Ohio Gun Laws

Ohio

Much like many other states, Ohio is a shall-issue state. That means that concealed weapon permits are to be issued by the county sheriff at the locality of the applicant once all the requirements for applications are met. The state of Ohio also does not require a permit, background check, or firearms registration when purchasing a handgun from a private individual.

That being said, the state of Ohio also allows openly carrying handguns without a permit with exceptions such as inside vehicles or businesses that sell alcohol like bars, taverns, and clubs. It is important to note that you must be at least 21 years old in order to be allowed to possess a firearm in the state of Ohio and that some areas are off-limits for both concealed and open carry.

Conversely, concealed carry requires a license permit. The Ohio Concealed Handgun License (CHL) is available for application for residents who are at least 21 years of age and can legally possess a firearm under state and federal laws. In order to obtain a firearm permit, the applicant must complete all required firearms safety training and meet all the requirements as stipulated by the law. It’s worth mentioning that current and former servicemen and women are able to obtain an Ohio CHL without paying the fee or going through a concealed carry class. In addition, active-duty military with a valid military identification card and documentation of successful firearms training that meets or exceeds that required in Ohio do not need to obtain an Ohio license. Furthermore, non-residents are also qualified to apply for a gun permit as long as they work in the state of Ohio.

For more information, read through this quick guide to help you in applying for a gun permit in the state of Ohio.

Ohio CCW License

In order to apply for an Ohio Concealed Handgun License (CHL), you must: 

  • Be at least 21 years old;
  • Be an Ohio resident for at least 45 days and a resident of the county in which you are applying, or the adjacent county, for at least 30 days;
  • Be employed in Ohio If you live in another state;
  • Be legally living in the United States;
  • Have completed an approved firearms training class (training is waived for active-duty military and retired and honorably discharged veterans with proof of military firearms experience);
  • Not have had a suspended concealed carry license from another state;
  • Not be a fugitive from justice;
  • Not be under indictment for, and has not been charged with, convicted of or pled guilty to, a felony;
  • Not have been convicted of, pleaded guilty to or adjudicated a delinquent child for domestic violence;
  • Not be under indictment, be charged with or convicted of any felony, trafficking in drugs, any other drug-related crime, a misdemeanor offense of violence, negligent assault or assaulting a peace officer;
  • Not, within three years prior to your application, have been convicted, pleaded guilty to, or been adjudicated as delinquent in connection with a misdemeanor offense of violence;
  • Not have been charged with falsification of a concealed handgun license;
  • Not be subject to a civil protection order or a temporary protection order of an Ohio court or a similar protection order issued by another state;
  • Not have been convicted, pleaded guilty to or been adjudicated as delinquent in connection with two or more assaults or negligent assaults within five years of application;
  • Not have been convicted, pleaded guilty to or adjudicated as delinquent in connection with resisting arrest within ten years of application; and
  • Meet federal law requirements.

It is important to note that active-duty military with a valid military identification card and documentation of successful firearms training that meets or exceeds that required in Ohio do not need to obtain an Ohio license. They may also transport a loaded firearm in a vessel under the same circumstances as a concealed carry permit holder. In this book, the terms “concealed handgun license holder” or “licensee” includes those active-duty members of armed forces with training documentation.

The following steps are required to be followed when applying for a gun permit in Ohio:

STEP 1: Complete a firearm training course if required.

STEP 2: Download the application.

STEP 3: Submit the following documents to your local sheriff’s office:

  • Completed application form;
  • Copies of firearms training certificate; and
  • Passport-style color photo taken within the last 30 days.

STEP 4: Have your fingerprints taken and pay the fee.

STEP 5: Wait for the notification if your application is approved or denied. 

You can start renewing your current Ohio Concealed Handgun License (CHL) 90 days before the expiration date indicated in the license. You can also renew your license any time after its expiration date, as well. However, the expired license cannot be used for any purpose, and you are prohibited from carrying a firearm until the time that you receive your new license. For non-residents who obtained a license while they are working in the state of Ohio can only renew their permits if they are still employed within the state. 

