Driving with a suspended license is a terrible idea and a very fast way to get into even more trouble with law enforcement, but in the US it can be really hard to get around without a car as public transportation is lacking in most areas and that is putting a mild spin on it. The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles seems to have come to the same realization and has now decided to remove thousands of license suspensions from drivers with unpaid fines and fees.
Now, there are many reasons why drivers should have their license suspended or even revoked. Severe moving violations and failure to obey traffic laws should always carry consequences directly tied to one’s ability to drive and thus their license, but that was not the case in Ohio. According to the law that supports and regulated the elimination of license suspensions in Ohio, until now a resident of the state could lose their driving privileges even for reasons that did not directly affect their driving, like administrative errors or even a missed court hearings.
In fact, the reach is so large and the problem so widespread, that many drivers in the state had up to nine suspensions on their record, as things like failure to pay child support were also listed as a reason for license suspension. Considering that many people in this economy are unable to pay fines due to cost of living increases, causing them to lose their job due to a lack of license that prevents them from getting to their job does not seem like the best cause of action.
Zack Eckles, senior policy advocate for The Ohio Poverty Law Center agreed with this assessment “Your ability to pay a fine or a fee is in no way connected to your ability to safely operate a vehicle, so using a suspension as a method to collect debt from people holds them back, and also, it’s not a very effective way to collect debt.”
This law also stops courts from imposing vehicle registration suspensions for failing to pay court fines or fees and will end any current registration blocks imposed for those reasons.
“We’re really happy that the legislature has done this,” Eckles said. “We hope they keep working on the issue. There’s more to do, and hopefully, people who have these suspension types are reaching out to the BMV to make sure that their address is updated with the BMV, so if they are eligible, they’ll get notice.”
The impact of this new Ohio law on residents of the state.
It is worth noting that as of today, there have not been any suspensions lifted on any drivers regardless of the crimes that they may have committed that led to the suspended licenses. The law, signed by Gov. Mike DeWine in January will have gone into full effect on May 9, and while the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles does not have an estimate on how many licenses will be reinstated, their records state that as of January 2025, there were 162,387 people with a license suspension for any reason. Until now, fees to reinstate licenses started at $15 and maxed out at $650 but the new law will reduce the maximum to $600.
If you are in the process of getting your license reinstated, do not stop making payments until you have been notified by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles that your license has been reinstated, as stopping payments will send your license back to suspension and if it has been suspended for more than six months, you may be required to retake the driver’s test.
The new law will also:
- No longer allow license suspensions or denials for truancy. Anyone with suspensions or denials for truancy can apply to have that removed.
- Eliminate fees owed from suspensions given out from a discontinued program that randomly selected drivers to provide proof of insurance.
- Decrease the time when driving without insurance or proof of financial responsibility is considered a repeat offense from five years to one year.
- Allow people with suspensions for unpaid child support to make requests to local courts to get driving privileges.
- Eliminate license suspensions for drug abuse unless they were convicted of selling drugs and used a car in that crime.