The Background Check
ORC 109.57 — and the sealed record a check can still reach
A criminal records check in Ohio runs through the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation. Section 109.572 is the framework for how those checks are conducted, but it is rarely the reason one is being asked for. The requirement almost always comes from the separate statute governing the particular position, licence or facility, and that statute names which check applies.
This is the single most common surprise on this subject, and it arrives late, usually after somebody has sealed a record and then applied for a licensed position. Both things are true at once: the sealing order did what sealing does, and the check still returned something. They are not in conflict, because they were never answering the same question.
| The question | What the sections say |
|---|---|
| Who runs the check | The superintendent of the bureau, under ORC 109.572 |
| How long it takes | A report within thirty days of the request, under ORC 109.57 |
| Why the check is required | Usually the statute governing the position, not 109.572 itself |
| Whether a sealed record can appear | ORC 109.57 names sealed records as included in the report |
The bureau's file is also where a sealing order lands. Where a court orders official records sealed or expunged, it forwards a copy of the order, and the record of the applicant's fingerprints where the applicant was fingerprinted, to the bureau. The order and the record sit in the same place, which is how the bureau is in a position to report one alongside the other.
Which positions require a check, which of those checks reach sealed records and which do not, how expungement differs from sealing in what survives, and how an ordinary employer's commercial background check differs from a bureau check are each set by their own statutes and are not resolved on this page. This page does not say what any particular check will return. The Ohio Attorney General publishes the bureau's own civilian procedure, and what a specific record will do to a specific application is a question for a licensed Ohio attorney.
Sources for this section (3)
- ORC 109.57 — The bureau's records, and what it sends back on a request
- ORC 109.572 — Criminal records checks, and what the superintendent reviews
- ORC 2953.32 — Sealing or expungement of a conviction, eligibility and waiting periods
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Talk to a licensed Ohio attorney about your situation.