Ohio
Ohio requires a basic-training certificate from the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission (OPOTC), and revokes it only for felony pleas or convictions, certain negotiated misdemeanor pleas, and failure to disclose a felony. Since 2023 the State has made 24 hours of annual training a fixed requirement, opened certification to officers licensed in other states, replaced the repeat academy for long service gaps with refresher training, and let agencies charge for body-camera video requests.
At a glance
- Certifying body
- Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission (OPOTC), with “ten members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate,” in the Attorney General’s office (R.C. 109.71). Its executive director awards and revokes basic-training certificates (R.C. 109.77). The Attorney General adopts the rules on OPOTC’s recommendation (R.C. 109.74).
- Statute
- R.C. 109.71 to 109.804: OPOTC, the basic-training certificate, revocation, and continuing professional training. Rules are in OAC Chapter 109:2-1 (basic training, certification, and re-entry) and Chapter 109:2-18 (continuing professional training).
- Minimum standards
- No permanent appointment without an OPOTC basic-training certificate. Before finishing, a person must disclose any felony and undergo a state and FBI fingerprint check; a felony conviction or failure to disclose bars the certificate (R.C. 109.77(B), (E)). A high school diploma or equivalent is required. People are barred from basic training for a weapons disability; a felony indictment, plea, or conviction; sex, child-victim, or arson offender registration; pending drug, misdemeanor-violence, or R.C. 2903.14 charges; or a drug, misdemeanor-violence, or theft-chapter (R.C. Chapter 2913) conviction within 3 years (OAC 109:2-1-03(C), (D)).
- Decertification
- Conviction-based only. The executive director “shall revoke” a certificate after a guilty plea to a felony, or to a misdemeanor under a negotiated plea that surrenders the certificate (R.C. 2929.43(D)), and for failing to disclose a felony. After a felony conviction at trial, the director “shall suspend” the certificate while an appeal is pending; the suspension becomes a revocation if the conviction is upheld. Revocation is permanent and follows R.C. Chapter 119 procedures (R.C. 109.77(E)(4), (F), (G)). There is no misconduct-based ground.
- Public decertification list
- No statutory list found. Officer records are available through the Public Records Act, subject to its exemptions (R.C. 149.43).
- National Decertification Index
- None found. No Revised Code or Administrative Code provision found names the Index.
- Continuing training
- Every appointing authority “shall require” 24 hours of continuing professional training each calendar year. At least 24 hours are reimbursed and up to 40 may be (R.C. 109.803(A)(1)). By rule, an officer must complete the hours to carry a firearm on duty and perform peace-officer functions, and newly certified officers are exempt in their graduation year (OAC 109:2-18-02, effective March 30, 2026).
Changes, 2023 to 2026
Dementia training: current officers must document it or stop carrying a firearm
The rule adds up to 2 hours of basic training on interacting with people with dementia. Officers who began basic training before April 3, 2023 “shall have two years from July 1, 2024” to give the executive director proof that they completed the training. That deadline, July 1, 2026, falls before the rule took effect. An officer who does not comply must stop carrying a firearm and stop performing peace-officer functions until proof is filed. The executive director may extend the deadline on a written request that explains emergency circumstances.
For officers: If you began basic training before April 3, 2023, make sure proof of dementia training is on file with OPOTC.
Re-entry and out-of-state rule rewritten: refresher before duty, no repeat academy, military exemption dropped
Under the old rule, an officer out of service for 1 to 4 years had a year after re-appointment to finish a refresher course and could work in the meantime. An officer out more than 4 years had to complete the full basic course again. Now a gap of more than 1 year but less than 4 needs up to 40 hours of refresher training, and a gap of more than 4 years needs 80 hours. The officer may be appointed but may not carry a firearm or perform peace-officer functions until the executive director verifies completion. The rule drops the old exemption for National Guard members and reservists returning from mobilization, and the old 90- to 180-day extension procedure. It also sets out certification by endorsement under SB 131 (see below) and adds a path for current and former State Highway Patrol troopers who completed the Patrol academy. Each certification path in paragraph (B) requires passing the state certification exam, though former troopers already serving as peace officers may be reappointed without it.
For officers: If you have been out of service for more than a year, finish the refresher before you carry a firearm or work.
A service gap no longer makes a certificate insufficient; refresher training required first
New R.C. 109.77(M) says a basic-training certificate “shall not be deemed insufficient” for appointment “because of a lapse in the person’s service.” An officer re-appointed after at least 1 year out must first complete refresher training: up to 40 hours for a gap of 1 to under 4 years, and 80 hours for 4 years or more. R.C. 109.73(A)(20) has OPOTC recommend refresher rules. Before, the rule required the full basic course after more than 4 years out. The new rule took effect May 29, 2026.
For officers: Returning after 4 or more years out now takes 80 hours of refresher training, not the full academy.
Investigatory records exemption restructured; plate-reader data exempted
R.C. 149.43(A)(2) is restructured. The definition of a confidential law enforcement investigatory record is renumbered, not rewritten. A new definition of “specific investigatory work product” covers information law enforcement compiles for a probable or pending criminal or civil proceeding, not routine incident reports. It stays non-public until direct appeals end, or until the matter otherwise ends or is dropped. The act sets time limits on trial preparation records and adds an exemption for attorney work product records. New exemption (yy) covers images and data from automated license-plate readers kept in a law enforcement database. The video-fee rules from HB 315 now also cover prosecutors’ offices, and a new (B)(11) bars fees for crime victims, tort-claim victims, and their counsel or insurer, on affidavit.