Follow these steps to renew you North Dakota Class 1 and Class 2 licenses:

STEP 1: Download the application.

STEP 2: Submit the following documents to your local sheriff’s office:

  • Completed, but unsigned, application form (you will sign it there in the presence of the Sheriff’s Office Notary);
  • You must have your fingerprints electronically scanned through the WebCheck system, or a ten-print fingerprint card if WebCheck is unavailable; and
  • A valid picture identification card (driver’s license, state identification card, retired law enforcement or corrections identification card, or military identification card only).

STEP 3: Pay the fee.

STEP 4: You will be notified by mail if your application has been approved.

The following are the associated fees in applying for or renewing a gun permit in Ohio:

Initial Permit, Ohio residents for more than five years

$67.00

Initial Permit, Ohio residents for less than five years

$91.00

Renewals, Ohio residents for more than five years

$50.00

Renewals, Ohio residents for less than five years

$74.00

Validity

Five Years

Processing Time

45 Days

Ohio CCW Laws

Vehicle Carry

NO – Without a Permit/License

Without a concealed carry license you are not allowed to carry a loaded handgun inside vehicle. Motorcycles fall under the definition of motor vehicles.

The Law:
2923.16

Must Notify Officer

YES – Must Inform Officer on Contact By Law

According to Ohio law, “If a person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and is carrying a concealed handgun as a CCW licensee, whether in a motor vehicle or not, he shall promptly inform the law enforcement officer that he is carrying a concealed handgun. If in a vehicle, the licensee shall remain in the vehicle and keep his hands in plain sight at all times and have no contact with the firearm.”

The Law:
Sec. 2923.16

Open Carry

YES – Without a Permit/License

Open carry in Ohio is legal without any license. However, you will need a permit to carry a loaded firearm in a vehicle.

Constitutional Carry

NO

Ohio is NOT a constitutional carry state.

No Weapons Signs Enforced

YES

Ohio gun laws give “No Weapons” signs the force of law. There are legal penalties for entering a private property or business that has posted these signs.

Ohio Gun Forms & Supporting Documentation

Purchase and Possession

PURCHASE

The state of Ohio does not mandate the obtaining of any permits to purchase a rifle, shotgun or handgun.

It is illegal for any dealer, vendor or private party to sell a firearm to any person under the age of 18 or a handgun to any person under the age of 21. No person may give a firearm to any person under the age of 18 or a handgun to a person under the age of 21 unless the firearm is for the purpose of education, sports, or hunting.

It is illegal for any person to willfully or recklessly sell, give, lend or otherwise assist in the acquisition of a firearm by a person prohibited from possessing a firearm or who is clearly under the influence of any controlled substance or alcohol.

Residents of Ohio over the age of 18 who qualify for firearms purchases in Ohio may lawfully purchase a shotgun, rifle or ammunition for such firearms in the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania or West Virginia. Residents of these states listed above over the age of 18 may purchase any of the above items in the state of Ohio. All transactions must be in compliance with federal law.

POSSESSION

The state of Ohio does not mandate any the obtaining of any permits for the possession of a rifle, shotgun or handgun.

It is illegal for a person to willfully possess, carry, acquire or use a firearm if a person is:

  • An alcoholic or addict of any controlled substance.
  • A fugitive with outstanding warrants for his or her arrest.
  • A convict of a violent felony, currently awaiting trial for a violent felony, or a delinquent adjudicated for a violent crime that would be classified as a felony if committed by an adult.
  • Adjudicated as mentally incompetent, adjudicated as mentally defective, coercively committed to an institution of mental health, deemed mentally ill by any valid court or is a former or current forced patient of a mental hospital except for the purpose of observation.
  • A convict of any felony pertaining in any way to drugs or drug trafficking, currently awaiting trial for a felony pertaining in any way to drugs or drug trafficking, or a delinquent adjudicated for a drug or drug trafficking crime that would be classified as a felony if committed by an adult.

