Taken in for an Evaluation
ORC 5122 — custody that is not an arrest
Police custody is not always an arrest. Ohio has a second kind, run through the probate court rather than the criminal one, and a person can go through the whole of it without ever being charged with anything. It is widely called a pink slip. The law calls it emergency hospitalization.
Who handles this in Ohio: Ohio State Bar Association lawyer referral; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Ohio directory.
A police officer or sheriff may take a person into custody and transport them to a hospital where the officer has reason to believe the person is a person with a mental illness subject to court order and represents a substantial risk of physical harm to self or others if left at liberty pending examination. The statute gives the same authority to several others, including a psychiatrist, a licensed clinical psychologist, a licensed physician, a health officer and a parole officer.
- The person taking custody must say who they are.
- They must say that the person is not being arrested for a crime.
- They must say that the person is being taken to a facility to be examined.
Not an arrest is a fact about the custody, not a description of it. Nothing in that phrase means a person is free to leave, and nothing about it makes the transport voluntary. What it does mean is that no charge exists, no criminal case has started, and the rules that run the rest of this site, the ones about interrogation, counsel at questioning, and what the state has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, are not the rules operating here. A different chapter is.
| Stage | Clock | What the section requires |
|---|---|---|
| StageExamined after arriving | ClockWithin twenty four hours of arrival | What the section requiresImmediate release where the chief clinical officer does not believe the person is subject to court order |
| StageHeld after the examination | ClockNot more than three court days following the day of the examination | What the section requiresVoluntary admission, an affidavit filed with the probate court, or discharge at the end of the period |
| StageAffidavit filed | ClockAny person may file it | What the section requiresIt must name the statutory category and state facts enough for probable cause |
| StageCourt refers it for investigation | ClockWithin two business days of receiving it | What the section requiresTo the local board, or the provider the board designates |
| StageInitial hearing | ClockWithin five court days of detention or the affidavit, whichever came first | What the section requiresHeld in a setting not likely to be harmful, which may be the hospital |
| StageFull hearing | ClockAfter the initial hearing | What the section requiresDischarge unless the court finds by clear and convincing evidence |
The hold is counted in court days, not hours. After the examination a person may be held for not more than three court days following the day of the examination, so a Friday afternoon and a holiday weekend are not the same length of time as a Tuesday, and the figure people repeat in hours is not the one the section uses.
- A respondent who cannot obtain an attorney is represented by court appointed counsel.
- Where the respondent is indigent, appointed counsel and an independent expert evaluation are provided at public expense.
- An independent expert evaluation means one by a licensed clinical psychologist, psychiatrist or licensed physician chosen by the respondent or their counsel, who agrees to do it.
- At the full hearing the court must order discharge unless it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the respondent is a person with a mental illness subject to court order.
The evaluator can be the respondent's own choice, and that is the part nobody mentions. An independent expert evaluation is not a second opinion the court arranges. The statute defines it as one by a professional the respondent or their counsel selects. For an indigent respondent it is paid for as an expense of the case, alongside counsel.
Everything here is the statutory floor. Hospitals, county boards and probate courts each run their own procedures on top of it, and a crisis is not a good moment to be reading a statute. This section exists so the words on the paperwork afterwards mean something.
Sources for this section (7)
- ORC 5122.10 — Emergency hospitalization, and who may take a person into custody
- ORC 5122.01 — Definitions, including person with a mental illness subject to court order
- ORC 5122.15 — Full hearing, counsel, and the standard of proof
- ORC 5122.11 — Affidavit filed with the probate court
- ORC 5122.13 — Referral of the affidavit for investigation
- ORC 5122.141 — Initial hearing, and when it must happen
- ORC 5122.43 — Costs of appointed counsel and independent evaluation for an indigent respondent
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Ohio attorney.