The Attorney General provides formal legal opinions to the agencies, officers, boards, commissions, and departments of state government, in all matters relating to their official duties, R.C. 109.12. Formal opinions also are provided to the county prosecuting attorneys and law directors of Ohio's limited home rule townships, R.C. 109.14, and either house of the Ohio General Assembly, R.C. 109.13. The Attorney General does not issue opinions to private citizens. The Opinions Section researches, writes, and prepares for issuance and publication all formal opinions of the Attorney General.
Eligible public officials and governmental agencies may submit a written request for a formal opinion to
OpinionsRequest@OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov.
View the formal opinions process.
Copies of Issued Opinions:
Anyone may request a copy of an opinion that has been issued by the Attorney General. There are several ways to obtain copies of an opinion that has been issued by the Attorney General:
- Opinions issued in 1993 or later are available at the Attorney General’s Opinions Database.
- Copies of opinions issued prior to 1993 are available online at the Attorney General’s Opinions Archive.
- Attorney General opinions are published in printed volumes, Ohio Attorney General Opinions, that are available in law libraries and some public libraries. Attorney General opinions are also available on some commercial electronic databases, such as Lexis or Westlaw.