Moving to Ohio: Insurance, Registration and License Deadlines
New residents usually face two different deadlines handled by two different agencies.
- Register your vehicle within
- 30 days
You are an Ohio resident once you take a job, sign a lease, buy a home, or enroll children in school. The vehicle title and registration must be transferred within 30 days of that point.
- Get a state license within
- 30 days
Transfer your out-of-state driver license or ID card within 30 days of establishing residency.
- Safety inspection
- Not required for ordinary passenger vehicles
Ohio has no periodic safety inspection. A safety inspection report is required only in special cases, such as a rebuilt salvage vehicle or a bus.
- Emissions inspection
- Required in seven counties
E-Check applies in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage and Summit counties. Gasoline and diesel vehicles 6 to 25 years old, and non-plug-in hybrids 7 to 25 years old, at 10,000 lbs GVWR or less, are tested every two years; a certificate is good for 365 days.
- Handled by separate agencies
- Yes
Title an out-of-state vehicle at a County Clerk of Courts title office first, then register it and get your license at a BMV deputy registrar agency.