A coalition to end debt-related driver's license suspensions in Ohio.
You have a right to drive!
Drive to Justice wants to help!
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Transportation directly affects quality of life: finding and maintaining employment, financial strain, independence, housing options, access to healthcare, and more. In 2022, it was found that over 60% of suspended driver's licenses are a result of debt, and not dangerous driving. Debt-related license suspensions directly criminalize poverty, keeping people trapped in a cycle of debt.
Check the Status of Your License
Steps to reinstate a license:
Go to the BMV website to see if you’re able to get your license back.
- Log into OH ID account. If you don’t have an account, you must create one.
- Under “Reinstatement Requirements & Fees” your license status and BMV cases will be listed.
For more information or to ask your own question, visit the Marshall Project’s suspended license FAQ.
What is House Bill 29?
Passed with the support of Drive to Justice (Neighborhood Connections, Policy Matters, Building Freedom Ohio and Towards Employment) and countless other advocacy groups, such as the Ohio Poverty Law Center, and the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, this legislation means:
- Licenses can no longer be suspended due to failure to pay a court fee or fine. The legislation is retroactive: it applies to past suspensions for failure to pay court fines and fees. There is no reinstatement fee for restoring licenses suspended for that reason.
- Drug Abuse Offenses can no longer be punished by a suspended driver’s license, unless the offense is associated with dangerous driving.
- HB 29 reduces the lookback period for driving without insurance offenses to be considered repeat offenses from five years to one year.
- School truancy is no longer a reason for license suspension or denial.
- Those whose licenses were suspended for failure to pay child support can now file a motion with the courts for limited driving privileges.
As of June 2025, HB29 has:
However...
The fight isn’t over! Learn how to advocate for driving justice and
Stay Engaged with Drive to Justice!
Join our fight to end all debt-related license suspensions, and get justice for Ohioans.
Share Your Story
If you’d like to contribute to our advocacy work, please use the prompts at right to share your experience and a member of our team will follow up to receive more details. Your story may be shared through a variety of channels, including newsletters, social media, our website, legislative testimony, and more. We will never use your story without your explicit permission. You will be guided through a consent process following submission of your story.
Partners
Building Freedom Ohio
Building Freedom Ohio's mission is to develop the leadership capacity of people with the wisdom of their lived experiences in the criminal justice system, to build and wield power in the grassroots driven BFO chapters throughout Ohio.
Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
Legal Aid's mission is to secure justice, equity, and access to opportunity for and with people who have low incomes through passionate legal representation and advocacy for systemic change. This mission centers on our vision for Northeast Ohio to be a place in which all people experience dignity and justice, free from poverty and oppression.
Neighborhood Connections
Established in 2003 by the Cleveland Foundation, Neighborhood Connections is a nationally recognized community-building program. Its mission is to fuel the power of neighbors to create, together, an extraordinary world right where they live. Its small grants program is the largest in the country and is guided by a grantmaking committee of Cleveland and East Cleveland residents. The committee reviews and approves all grants. Since 2003, Neighborhood Connections has awarded more than 2,600 grants totaling more than $8.3 million.
Policy Matters Ohio
Policy Matters Ohio, a non-profit policy research institute, creates a more vibrant, equitable, sustainable and inclusive Ohio through research, strategic communications, coalition building and policy advocacy.
Towards Employment
Towards Employment promotes economic mobility, focusing on those most impacted by systemic racism. We educate and advocate for a more equitable workforce system where racial income gaps have been eliminated and everyone has access to family sustaining wages and quality jobs.