In Ohio, an eviction stays on your court record permanently unless a judge agrees to seal it, but private tenant screening companies can only report it for seven years under federal law. That gap is the whole answer to how long an eviction stays on your record in Ohio, and it explains why one landlord may never see your old case while another finds it with a quick search.
The Court Record Never Expires on Its Own
Every Ohio eviction case produces a filing in the municipal or county court that handled it. That filing is public and permanent. Anyone can pull it up through the court’s online docket or by walking into the clerk’s office. There is no automatic expiration, no rolling off after a set number of years, and no agency that clears it for you.
This is the record a private landlord is most likely to see if they skip a paid screening service and simply type your name into the court’s website. Years after the case closed, the entry is still there.
Tenant Screening Reports Cut Off at Seven Years
The second record lives inside the databases of tenant screening companies. These companies pull from public court records and sell reports to landlords, especially larger property management operations. Their reporting is governed by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, which prohibits including civil suits and civil judgments that are more than seven years old from the date of entry.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports
So a large apartment complex running your application through a screening service should not see an eviction older than seven years. A small private landlord checking the court docket directly can still find it decades later. Same eviction, two very different outcomes depending on who is doing the looking.
What Shows Up on Your Credit Report
The eviction itself does not appear on your credit report. Credit bureaus do not track eviction filings or judgments as a separate category. The financial hit comes indirectly. If your landlord sends unpaid rent or damages to a collection agency, that collection account shows up on your credit report and can stay there for seven years.2Equifax. How Does Eviction Affect Credit Scores? The same thing happens if a money judgment entered against you gets handed to a collector.
If you walked away owing nothing, or you paid off the balance before it went to collections, your credit may be untouched. If you left owing money and the landlord sold the debt, expect it to drag at your score and complicate loan and apartment applications alike.
Dismissals and Judgments Read Very Differently
The moment a landlord files an eviction complaint, a public record exists. That record stays even if the case gets tossed out a week later. Many tenants assume a case that went nowhere does not count against them. It does, because the filing is visible.
What the record says about the outcome, though, matters a great deal to anyone reading it. A dismissal or a ruling in your favor tells a different story than a judgment for the landlord. A judgment means a court found the landlord had the legal right to remove you. Screening companies and landlords treat judgments far more seriously than bare filings.
Within dismissals, there is also a split. A dismissal with prejudice closes the case permanently and bars refiling. A dismissal without prejudice leaves the landlord room to refile if they fix whatever went wrong the first time. If you are explaining an old record to a prospective landlord, a dismissal with prejudice gives you more to work with.
Sealing an Eviction Record in Ohio
Ohio has no statewide statute giving tenants a right to seal an eviction record. A bill in the state senate, SB 204, would create a sealing process in certain circumstances, but as of early 2026 it remains in committee.3Ohio Senate. Senate Bill 204 – 136th General Assembly Whether you can seal your record today depends on the rules of the court that handled your case.4Legal Aid Society of Cleveland. How Can I Have My Eviction Record Sealed
Courts With Their Own Sealing Rules
Some Ohio courts have adopted local rules spelling out when a tenant can request sealing. Cleveland Housing Court is the most detailed example. Under its local rules, the court may order an eviction record sealed in circumstances including:
- The court dismissed the case or entered judgment in the tenant’s favor.
- The landlord voluntarily dismissed the eviction claim before the court ruled.
- The landlord agrees in writing to sealing, though this can only be granted once every five years.
- Judgment went to the landlord, but at least five years have passed since that judgment, at least five years have passed since any other adverse eviction judgment against the tenant in any jurisdiction, and the circumstances behind the eviction were unusual.
The Cleveland court also considers whether the tenant has paid off any money judgment from the case.5Cleveland Municipal Court Housing Division. Cleveland Housing Court Local Rules – Rule 6(U)
Courts Without Specific Rules
Many Ohio municipal courts have no local rule for sealing eviction records. You still have a path. Ohio’s Rules of Superintendence (Sup.R. 45(E)) allow any person who is the subject of information in a case document to file a written motion asking the court to restrict public access. The court must find, by clear and convincing evidence, that a higher interest outweighs the public’s right to the record. Factors include risk of injury, individual privacy rights, and fairness of the legal process.6Supreme Court of Ohio. Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio – Rule 45 Clear and convincing evidence is a high bar. This route works best when you can point to a concrete harm from the public record, not just general inconvenience.
Filing a Motion to Seal
Start at the court that heard your original eviction case. You will prepare a written motion asking the judge to seal the record. Include your name, the case number, and a clear explanation of why sealing is justified. If the case was dismissed or decided in your favor, say so directly. If you lost but time has passed and your circumstances have changed, lay that out with specifics.
File the motion with the clerk. Expect a filing fee. Cleveland Housing Court charges $25 and can waive it if you file a poverty affidavit.7Cleveland Municipal Court Housing Division. Motion to Seal Eviction Record Instructions Fees elsewhere vary, so ask the clerk before filing.
After filing, serve a copy of the motion on the landlord or the landlord’s attorney by mail or in person. This step is not optional. In Cleveland Housing Court, failing to serve the landlord and verify service in your motion can get the motion dismissed outright.7Cleveland Municipal Court Housing Division. Motion to Seal Eviction Record Instructions The court may hold a hearing or decide on the written filings after giving the landlord time to object.
Disputing Errors on a Tenant Screening Report
If a screening report contains inaccurate eviction information, federal law lets you dispute it directly with the screening company. Under the FCRA, the company must investigate and report back within 30 days. If the information turns out to be inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable, the company must delete or correct it.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy The window can extend to 45 days if you provide additional information during the first 30.
Errors worth disputing include evictions attributed to the wrong person (name mix-ups happen more often than you would think), dismissed cases that show as judgments, and filings older than seven years that should no longer appear. The FTC has flagged screening reports that list eviction filings without the outcome as a sign of unreasonable procedures.9Federal Trade Commission. What Tenant Background Screening Companies Need to Know About the Fair Credit Reporting Act If you won your eviction case and the report leaves that out, challenge it.
You can also ask the screening company to add a brief statement from you explaining the circumstances. That statement then goes to anyone who requests your report.10Federal Trade Commission. Disputing Errors on Your Tenant Background Check Report
When a Landlord Rejects You Over a Screening Report
If a landlord denies your application because of something in a tenant screening report, federal law requires them to send you an adverse action notice. The notice must include the name, address, and phone number of the screening company. It must also tell you that you can request a free copy of the report within 60 days and that you have the right to dispute anything inaccurate.11Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Should I Do if My Rental Application Is Denied Because of a Tenant Screening Report
A denial without that notice is itself an FCRA violation. More practically, the notice tells you which company produced the report, so you know where to send a dispute. Getting the free copy lets you see what the landlord saw and fix any errors before you apply to the next place.