Carrying a Firearm

It is illegal to carry a concealed handgun on or about one’s person. Employees and agents of the state or federal government, law enforcement officers in the line of duty and persons maintaining a license to carry a concealed handgun are exempt from this regulation.

Firearms may be openly carried on one’s person but carriers must always be cautious.

Any person wishing to obtain a license to carry a concealed handgun may find and submit Ohio Peace Officers Training Commission-approved applications at the office of the local sheriff. All applicants must also submit:

  • A certificate evidencing firearms competency;
  • A standard photo taken in the last 30 days in full color; and
  • A complete set of fingerprints.

All applicants must be residents of Ohio for at least 45 days, 30 day, or more, residents of the county of application or any adjacent county and be at least 21 years of age or older. The standard fee for application is $67 unless a more thorough background check is required. Following March 14, 2007, licenses to carry a concealed handgun shall be recognized throughout Ohio for a period of no more than five years.

Applicants denied a license to carry a concealed handgun shall be informed of the reasoning for the denial by the county sheriff. These applicants have a right to appeal this decision. All legitimately expired licenses may be renewed by undertaking the same process as acquiring a new permit so long as the applicant can provide documentation evidencing firearms competency within the past 6 years or a competency certificate that has been renewed. In the event of an address change, a license holder must notify the issuing authority on the application for a renewed license. No license holder may renew or attempt to renew his or her license until 90 days prior to the expiration of his or her current license or 30 days after the expiration.

Persons in serious danger may request a 90-day temporary emergency license from the sheriff if they would normally qualify for a license and can prove that they are in serious danger. Emergency licenses may only be renewed one time for every four year period.All of the following persons are disqualified from maintaining a license to carry a concealed handgun:

  • Felony Convicts or persons being charged with a felony.
  • Drug crime Convicts or persons being charged with any drug-related crime.
  • Persons with outstanding warrants or fleeing form justice.
  • Persons convicted of any misdemeanor or other crime of violence within three years prior to application.
  • Persons convicted of assault or aggravated assault within five years prior to application.
  • Persons convicted of impeding the arrest of any other person or resisting arrest within a period of ten years prior to application.
  • Persons who have been coercively committed to an institution of mental health.
  • Persons adjudicated as mentally effective.
  • Persons restricted by any court-issued order of civil protection, temporary or extended.

Any person wishing to obtain a license to carry a concealed handgun is required to submit documentation evidencing the completion of firearms training from within the past 3 years in the form of a completion certificate or a photocopy thereof. Applicants are required to review the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission firearms, lethal force and dispute management pamphlet. The state of Ohio approves training programs that are offered by a college or university in any state, offered by an agency of law enforcement, accessible to the public, offered specifically in firearms in another state, offered by the municipal, county, state or Department of Natural Resources so long as it has the approval of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission Executive Director, and facilitated by approved instructors certified by the Peace Officer Training Commission Executive Director or the National Rifle Association.

Applicants may also submit a documentation of active or reserve military service, honorable discharge, retirement from law enforcement or completion of a firearms training course not described above but offered by an official state or federal government entity or NRA instructor, in place of the previously mentioned documentation.

Firearms training courses are required to be at least 12 hours, comprised of two hours of fire training and ten hours of proper handgun storage, discharge and handling and written examination.No person may carry a concealed handgun, with or without a license, in any:

  • Airplane or airport terminal.
  • Gathering for the purpose of worship in which an administrator of the group has not explicitly allowed the carrying of handguns.
  • Public or private institution of higher learning including colleges and universities or any grounds thereof.
  • Public or private schools.
  • Any facilities operated by the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, penal institutions, jails, or other correctional facilities.
  • Sheriff, police or highway patrol facilities.
  • Child daycare, maintained in a residence or business facility.
  • Grounds of businesses that sell alcohol for immediate consumption unless the carrier is not consuming alcohol or under the influence of a controlled substance or alcohol given that the business owner has not explicitly forbidden the carrying of firearms.
  • Facility or building of the state government or any political subdivision of the state government.
  • Place forbidden by the federal government.

