436.09 DISPLAY OF LICENSE PLATES OR VALIDATION STICKERS; REGISTRATION.

   (a)   (1)   No person who is the owner or operator of a motor vehicle shall fail to display in plain view on the rear of the motor vehicle a license plate that displays the distinctive number and registration mark assigned to the motor vehicle by the Ohio Director of Public Safety, including any county identification sticker and any validation sticker issued under Ohio R.C. 4503.19 and 4503.191.

      (2)   The license plate shall be securely fastened so as not to swing, and shall not be covered by any material that obstructs its visibility.

      (3)   No person to whom a temporary license placard or windshield sticker has been issued for the use of a motor vehicle under Ohio R.C. 4503.182, and no operator of that motor vehicle, shall fail to display the temporary license placard in plain view from the rear of the vehicle either in the rear window or on an external rear surface of the motor vehicle, or fail to display the windshield sticker in plain view on the rear window of the motor vehicle.  No temporary license placard or windshield sticker shall be covered by any material that obstructs its visibility.

         (ORC 4503.21(A))

   (b)   (1)   Whoever violates subsection (a) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

      (2)   The offense established under subsection (a) of this section is a strict liability offense and Ohio R.C. 2901.20 does not apply.  The designation of this offense as a strict liability offense shall not be construed to imply that any other offense, for which there is no specified degree of culpability, is not a strict liability offense.

         (ORC 4503.21(B), (C))

436.091 EXPIRED OR UNLAWFUL LICENSE PLATES.

   (a)   No person who is the owner of a motor vehicle which is parked or operated upon the public streets or highways shall fail to annually file the application for registration or to pay the tax therefor, as required by Ohio R.C. Chapter 4503.  (ORC 4503.11)

   (b)   No person shall operate, drive or park upon the public streets or highways a motor vehicle acquired from a former owner who has registered the motor vehicle, while the motor vehicle displays the distinctive number or identification mark assigned to it upon its original registration. 
(ORC 4549.11)

   (c)   No person who is the owner of a motor vehicle and a resident of Ohio shall operate, drive or park the motor vehicle upon the public streets or highways, while it displays a distinctive number or identification mark issued by or under the authority of another state, without complying with the laws of Ohio relating to the registration and identification of motor vehicles. 

(ORC 4549.12)

   (d)   No person shall park or operate any vehicle upon any public street or highway upon which is displayed an expired license plate or an expired validation sticker.

   (e)   No person shall park or operate any vehicle upon any public street or highway upon which are displayed any license plates not legally registered and issued for such vehicle, or upon which are displayed any license plates that were issued on an application for registration that contains any false statement by the applicant.

(ORC 4549.11; 4549.12)

436.092 OPERATING WITHOUT DEALER OR MANUFACTURER LICENSE PLATES.

   (a)   No person shall operate or cause to be operated upon a public road or highway a motor vehicle of a manufacturer or dealer unless the vehicle carries and displays a placard, except as provided in Ohio R.C. 4503.21, issued by the Director of Public Safety that displays the registration number of its manufacturer or dealer.

   (b)   Whoever violates subsection (a) of this section is guilty of illegal operation of a manufacturer’s or dealer’s motor vehicle, a minor misdemeanor.

(ORC 4549.10)

436.10 USE OF ILLEGAL LICENSE PLATES; TRANSFER OF REGISTRATION.

   (a)    No person shall operate or drive a motor vehicle upon the streets in this Municipality if it displays a license plate or a distinctive number or identification mark that meets any of the following criteria:

      (1)   Is fictitious;

      (2)   Is a counterfeit or an unlawfully made copy of any distinctive number or identification mark;

      (3)   Belongs to another motor vehicle, provided that this section does not apply to a motor vehicle that is operated on the streets in this Municipality when the motor vehicle displays license plates that originally were issued for a motor vehicle that previously was owned by the same person who owns the motor vehicle that is operated on the streets in this Municipality, during the thirty-day period described in subsection (c) hereof.

   (b)   Whoever violates subsection (a)(1), (2) or (3) of this section is guilty of operating a motor vehicle bearing an invalid license plate or identification mark.

(ORC 4549.08)

   (c)   Upon the transfer of ownership of a motor vehicle, the registration of the motor vehicle expires, and the original owner shall immediately remove the license plates from the motor vehicle.  The transfer of the registration and, where applicable, the license plates from the motor vehicle for which they originally were issued to a succeeding motor vehicle purchased by the same person in whose name the original registration and license plates were issued shall be done within a period not to exceed thirty days.  During that thirty-day period, the license plates from the motor vehicle for which they originally were issued may be displayed on the succeeding motor vehicle, and the succeeding motor vehicle may be operated on the streets of the Municipality. 

(ORC 4503.12)

436.101 REGISTRATION WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF RESIDENCY.

   (a)   Within thirty days of becoming a resident of this State, any person who owns a motor vehicle operated or driven upon the public roads or highways shall register the vehicle in this State.  If such a person fails to register a vehicle owned by the person, the person shall not operate any motor vehicle in this Municipality under a license issued by another state.

   (b)   (1)   Whoever violates subsection (a) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

      (2)   The offense established under subsection (b)(1) of this section is a strict liability offense and strict liability is a culpable mental state for purposes of Ohio R.C. 2901.20.  The designation of this offense as a strict liability offense shall not be construed to imply that any other offense, for which there is no specified degree of culpability, is not a strict liability offense.

