods dropped. Ohio Rev. Code 109.71-109.803, chs. 341 and 753, 2301.27, 2901.10, 5120.10, 5149.02, 5149.04, official text

Chapter 109. Attorney General (sections 109.71 to 109.803)

  • 109.71 Ohio peace officer training commission created - definitions
  • 109.72 Members - organization
  • 109.73 Rule recommendations
  • 109.731 Prescribed forms
  • 109.74 Attorney general may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations
  • 109.741 Rules governing training of peace officers in handling of missing children and child abuse and neglect cases
  • 109.742 Rules governing training of peace officers in crisis intervention
  • 109.743 Administrative rules
  • 109.744 Rules governing training of peace officers in handling of offense of domestic violence
  • 109.745 Training for investigating and handling crime of trafficking in persons
  • 109.746 Public awareness programs regarding trafficking in persons
  • 109.747 Rules governing training of peace officers on companion animal encounters and companion animal behavior
  • 109.748 Rules governing the training of tactical medical professionals to carry firearms
  • 109.749 Training materials on restraining or confining pregnant children or women
  • 109.7410 Rules governing training of peace officers interacting with individuals with dementia
  • 109.7411 Rules governing hospital security personnel access to online training
  • 109.7412 [Enacted as R.C. 109.7411 by H.B. 315, 135th General Assembly, and recodified as R.C. 109.7412 pursuant to R.C. 103.131] Peace officer training regarding at-risk youth
  • 109.7481 Rules governing training of fire investigators to carry firearms
  • 109.75 Powers and duties of peace officer training commission executive director
  • 109.751 Attendance of undercover drug agents, bailiffs, deputy bailiffs or public defender investigators at basic training programs
  • 109.752 Sheriff attending peace officer basic training programs
  • 109.76 Peace officers not exempted from civil service
  • 109.761 Reports of appointment to peace officer training commission
  • 109.77 Certificate of completion of basic training program necessary for appointment
  • 109.771 Authority of tactical medical professionals to carry firearms
  • 109.772 Authority of county correctional officer to carry firearms
  • 109.773 Rules governing the attendance of county correctional officers at peace officer training schools
  • 109.774 Qualifications for fire investigators to carry firearms
  • 109.78 Certification of special police, security guards, or persons otherwise privately employed in a police capacity
  • 109.79 Ohio peace officer training academy
  • 109.791 Peace officer training - sergeants and above
  • 109.80 Basic training course for sheriffs - continuing education
  • 109.801 Annual firearms requalification program
  • 109.803 Continuing professional training for peace officers and troopers

Chapter 341. Jails

  • 341.01 Sheriff to have charge of jail
  • 341.011 Notice of escape and apprehension of escaped person
  • 341.02 Jail register - operational policies and procedures - prisoner rules of conduct
  • 341.04 Sheriff shall visit jail
  • 341.05 Staff assignment and compensation
  • 341.07 Copies of minimum standards for jails to be furnished - prisoner rules of conduct
  • 341.08 Minimum standards may be revised, altered or amended - distribution
  • 341.09 Separation of prisoners in county jails
  • 341.10 Separate confinement in new county jails
  • 341.11 Confinement of minors
  • 341.12 Confinement of persons in custody in jail of another county
  • 341.13 Sheriffs of adjoining counties to receive prisoners
  • 341.14 Weekly advance deposit of prisoner costs
  • 341.141 Interstate prisoner transfer under RC 341.12
  • 341.15 Quarterly account of fees of sheriff
  • 341.16 Process for the return of prisoner
  • 341.17 Payment of costs of habeas corpus
  • 341.18 County using jail of another county liable for damages
  • 341.19 Reimbursing county for its expenses incurred by reason of person's confinement
  • 341.191 Health insurance claims for jail inmates
  • 341.192 Payment of outside medical provider for necessary care
  • 341.20 Contracts with commercial providers for food, medical, other services
  • 341.21 Confinement of federal or state prisoners in county jail
  • 341.22 Religious services and welfare work in county jail
  • 341.23 Confinement of county or municipal prisoners in county jail
  • 341.24 Health insurance claims for workhouse inmates
  • 341.25 Establishing commissary and commissary fund
  • 341.26 Performance of random drug testing of prisoners
  • 341.261 County correctional facility feminine hygiene products
  • 341.27 Qualified immunity for injuries to work detail prisoners
  • 341.31 Operation of county rehabilitation work camps
  • 341.32 Agreement for work camp services with other counties and municipal corporations
  • 341.33 Use of work camp services by municipal corporations
  • 341.34 Establishing minimum security jails
  • 341.35 Private operation of correctional facility
  • 341.41 Prohibiting activities designed to increase muscle mass and physical strength or improve fighting skills
  • 341.42 Improper internet access - county facilities
  • 341.43 Veteran status of imprisoned individuals