In private property or buildings with clearly posted signs prohibiting the carrying of firearms on the premises it is considered illegal trespassing to carry a firearm.

Concealed handgun licensees, temporary or standard, may lawfully carry a loaded handgun while in any motor vehicle (including a motorcycle) given that this transportation does not pose any danger or give a dangerous opportunity to another person in the car. The state of Ohio defines a handgun as loaded if it has ammunition in its magazine or a clip with ammunition is close by in any passenger storage area of a vehicle. Firearms utilizing a muzzle-loading firing system are unloaded when the priming powder or percussion cap are absent from the firearm.

Loaded firearms may not be transported in a motor vehicle by persons lacking an emergency or standard license to carry a concealed handgun. Unloaded firearms may be lawfully transported if they are:

  • Sealed in a compartment or area of the car that requires a vehicle occupant to leave the vehicle in order to access the firearm.
  • Sealed in a clearly visible gun rack.
  • Properly sealed in a case or wrapping.
  • Completely stripped or with an open action, in the case of longer firearms.



License holders are mandated to inform any law enforcement officer stopping or searching them that they are carrying a concealed firearm and comply with all instructions and orders of the officer.

It is illegal to carry or otherwise possess a firearm within the grounds of any business or room that sells, distributes or offers liquor for consumption. Exempt from this regulation are law enforcements officers, facilities used to receive hotel patrons, unloaded firearms carried by members of a valid veterans’ organization, public conventions or events involving the possession of firearms by traders, dealers, patrons or exhibitors, or unloaded firearms presented at any memorial for a member of the armed forces.

Antiques & Replicas

The state of Ohio does not legally distinguish between antique firearms and ordinary firearms in all matters.

Range Protection

All lawful shooting ranges, their owners and their patrons are immune from any civil litigation pertaining to noise violations, noise pollution or any other noise related claim.

OHIO REV. CODE ANN. §1533.85 (2011)

§1533.85 Immunities regarding noise at shooting ranges

(A)(1) The owner, operator, or user of a shooting range is not liable in damages in a civil action to any person for harm that allegedly is caused by the creation of noise at the shooting range or the failure to limit or suppress noise at the shooting range if the owner, operator, or user substantially complies with the chief's noise rules.

(2)(a) Division (A) of this section does not create a new cause of action or substantive legal right against an owner, operator, or user of a shooting range.

(b) Division (A) of this section does not affect any immunities from or defenses to civil liability established by other sections of the Revised Code or available at common law to which the owner, operator, or user of a shooting range may be entitled.

(c) Division (A) of this section shall apply only to harm that occurs on or after the effective date of this section.

(d) Division (A) of this section does not confer an immunity from civil liability in relation to an owner's, operator's, or user's actions or omissions that constitute negligence, willful or wanton misconduct, or intentionally tortious conduct if those actions or omissions are not the subject of the chief's noise rules or are not in substantial compliance with the chief's noise rules.

(B) The owner, operator, or user of a shooting range is not subject to criminal prosecution under any section of the Revised Code, or under any ordinance, resolution, or regulation of a political subdivision, that relates to the creation, limitation, or suppression of noise if the conduct of the owner, operator, or user that allegedly violates the section, ordinance, resolution, or regulation substantially complies with the chief's noise rules.

(C) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, the courts of common pleas, municipal courts, housing divisions of municipal courts, and county courts of this state shall not grant injunctive relief under Chapter 3767. or any other section of the Revised Code, under an ordinance, resolution, or regulation of a political subdivision, or under the common law of this state against the owner or operator of a shooting range in a nuisance action if the court determines that the owner's or operator's actions or omissions that are the subject of a complaint substantially complied with the chief's noise rules or the chief's public safety rules, whichever apply to the nuisance action.

Ohio Concealed Carry Reciprocity

Ohio's Reciprocity States

States that honor an Ohio ccw license

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Ohio honors these state ccw licenses

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania,Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

 

Districts & Territories
District of Columbia, New York City, Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands

States that will not accept an Ohio ccw permit

California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington D.C.
 

