Ohio Code 4511.098 – Rights of those ticketed
(A) A person or entity who receives a ticket for a civil violation sent in compliance with section 4511.097 of the Revised Code shall elect to do one of the following:
Terms Used In Ohio Code 4511.098
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
- Another: when used to designate the owner of property which is the subject of an offense, includes not only natural persons but also every other owner of property. See Ohio Code 1.02
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Motor vehicle: means every vehicle propelled or drawn by power other than muscular power or power collected from overhead electric trolley wires, except motorized bicycles, electric bicycles, road rollers, traction engines, power shovels, power cranes, and other equipment used in construction work and not designed for or employed in general highway transportation, hole-digging machinery, well-drilling machinery, ditch-digging machinery, farm machinery, and trailers designed and used exclusively to transport a boat between a place of storage and a marina, or in and around a marina, when drawn or towed on a street or highway for a distance of no more than ten miles and at a speed of twenty-five miles per hour or less. See Ohio Code 4511.01
- Person: means every natural person, firm, co-partnership, association, or corporation. See Ohio Code 4511.01
- Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars, trackless trolleys, and other devices, either singly or together, while using for purposes of travel any highway or private road open to public travel. See Ohio Code 4511.01
- Vehicle: means every device, including a motorized bicycle and an electric bicycle, in, upon, or by which any person or property may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except that "vehicle" does not include any motorized wheelchair, any electric personal assistive mobility device, any low-speed micromobility device, any personal delivery device as defined in section 4511. See Ohio Code 4511.01
(1) In accordance with instructions on the ticket, pay the civil penalty, thereby admitting liability and waiving the opportunity to contest the violation;
(2)(a) Within thirty days after receipt of the ticket, provide the municipal court or county court with jurisdiction over the civil action with either of the following affidavits:
(i) An affidavit executed by the registered owner stating that another person was operating the vehicle of the registered owner at the time of the violation, identifying that person as a designated party who may be held liable for the violation, and containing at a minimum the name and address of the designated party;
(ii) An affidavit executed by the registered owner stating that at the time of the violation, the motor vehicle or the license plates issued to the motor vehicle were stolen and therefore were in the care, custody, or control of some person or entity to whom the registered owner did not grant permission to use the motor vehicle. In order to demonstrate that the motor vehicle or the license plates were stolen prior to the traffic law violation and therefore were not under the control or possession of the registered owner at the time of the violation, the registered owner shall submit proof that a report about the stolen motor vehicle or license plates was filed with the appropriate law enforcement agency prior to the violation or within forty-eight hours after the violation occurred.
(b) A registered owner is not responsible for a traffic law violation if, within thirty days after the date of mailing of the ticket, the registered owner furnishes an affidavit specified in division (A)(2)(a)(i) or (ii) of this section to the court with jurisdiction in a form established by the court and the following conditions are met:
(i) If the registered owner submits an affidavit as specified in division (A)(2)(a)(i) of this section, the designated party either accepts liability for the violation by paying the civil penalty or by failing to request a court hearing within thirty days or is determined liable in a court hearing;
(ii) If the registered owner submits an affidavit as specified in division (A)(2)(a)(ii) of this section, the affidavit is supported by a stolen vehicle or stolen license plate report as required in that division.
(3) If the registered owner is a motor vehicle leasing dealer or a motor vehicle renting dealer, notify the court with jurisdiction of the name and address of the lessee or renter of the motor vehicle at the time of the traffic law violation. The court shall establish the form of the notice. A motor vehicle leasing dealer or motor vehicle renting dealer who receives a ticket for an alleged traffic law violation detected by a traffic law photo-monitoring device is not liable for a ticket issued for a motor vehicle that was in the care, custody, or control of a lessee or renter at the time of the alleged violation. The dealer shall not pay such a ticket and subsequently attempt to collect a fee or assess the lessee or renter a charge for any payment of such a ticket made on behalf of the lessee or renter.
(4) If the vehicle involved in the traffic law violation is a commercial motor vehicle and the ticket is issued to a corporate entity, provide to the court with jurisdiction an affidavit in a form established by the court, sworn to or affirmed by an agent of the corporate entity, that provides the name and address of the employee who was operating the motor vehicle at the time of the alleged violation and who is the designated party.
(5) Contest the ticket by filing a written request for a court hearing to review the ticket in a form established by the court. The person or entity shall file the written request not later than thirty days after receipt of the ticket. The failure to request a hearing within this time period constitutes a waiver of the right to contest the violation and ticket, and is deemed to constitute an admission of liability and waiver of the opportunity to contest the violation.
(B) A court with jurisdiction that receives an affidavit described in division (A)(2)(a)(i) or (A)(4) of this section or a notification under division (A)(3) of this section from a registered owner may proceed to notify the local authority to send a ticket that conforms with division (B) of section 4511.097 of the Revised Code to the designated party. The local authority shall send the ticket to the designated party by ordinary mail not later than twenty-one days after receipt of the notification.