The penalties, from the manual
Ohio OVI penalties: what the manual publishes, and what it does not.
What the manual publishes
What counts as illegal
The manual states three blood alcohol limits and which one applies depends on who you are.
At any age
.08% or higher
PDF page 28
Commercial drivers
.04% or higher
PDF page 28
Under 21
.02% or higher
PDF page 28
If you refuse the chemical test
This suspension is administrative. The manual says it stands even if you are ultimately acquitted of the OVI charge, and the schedule counts refusals and convictions in the previous 10 years.
First refusal
One year license suspension
PDF page 28
One prior refusal or OVI conviction
Two years license suspension
PDF page 28
Two priors
Three years license suspension
PDF page 28
Three or more priors
Five years license suspension
PDF page 28
If you take the test and are over the limit
First test over the limit
Three months (90 days) license suspension
PDF page 28
One prior OVI conviction
One year license suspension
PDF page 28
Two priors
Two years license suspension
PDF page 28
Three or more priors
Three years license suspension
PDF page 28
What the manual adds beyond a suspension
Five or more OVI convictions in 20 years
Jail time, possible immobilization or forfeiture of the vehicle, and a place on Ohio's Habitual OVI/OMVI Offender Registry
PDF page 28
Driving while your license is suspended
A first-degree misdemeanor and a fine of up to $1,000
PDF page 30
Every figure above carries the page of the official manual it came from. Open it and check.
What the manual does not publish
These are not on this page because the manual does not carry them. Each one was searched for in the pinned document before it was written down.
- What an OVI fine is. The manual carries no fine, no range and no maximum for an OVI anywhere. The nearest dollar figure is the $1,000 on PDF page 30 for driving while your license is suspended, which is a different offense.
- How long an OVI jail term is. The manual says a driver may have to serve jail time, twice, and never says how long.
- Anything at all about an ignition interlock. The word does not appear on any page of this manual.
- A blood alcohol table by body weight. The manual prints none.
- How long the knowledge test takes. No page of the manual states a time limit.
Not one of the five manuals this site cites says what an ignition interlock costs, and four of them require or allow one.
This page reports what the official manual states. It is not advice, and it says nothing about what would happen in any particular case.
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Every practice question here carries the page of the official manual it came from.
How many questions the test has, and what happens if you fail