Ohio state vacation accrual is set by Ohio Revised Code 124.13, which gives full-time state employees between 80 and 200 hours of paid vacation per year depending on total years of public service. Accrual is credited biweekly, starts after the first year of employment, and tops out at four tiers: 80 hours a year for the first seven years, 120 hours from year eight, 160 hours from year fifteen, and 200 hours from year twenty-five on.
Accrual Rates by Years of Service
ORC 124.13 creates four tiers tied to total years of service. Every full-time state employee earns leave at the end of each biweekly pay period.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 124.13 – Vacation Leave
- 1 through 7 years: 80 hours per year, or 3.1 hours per biweekly pay period. That’s 10 vacation days.
- 8 through 14 years: 120 hours per year, or 4.6 hours per pay period. 15 days.
- 15 through 24 years: 160 hours per year, or 6.2 hours per pay period. 20 days.
- 25 or more years: 200 hours per year, or 7.7 hours per pay period. 25 days.
A “year” of service equals 26 biweekly pay periods. You move up a tier the pay period after you cross the threshold, so tracking the exact date matters if you’re close to a promotion in your accrual rate.
The First Year and Who Qualifies
No vacation accrues during your first year of employment. Once you complete that initial year, the full 80 hours become available.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 124.13 – Vacation Leave Both classified and unclassified full-time employees qualify. Part-time workers, temporary employees, and certain elected officials generally do not.
Employees under a collective bargaining agreement may accrue on a different schedule, because union contracts can set their own terms. A contract can be more generous than ORC 124.13, but not less.
Counting Prior Public Service and Military Time
Years of service under ORC 124.13 include all prior employment with the State of Ohio or any political subdivision of the state, even with a gap.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 124.13 – Vacation Leave Five years at a county followed by a stint in the private sector and then a state job means you start that state job with five years already counting toward your accrual tier.
You claim the credit by submitting a Prior Service Certification Form to each political subdivision where you previously worked. The deadline matters. Submit the form within 90 days of your hire date and you get retroactive credit back to the start of employment. Miss the 90-day window and the credit still counts, but only starting the first day of the pay period after the Department of Administrative Services receives the paperwork.2State of Ohio. Prior Service Certification Form You don’t lose the credit by missing the deadline, but you can lose months of the higher accrual rate that would otherwise have been retroactive.
Honorable discharge from the U.S. Armed Forces also counts. Submit a DD-214 or an official statement of service showing the dates and nature of discharge, and active-duty time applies toward your total years of service.
The Three-Year Cap
Ohio limits how much unused vacation you can carry. Under ORC 124.134, any leave that exceeds three years’ worth of accrual at your current rate is forfeited. Excess hours are simply removed from your balance.3Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 124.134 – Vacation Leave – Employees Exempt From Collective Bargaining
Because the cap tracks your accrual rate, it grows with tenure:
- 1–7 years: 240-hour maximum (30 days).
- 8–14 years: 360-hour maximum (45 days).
- 15–24 years: 480-hour maximum (60 days).
- 25+ years: 600-hour maximum (75 days).
Some payroll systems flag employees who are near the cap, but the state has no duty to warn you before hours disappear. Watching your own balance is the only reliable protection.
Getting Paid When You’re Stuck at the Cap
There is a safety valve. Under ORC 124.134, if your balance is at (or will hit in the next pay period) the three-year maximum, and your employer denied a request to use vacation during that fiscal year, you can be paid for up to 80 hours of denied leave per fiscal year. Those paid hours come off your balance, which opens room for future accrual.3Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 124.134 – Vacation Leave – Employees Exempt From Collective Bargaining
Both conditions have to be met. You must have requested time off, been denied, and be at the cap. Simply choosing not to use vacation doesn’t qualify.
Transferring Between Agencies
If you move to a different state agency, or between state and county employment, ORC 124.13 lets you pick one of two options. You can cash out your accrued and unused vacation at your current rate of pay from the releasing agency, or carry the balance with you to the new position.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 124.13 – Vacation Leave It’s one or the other. Weigh whether the balance is large enough that a payout at your current rate makes sense, or whether keeping the hours for future use is more valuable.
Payout When You Leave State Service
State employees who leave through resignation, retirement, or termination are paid for accrued and unused vacation, up to three years’ worth, at their final rate of pay.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 124.13 – Vacation Leave The employing agency’s payroll department processes it, usually in the final paycheck or shortly after.
Payouts are subject to standard payroll deductions. The IRS treats lump-sum vacation payouts as supplemental wages, so employers can withhold federal income tax at a flat 22 percent rather than at your regular bracket.4Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Publication 15-T – Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods For someone retiring with a large balance, that withholding can noticeably reduce the check.
If the Employee Dies With Unused Leave
When a state employee dies with vacation on the books, ORC 2113.04 lets the employer pay wages owed, including vacation pay, directly to surviving family without opening a probate estate, as long as the total is $5,000 or less. The order of payment is surviving spouse first, then children age 18 or older, then the employee’s parents.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2113.04 – Payment of Wages of Deceased Employee Without Administration Anything above $5,000 requires letters testamentary or letters of administration through probate court.
If Your Payout Doesn’t Come
Vacation pay is treated as wages under Ohio law. ORC 4113.15 defines fringe benefits to include vacation pay, and it imposes liquidated damages when wages go unpaid.6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 4113.15 – Semimonthly Payment of Wages If wages stay unpaid for 30 days past the regular payday, and there’s no pending court order, counterclaim, or legitimate dispute, the employer owes the unpaid amount plus 6 percent of the claim or $200, whichever is greater.
Employees can file a wage complaint with the Bureau of Wage and Hour Administration under the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Industrial Compliance. Filing is free and doesn’t require an attorney.7Ohio Department of Commerce. Wage and Hour – What We Do You can also pursue the claim in civil court, though the math on smaller amounts often argues against litigation. Keep copies of leave balance statements, payroll records, and any written denial of a vacation request. Those records are what turn a claim into a paid one.