Court license suspensions and warrant blocks

In Ohio, your driver’s license can be suspended for many different reasons. Some involve the court. 

For example:

• You miss a court date, and your license gets suspended. Sometimes you are required to go to court for a traffic violation. If you don’t show up, the court can suspend your license. You may see “license suspension/forfeiture” on your driving record.
• The court issues a warrant, and your license gets blocked. You get a traffic violation and don’t show up to court, so the court issues a warrant for your arrest. The court gets the BMV to block your license from renewal until the warrant is cleared. You may see “warrant block” on your driving record.

To get your clear your license, you generally need to: 

• Contact the court. You will need to work directly with the court. If you have suspensions or blocks in multiple different courts, you’ll need to work with each court. It's usually best to call the court first before you go to court. If you go to court with an outstanding warrant, you could get arrested.
• Address the underlying issue. You will need to address the underlying violation before you can clear the suspension or warrant block. Generally, this means you must appear in court, enter a plea, and finalize the case.
• Pay fines and fees. It’s common to owe money to both the court and the BMV after your case is resolved. If you can’t afford to pay, you may be able to file a poverty affidavit or appropriate court form asking the court to waive a portion of the court fines and fees. Or you may be able to apply for the court’s community service program, if it has one, or get on a payment plan.
• Get a release from the court. You will need to get an official document from the court saying you’ve resolved the underlying issue.

You can use our driver’s license reinstatement action plan to come up with a plan based on your suspensions.

It’s important to clear your suspensions and get your license reinstated. If you drive without a valid license, you could face fines, more suspensions or even jail time.

Be prepared

Clearing a court suspension or warrant block can take real time and money, and it's worth knowing what you're getting into before you start:

• You could be arrested. If you have an active warrant, you risk arrest any time you go to the courthouse, not just once the case is resolved. Calling the court first, rather than showing up in person, can help you plan around this.
• Fines and fees can add up. Between court fines, court costs, and the BMV reinstatement fee, resolving one case can run into the hundreds of dollars. Be prepared to pay in full or ask about a payment plan; if you can't afford a payment plan, ask whether the court offers community service as an alternative.
• You may have suspensions in more than one court. For example, if you missed court dates in two different counties or cities. Each one has to be resolved separately, one court at a time. There's no way to clear them all in a single step. That means repeating the full process above (contacting the court, addressing the underlying charge, paying fines and fees, and getting a release) for each individual case, all while you may have an active warrant out for your arrest in one or more of them.
• Getting help can make this easier. If you're able to, a public defender or a private attorney can help you work through the process, especially if you have cases in more than one court.

Review your driving record 

You can find out if your license is suspended by reviewing your driving record on the BMV’s website. Log in and enter your information.

Your BMV driving record will list your suspensions, including court suspensions and warrant blocks.

• A license suspension/forfeiture means you were charged with a traffic violation and failed to appear in court. Not all traffic violations require you to go to court, but some do. “Personal appearance required” means you need to physically appear in court. For example, you need to appear in court if you’re charged with driving under a suspended license, or operating a vehicle without a valid license.
• A warrant block happens when you have a warrant out for your arrest. A court can issue a warrant for your arrest if you fail to appear in court. For example, you failed to appear for a payment hearing, you failed to appear for a non-driving minor or major offense, or you failed to respond to a 30-day citation notice to appear in court. While a warrant block is in place, you won’t be able to get, renew or reinstate your driver’s license. Learn about dealing with a warrant in Ohio.

Keep in mind:

• You can have both a suspension and a block. It’s possible to have both a license suspension and a warrant block for the same issue. Your license can’t be suspended only for  failing to pay  a court fee,  but if the court holds a payment hearing and you don’t go, the court must issue you a 30-day notice to appear, and if you fail to appear, it can notify the BMV to suspend your license for not appearing.
• Keep your address up to date. Make sure the court and the BMV have your current address. When you get a license forfeiture suspension or warrant block, the BMV will send you a written notice to your last known address.

You also may have other kinds of suspensions. Learn about driver’s license suspensions in Ohio.

Contact the court

Court suspensions will show up on your BMV record, but usually you need to get more information from the court.

