(A) No person shall establish a driver training school or continue the operation of an existing school unless the person applies for and obtains from the director of public safety a license in the manner and form prescribed by the director.

Attorney's Note

Under the Ohio Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Misdemeanor of the first degreeup to 180 daysup to $1,000
Misdemeanor of the second degreeup to 90 daysup to $750
For details, see Ohio Code § 2929.24(A)

Terms Used In Ohio Code 4508.03

  • Instructor: means any person, whether acting for self as operator of a driver training school or for such a school for compensation, who teaches, conducts classes of, gives demonstrations to, or supervises practice of, persons learning to operate or drive motor vehicles. See Ohio Code 4508.01
  • Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
  • school: means any of the following:

    (1) A private business enterprise conducted by an individual, association, partnership, or corporation for the education and training of persons to operate or drive motor vehicles, that does any of the following:

    (a) Uses public streets or highways to provide training and charges a consideration or tuition for such services;

    (b) Provides an online driver education course approved by the director of public safety pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 4508. See Ohio Code 4508.01

  • Whoever: includes all persons, natural and artificial; partners; principals, agents, and employees; and all officials, public or private. See Ohio Code 1.02

The director shall adopt rules that establish the requirements for a school license, including requirements concerning location, equipment, courses of instruction, instructors, previous records of the school and instructors, financial statements, schedule of fees and charges, insurance in the sum and with those provisions as the director considers necessary to protect adequately the interests of the public, and any other matters as the director may prescribe for the protection of the public. The rules also shall require financial responsibility information as part of the driver education curriculum.

(B) Any school that offers a driver training program for persons with disabilities shall provide specially trained instructors for the driver training of such persons. No school shall operate a driver training program for persons with disabilities after June 30, 1978, unless it has been licensed for such operation by the director. No person shall act as a specially trained instructor in a driver training program for persons with disabilities operated by a school after June 30, 1978, unless that person has been licensed by the director.

(C) The director shall certify instructors to teach driver training to persons with disabilities in accordance with training program requirements established by the department of public safety.

(D) No person shall operate a driver training school unless the person has a valid license issued by the director under this section.

(E) Whoever violates division (D) of this section is guilty of operating a driver training school without a valid license, a misdemeanor of the second degree. On a second or subsequent offense within two years after the first offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

Last updated March 2, 2023 at 12:24 PM