Places where you CAN’T carry in Ohio

  • Police stations
  • Sheriffs’ offices
  • Highway Patrol posts
  • Premises controlled by BCI
  • Correctional institutions or other detention facilities
  • Airports secure areas
  • Facilities for the care of mentally ill persons
  • Courthouses or buildings in which a courtroom is located
  • Universities, unless locked in a motor vehicle
  • Colleges can decide for themselves if concealed carry is allowed
  • Government Bodies can decide for themselves if concealed carry is allowed
  • Places of worship, unless the place of worship permits otherwise
  • Child Day-Care Centers (Only If Posted)
  • Schools, but OK if locked in vehicle on school premises
  • Licensed Class D liquor permit premises, if you are consuming beer or intoxicating liquor or are under the influence
  • Any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by Federal Law.

Places where you CAN carry in Ohio

  • State parks
  • State and national forests
  • Road side rest areas
  • Vehicle
  • Airports non secure area
  • Day-care centers unless the day-care center has posted a “no-guns” sign
  • School premises if locked in a motor vehicle
  • Private aircraft
  • Business entities, property owners or public or private employers cannot ban anyone who has been issued a valid concealed handgun license from transporting or storing a firearm or ammunition when the items are locked in a person’s privately-owned motor vehicle on company property
  • All areas of the state – except those listed as off-limits.

Miscellaneous

It is illegal in Ohio to:

  • Use or otherwise carry a firearm while clearly affected by the consumption of alcohol or a controlled substance.
  • Willfully discharge any firearm from, in or on any motor vehicle.
  • Fire a gun at or within any school, safe zone around a school or structure harboring occupants.
  • Discharge a firearm while on a road or near a building or in such a way as to allow the bullet’s trajectory to cross the path of a road or nearby building.
  • Possess, convey or otherwise use a firearm, weapon or dangerous ordnance within or around any building owned or used by a school governing body such as a board of education or district body.
  • Withhold knowledge of any theft or loss of one’s firearm.
  • Shoot a firearm on or within a 100 yard radius of any cemetery unless the shooter is on his or her private property within that 100 yard radius.
  • Discharge a firearm on the grounds, park, lawn or other area connected to or part of a church, inhabited dwelling, school property or any property owned, operated or inhabited by a charity organization unless the person discharging a firearm is the owner any of the above mentioned places.

Firearms manufacturers, dealers, traders or other industry members are immune from civil suits pertinent to the improper use of a properly designed firearm acquired in a lawful transaction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Concealed carry permits/licenses are issued by the County Sheriff in the applicants county of residence.

The application for a concealed carry permit/license must be processed within 45 days of the application being received.

Training must be completed before submitting your application.

Yes. A background check is required for all permit applicants under federal law.  

Yes. But a CCW permit could exempt you from the background check requirement when purchasing a firearm.

The Sheriff must be notified within 45 days that your license has been lost or stolen. They will also require a police report that states you have reported your license stolen or missing.

Yes, as long as you can provide documentation to confirm you are in the military or discharged and that you were trained in handling firearms.

Ohio Off Limit Statues

From the Ohio Attorney General

The law sets forth several places where your license does not allow you to carry a handgun. Under the law, you may not carry a concealed handgun into the following places:
• Police stations
• Sheriffs’ offices
• Highway Patrol posts
• Premises controlled by BCI
• Correctional institutions or other detention facilities
• Past Security at Airports
• Facilities for the care of mentally ill persons
• Courthouses or buildings in which a courtroom is located
• Public or Private College, Universities or other institution of higher education, unless locked in a motor vehicle or in the process of being locked in a motor vehicle.
• Places of worship, unless the place of worship permits otherwise
• Child Day-Care Centers (Only If Posted)
• A place in which federal law prohibits the carrying of handguns.
• Licensed Class D liquor permit premises if you are consuming beer or intoxicating liquor or are under the influence. If you are not consuming, you may carry unless there is a conspicuous sign prohibiting carry. Possession of a concealed firearm is allowed in a retail store with a D-6 or D-8 permit as long as the concealed carry license holder is not consuming liquor. Class D permits are generally issued to an establishment that sells alcohol for consumption on the premises. In any event, do not consume beer or intoxicating liquor before carrying a concealed handgun into a licensed premises.
• Government facilities that are not used primarily as a shelter, restroom, parking facility for motor vehicles, or rest facility and are not a courthouse or a building or structure in which a courtroom is located.

