Ohio
Every law and rule change USCLI tracks for Ohio, across the professions, on one page. Each entry links to its full write-up and official sources.
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Licensing Law Tracker
Ohio licenses private investigation and security businesses through Private Investigator Security Guard Services (PISGS) in the Department of Public Safety. Investigators who work for a licensee are registered by that licensee, not licensed.
Full Ohio page: every change, its sources, and what has not changed (8 entries).
Tracking device law gains a Medicaid visit verification exemption
Senate Bill 315, which mainly concerns SNAP and Medicaid program integrity, added one exemption to ORC 2903.216, as new division (D)(10). The tracking device ban does not apply to location verification technology used by the Department of Medicaid, a…
Background monitoring fees rise by $3
PISGS announced that the Attorney General’s Office is raising annual RAPBACK enrollment fees by $3. The new fees are $8 for a new registrant or registrant renewal and $16 for a new qualifying agent or qualifying agent renewal. The notice cites ORC…
Rules updated for two-year licenses; concealed handgun license requirement removed
The Department of Public Safety amended 13 rules, kept 7 without change, and rescinded rule 4501:7-1-20, which covered meetings of the now abolished Ohio Private Investigation and Security Services Commission. The rules now set a $200 initial license fee…
Nuclear plant security staff excluded from licensing
The state budget amended ORC 4749.01 to exclude security personnel and contractors working under an approved physical protection program at a federally licensed commercial nuclear power plant from the licensing chapter.
Licenses extended to two years; fee caps changed; commission abolished
Amends ORC 4749.03. Licenses now last two years instead of one. The cap on the initial license fee drops from $375 to $200, and the cap on the renewal fee changes from $275 a year to $550 for two years. The same act abolished the Ohio Private Investigation…
Officer Certification Tracker
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.
Full Ohio page: every change, its sources, and what has not changed (9 entries).
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Forensic Science Tracker
Ohio has no forensic science commission or analyst license. BCI, under the Attorney General, runs the state DNA lab and databases, and DNA is taken from every adult arrested for a felony. Since 2023 the State has adopted the 2023 federal wording of Rule 702, required yearly public reports on sexual assault kits, given victims the right to stop kit destruction, and extended kit testing and retention duties to human trafficking cases.
Full Ohio page: every change, its sources, and what has not changed (3 entries).
Rule 702 now matches the 2023 federal rule
The proponent must now show the court “that it is more likely than not” that each requirement is met. Division (C) adds that “the expert’s opinion reflects a reliable application of the principles and methods to the facts of the case.” Before the change,…
Yearly sexual assault kit reports; victims may stop kit destruction
New R.C. 2933.821 requires every governmental evidence-retention entity that receives, keeps or preserves kits to report to the Attorney General within 180 days and then every year. Reports cover tested and untested kits, dates received, submitted and…
Kit testing and retention duties extended to human trafficking cases
R.C. 2933.82 now covers sexual assault kits secured in trafficking-in-persons cases under R.C. 2905.32. Agencies must keep the kits for the statutory periods, 30 years if the case is unsolved. They had to review trafficking case records and send untested…
Last updated October 19, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & Investigation