(A) Any individual who applies for a license shall file a written application with the appropriate specialty section of the Ohio construction industry licensing board, accompanied with the application fee as determined pursuant to section 4740.09 of the Revised Code. The application shall be on the form the section prescribes and verified by the applicant’s oath. The applicant shall provide information satisfactory to the section showing that the applicant meets the requirements of division (B) of this section.

(B) To qualify to take an examination, an individual shall:

(1) Be at least eighteen years of age;

(2) Be a United States citizen or legal alien who produces valid documentation to demonstrate the individual is a legal resident of the United States;

(3) Either have been a tradesperson in the type of licensed trade for which the application is filed for not less than five years immediately prior to the date the application is filed, be a currently registered engineer in this state with three years of business experience in the construction industry in the trade for which the engineer is applying to take an examination, or have other experience acceptable to the appropriate specialty section of the board;

(4) Maintain contractor‘s liability insurance in an amount the appropriate specialty section of the board determines and only in one contracting company name;

(5) Not have done any of the following:

(a) Violated this chapter or any rule adopted pursuant to it;

(b) Obtained or renewed a license issued pursuant to this chapter, or any order, ruling, or authorization of the board or a section of the board by fraud, misrepresentation, or deception;

(c) Engaged in fraud, misrepresentation, or deception in the conduct of business.

(C) When an applicant for licensure as a contractor in a licensed trade meets the qualifications set forth in division (B) of this section and passes the required examination, the appropriate specialty section of the board, within ninety days after the application was filed, shall authorize the administrative section of the board to license the applicant for the type of contractor’s license for which the applicant qualifies. A specialty section of the board may withdraw its authorization to the administrative section for issuance of a license for good cause shown, on the condition that notice of that withdrawal is given prior to the administrative section’s issuance of the license.

(D)(1) Except as provided in division (D)(2) of this section, if an applicant does not pass the required examination, the applicant may retake the examination not less than sixty days after the applicant’s most recent examination.

(2) An applicant who does not pass the required examination after taking the examination five times under this section shall reapply for a license under division (A) of this section before retaking the required examination any subsequent time.

(E) All licenses a contractor holds pursuant to this chapter shall expire annually on the same date, which shall be the expiration date of the original license the contractor holds. An individual holding a valid, unexpired license may renew the license, without reexamination, by submitting an application to the appropriate specialty section of the board not more than ninety calendar days before the expiration of the license, along with the renewal fee the specialty section requires and proof of compliance with the applicable continuing education requirements. The applicant shall provide information in the renewal application satisfactory to demonstrate to the appropriate specialty section that the applicant continues to meet the requirements of division (B) of this section.

Upon application and within one calendar year after a license has expired, a section may waive any of the requirements for renewal of a license upon finding that an applicant substantially meets the renewal requirements or that failure to timely apply for renewal is due to excusable neglect. A section that waives requirements for renewal of a license may impose conditions upon the licensee and assess a late filing fee of not more than double the usual renewal fee. An applicant shall satisfy any condition the section imposes before a license is reissued.

(F) An individual holding a valid license may request the section of the board that authorized that license to place the license in inactive status under conditions, and for a period of time, as that section determines.

(G) Except for the ninety-day extension provided for a license assigned to a contracting company under division (D) of section 4740.07 of the Revised Code, a license held by an individual immediately terminates upon the death of the individual.

(H) Nothing in any license issued by the Ohio construction industry licensing board shall be construed to limit or eliminate any requirement of or any license issued by the Ohio fire marshal.

(I)(1) Subject to division (I)(3) of this section, no specialty section of the board shall adopt, maintain, renew, or enforce any rule, or otherwise preclude in any way, an individual from renewing a license under this chapter due to any past criminal activity or interpretation of moral character. If the specialty section denies an individual a license renewal, the reasons for such denial shall be put in writing.

(2) The section may refuse to issue a license to an applicant because of a conviction of or plea of guilty to an offense if the refusal is in accordance with section 9.79 of the Revised Code.

(3) In considering a renewal of an individual’s license, the section shall not consider any conviction or plea of guilty prior to the initial licensing. However, the board may consider a conviction or plea of guilty if it occurred after the individual was initially licensed, or after the most recent license renewal.

(4) The section may grant an individual a conditional license that lasts for one year. After the one-year period has expired, the license is no longer considered conditional, and the individual shall be considered fully licensed.

(J) Notwithstanding divisions (E) and (I) of this section and sections 4740.04 and 4740.05 of the Revised Code, the board may establish rules that amend the continuing education requirements and license renewal schedule for licensees as provided in or adopted pursuant to those sections for the purpose of establishing a compliance incentive program. These rules may include provisions for the creation of the program and the qualifications, continuing education requirements, and renewal schedule for the program.