RETURN TO THE ROAD CAMPAIGN
House Bill 29 is a huge win for Ohio drivers!
The Return to the Road Campaign Celebrates the Passage of House Bill 29 to End Debt-Related Driver’s License Suspensions in Ohio. On January 8, 2025, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 29 into law, legislation that removed many of the financial barriers that lead to driver’s license suspensions.
As of June 2, 2025, statistics collected by the Ohio Department of Public Safety showed that 170,510 Ohio drivers already had a total of 429,501 driver's license suspensions and vehicle registration blocks removed as a result of H.B. 29. Of these, 7,076 drivers regained their valid driver’s license and status to legally drive. Another 24,356 drivers now have no other suspension on their license. In total, drivers also had $8,380,681 in reinstatement fees waived as part of H.B. 29.
The following provisions were included in House Bill 29:
- Eliminates the driver’s license suspension for failure to pay a court fine or fee.
- Applies the removal of license suspensions for failure to pay a court fine or fee both retroactively and automatically, without imposition of reinstatement fees.
- Removes the possible penalty of a driver’s license suspension for a drug abuse offense, unless the offense relates to causing others to use, manufacture, or traffic and the offender used a vehicle to further the commission of the offense.
- Reduces the lookback period for driving without insurance offenses to be considered repeat offenses from five years to one year.
- Eliminates school truancy as a reason for license denial or suspension.
- Authorizes a person whose driver’s license is suspended for failure to pay child support to file a motion with a court for limited driving privileges in all circumstances, not just when the motion is made during contempt proceedings as under current law.
