Ohio § 4549.63 Seizing vehicle part

Ohio Statutes

§ 4549.63 — Seizing vehicle part

Ohio § 4549.63

Title 45Motor Vehicles-Aeronautics-Watercraft

Ch. 4549Motor Vehicle Crimes

This text of Ohio § 4549.63 (Seizing vehicle part) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 4549.63 (2026).

Text

(A)A law enforcement officer may seize and take possession of a vehicle or vehicle part if the officer has probable cause to believe that any vehicle identification number or derivative thereof on the vehicle or part has been removed, defaced, covered, altered, or destroyed in such a manner that the identity of the vehicle or part cannot be determined by visual examination of the number at the site where the manufacturer placed the number. The seizure shall be pursuant to a warrant, unless the circumstances are within one of the exceptions to the warrant requirement that have been established by the supreme court of the United States or of the supreme court of this state.

(B)A vehicle or vehicle part seized under division (A) of this section shall be held in custody pursuant to section2

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(A) A law enforcement officer may seize and take possession of a vehicle or vehicle part if the officer has probable cause to believe that any vehicle identification number or derivative thereof on the vehicle or part has been removed, defaced, covered, altered, or destroyed in such a manner that the identity of the vehicle or part cannot be determined by visual examination of the number at the site where the manufacturer placed the number. The seizure shall be pursuant to a warrant, unless the circumstances are within one of the exceptions to the warrant requirement that have been established by the supreme court of the United States or of the supreme court of this state.

(B) A vehicle or vehicle part seized under division (A) of this section shall be held in custody pursuant to section2981.11of the Revised Code or any applicable municipal ordinance.

(C) A law enforcement officer who acts in good faith in the belief that the seizure of a vehicle or vehicle part is justified under division (A) of this section is immune from any civil or criminal liability for such seizure.

(D) The lawful owner of a vehicle or vehicle part seized under this section that is not needed as evidence and is not subject to forfeiture under division (D)(2) of section4549.62of the Revised Code may reclaim the property by submitting satisfactory proof of ownership to the law enforcement agency or court holding the property.