I am often asked if an operation of a vehicle under the influence (OVI) offense can be expunged like other criminal offenses. Generally a criminal offense can be expunged if the offender has no prior or subsequent offenses on his or her record. This rule however does not apply to OVI convictions. The Ohio Revised Code specifically lists OVI offenses as convictions that cannot be expunged. (Section 2953.36 of the Ohio Revised Code) Also, in addition to being non-expungable, an OVI conviction can prevent the expungement of a previous or subsequent offense. In other words, an individual cannot expunge another separate criminal conviction if he or she has an OVI conviction.
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