How to Fill Out and Submit Ohio BMV Form 1173: Record Request

Ohio BMV Form 1173, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles Record Request Form, is how you order certified copies of your driving record, a vehicle title, a registration, or related information from the Ohio BMV. Each certified record costs $5.00. You can download the form free from the Ohio BMV website, pick one up at any deputy registrar office, or skip the paper entirely and submit the same request through the BMV’s online portal.

What the Form Gets You

Section 3 of the form lists seven certified record types, and you can check more than one box on a single form. The $5.00 fee applies to each record, so two checked boxes means $10.00.¹

Driving Record Abstract — license class, current status, and the last three years of convictions, suspensions, and accident entries. This is the version most employers and insurers ask for.
Driving Record History — the same information covering your complete driving history rather than just three years.
Vehicle Registration Record — registered owner and vehicle details for a specific plate.
Vehicle Title Record — title number, status, current owner, previous owner, and any lienholder.
Vehicle Title Record (Historical Chain of Ownership) — every person who has held title to a vehicle, or every vehicle titled to a person, with issuance dates.
Driver License History — current and past license information, endorsements, issuance dates and type, and cosigner details where applicable.
Last Known Address — the most recent address the person gave the Ohio BMV.

If all you want is a quick look at your own record for personal reference, the BMV offers an unofficial two-year driving record through its online services portal. That’s a separate product. Form 1173 produces certified copies suitable for court, employment, or insurance use.

Filling Out the Five Sections

The form itself warns that failing to complete every applicable section can cause it to be returned, so work through all five before you sign.¹

Section 1: Your Information

Enter your full legal name and mailing address. Both are required. Add a company name if you’re requesting on behalf of a business, then your phone number and email. Choose whether you want the results emailed or mailed. If you leave that choice blank, or write the email address illegibly, the BMV mails the results to your physical address by default.

Section 2: Whose Record

Choose Option 1 for your own record or Option 2 for someone else’s. Then supply as many identifiers as you have: Ohio driver license number, date of birth, and Social Security number. The SSN is not required, but the form recommends including it along with any other identifiers so the bureau can match the correct record.¹ For vehicle records you can enter an Ohio plate number, VIN, or Ohio title number. Check the box for additional sheets if you’re requesting records on multiple people or vehicles.

Section 3: Record Type

Check every certified record you want, and total the fee at $5.00 per box.

Section 4: Your Qualifying Reason

This is the section that trips people up. Ohio follows the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act and restricts who can access personal information in BMV records, so you must check one of 13 qualifying reasons on the form.² The reasons people use most often:

Requesting your own record. Nothing extra required.
Written consent of the person whose record you want. Attach the original completed, notarized, and signed BMV Notarized Written Consent form (BMV 5008).
Government agency carrying out official functions.
Court order. Attach a certified copy.
Pending or anticipated litigation. Give the court name and case number, or the court where you expect to file.
Licensed private investigator or security service. Provide the agency license number.
Normal course of business, for verifying personal information or preventing fraud. Provide your company’s tax ID or license number.

Business requesters need to supply a tax identification number, and a corporation must attach a certified Certificate of Good Standing from the secretary of state’s office. A sole proprietor provides a driver license or ID card number.³ Checking a category you don’t actually qualify for, or omitting the backup document that category demands, gets the form returned.

Section 5: Signature

Sign and date. The certification above the signature line warns that providing false information can be charged as falsification, which carries up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.⁴

How to Submit and Pay

You have three ways to file the request, and the right one depends on how fast you need the results and how you want to pay.

Online

The BMV portal at bmvonline.dps.ohio.gov walks you through the same requester information, record types, identifiers, and qualifying reason without printing anything.⁴ The record fee is still $5.00 each, plus a 1.95% service fee with a $1.75 minimum. Credit and debit cards only. This is the fastest route.

By Mail

Print the completed form and mail it with a check or money order payable to the Ohio Treasurer of State to:¹

Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles
Attn: BMV Records
P.O. Box 16520
Columbus, Ohio 43216-6520

Cash is not accepted, and a credit card number written on the form won’t process. Build in delivery time both ways if you asked to have the results mailed back.

By Email

You can email the completed form to BMVRecords@dps.ohio.gov. The form itself doesn’t spell out payment for emailed requests, so confirm the method with the BMV before sending.

Requesting Someone Else’s Record

Pulling your own record is straightforward. Requesting another person’s information triggers Ohio’s driver privacy protections, and the BMV will not release personal information unless the requester fits a category authorized under R.C. 4501.27.² If you file a general public records request instead of Form 1173, you can still get the motor vehicle record, but with all personal information redacted.

Consent-based requests are the most common third-party route, and the consent itself has to be on the notarized BMV 5008 form attached to your request. A note from the person saying they’re fine with it is not enough.

Mistakes That Get the Form Returned

A handful of errors account for most delays:

Leaving Section 4 blank. Every request needs a qualifying reason checked.
Missing the required backup document. Consent requests need the notarized BMV 5008. Court-order requests need a certified copy of the order, not a printout.
Wrong payment. Mail requests need a check or money order to the Ohio Treasurer of State. Recount your checked boxes at $5.00 each.
Illegible email address when you asked for emailed results. The BMV will fall back to physical mail.
Sparse identifiers in Section 2. Include the driver license number and date of birth at minimum so the BMV can locate the right record.

1
Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Ohio BMV Record Request Form
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code Rule 4501:1-12-02 – Driver’s Privacy Protection
3
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 4501:1-12
4
Ohio BMV Online Services. Certified Record Request