Frequently Asked Questions

Membership dues are based on census population for the municipality. Please contact the OML office for municipality specific information.

Member Municipalities should first contact their solicitor or law director with any legal questions. If the solicitor or law director needs assistance or further clarification, our legal counsel on staff can assist them.

Exhibitor information is generally mailed out two months prior to the conference and can be found on our site under conference information.

We offer the six-hour initial courses at the beginning of each year. We will hold the initial training in January and February following a municipal election. On subsequent years, we will only hold initial training in January. We offer the three-hour refresher courses three times per year in August (magistrates only), October and November. You can find the upcoming mayor's court training dates on our calendar of events. *Please be sure to register early for all training. If we do not have enough registrants at least a month prior to the training class, it is subject to cancellation.

Following the six hour initial training requirements, the Mayor or Magistrate shall receive each year, three hours of continuing education for offenses other than alcohol and drug related traffic offenses and another three hours of continuing education in cases related to alcohol and drug related traffic offenses, if they hear first offense OVI cases. It is the responsibility of each individual to know what courses they need to take each year.

If you miss a three-hour mayor's court refresher class, you can move your registration to the next available class. If there is not another scheduled class in the calendar year, you must retake the six-hour initial class in order to be certified to preside over court. You have the option of hiring a certified magistrate to preside over court until your certification is current.

There are currently 931 municipalities in Ohio; 247 cities and 684 villages.

You can access our top ten requested sample ordinances by clicking on the following link. Contact our office to see if other samples, not found on this list, are available.

The Ohio Sunshine Laws manual can be found here:

No, we do not provide certified training on the Ohio Sunshine Laws. You can access more information on Sunshine Laws training here:

The definition of home rule along with other helpful information for local government officials can be found here: