Does an OVI Require an Assessment in Ohio?
It depends mainly on how many OVI convictions or guilty pleas you have had in the past ten years. Ohio’s OVI statute, Section 4511.19, sets the requirements by offense, and it also counts five or more earlier convictions or guilty pleas within twenty years and any earlier felony OVI.
First offense in ten years. The statute does not require an assessment, though the court may still order one as a condition of community control, since it “also may impose on the offender any other conditions of community control that it considers necessary.” The sentence includes “a mandatory jail term of three consecutive days,” except in the two cases in the next paragraph. The court “may suspend the execution of the three-day jail term” if it “places the offender under a community control sanction pursuant to section 2929.25 of the Revised Code and requires the offender to attend, for three consecutive days, a drivers’ intervention program certified under section 5119.38 of the Revised Code.” It also allows treatment on the program’s recommendation: the court “may require the offender, as a condition of community control and in addition to the required attendance at a drivers’ intervention program, to attend and satisfactorily complete any treatment or education programs” that “the operators of the drivers’ intervention program determine that the offender should attend and to report periodically to the court on the offender’s progress in the programs.”
The program does not replace jail when a first offense in ten years is sentenced for a high alcohol concentration (at least seventeen-hundredths on a breath or whole-blood test, or the matching serum or urine levels in divisions (A)(1)(f) to (i)) or for driving under the influence and refusing a chemical test after an earlier OVI conviction or guilty plea more than ten and up to twenty years back. Except where the statute provides otherwise, the sentence is “a mandatory jail term of at least three consecutive days and a requirement that the offender attend, for three consecutive days, a drivers’ intervention program that is certified pursuant to section 5119.38 of the Revised Code.” The division then sets the exception: “If the court determines that the offender is not conducive to treatment in a drivers’ intervention program, if the offender refuses to attend a drivers’ intervention program, or if the jail at which the offender is to serve the jail term imposed can provide a driver’s intervention program, the court shall sentence the offender to a mandatory jail term of at least six consecutive days.” Here too the court may require any treatment or education the program’s operators recommend and may impose other conditions of community control.
Second offense within ten years. Here the assessment is required. The court “shall require the offender to be assessed by a community addiction services provider that is authorized by section 5119.21 of the Revised Code” and “shall order the offender to follow the treatment recommendations of the services provider.” The statute states the reason: “The purpose of the assessment is to determine the degree of the offender’s alcohol usage and to determine whether or not treatment is warranted.” If the court asks, the provider “shall submit the results of the assessment to the court, including all treatment recommendations and clinical diagnoses related to alcohol use.”
Third offense and beyond. This includes a third or later OVI within ten years and an OVI after five or more earlier ones within twenty years; an earlier felony OVI counts no matter when it happened. The court “shall order the offender to participate with a community addiction services provider” and again “shall order the offender to follow the treatment recommendations of the services provider.” The provider “shall determine and assess the degree of the offender’s alcohol dependency and shall make recommendations for treatment.”
The program can replace jail only on a first offense in ten years. Section 5119.38 says a program “may be used as an alternative to a term of imprisonment for an offender sentenced pursuant to division (G)(1)(a) of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code” and that “No drivers’ intervention program shall be used as an alternative to a term of imprisonment that is imposed pursuant to division (G)(1)(b), (c), (d), or (e) of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code.”
One more route is closed. Intervention in lieu of conviction is a treatment route a person can request before entering a guilty plea when, among other grounds, drug or alcohol use was a factor in the offense. Section 2951.041 makes it available only when the court finds, among other conditions, that the offense “is not a violation of division (A) of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code or a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to that division,” so an OVI under that division does not qualify. Our guide to court-ordered addiction treatment in Ohio covers that route and the others.
A defense attorney can say which of these sentencing rules applies to your case.
What the Driver Intervention Program Is
Ohio’s rule for these programs, Rule 5122-29-12, defines one as “a program of screening, education, and referral for individuals who are arrested or convicted of operation of a vehicle or water craft under the influence of alcohol or a drug of abuse.” The Ohio Department of Behavioral Health, which certifies them, describes them this way: “DIPs are a two- or three-day process of education and screening, and may also include a referral for complete alcohol and other drug assessment. All DIPs are certified by the Ohio Department of Behavioral Health. They often operate at hotels.”
The rule sets the hours. A seventy-two hour residential program “shall consist of at least twenty-one hours of alcohol and drug addiction programming,” made up of “One hour of screening and individual contact,” “Fifteen hours of client education on alcohol and drug abuse and addiction including traffic safety education” and “Five hours of small group discussion sessions.” A forty-eight hour residential program has “at least sixteen hours” and a non-residential program “at least thirteen hours,” delivered at no more than eight hours a day.
The program’s recommendations, including any referral for an assessment, come out of the screening. “Each client shall be administered at least two screening instruments,” and each client gets an individual interview “to discuss the screening findings, recommendations, referrals, and recommendations made.” The rule adds that “A driver intervention program may conduct client assessments.”
The court hears the outcome. Every client record includes a completion report, and “A copy of the report shall be sent to the court or organization that referred the client to the driver intervention program.” It carries the “Results and recommendations of the screening,” “Any recommendations for alcohol and/or drug assessment” and “Any recommendations made to a court or other organization.”
