Is an OVI a felony in Ohio?
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On a fourth in ten years — or a fifth in twenty. Ohio counts across two windows at once: three or four priors within ten years, or five or more within twenty, make the offense a fourth-degree felony. The mandatory core is sixty consecutive days, served either as local incarceration or as prison, and a court adding more cannot exceed one year in total on the local route. One prior felony OVI, whenever it happened, raises the current offense to a third-degree felony.
Written any number of ways — a 3rd OVI, an OVI 3rd, a felony OVI, or simply an OVI in OH — and the paperwork will use none of them. Ohio charges it under a section number, and that is what decides the range below.
Grade. Felony of the fourth degree
Confinement. 60 consecutive days mandatory, or 1 to 5 years with a specification
Fine. $1,350 to $10,500
Ohio Revised Code § 4511.19 · Ohio Rev. Code § 4511.19(G)(1)(d), (G)(1)(e) · checked 2026-09-04
The device is a separate track
Ohio makes the interlock a genuinely better deal for a first offense: petition the court and you can swap limited driving privileges for unlimited ones — unrestricted as to purpose, time and place — as long as the car has a certified device. Granting them also suspends any mandatory jail term.
In Ohio the interlock term runs Length of suspension and is administered by The sentencing court, with the restricted license issued by Ohio BMV — which is why a plea that settles the criminal case does not settle the device. What counts as a violation on it, and what an agency adds to the term, is its own arithmetic: violations and lockouts. Getting it off at the end is a procedure of its own too — removal and waivers.
Source: The sentencing court, with the restricted license issued by Ohio BMV
Ohio OVI questions
Is an OVI a felony in Ohio?
On a fourth in ten years — or a fifth in twenty. Ohio counts across two windows at once: three or four priors within ten years, or five or more within twenty, make the offense a fourth-degree felony. The mandatory core is sixty consecutive days, served either as local incarceration or as prison, and a court adding more cannot exceed one year in total on the local route. One prior felony OVI, whenever it happened, raises the current offense to a third-degree felony.
What does a 3rd OVI in Ohio carry?
Felony of the fourth degree: 60 consecutive days mandatory, or 1 to 5 years with a specification, and a fine of $1,350 to $10,500. The range is set by Ohio Rev. Code § 4511.19(G)(1)(d), (G)(1)(e), and the figures on this page come from the statute rather than from a summary of it.
Does an interlock come with it in Ohio?
Ohio makes the interlock a genuinely better deal for a first offense: petition the court and you can swap limited driving privileges for unlimited ones — unrestricted as to purpose, time and place — as long as the car has a certified device. Granting them also suspends any mandatory jail term. The device requirement and the criminal penalty are separate tracks: one is handled by the court, the other by The sentencing court, with the restricted license issued by Ohio BMV.
Other steps in Ohio: first offense penalties and second offense penalties.
All Ohio OVI rules →Penalties across the states →Ohio DUI lawyers →Getting the license back →
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