Ignition interlock in Ohio

With a first OVI, the first 15 days of the suspension mean no driving at all. Starting on day 16, the court can give you limited driving privileges, which restrict you to the times and purposes the judge approves. The court can also require an interlock as a piece of that order, following Ohio Revised Code 4510.13.

There's a second option, too. If this is your first offense, you can request unlimited driving privileges for the whole suspension, as long as a certified interlock is in your car. Granting that request also lets the court shorten your suspension by up to half, per section 4510.022.

After the judge signs the order, the license itself is issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Ohio's BMV. Three steps get you there:

1. Obtain the court order granting your privileges with an interlock.
2. Get the device put in, then ask the installer to sign a certificate of installation, the paperwork proving the device is in your car.
3. Bring both the order and the certificate to a BMV registrar or a deputy registrar, who hands you the restricted license.

Both documents are required by the law, so don't skip the installer's certificate. Once you have your court order, give us a call and we'll pass your request to an interlock company serving Ohio so they can set up your appointment.

Intoxalock's Ohio lease runs $82.99 to $115.99 a month. That figure is what one company charges, not a state fee, and every provider sets its own. Based on MADD's national averages, a device kept for 6 months totals roughly $430 to $630, and 12 months lands somewhere around $790 to $1,110.

Ohio keeps a state fund for drivers who can't afford an interlock, known as the indigent drivers interlock and alcohol monitoring fund. Being "indigent" simply means you can't pay. The money goes to funds run by county and municipal courts, and it covers only a device such as a certified interlock, or alcohol monitoring.

Every failed breath test or sign of tampering is reported. The interlock company has to tell both the court and the BMV, per section 4510.46.

When a violation happens matters a lot: one inside the final 60 days of your suspension stretches the suspension and interlock period to 60 days beyond that violation, and the court may double the period as well, per section 4510.022.

Your license comes back once you've served the full suspension and had 60 days in a row with no interlock violations before you apply, under section 4510.46.

If a second OVI lands within 10 years, limited privileges are unavailable for the first 45 days. When alcohol is involved, the court has to require that any car you drive has an interlock for the rest of the suspension. With a drug-related conviction, that call belongs to the judge. A third OVI within 10 years shuts off limited privileges for the first 180 days, and after that the same interlock requirement applies to alcohol-related convictions.

Refuse a chemical test the first time, and limited privileges become available on day 31, with the court free to require an interlock. If you refuse and you've previously taken a plea to a reduced OVI charge within 10 years, privileges are gone for 90 days, and an interlock becomes mandatory after that. Section 4510.13 holds all these rules.

Ohio House Bill 37, a bill on OVI penalties, took effect on April 9, 2025. It revised section 4510.13, the one covering limited privileges and interlock orders, along with section 4511.19. It's the newest law shown on section 4510.13.