HB 228, §1, eff. 3/28/2019

(4) This section does not apply to a person who conveys or attempts to convey a handgun into, or possesses a handgun in, a school safety zone if at the time of that conveyance, attempted conveyance, or possession of the handgun all of the following apply:

(a) The person is carrying a valid concealed handgun license or the person is an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States and is carrying a valid military identification card and documentation of successful completion of firearms training that meets or exceeds the training requirements described in division (G)(1) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code .

(b) The person leaves the handgun in a motor vehicle.

(c) The handgun does not leave the motor vehicle.

(d) If the person exits the motor vehicle, the person locks the motor vehicle.

SB 199, §1, eff. 3/21/2017

(A) Each person, board, or entity that owns or controls any place or premises identified in division (B) of section 2923.126 of the Revised Code as a place into which a valid license does not authorize the licensee to carry a concealed handgun, or a designee of such a person, board, or entity, shall post in one or more conspicuous locations in the premises a sign that contains a statement in substantially the following form:

"Unless otherwise authorized by law, pursuant to the Ohio Revised Code, no person shall knowingly possess, have under the person's control, convey, or attempt to convey a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance onto these premises."

HB 228, §1, eff. 3/28/2019

(B) A valid concealed handgun license does not authorize the licensee to carry a concealed handgun in any manner prohibited under division (B) of section 2923.12 of the Revised Code or in any manner prohibited under section 2923.16 of the Revised Code. A valid license does not authorize the licensee to carry a concealed handgun into any of the following places:

(5) Any premises owned or leased by any public or private college, university, or other institution of higher education, unless the handgun is in a locked motor vehicle or the licensee is in the immediate process of placing the handgun in a locked motor vehicle or unless the licensee is carrying the concealed handgun pursuant to a written policy, rule, or other authorization that is adopted by the institution's board of trustees or other governing body and that authorizes specific individuals or classes of individuals to carry a concealed handgun on the premises;

HB 228, §1, eff. 3/28/2019

(F) (7) Nothing in this section prohibits or restricts a person from possessing, storing, or leaving a firearm in a locked motor vehicle that is parked in the state underground parking garage at the state capitol building or in the parking garage at the Riffe center for government and the arts in Columbus, if the person's transportation and possession of the firearm in the motor vehicle while traveling to the premises or facility was not in violation of division (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) of this section or any other provision of the Revised Code.
Definitions of Capitol Grounds

(A) “Capitol buildings” shall include the capitol, atrium connector and senate building 

(B) “Capitol grounds” shall be defined as the property surrounding the capitol buildings bounded by High street on the west, Third street on the east, Broad street on the north and State street on the south side of the capitol and accompanying steps leading to the capitol buildings.

(N) Any person may possess a firearm in a motor vehicle in the state underground parking garage at the state capitol building, if the person's possession of the firearm in the motor vehicle is not in violation of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code or any other provision of the Revised Code. Any person may store or leave a firearm in a locked motor vehicle that is parked in the state underground parking garage at the state capitol building, if the person's transportation and possession of the firearm in the motor vehicle while traveling to
the garage was not in violation of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code or any other provision of the Revised

Code. HB 49, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2017.

(C)(3)(a) If a person knowingly violates a posted prohibition of the nature described in this division and the posted land or premises is a child day-care center, type A family day-care home, or type B family day-care home, unless the person is a licensee who resides in a type A family day-care home or type B family day-care home, the person is guilty of aggravated trespass in violation of section 2911.211 of
the Revised Code. Except as otherwise provided in this division, the offender is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the person previously has been convicted of a violation of this division or of any offense of violence, if the weapon invoved is a firearm that is either loaded or for which the offender has ammunition ready at hand, or if the weapon involved is dangerous ordnance, the offender is guilty of a felony of the fourth degree.

