(a) Any placards issued by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles and bearing the distinctive number assigned to a manufacturer, dealer or distributor pursuant to Ohio R.C. 4503.27 may be displayed on any motor vehicle, other than commercial cars, owned by the manufacturer, dealer or distributor, or lawfully in the possession or control of the manufacturer, his agent or employee, the dealer, his agent or employee, the distributor, his agent or employee, and shall be displayed on no other motor vehicle. Such placards may be displayed on commercial cars only when such cars are in transit from a manufacturer to a dealer, from a distributor to a dealer or distributor or from a dealer to a purchaser, or when such cars are being demonstrated for sale or lease, and shall not be displayed when such cars are being used for delivery, hauling, transporting or other commercial purpose.
(ORC 4503.30)
(b) Whoever violates any provision of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor on a first offense; on a second offense within one year after the first offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree; on each subsequent offense within one year after the first offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.