   (c)   For purposes of subsection (a) of this section, "resident" means any person to whom any of the following applies:

      (1)   The person maintains their principal residence in this State and does not reside in this State as a result of the person's active service in the United States Armed Forces.

      (2)   The person is determined by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to be a resident in accordance with standards adopted by the Registrar under Ohio R.C. 4507.01.  (ORC 4503.111)

436.11 STOPPING AFTER ACCIDENT UPON STREETS; COLLISION WITH UNATTENDED VEHICLE.

   (a)   (1)   In the case of a motor vehicle accident or collision with persons or property on a public road or highway, the operator of the motor vehicle, having knowledge of the accident or collision, immediately shall stop the operator's motor vehicle at the scene of the accident or collision.  The operator shall remain at the scene of the accident or collision until the operator has given the operator's name and address and, if the operator is not the owner, the name and address of the owner of that motor vehicle, together with the registered number of that motor vehicle, to all of the following:

         A.   Any person injured in the accident or collision;

         B.   The operator, occupant, owner or attendant of any motor vehicle damaged in the accident or collision;

         C.   The police officer at the scene of the accident or collision.

      (2)   In the event an injured person is unable to comprehend and record the information required to be given under subsection (a)(1) of this section, the other operator involved in the accident or collision shall notify the nearest police authority concerning the location of the accident or collision, and the operator's name, address and the registered number of the motor vehicle the operator was operating.  The operator shall remain at the scene of the accident or collision until a police officer arrives, unless removed from the scene by an emergency vehicle operated by a political subdivision or an ambulance.

      (3)   If the accident or collision is with an unoccupied or unattended motor vehicle, the operator who collides with the motor vehicle shall securely attach the information required to be given in this section, in writing, to a conspicuous place in or on the unoccupied or unattended motor vehicle.

   (b)   (1)   Whoever violates subsection (a) of this section is guilty of failure to stop after an accident.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b)(2) or (3) of this section, failure to stop after an accident is a misdemeanor of the first degree.

      (2)   If the accident or collision results in serious physical harm to a person, failure to stop after an accident is a felony and shall be prosecuted under appropriate State law.

      (3)   If the accident or collision results in the death of a person, failure to stop after an accident is a felony and shall be prosecuted under appropriate State law.

      (4)   In all cases, the court, in addition to any other penalties provided by law, shall impose upon the offender a class five suspension of the offender's driver's license, commercial driver's license, temporary instruction permit, probationary license, or nonresident operating privilege from the range specified in division (A)(5) of Ohio R.C. 4510.02.  No judge shall suspend the first six months of suspension of an offender's license, permit, or privilege required by this subsection.

   The offender shall provide the court with proof of financial responsibility as defined in Ohio R.C. 4509.01.  If the offender fails to provide that proof of financial responsibility, then, in addition to any other penalties provided by law, the court may order restitution pursuant to Ohio R.C. 2929.18 or 2929.28 in an amount not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000) for any economic loss arising from an accident or collision that was the direct and proximate result of the offender's operation of the motor vehicle before, during or after committing the offense charged under this section.  (ORC 4549.02)

436.12 STOPPING AFTER ACCIDENT UPON PROPERTY OTHER THAN STREET.

   (a)   (1)   In the case of a motor vehicle accident or collision resulting in injury or damage to persons or property on any public or private property other than a public road or highway, the operator of the motor vehicle, having knowledge of the accident or collision, shall stop at the scene of the accident or collision.  Upon request of any person who is injured or damaged, or any other person, the operator shall give that person the operator's name and address, and, if the operator is not the owner, the name and address of the owner of that motor vehicle, together with the registered number of that motor vehicle, and, if available, exhibit the operator's driver's or commercial driver's license.

      (2)   If the operator of the motor vehicle involved in the accident or collision does not provide the information specified in subsection (a)(1) of this section, the operator shall give that information, within twenty-four hours after the accident or collision, to the Police Department.

      (3)   If the accident or collision is with an unoccupied or unattended motor vehicle, the operator who collides with the motor vehicle shall securely attach the information required under subsection (a)(1) of this section, in writing, to a conspicuous place in or on the unoccupied or unattended motor vehicle.

   (b)   (1)   Whoever violates subsection (a) of this section is guilty of failure to stop after a nonpublic road accident.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b)(2) or (3) of this section, failure to stop after a nonpublic road accident is a misdemeanor of the first degree.

      (2)   If the accident or collision results in serious physical harm to a person, failure to stop after a nonpublic road accident is a felony and shall be prosecuted under appropriate State law.

      (3)   If the accident or collision results in the death of a person, failure to stop after a nonpublic road accident is a felony and shall be prosecuted under appropriate State law.

      (4)   In all cases, the court, in addition to any other penalties provided by law, shall impose upon the offender a class five suspension of the offender's driver's license, commercial driver's license, temporary instruction permit, probationary license, or nonresident operating privilege from the range specified in division (A)(5) of Ohio R.C. 4510.02. No judge shall suspend the first six months of suspension of an offender's license, permit, or privilege required by this subsection.

   The offender shall provide the court with proof of financial responsibility as defined in Ohio R.C. 4509.01.  If the offender fails to provide that proof of financial responsibility, then, in addition to any other penalties provided by law, the court may order restitution pursuant to Ohio R.C. 2929.18 or 2929.28 in an amount not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000) for any economic loss arising from an accident or collision that was the direct and proximate result of the offender's operation of the motor vehicle before, during or after committing the offense charged under this section.  (ORC 4549.021)