(A) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no person shall do any of the following:

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
Minor misdemeanorup to $150
For details, see Ohio Code § 2929.24(A)

Terms Used In Ohio Code 4517.02

  • 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
  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • Whoever: includes all persons, natural and artificial; partners; principals, agents, and employees; and all officials, public or private. See Ohio Code 1.02

(1) Engage in the business of displaying or selling at retail new motor vehicles or assume to engage in that business, unless the person is licensed as a new motor vehicle dealer under sections 4517.01 to 4517.45 of the Revised Code, or is a salesperson licensed under those sections and employed by a licensed new motor vehicle dealer;

(2) Engage in the business of offering for sale, displaying for sale, or selling at retail or wholesale used motor vehicles or assume to engage in that business, unless the person is licensed as a dealer under sections 4517.01 to 4517.45 of the Revised Code, is a salesperson licensed under those sections and employed by a licensed used motor vehicle dealer or licensed new motor vehicle dealer, or the person holds a construction equipment auction license issued under section 4517.17 of the Revised Code;

(3) Engage in the business of regularly making available, offering to make available, or arranging for another person to use a motor vehicle, in the manner described in division (M) of section 4517.01 of the Revised Code, unless the person is licensed as a motor vehicle leasing dealer under sections 4517.01 to 4517.45 of the Revised Code;

(4) Engage in the business of motor vehicle auctioning or assume to engage in that business, unless the person is licensed as a motor vehicle auction owner under sections 4517.01 to 4517.45 of the Revised Code and the person uses an auctioneer who is licensed under Chapter 4707 of the Revised Code to conduct the motor vehicle auctions or the person holds a construction equipment auction license issued under section 4517.17 of the Revised Code;

(5) Engage in the business of distributing motor vehicles or assume to engage in that business, unless the person is licensed as a distributor under sections 4517.01 to 4517.45 of the Revised Code;

(6) Make more than five casual sales of motor vehicles in a twelve-month period, commencing with the day of the month in which the first such sale is made, nor provide a location or space for the sale of motor vehicles at a flea market, without obtaining a license as a dealer under sections 4517.01 to 4517.45 of the Revised Code, provided that nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the disposition without a license of a motor vehicle originally acquired and held for purposes other than sale, rental, or lease to an employee, retiree, officer, or director of the person making the disposition, to a corporation affiliated with the person making the disposition, or to a person licensed under sections 4517.01 to 4517.45 of the Revised Code;

(7) Engage in the business of auctioning both large construction or transportation equipment and also motor vehicles incident thereto, unless the person is a construction equipment auctioneer or the person is licensed as a motor vehicle auction owner and the person uses an auctioneer who is licensed under Chapter 4707 of the Revised Code to conduct the auction.

(B) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an auctioneer licensed under sections 4707.01 to 4707.19 of the Revised Code, to obtain a motor vehicle salesperson’s license under sections 4517.01 to 4517.45 of the Revised Code when conducting an auction sale for a licensed motor vehicle dealer on the dealer’s premises, or when conducting an auction sale for a licensed motor vehicle auction owner; nor shall such an auctioneer be required to obtain a motor vehicle auction owner’s license under sections 4517.01 to 4517.45 of the Revised Code when engaged in auctioning for a licensed motor vehicle auction owner.

The establishment of a construction equipment auction license by Am. Sub. H.B. 114 of the 129th general assembly shall not in any way modify, limit, or restrict in any manner the conduct of auctions by persons licensed under Chapter 4707. of the Revised Code who are acting in compliance with that chapter.

(C) Sections 4517.01 to 4517.45 of the Revised Code do not apply to any of the following:

(1) Persons engaging in the business of selling commercial tractors, trailers, or semitrailers incidentally to engaging primarily in business other than the selling or leasing of motor vehicles;

(2) Mortgagees selling at retail only those motor vehicles that have come into their possession by a default in the terms of a mortgage contract;

(3) The leasing, rental, and interchange of motor vehicles used directly in the rendition of a public utility service by regulated motor carriers.

(D) When a partnership licensed under sections 4517.01 to 4517.45 of the Revised Code is dissolved by death, the surviving partners may operate under the license for a period of sixty days, and the heirs or representatives of deceased persons and receivers or trustees in bankruptcy appointed by any competent authority may operate under the license of the person succeeded in possession by that heir, representative, receiver, or trustee in bankruptcy.

(E) No remanufacturer shall engage in the business of selling at retail any new motor vehicle without having written authority from the manufacturer or distributor of the vehicle to sell new motor vehicles and to perform repairs under the terms of the manufacturer’s or distributor’s new motor vehicle warranty, unless, at the time of the sale of the vehicle, each customer is furnished with a binding agreement ensuring that the customer has the right to have the vehicle serviced or repaired by a new motor vehicle dealer who is franchised to sell and service vehicles of the same line-make as the chassis of the remanufactured vehicle purchased by the customer and whose service or repair facility is located within either twenty miles of the remanufacturer’s location and place of business or twenty miles of the customer’s residence or place of business. If there is no such new motor vehicle dealer located within twenty miles of the remanufacturer’s location and place of business or the customer’s residence or place of business, the binding agreement furnished to the customer may be with the new motor vehicle dealer who is franchised to sell and service vehicles of the same line-make as the chassis of the remanufactured vehicle purchased by the customer and whose service or repair facility is located nearest to the remanufacturer’s location and place of business or the customer’s residence or place of business. Additionally, at the time of sale of any vehicle, each customer of the remanufacturer shall be furnished with a warranty issued by the remanufacturer for a term of at least one year.

(F) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor and shall be subject to a mandatory fine of one hundred dollars. If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of this section, whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree and shall be subject to a mandatory fine of one thousand dollars.