Chapter 753. Reformatory Institutions

  • 753.02 Sustaining persons sentenced to or confined in prison
  • 753.021 Submitting health insurance claims for prison inmates
  • 753.03 Disposition of prisoners sentenced for misdemeanors
  • 753.04 Commitment to workhouse
  • 753.041 Submitting health insurance claims for workhouse inmates
  • 753.05 Employment of prisoners
  • 753.06 Qualified immunity for injuries to work detail prisoners
  • 753.08 Prompt commitment - fees
  • 753.09 Discharge
  • 753.10 Parole of inmates
  • 753.11 Violation of parole
  • 753.13 Joint municipal and county workhouse
  • 753.14 Withdrawal from support and maintenance of joint workhouse
  • 753.15 Workhouses - management by joint board - privatization
  • 753.16 City or district workhouse may receive prisoners from other counties - agreements - reimbursement by prisoner - medical testing or treatment
  • 753.161 Receiving prisoners from out of county or from state
  • 753.17 Officers to have police powers
  • 753.18 Religious services in city jail or workhouse
  • 753.19 Chief law enforcement officer to give notice of escape and of apprehension of escapee
  • 753.21 Minimum security jails
  • 753.22 Commissary - fund
  • 753.31 Access by prisoners to exercise equipment or participation in fighting skills programs
  • 753.32 Improper internet access - municipal facilities
  • 753.321 Municipal correctional facility feminine hygiene products
  • 753.33 Contracts for random drug testing of municipal prisoners

Chapter 2301. Organization (section 2301.27)

  • 2301.27 Probation and supervisory services

Chapter 2901. General Provisions (section 2901.10)

Chapter 5120. Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (section 5120.10)

Chapter 5149. Adult Parole Authority (sections 5149.02 and 5149.04)

Ohio Administrative Code, Chapters 5120:1-8, 109:2-9, and 5120-9: Minimum Standards for Jails, Corrections Training for Jail Personnel, and DRC Use of Force and Institutional RulesRules · 75 sections

Official text current through codes.ohio.gov per-rule effective dates; latest effective date among listed rules: October 9, 2026 (read 2026-10-21). Ohio Admin. Code chs. 5120:1-8, 109:2-9, 5120-9, official text

Chapter 5120:1-8. Full Service Jails

Chapter 109:2-9. Corrections Training for Jail Personnel

Chapter 5120-9. Use of Force; Institutional Rules

  • 5120-9-01 Use of force
  • 5120-9-02 Use of force report and investigations
  • 5120-9-03 Inmate complaints of use of force where no use of force report has been made
  • 5120-9-04 Appropriate supervision, discrimination and racial issues
  • 5120-9-05 Immobilizing restraints for security or administrative purposes
  • 5120-9-06 Inmate rules of conduct
  • 5120-9-07 Conduct report and hearing officer procedures
  • 5120-9-08 Disciplinary procedures for violations of inmate rules of conduct before the rules infraction board
  • 5120-9-09 Limited privilege housing assignments
  • 5120-9-10 Restrictive housing assignments
  • 5120-9-11 Placement in a limited privilege or restrictive housing assignment pending investigation
  • 5120-9-11.1 Lockdown
  • 5120-9-12 Inmates sentenced to death
  • 5120-9-16 News media visits
  • 5120-9-17 Incoming mail
  • 5120-9-19 Printed materials
  • 5120-9-20 Visits by attorneys and inmate access to legal services
  • 5120-9-21 Interinstitutional transfer of inmates
  • 5120-9-21.1 Transfer of prisoner to inpatient mental health facility
  • 5120-9-22 Transfer of violators
  • 5120-9-23 Escapes
  • 5120-9-24 Incident reporting and investigation
  • 5120-9-25 Appearance and grooming of male inmates
  • 5120-9-25.1 Appearance and grooming of female inmates
  • 5120-9-27 Procurement of medical aids for institution inmates
  • 5120-9-29 The office of the inspector of institutional services
  • 5120-9-30 The office of the chief inspector
  • 5120-9-31 The inmate grievance procedure
  • 5120-9-32 Inmate property claims
  • 5120-9-33 Packages and property restrictions
  • 5120-9-34 Community education and work assignment time
  • 5120-9-37 Inmate group activities
  • 5120-9-38 Symbols of inmate groups
  • 5120-9-39 Restoration of voting rights for individuals convicted of crimes
  • 5120-9-40 Inmate newspapers
  • 5120-9-44 Clergy substitute for regular, full-time state-employed clergy
  • 5120-9-45 Temporary exclusion from educational requirement
  • 5120-9-47 Sanctions for filing frivolous actions
  • 5120-9-49 Public records
  • 5120-9-50 Escorted inmate release for deathbed or private funeral home visit
  • 5120-9-51 Internet access for incarcerated individuals
  • 5120-9-52 Initial classification of inmates
  • 5120-9-53 Classification committees
  • 5120-9-55 Contraband
  • 5120-9-57 Prison nursery program and infants born during confinement
  • 5120-9-58 Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
  • 5120-9-60 Schedule of health care services
  • 5120-9-61 Registration of nonprofit faith-based, business, professional, civic, educational, and community organizations
  • 5120-9-62 Operation of the federal equitable sharing fund

USCLI's source monitor re-reads the 19 official sources cited on this page around the clock; 1 answered unchanged at their latest check. The oldest of those checks was on October 21, 2026.

Last updated October 21, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “Ohio corrections law: Corrections Ledger,” uscli.org/corrections-tracker/ohio (last updated October 21, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.