For officers: Investigative work product compiled for a probable or pending criminal or civil case, which may include one about an officer, can stay closed until the case ends.
Officer work schedules exempt from public records
Records of the past, current, and future work schedule of a “designated public service worker” are not public records. These workers include peace officers, BCI investigators, and federal law enforcement officers. Court dockets are not covered. The records become public 3 years after they are created. A journalist’s signed written request can still reach work schedules, along with residence and spouse-employer information (R.C. 149.43(B)(9)(a)). HB 265 lettered the exemption (tt); the current code letters it (uu).
For officers: Your duty schedule is not a public record for 3 years, but a journalist can still request it in writing.
Agencies may charge for body-camera and other video requests
A state or local law enforcement agency “may charge” a requester the actual cost of preparing a video record, up to $75 per hour of video and $750 in total (R.C. 149.43(B)(1)). Actual cost covers review, blurring, redaction, uploading, production, and staff time. An agency may require prepayment of an estimate, which it must give within 5 business days. A court judging whether a response was prompt must consider the time needed to retrieve, review, and redact the video and to get legal advice. HB 96 later extended the fees to prosecutors’ offices and added a fee waiver for victims.
For officers: Requests for footage of your encounters may now come with a fee of up to $750.
Certification by endorsement for officers licensed or experienced elsewhere
New R.C. 109.73(E) and 109.77(L) say the commission or its executive director “shall issue” a certificate under R.C. Chapter 4796 to a person who holds an officer license in another state. The same applies to a person with qualifying work experience in a state that does not license officers; the 2026 rule extends this to service in a federal agency or the uniformed services. Firearm basic and requalification certificates are excluded. Before, OAC 109:2-1-12(B) gave only credit for prior equivalent training. Officers with 5 or more years elsewhere needed only Ohio-mandated topics, and everyone had to pass the state exam. What is new is a full certificate without Ohio training; the state exam is still required. The May 29, 2026 rule sets the details. Out-of-state licensees need 1 year licensed, good standing, and 1 of the last 5 years as an officer. Experience-based applicants need 3 of the last 5 years.
For officers: If you are licensed in another state, you may qualify for an Ohio certificate without the academy, but you must pass the state exam.
24 hours of annual training no longer depends on funding
R.C. 109.803(A)(1) used to call for “up to twenty-four hours” a year as OPOTC directed, and said, “If no funding for the reimbursement is available, no continuing professional training will be required.” It now says appointing authorities “shall require” 24 hours each calendar year. At least 24 hours “shall be reimbursed” and up to 40 “may be reimbursed.” The rule already made completing the hours a condition of carrying a firearm and performing peace-officer functions. OAC 109:2-18-02 was amended effective March 30, 2026 to reflect the fixed requirement.
For officers: Complete 24 hours of continuing training every year; a funding gap no longer suspends the requirement.
Dementia training required by statute
The Attorney General “shall adopt” rules for training on identifying and interacting with people with dementia. The training is up to 2 hours in basic training, and up to 1 hour can count toward continuing training. Topics include alternatives to physical restraint and abuse reporting. The rule took effect September 14, 2026 (see above).
For officers: Dementia training can count toward your annual continuing training hours.
Not yet in force and pending
- HB 691 (Brownlee, Thomas), “Community and Police Protection Act”: would add R.C. 2921.50 on law enforcement officers’ use of masks. Introduced February 10, 2026; referred to committee February 18, 2026. HB 691
- SB 26 (Johnson): would create a Joint Law Enforcement Oversight Committee (new R.C. 103.52 and 103.53). Introduced January 22, 2025; referred to committee January 29, 2025. SB 26
Checked and unchanged
- R.C. 109.77(E) to (G), the felony bar, revocation, suspension, and permanent ineligibility, were not reworded in 2023 or 2025; the amendments only added (L) and (M). R.C. 109.761 (agency reporting) was last amended in 2009. OAC 109:2-1-03 (eligibility for basic training) has been unchanged since January 1, 2017.
- OAC 109:2-18-02(H)(2) still lists college-preparatory boarding schools for drug-education training credit. R.C. 109.803(B)(1), as amended by HB 455 effective October 9, 2026, no longer does.
- Not counted as certification changes: SB 16 and SB 288 (134th GA, effective April 4, 2023), which let county correctional officers train and carry firearms; SB 98 (135th GA, effective October 24, 2024) on fire investigators; HB 455 (136th GA, effective October 9, 2026) on school types in R.C. 109.803(B)(1); HB 315’s at-risk youth definitions in R.C. 109.71; HB 20 (136th GA, effective October 6, 2026) on harassing emergency responders; and HB 31 (136th GA, effective September 7, 2026), which amended R.C. 149.43 on parole board recordings.
- No Ohio statute or rule on a duty to intervene, a use-of-force standard, or Brady or Giglio lists was adopted from 2023 to 2026.
Last updated October 19, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “Ohio officer certification: Officer Certification Tracker,” uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/ohio (last updated October 19, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.