Forfeited Vehicles and Immobilization in Jefferson

Under Ohio law, certain OVI convictions carry mandatory minimum sentences. These penalties can affect more than just your driving record—they can directly impact your vehicle. Two of the harshest consequences involve having your car immobilized or, in more serious cases, criminally forfeited.

It’s worth noting that your vehicle won’t be immobilized or forfeited after a first OVI conviction. These penalties apply to repeat offenses. A Jefferson Ohio OVI attorney can help you understand where you stand and what options remain open to you.

When the court orders a vehicle immobilized or forfeited, a family member who relies on that car for everyday tasks may face real hardship. In these situations, that family member can request a waiver. If the court grants it, the waiver allows the person to keep using the vehicle, provided they follow certain conditions.

Circumstances in Which a Vehicle Will Be Immobilized or Forfeited

The penalties below apply to OVI convictions beyond the first. Each scenario carries its own required consequences. If you’re unsure how these rules apply to your case, a Jefferson Ohio criminal lawyer can walk you through the details:

2nd OVI within 6 years:

• Vehicle immobilized for 90 days
• Class 4 suspension for 1 to 5 years
• License plates impounded for 90 days
• Limited driving privileges permitted

3rd OVI within 6 years:

• Criminal forfeiture of vehicle required
• Class 3 suspension for 2 to 10 years
• Limited driving privileges allowed

4th or more OVI within 6 years OR a 6th OVI in the space of 20 years:

• Limited driving privileges permitted
• Required criminal forfeiture of vehicle
• Class 2 suspension for 3 years to life

OVI conviction following a felony conviction:

• Forfeiture of vehicle is mandatory
• Class 2 suspension for 3 years to life
• Limited driving privileges are allowed

If the court orders your vehicle impounded, you’ll be charged a $100 fee. Keep in mind that a vehicle can only be forfeited or impounded if it was involved in your OVI offense and registered in your name.

Immobilization Orders and the Court

When the court issues an order to immobilize your vehicle, that order must include specific details. A knowledgeable Jefferson Ohio OVI attorney will make sure each of the following appears clearly in your paperwork:

• The length of time the vehicle will be immobilized
• The date the order is issued
• A description of the vehicle—year, make, and model
• Who will carry out the immobilization—this could be the law enforcement agency that made the arrest, the agency responsible for the area where you live, a court bailiff, or another party named by the court
• A statement confirming the vehicle cannot be registered until the immobilization fee is paid. In other words, you can’t apply in your own name at the registrar or deputy registrar to obtain new license plates for the vehicle.
• Where the vehicle will be immobilized. This may be your home or the home of your parent, child, or spouse; a police impound lot; a public street or highway where it’s legally parked; or property owned by a private person or business, as long as that party has given written permission.

Immobilization Period Beginnings

The immobilization period starts the day the police tow your car away or attach a boot to it. If officers impounded the vehicle before your court date, that earlier time counts toward the total immobilization period.

The person handling the immobilization will remove the license plates from the car and send them to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, where the plates will be destroyed. Anyone facing this process should consider speaking with a Jefferson Ohio criminal lawyer to understand their rights.

Once the immobilization period ends and you’ve paid the fee, you’ll be allowed to recover your car and obtain new plates. The cost for these new plates matches what you’d pay if your old ones had been lost, mutilated, or destroyed.

If your vehicle is immobilized and you find a way to drive it anyway—and you get caught—you’ll lose the vehicle entirely. It will be removed from the road, declared criminally forfeit, and disposed of. That could mean the car is handed over to the law enforcement agency the arresting officer works for, or it could be sold at auction. Under no circumstances will the law permit it to be sold back to you or to a member of your family.

If you complete the immobilization period but fail to claim the vehicle within seven days, you’ll receive a letter at your last known address. That notice gives you twenty days to retrieve the vehicle and pay the fee. If you don’t, the car will be forfeited.

My Car Is Immobilized, Can I Sell It?

The short answer is no—not without prior approval from the court. You’ll need to prove to the judge that the sale isn’t a way to dodge the immobilization. If you convince the judge, he or she will notify both you and the registrar that consent for the sale has been granted. A Jefferson Ohio OVI attorney can help you make this case effectively.

The same rule applies to transferring or assigning the vehicle’s title. You cannot do this between the time of your arrest and the time the car is immobilized without prior court approval. If you proceed anyway, the judge will direct the registrar and deputy registrars to deny any application in your name to register a vehicle for two years.

Post-Immobilization Disposal of Vehicle

If you don’t pick up your car after the immobilization period ends and the vehicle is disposed of, then no matter who takes possession of it, they cannot sell or transfer it back to you. This is one of many reasons to consult a Jefferson Ohio criminal lawyer early in the process.

What they can do is sell it, scrap it, or handle it in any other lawful way. If they scrap it, they must write “FOR DESTRUCTION” on the title and hand it over to the salvage or scrap yard.

In addition, the license plates will be removed and sent to the registrar, as ordered by the court. You will still owe the immobilization fee regardless of what happens to the vehicle.

Immobilization Waiver

As mentioned earlier, a family member or someone else living in your household can request that your vehicle not be immobilized. However, two conditions must both be met for the court to grant this request. A Jefferson Ohio OVI attorney can help your family member prepare and file the necessary motion:

• The household or family member files a motion with the court before the immobilization order is written. The motion must state that the person filing depends entirely on the vehicle for life’s necessities—grocery runs, getting the kids to school, doctor visits, commuting to work, and so on—and that immobilizing the vehicle would create an undue hardship for that person.
• The court determines that an undue hardship would indeed fall on the family member if the car were immobilized, because that person relies on it for the necessities of life.

The waiver must clearly state how long it will remain in effect. This period matches the length the immobilization would have lasted.

A $50 fee applies to the waiver. One copy is filed with the court, another goes to you, and a third goes to the person granted the waiver. If you have questions about the process, a Jefferson Ohio criminal lawyer can guide you through each step.

The waiver will name the person who requested it and identify the vehicle involved. It will also list the household or family members permitted to drive the car, and it will specifically name you and state that you are not allowed to drive it.

Throughout the entire waiver period, the vehicle must display restricted plates.

The person granted the waiver cannot let you drive the vehicle. If they do, the waiver is terminated and the vehicle is immobilized for whatever time remains in the original immobilization period. The household member will be guilty of an unclassified misdemeanor, and you will face a charge of a first-degree misdemeanor.

If you’re facing the loss or immobilization of your vehicle, the team at Youngstown Criminal Law Group is ready to help. Call (330) 791-8104 or contact Jefferson Ohio OVI attorney online to schedule a free consultation.