FAQ > Opinions FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

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How do I submit my views concerning questions that have been submitted to the Attorney General for an opinion?
Parties interested in a particular request are invited to submit comments or analysis to the Opinions Section in writing by mail or e-mail. Click here for contact information.

What is the process for preparing an Attorney General opinion?
The formal opinions process begins when an eligible public official or governmental agency submits a written request for a formal opinion on a specific question of law.  The Opinions Section first determines whether a formal Attorney General opinion is the appropriate form of response.  A request may be declined or answered by informal letter if it does not meet the guidelines for a formal opinion.  If the request is appropriate for a formal opinion, the letter is acknowledged by the Opinions Section, docketed, and assigned to an attorney in the Section.

A copy of each request letter is posted on the Pending Opinion Requests section of the Attorney General’s website along with a summary of the subject matter of each request.  Parties interested in a particular request are invited to submit comments or analysis to the Opinions Section in writing by mail or e-mail.  For contact information, click here.

The attorney to whom the request is assigned will, if necessary, contact the requester for further information and then conduct a thorough and detailed review of the law relevant to the questions presented.  Once that research is completed, the attorney prepares a draft opinion.  The draft opinion receives several levels of review before it is presented to the Attorney General for approval and signature. 

Following signature by the Attorney General, the opinion is issued to the requester.  The opinion is also published in the appropriate volume of the Ohio Attorney General Opinions.  Each formal opinion is also available online at the Attorney General’s Opinions Database.

Can I search Attorney General opinions?
A search feature for Attorney General opinions is available online at the Attorney General’s Opinions Database.  Opinions may be searched by keyword or by opinion number (for example, 2013-001).    
   
Commercial databases, such as Lexis and Westlaw, also may be used to search Attorney General opinions.

How can I receive a copy of an Attorney General opinion?
The requester will receive the signed original opinion in letter form.  Once issued to the requester, formal opinions are made available to the public. 

Opinions issued in 1993 or later are available online 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.

How can I view information on currently pending formal opinion requests?
A copy of each request letter is posted on the Pending Opinion Requests section of the Attorney General’s website along with a summary of the subject matter of each request.  A summary of the subject matter of each request is also published in the Ohio State Bar Association report. 

How do I cite an AG opinion?
The citation format followed by the Attorney General is available in the “Citations of Formal Attorney General Opinions” on the Attorney General’s website.

How do I know whether an opinion has been overruled?
A Table of Overruled Opinions is maintained by the Opinions Section and is available on the Opinions page of the Attorney General’s website.  This table tracks opinions that have been overruled by subsequent opinions.  It does not include other factors, such as subsequent legislation and court decisions, that may affect the validity of past opinions. 

The validity of past Attorney General opinions may also be researched using the Shepard’s Citation Service from Lexis.

What is an Attorney General opinion?
An Attorney General opinion is an official statement of the Attorney General’s views on a legal question.  An Attorney General opinion may also be referred to as a “formal opinion.” 

As an alternative to the issuance of a formal opinion, a request for an Attorney General opinion may be answered by an informal letter.  Informal letters are prepared by Assistant Attorneys General of the Opinions Section.  These letters represent the analysis of the Assistant Attorneys General who write them.  Therefore, an informal letter may not be described as an official statement of the Attorney General’s views on the question and should not be cited as an “Attorney General opinion.”

What is the process for requesting an opinion?
Eligible public officials and governmental agencies must submit a written request for a formal opinion on a specific question of law.  The request should include an explanation of why the opinion is needed and the context in which the issue arises.  The request may also contain any other information that may be helpful, including relevant statutes, cases, prior opinions, agency rules, or other research.  If the matter is urgent, the request should indicate any special needs for an expedited response.  A request for an expedited response will be considered and accommodated to the extent feasible. 

An opinion request should be signed by the public official, principal officer, or head of the agency authorized to make the request.  If the request is signed by a deputy or assistant, the Opinions Section will verify that it was authorized by the principal before preparing the opinion, and the opinion will issue to the principal officer, not to the deputy or assistant. 

Requests for an Attorney General opinion should be mailed or e-mailed to the Opinions Section.  For contact information, click here.  If a request is submitted by e-mail, please attach an electronic copy of the signed original request letter.

What is the significance of an Attorney General opinion?
Attorney General opinions provide valuable advice to public officials and are useful in guiding the actions of those officials.  Although Attorney General opinions are not binding on the courts, courts usually give formal opinions careful consideration.

What questions can be addressed in an Attorney General opinion?
Questions of law related to the official duties of the requesting public official
Questions of law that seek to clarify the interpretation of a statute whose meaning is in dispute or doubt
Questions of law regarding state statutes that appear to be inconsistent with each other

What questions cannot be addressed in an Attorney General opinion?
Questions about the constitutionality of a state or federal statute
Questions related to issues that are in litigation, either before a court or an administrative tribunal
Questions committed to another branch of government
Questions that involve disputed matters of fact
Questions related to disputes between private persons
Questions that are not related to the duties and responsibilities of the officer making the request
Questions seeking interpretation of purely federal or local laws
Questions about the rights of parties under a contract or other legal document

Who is not entitled to an Attorney General opinion?
Private citizens
Federal officers and employees
Individual members of the General Assembly
Officers and employees of county, municipal, and other local governments (except county prosecutors and law directors of limited home rule townships)
Employees of state agencies or departments

Who may request an Attorney General opinion?
Officers of state government:  Attorney General opinions are provided to the state’s constitutional officers—the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, and Auditor. 

Agencies, boards, commissions, and departments of state government:  Attorney General opinions are provided to the head of a state agency.  Opinion requests from a board or commission must be authorized by the board or commission; opinions will not be issued to individual members of a board or commission. 

The Ohio House or Senate:  The Attorney General provides formal opinions to either house of the General Assembly when requested by resolution.
County prosecuting attorneys
Law directors of limited home rule townships