You pay for the program. Under Section 4511.19, an offender who stays in a drivers’ intervention program under the court’s order “shall pay the cost of the stay in the program.” The Franklin County ADAMH Board’s page on the program, posted in 2021, puts it this way: “DIP locations, dates and fees vary. Most operate in hotels and participants are not permitted to leave during the program. The average cost is around $500,” and the page says the cost can depend on hotel quality. The state department says indigent offenders, whom it describes as people who receive forms of public assistance such as SSI, disability or Medicaid, “may be eligible for assistance to help pay the fee for a DIP.” The department does not fund participants directly and sends them to the providers: “for information and availability on financial assistance provided through DIP providers, please contact the providers in your area.” The department’s page has the provider finder, and “Locations, dates, and hours of operation are available at most courthouses.”
Who Does the Assessment, and What Happens There
The statute names a “community addiction services provider.” Under Section 5119.01, that includes a provider of “Alcohol and drug addiction services that are certified by the director of behavioral health under section 5119.36 of the Revised Code.” For those certified providers, Rule 5122-29-03 says an assessment “Determines diagnosis, treatment needs, and establishes a treatment plan to address the person’s mental illness or substance use disorder.”
At Leora Behavioral Health, a clinician asks about your medical history, your current alcohol and drug use, the medications you take and any mental health conditions, then works out which level of care fits. Both facilities welcome walk-ins, and someone can come with you. Our guide to drug and alcohol assessments in Ohio covers what to bring and what the assessment includes.
Before you book one for a court case, ask the court or your probation officer which providers it accepts, and bring the paperwork that orders it.
What Follows: the Treatment Recommendation
After a second or later OVI within ten years the court orders you to follow the provider’s treatment recommendations, so the assessment decides what treatment comes next. Leora’s levels include outpatient treatment, one to two days a week, and an intensive outpatient program, three to five days a week for three hours a day, at both facilities. The virtual IOP runs by telehealth anywhere in Ohio, and its program for substance use meets in the evening.
Progress goes back to the court when the court calls for it. After a first offense the statute lets the court require you “to report periodically to the court on the offender’s progress in the programs.” After a second or later offense, the provider submits the results and recommendations “Upon the request of the court.” Our court-ordered treatment guide explains the federal confidentiality rules for treatment records and when a covered program can share them with a court.
Your License Is a Separate Matter
The suspension and the reinstatement are between you, the court and the BMV. For a first-offense OVI suspension, the BMV lists three reinstatement requirements: “Serve suspension as determined by the court,” “Pay a reinstatement fee” and “Provide proof of insurance that covers through the length of the suspension.” Under Section 4511.191, the fee is “a license reinstatement fee of three hundred fifteen dollars.” Neither the BMV’s first-offense requirements nor the reinstatement conditions in Section 4511.191 name an assessment or a treatment program.
The same BMV page names treatment in one case. Its “Habitual Use of Alcohol/Drugs Suspension” applies when “A person has three or more convictions of driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance within a three-year period,” and the suspension stands until the person “Completes a treatment/rehabilitation program” and “Maintains six months of sobriety from date of treatment program completion.” The person also submits the BMV’s Alcohol/Drug Reinstatement form (BMV 2326).
Who Pays for the Assessment and Treatment
Leora accepts every Ohio Medicaid plan and every commercial insurance carrier, and admissions can check your coverage while you are on the phone. Our Ohio Medicaid page explains what Medicaid covers.
The court’s indigent drivers alcohol treatment fund can pay for some people, at the judge’s discretion. Under Section 4511.191 it is for a person “convicted of a violation of division (A) or (B) of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code or a substantially similar municipal ordinance,” who “is ordered by the court to attend an alcohol and drug addiction treatment program,” and whom the court finds unable to pay for the assessment or the program. For that person a judge “may make expenditures” from the fund “To pay the cost of an assessment that is conducted by an appropriately licensed clinician at either a driver intervention program that is certified under section 5119.38 of the Revised Code or at a community addiction services provider whose alcohol and drug addiction services are certified under section 5119.36 of the Revised Code,” and to pay for addiction services at such a provider. Under Section 4511.19 the court may also have the fund pay for a court-ordered stay in an alcohol treatment program when it finds you cannot pay. A court that finds more in its fund than that purpose needs can declare a surplus and use some of it for the assessment and treatment of a person charged with an offense to which substance use contributed and who cannot pay. The board serving the court’s alcohol, drug addiction and mental health service district runs the court’s indigent drivers alcohol treatment program. When the fund pays, that board decides which program suits your needs, and you attend the program the board designates once a suitable program has space. Ask the court about the fund when it orders the assessment. Our guide to free and low-cost addiction treatment in Ohio covers other options.
Where to Get an Assessment in Columbus and Dayton
Walk in at either Leora facility or call admissions first: Leora in Columbus or Leora in Dayton. You do not need a referral. Public options in both cities are listed in our assessment guide.
If Someone Is in Danger Now
Call 911 in an emergency. For a mental health or substance use crisis, call or text 988. The 988 Lifeline says it “is available 24/7/365.”
