Ohio Revised Code
Chapter 4519 | Special Vehicles
Section 4519.58 | Issuing Duplicate Certificate.

Effective: June 29, 2005
Latest Legislation: House Bill 68 - 126th General Assembly
(A) When the clerk of a court of common pleas issues a physical certificate of title, the clerk shall issue the certificate of title on a form and in a manner prescribed by the registrar of motor vehicles. The clerk shall file a copy of the physical evidence for the creation of the certificate of title in a manner prescribed by the registrar. A clerk may retain digital images of documents used as evidence for issuance of a certificate of title. Certified printouts of documents retained as digital images shall have the same evidentiary value as the original physical documents. The record of the issuance of the certificate of title shall be maintained in the automated title processing system. The clerk shall sign and affix the clerk's seal to the original certificate of title and, if there are no liens on the off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle, shall deliver the certificate to the applicant or the selling dealer. Except as otherwise provided in this section, if there are one or more liens on the off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle, the certificate of title shall be delivered to the holder of the first lien. If the certificate of title is obtained by a dealer on behalf of the applicant and there are one or more liens on the off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle, the clerk shall issue a certificate of title and may issue a memorandum certificate of title. The certificate of title and memorandum certificate of title, if issued, shall be delivered to the holder of the first lien or the selling dealer, who shall deliver the certificate of title to the holder of the first lien and the memorandum certificate of title to the applicant. The selling dealer also may make arrangements with the clerk to have the clerk deliver the memorandum certificate of title to the applicant.
(B) The registrar shall prescribe a uniform method of numbering certificates of title. The numbering shall be in such manner that the county of issuance is indicated. Numbers shall be assigned to certificates of title in the manner prescribed by the registrar. The clerk shall file all certificates of title according to the rules to be prescribed by the registrar, and the clerk shall maintain in the clerk's office indexes for the certificates of title.
The clerk need not retain on file any current certificates of title, current duplicate certificates of title, current memorandum certificates of title, or current salvage certificates of title, or supporting evidence of them, covering any off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle for a period longer than seven years after the date of their filing; thereafter, the documents and supporting evidence may be destroyed. The clerk need not retain on file any inactive records, including certificates of title, duplicate certificates of title, or memorandum certificates of title, or supporting evidence of them, including the electronic record described in section 4519.55 of the Revised Code, covering any off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle for a period longer than five years after the date of their filing; thereafter, the documents and supporting evidence may be destroyed.
The automated title processing system shall contain all active records and an index of the active records, and shall contain a record and index of all inactive titles for ten years, and a record and index of all inactive titles for manufactured and mobile homes for thirty years. If the clerk provides a written copy of any information contained in the database, the copy shall be considered the original for purposes of the clerk certifying the record of such information for use in any legal proceedings.
(C) Except as provided in this division, the clerk shall issue a physical certificate of title to an applicant unless the applicant specifically requests the clerk not to issue a physical certificate of title and instead to issue an electronic certificate of title. In the case of a title application that is submitted electronically to the clerk, the clerk shall issue an electronic certificate of title unless the applicant requests the issuance of a physical certificate of title. The fact that a physical certificate of title is not issued for an off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle does not affect ownership of the motorcycle or vehicle. In that case, when the clerk completes the process of entering certificate of title application information into the automated title processing system, the effect of the completion of the process is the same as if the clerk actually issued a physical certificate of title for the motorcycle or vehicle.
(D) An electronic dealer who applies for a certificate of title on behalf of a customer who purchases an off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle from the dealer may print a non-negotiable evidence of ownership for the customer if the customer so requests. The authorization to print the non-negotiable evidence of ownership shall come from the clerk with whom the dealer makes application for the certificate of title for the customer, but the printing by the dealer does not create an agency relationship of any kind between the dealer and the clerk.
(E) The owner of the off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle may apply at any time to a clerk of a court of common pleas for a non-negotiable evidence of ownership for the off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle.

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