Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3797.04 – Annual verification of residence and employment address

(A) A registrant shall verify the registrant's current residence address and employment address on each anniversary of the registrant's initial registration date by personally appearing before the sheriff of the county in which the registrant is registered not earlier than ten days before the anniversary date and not later than the anniversary date and completing and signing a copy of a verification form provided by the sheriff. The sheriff shall sign the completed form and indicate on the form the date on which it is completed. The verification is complete when the registrant personally appears before the sheriff and completes and signs the form.
(B) To facilitate the verification of a registrant's current residence or employment address, the sheriff with whom the registrant most recently registered the address may mail a nonforwardable verification form to the registrant's last reported residence address or employment address, as applicable, with a notice that conspicuously states that the registrant must personally appear before the sheriff to complete the form and the date by which the form must be completed. Regardless of whether a sheriff mails a form to a registrant, each registrant shall personally appear before the sheriff to verify the address.
(C)
1. (1) If a registrant fails to verify a current residence address or employment address by the date required for the verification, the sheriff with whom the registrant is required to verify the current address shall send on the day following that date required for the verification and at the registrant's last known residence or place of employment, as applicable, a written warning to the registrant regarding the registrant's duty to verify the registrant's current address. The written warning shall do all of the following:
  1. (a) Identify the sheriff who sends it and the date on which it is sent;
  2. (b) State conspicuously that the registrant has failed to verify the registrant's current residence address or employment address, as applicable, by the date required for the verification;
  3. (c) Conspicuously state that the registrant has seven days from the date on which the warning is sent to verify the current residence address or employment address, as applicable, with the sheriff who sent the warning;
  4. (d) Conspicuously state that a failure to timely verify the specified current address or addresses is a felony offense;
  5. (e) Conspicuously state that the registrant will not be prosecuted for a failure to timely verify a current address if the registrant verifies the current address with that sheriff within that seven-day period;
  6. (f) Conspicuously state that the registrant will be arrested or taken into custody, as appropriate, and prosecuted for a failure to timely verify a current address if the registrant does not verify the current address with that sheriff within that seven-day period.
2. (2) If a registrant fails to verify a current address as required by this section by the date required for the verification, the registrant shall not be prosecuted for a violation of division (A) of section 3797.10 of the Revised Code unless the seven-day period subsequent to that date that the registrant is provided under division (C)(1) of this section to verify the current address has expired and the registrant has not verified the current address prior to the expiration of that seven-day period. Upon the expiration of the seven-day period that the registrant is provided under division (C)(1) of this section to verify the current address, if the registrant has not verified the current address, all of the following apply:
  1. (a) The sheriff with whom the registrant is required to verify the current address promptly shall notify the attorney general of the failure.
  2. (b) The sheriff with whom the registrant is required to verify the current address, the sheriff of the county in which the registrant resides or is employed, or a deputy of the appropriate sheriff shall locate the registrant, promptly shall seek a warrant for the arrest or taking into custody, as appropriate, of the registrant for the violation of division (A) of section 3797.10 of the Revised Code, and shall arrest the registrant.
  3. (c) The registrant is subject to prosecution for a violation of division (A) of section 3797.10 of the Revised Code.
(D) A registrant who is required to verify a current address pursuant to division (A) of this section shall do so unless and until the registrant is removed from the civil registry pursuant to section 2721.21 of the Revised Code.