Ohio bars some people from having or carrying any firearm, whether they carry under permitless carry or with a concealed handgun license. Finishing a...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Ohio bars some people from having or carrying any firearm, whether they carry under permitless carry or with a concealed handgun license. Finishing a sentence does not by itself end that bar. A temporary protection order suspends a license, and a civil protection order revokes it. Altering a firearm's serial number is a crime. So is possessing a firearm with reasonable cause to believe its serial number was altered.
Under R.C. 2923.13(A), no person may knowingly acquire, have, carry, or use any firearm or dangerous ordnance if a listed condition applies, unless relieved from disability under operation of law or legal process. The bar applies whether or not you hold a license.
The conditions are these:
A disability under R.C. 2923.13(C) continues until you are relieved by operation of law or legal process. Finishing a criminal sentence does not by itself count as that relief. Neither does having the sentence terminate or expire.
Some rules apply to the firearm itself. Under R.C. 2923.201(B)(1), changing, altering, removing, or obliterating a firearm's manufacturer name, model, serial number, or other identifying mark is the offense of defacing identification marks of a firearm. Under R.C. 2923.201(B)(2), possessing a firearm while knowing or having reasonable cause to believe those marks were changed, altered, removed, or obliterated is the offense of possessing a defaced firearm.
Protection orders reach the license. Under R.C. 2923.128(A)(1), a licensee who becomes subject to a temporary protection order, or an equivalent order of another state, has the license suspended from the date the order issues. The suspension lasts until the court terminates the order, and then the sheriff returns the license. A licensee who instead becomes subject to a civil protection order, or an equivalent out-of-state order, has the license revoked and must surrender it, R.C. 2923.128. An applicant currently subject to a civil protection order, a temporary protection order, or an out-of-state protection order does not meet the issuance criteria.
The bar in R.C. 2923.13(A) does not apply to a person relieved from disability under operation of law or legal process. A court can grant that relief, but only once certain conditions are met.
Your disability may rest on an indictment, conviction, or adjudication. If so, a court may grant relief only after you are fully discharged from imprisonment, community control, post-release control, and parole, under R.C. 2923.14(D)(1)(a). If you are under indictment, you must instead have been released on bail or recognizance.
Your disability may instead rest on some other factor. A court may then grant relief only once that factor no longer applies to you, under R.C. 2923.14(D)(1)(b).
Having weapons while under disability is a felony of the third degree under R.C. 2923.13(B). The section carries no recidivist enhancement keyed to the number of prior convictions. The offense stays a felony of the third degree regardless of prior count.
Defacing identification marks of a firearm is a misdemeanor of the first degree. It is a felony of the fourth degree if you were previously convicted of or pleaded guilty to the same offense. Possessing a defaced firearm is also a misdemeanor of the first degree. It is likewise a felony of the fourth degree if you were previously convicted of or pleaded guilty to the same offense.
Ohio law can also classify a person as a violent career criminal. Under R.C. 2923.132(A)(2), only convictions for enumerated violent felony offenses count toward that classification.
These categories count:
| Offense | Statute | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Having weapons while under disability | R.C. 2923.13(B) | Felony of the third degree |
| Defacing identification marks of a firearm | R.C. 2923.201(B)(1) | Misdemeanor of the first degree; felony of the fourth degree with a prior conviction or guilty plea for the same offense |
| Possessing a defaced firearm | R.C. 2923.201(B)(2) | Misdemeanor of the first degree; felony of the fourth degree with a prior conviction or guilty plea for the same offense |
None of the facts we verified for this rule tie the disability bar to a concealed handgun license or to completed training. What Ohio's training requirement does reach is the license itself: an applicant must submit a competency certification and a certification of having read the safety pamphlet before a license can issue, R.C. 2923.125(D)(1)(l).
No. Under R.C. 2923.13(C), completing a criminal sentence, or having it terminate or expire, does not by itself count as relief by operation of law or legal process. For a conviction-based disability, a court may grant relief only after you are fully discharged from imprisonment, community control, post-release control, and parole.
A sheriff suspends the license when you become subject to a temporary protection order. The sheriff then notifies you by certified mail that you must surrender the license at the sheriff's office within ten days of the date the notice was mailed, under R.C. 2923.128(A)(3). If the suspension ends because the court terminates the order, the sheriff returns the license under R.C. 2923.128(A)(1)(b). A license revoked for a civil protection order must be surrendered to the sheriff under R.C. 2923.128.
Yes. Federal law bars a person from shipping, transporting, possessing, or receiving a firearm or ammunition in or affecting commerce if the person falls in one of the categories listed in 18 U.S.C. 922(g), and those federal bars apply in Ohio alongside the state list in R.C. 2923.13.
It is a crime if you know or have reasonable cause to believe the serial number or other identifying mark was changed, altered, removed, or obliterated. Possessing a defaced firearm is a misdemeanor of the first degree. It is a felony of the fourth degree if you were previously convicted of or pleaded guilty to the same offense.
No. Under R.C. 2923.13(B), the offense is a felony of the third degree regardless of prior count, and the section carries no recidivist enhancement keyed to the number of prior convictions.
This page covers one part of our Ohio concealed carry guide.
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