• Identify each court where you have a suspension or block. It could be a municipal court, traffic court, county court or mayor’s court.
• Search the clerk of court's website. Each court has a clerk of courts that keeps the official records of the court. Sometimes you can find information about your case on the clerk of court’s website. Search your case number or your name. Sometimes your name may be misspelled and searching the website is not helpful. Call the clerk of court’s office if you believe you have a traffic case but you cannot find your case online.
• Contact the court directly. Go to the court’s website to find its phone number. Make sure you find and contact the correct court or courts. Have your case number available when you contact the court.
• Call first. It's usually best to call the court before you go into court. You can also go to the court in person, but if you go to court with an outstanding warrant, you could get arrested.

A court can’t give you legal advice, but you can ask the court about the case against you and the court’s general procedures, including what you need to do to address your warrant block.

Address the underlying violation 

You will need to deal with the underlying violation before you can clear your driver’s license. 

Addressing the underlying issue generally means appearing in court, entering a plea of not guilty, no contest, or guilty to clear the warrant block, and finalizing the case.

You may need to:

• Get a new court date. Ask the court when you can appear in court to respond to the charge against you.
• Post bond, if needed. Some courts require you to pay bond before you can get another court date. If you can’t afford to pay bond, explain that to the court and ask about your options. You may be able to file a motion to waive bond, complete a court indigency form, or file a sworn statement saying you have low income. This kind of sworn statement may be called an indigency affidavit, indigency fee waiver, poverty affidavit or something similar. Ask if your court has a form like this.
• Go to your court date. It’s very important to go to your scheduled court date. Contact the court if you have questions about when you need to go to court. Some courts also post a daily schedule of hearings on their website. Learn how to get ready for your hearing. 

When you go to court:

• Arrive early. Plan for extra time to arrive and go through security. Follow the court’s rules. For example, you may need to check in with the bailiff in the courtroom.
• Dress appropriately. Many courts forbid hats and slippers in the courtroom.
• Bring your citation. Bring the traffic violation document with you.
• Enter your plea. Once you are in front of the judge or magistrate, you may need to enter a plea to the charge against you. Your plea is your response to the charge. 

Your plea may be one of the following: 

• Guilty. You admit guilt. You will probably get a fine and pay court costs and fees.
• No contest. You don’t admit guilt, but you admit to the facts involved. You will probably get a fine and pay court costs and fees.
• Not guilty. You don’t admit to guilt or to the facts involved. The court may give you another court date.

If the charge against you includes the possibility of jail, and you can’t afford a lawyer, you may have the right to a lawyer or public defender. 

Depending on how your case is resolved, you may have more steps to take. For example, if you’re found guilty, you still may have a suspended license or court fines and fees you must pay to avoid having your license re-suspended.

Pay fees and fines 

You generally need to: 

• Pay fees and fines to the court. Usually, you’ll owe fees and fines to the court that you will need to pay, or start on a payment plan, before you can clear your suspension or block. Go to the court  or  to the clerk of courts to pay your  entire fine or  to establish a payment plan.
• Pay a reinstatement fee to the BMV. Usually, you will have to pay a reinstatement fee to the BMV, in addition to the fees you owe the court. If you can’t afford the BMV fees, learn about options with the BMV. 

Get a court order release 

A “court order release” means an official document from the court showing that you corrected the issue. To get a release from the court: 

• Complete all the court requirements first. Completing your court requirements includes paying any court fines and fees you owe, or starting a payment plan. Once you have satisfied your court requirements, the court can issue a release.
• Ask for a written copy of the release. At the hearing, and after sentencing if there is one, ask the judge or the court clerk for a written copy of the release. In many courts, you can get a copy the same day by going to the clerk’s office after your hearing.
• The court will notify the BMV. The court will notify the BMV saying you’re released from the license forfeiture or warrant block.
• You also can file the court release with the BMV or a local deputy registrar. 

Make sure to follow through with the sentence, including any fines, fees or payment plans ordered by the court.

Where to learn more  

You can use our driver’s license reinstatement action plan to understand your suspensions and how to clear them.

You can learn more about court suspensions on the BMV’s website. You can also call the BMV with questions at (844) 644-6268, Monday  -  Friday, 8 a.m.  -  5  p.m.

Where to find a lawyer

There are many ways to find a lawyer in Ohio. On this site we can help you find a public defender or private lawyer through the bar association near you. To find your local public defender's office or bar association go to Legal Help and Lawyers on this page.