(b) A landlord may not prohibit or restrict a tenant who is a licensee and who on or after September 9, 2008, enters into a rental agreement with the landlord for the use of residential premises, and the tenant's guest while the tenant is present, from lawfully carrying or possessing a handgun on those residential premises.

HB 228, §1, eff. 3/28/2019

(E) No person who has been issued a concealed handgun license or who is an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States and is carrying a valid military identification card and documentation of successful completion of firearms training that meets or exceeds the training requirements described in division (G)(1) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code, who is the driver or an occupant of a motor vehicle that is stopped as a result of a traffic stop or a stop for another law enforcement purpose or is the driver or an occupant of a commercial motor vehicle that is stopped by an employee of the motor carrier enforcement unit for the purposes defined in section 5503.34 of the Revised Code, and who is transporting or has a loaded handgun in the motor vehicle or commercial motor vehicle in any manner, shall do any of the following:
 

(1) Fail to promptly inform any law enforcement officer who approaches the vehicle while stopped that the person has been issued a concealed handgun license or is authorized to carry a concealed handgun as an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States and that the person then possesses or has a loaded handgun in the motor vehicle;

(2) Fail to promptly inform the employee of the unit who approaches the vehicle while stopped that the person has been issued a concealed handgun license or is authorized to carry a concealed handgun as an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States and that the person then possesses or has a loaded handgun in the commercial motor vehicle;

(3) Knowingly fail to remain in the motor vehicle while stopped or knowingly fail to keep the person's hands in plain sight at any time after any law enforcement officer begins approaching the person while stopped and before the law enforcement officer leaves, unless the failure is pursuant to and in accordance with directions given by a law enforcement officer;

(4) Knowingly have contact with the loaded handgun by touching it with the person's hands or fingers in the motor vehicle at any time after the law enforcement officer begins approaching and before the law enforcement officer leaves, unless the person has contact with the loaded handgun pursuant to and in accordance with directions given by the law enforcement officer;

(5) Knowingly disregard or fail to comply with any lawful order of any law enforcement officer given while the motor vehicle is stopped, including, but not limited to, a specific order to the person to keep the person's hands in plain sight.

(K) (5)(a) "Unloaded" means, with respect to a firearm other than a firearm described in division (K)(6) of this section, that no ammunition is in the firearm in question, no magazine or speed loader containing ammunition is inserted into the firearm in question, and one of the following applies:

(i) There is no ammunition in a magazine or speed loader that is in the vehicle in question and that may be used with the firearm in question.

(ii) Any magazine or speed loader that contains ammunition and that may be used with the firearm in question is stored in a compartment within the vehicle in question that cannot be accessed without leaving the vehicle or is stored in a container that provides complete and separate enclosure.

(b) For the purposes of division (K)(5)(a)(ii) of this section, a "container that provides complete and separate enclosure" includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:

(i) A package, box, or case with multiple compartments, as long as the loaded magazine or speed loader and the firearm in question either are in separate compartments within the package, box, or case, or, if they are in the same compartment, the magazine or speed loader is contained within a separate enclosure in that compartment that does not contain the firearm and that closes using a snap,
button, buckle, zipper, hook and loop closing mechanism, or other fastener that must be opened to access the contents or the firearm is contained within a separate enclosure of that nature in that compartment that does not contain the magazine or speed loader;

(ii) A pocket or other enclosure on the person of the person in question that closes using a snap, button, buckle, zipper, hook and loop closing mechanism, or other fastener that must be opened to access the contents.

(c) For the purposes of divisions (K)(5)(a) and (b) of this section, ammunition held in stripper-clips or in enbloc clips is not considered ammunition that is loaded into a magazine or speed loader.

(6) "Unloaded" means, with respect to a firearm employing a percussion cap, flintlock, or other obsolete ignition system, when the weapon is uncapped or when the priming charge is removed from the pan.

SB 257, §1, eff. 9/28/2018

 

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