On April 10, 2025, hundreds of thousands of Ohioans whose driver’s licenses were suspended for failure to pay a court fine or fee will be eligible to get their licenses back without imposition of reinstatement fees, and Ohioans will no longer have driver’s licenses suspended for owing a court fine or fee, for minor drug offenses, or for truancy.  

With Governor Mike DeWine’s signing of House Bill 29 yesterday, Ohio joined 24 other states around the country who have eliminated or reduced debt-related driver’s license suspensions. These suspensions, which accounted for 60% of Ohio’s driver’s license suspensions despite having no connection to dangerous driving offenses, disproportionately indebted residents of Ohio’s highest poverty zip codes and zip codes with the highest percentages of people of color, according to The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland’s 2022 study, Road to Nowhere: Debt-Related Driver’s License Suspensions in Ohio. 

Among other changes, House Bill 29: 

• Eliminates the driver’s license suspension for failure to pay a court fine or fee. 
• Applies the removal of license suspensions for failure to pay a court fine or fee both retroactively and automatically, without imposition of reinstatement fees. 
• Removes the possible penalty of a driver’s license suspension for a drug abuse offense, unless the offense relates to causing others to use, manufacture, or traffic and the offender used a vehicle to further the commission of the offense. 
• Reduces the lookback period for driving without insurance offenses to be considered repeat offenses from five years to one year. 
• Eliminates school truancy as a reason for license denial or suspension. 
• Authorizes a person whose driver’s license is suspended for failure to pay child support to file a motion with a court for limited driving privileges in all circumstances, not just when the motion is made during contempt proceedings as under current law. 

Priya Sarathy Jones, co-executive director of The Fines and Fees Justice Center, said the passage of HB 29 was years in the making and marks a “tipping point” for ending debt-related suspensions in the US. “In half the country, in both red and blue states, policymakers have recognized that your financial circumstances should never determine your freedom to drive,” Jones said. “The Fines and Fees Justice Center is deeply grateful to the organizations, communities, and directly impacted Ohioans who earned this victory, and we are eager to continue working with legislators and advocates across the country to drive policy change that impacts real people’s lives.” 

The Alliance of Ohio Legal Aids and our member organizations have long identified debt-related suspensions as a part of the cycle that keeps Ohio’s poorest residents from achieving financial stability. Each year, legal aid organizations serve hundreds of clients who have suspended driver's licenses. Without the ability to drive, most Ohioans cannot maintain steady employment, which forces those without disposable income to choose between driving without a license – and risking further fines – or losing wages and jeopardizing any means of regaining their license and ability to meet basic needs. In 2023, 765 Ohioans worked with legal aid advocates to reinstate a suspended driver’s license. 

Having heard enough stories of clients struggling to maintain jobs and meet basic needs due to license suspensions, The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland conducted an analysis of survey responses from people impacted by debt-related driver’s license suspensions, five years of data (2016-2020) from Ohio’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles on the numbers and locations of debt-related suspensions across the State, as well as the costs assessed, paid, and owed for these suspensions. 

The stark findings published in The Road to Nowhere – Ohioans in zip codes with the highest poverty rates faced nearly 40 times as many debt-related suspensions as those in the areas with the least poverty – gave Ohio Poverty Law Center (OPLC) staff highly compelling evidence to make the case for legislation that would end this barrier to financial stability. 

Senator Louis Blessing III (R-Colerain Township) and Senator Catherine Ingram (D-Cincinnati) initiated legislation to reduce debt-related license suspensions in January of 2023 with Senate Bill 37, starting a two-year campaign to help lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, as well as employers, local elected officials, and other stakeholders, understand the ethical and economic arguments for eliminating the practice. Legal aid attorneys across the state reviewed draft legislation language and amendments, participated in media interviews sharing the stories of Ohioans caught in the double bind of debt-related driver’s license suspensions, and wrote op-eds for regional publications. As the 135th General Assembly drew to a close last month without the passage of SB 37, OPLC worked with Senate Judiciary Chair Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) to facilitate its inclusion into House Bill 29. 

While the passage of HB 29 has the potential to be a gamechanger for hundreds of thousands of Ohioans, its impact will be realized only to the extent that those enduring a debt-related suspension become aware their license can be reinstated. “With the Governor’s signature on the bill,” Susan Jagers, Director of the Ohio Poverty Law Center said, “the work now begins to implement the new policy and put Ohioans back in the driver’s seat.”

As we move into 2025, the Alliance will prioritize raising public awareness about the new legislation, and helping Ohioans get back on the road. 

Thank you to the many organizations who supported the passage of this critical legislation, including: 

ACLU of Ohio 

Americans for Prosperity – Ohio 

Cuyahoga County Public Defender’s Office 

Fines and Fees Justice Center 

Justice Action Network 

Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio 

Levin College of Public Affairs and Education 

Cleveland State University 

National Legal Aid & Defender Association 

Neighborhood Connections 

Ohio Poverty Law Center 

Policy Matters Ohio 

Prison Fellowship 

R Street Institute 

Responsible Business Initiative for Justice 

The Buckeye Institute 

The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland 

Towards Employment 

United Way of Greater Lorain County 

United Way of Summit & Medina