OPOTA firearms qualification forms are published by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission (OPOTC) and downloaded from the OPOTC Forms and Resources page on the Ohio Attorney General’s website. The right form depends on your role: private security personnel use the PSF or PSFC series, peace officers and other armed public-safety personnel use the annual requalification forms, and anyone claiming credit for prior training uses an SF410 equivalency form. A certified firearms instructor records your course of fire and score, signs the form, and the completed paperwork becomes the state record authorizing you to carry on duty.
Pick the Form That Matches Your Role
Private security firearms training uses the PSF-series forms. Form PSF040a covers training effective July 1, 2024, and PSF041 applies to training completed on or after July 1, 2026. The PSFC Training Forms, effective July 1, 2025, cover public safety firearms certification. Download the version whose effective date matches the date of your training; using a superseded edition can delay processing.1Ohio Attorney General. OPOTC Forms and Resources
Active-duty peace officers and the other armed personnel listed in Ohio Revised Code 109.801 use the firearms requalification forms, which are posted on the same page alongside instructor certification guidelines. Each form corresponds to a specific firearm type: handgun, shotgun, or rifle. If you qualified with more than one firearm in the same session, you need separate documentation for each.
If you hold a prior certification you believe satisfies Ohio’s requirements, submit an equivalency request instead. Form SF410ps handles private security certificate equivalency and SF410psfc covers public safety firearms certificate equivalency.1Ohio Attorney General. OPOTC Forms and Resources
One form that often gets confused with the firearms paperwork is the SF400. It is not a firearms form. It is the Notice of Peace Officer Appointment that an agency files when it hires or appoints an officer. Since January 1, 2024, the SF400 and its companion separation form SF401 must be submitted electronically through the OPOTA Portal.2Ohio Attorney General. 2024 Standards and Curriculum Update Bulletin
What the Form Asks For
The layout varies by form type and effective date, but every OPOTC firearms form collects the same core information:
- Full legal name and the identifying numbers that link you to your OPOTC training record.
- Name of the employing agency or private security company and any assigned identifiers.
- Date of the qualification, the firearm type used, and the specific course of fire completed.
- Your live-fire score. For basic peace officer training, the state pistol qualification requires a perfect 25 out of 25.3Ohio Attorney General. OPOTA Course Catalog
- Signature and credentials of the certified firearms instructor who administered the course. The instructor’s certification is what gives the form its legal weight.
The Ohio Administrative Code treats the requalification program as an absolute minimum and encourages instructors to incorporate additional topics such as use-of-force policy and general safety procedures.4Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 109:2-13-02 – Firearms Re-qualification Program
Training Hours and Scoring the Form Documents
The hours of live-fire instruction the form attests to depend on your role and weapon:
- Private security handgun: twenty hours of training per handgun.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 109:2-3-10 – Firearms Certification
- Private security shotgun: an additional five hours if you will carry a shotgun on duty.6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 4749.10 – Carrying Firearm
- Peace officers and ORC 109.78 positions, including bailiffs and probation officers: the same twenty-hour handgun and five-hour shotgun minimums.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 109:2-3-10 – Firearms Certification
There is no partial credit on the basic course. Failing any student performance objective means failing the entire course, and the full program has to be retaken before a certificate can be issued.
When the Form Is Due
Peace officers and the other armed personnel covered by ORC 109.801 must requalify once per calendar year.4Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 109:2-13-02 – Firearms Re-qualification Program The practical deadline is December 31. If you have not qualified by year-end, you are no longer authorized to carry a firearm during your official duties.7Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 109.801 – Annual Firearms Requalification Program
The private security timeline runs differently. The initial basic firearms training certificate is valid for eighteen months. Each subsequent requalification certificate is good for twelve months from the qualification date, not tied to the calendar year.6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 4749.10 – Carrying Firearm
Where to Download and How to Submit
All current OPOTC firearms forms are on the Ohio Attorney General’s OPOTC Forms and Resources page. Go to the Firearms section and select the form matching your role and the effective date of your training.1Ohio Attorney General. OPOTC Forms and Resources
The OPOTA Portal at opota.ohioattorneygeneral.gov is increasingly the commission’s preferred submission channel. Starting July 1, 2026, all instructor applications, including public safety firearms training instructors and agency firearms requalification instructors, must be submitted through the portal. Paper PDF submissions will no longer be accepted for those applications.8Ohio Attorney General. OPOTA Portal
For forms still accepted on paper, mail to:
Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy
1650 State Route 56 SW
P.O. Box 309
London, OH 43140
Phone: 740-845-27008Ohio Attorney General. OPOTA Portal
Check the portal for the latest submission requirements before sending anything, since the transition from paper is ongoing. The most common reason paperwork gets bounced back is a mismatched name or wrong certificate number, so verify identifying fields against your OPOTC record before submitting.
Fees
Costs are modest. Ohio Revised Code 109.78 sets a ten-dollar fee for the certificate issued on satisfactory completion of an approved basic firearms training program.9Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 109.78 – Armed Positions Firearms Training Private security professionals seeking a Firearm Bearer endorsement through Ohio’s Department of Homeland Security pay a separate fifteen-dollar fee.10Ohio Homeland Security. PISGS Fees Many employing agencies cover these costs, but confirm with your employer before paying out of pocket.
After the Commission Processes Your Form
Once OPOTC confirms your paperwork is complete and your scores meet the minimum, you receive a certificate or requalification card documenting firearms proficiency for the current cycle. Keep it. Your agency will need it for its own records, and you may be asked to produce it during audits or when you transfer to a new employer. If the commission finds discrepancies during review, the submitting agency is contacted to correct them.
Missing an annual requalification means you cannot carry a firearm on duty, but it does not automatically revoke your OPOTC peace officer certification. The Administrative Code states that compliance with annual firearms requalification has no effect on commission certification.4Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 109:2-13-02 – Firearms Re-qualification Program An officer who cannot carry is still in a difficult operational position, and most agencies treat a lapsed requalification as an urgent problem.