Ohio Felony Degrees and Misdemeanor Penalties (2026 Guide)

Ohio sorts offenses into aggravated murder, murder, felonies of the first through fifth degree, misdemeanors of the first through fourth degree, and minor misdemeanors (R.C. 2901.02(A)). An offense the Revised Code labels a felony or a misdemeanor keeps that label regardless of the penalty, and an offense with no label is a felony if more than one year of imprisonment may be imposed and a misdemeanor if not more than one year may be imposed (R.C. 2901.02(D)-(F)). Prison terms for each felony degree are set in R.C. 2929.14, misdemeanor jail terms in R.C. 2929.24, and fines in R.C. 2929.18 and 2929.28.

Information last verified on 2026-10-17. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers how the Ohio Revised Code classifies offenses (R.C. 2901.02) and the general sentencing sections that attach to each degree: prison and jail terms (R.C. 2929.14, 2929.144, 2929.24), fines (R.C. 2929.18, 2929.28), community control (R.C. 2929.13, 2929.15, 2929.25, 2929.27) and the repeat violent offender and violent career criminal terms (R.C. 2929.14(B)(2), (K)). It does not cover how individual offenses are graded (see the Ohio theft laws and Ohio assault laws pages), time limits for prosecution, record sealing, local ordinances or federal offenses. For every state side by side, see felony and misdemeanor classes by state.

Felony vs misdemeanor in Ohio

Ohio's classification section lists every class of offense in one sentence. R.C. 2901.02(A) provides:

"Offenses include aggravated murder, murder, felonies of the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth degree, misdemeanors of the first, second, third, and fourth degree, minor misdemeanors, and offenses not specifically classified."

Most Ohio offense statutes name the degree directly. Where they do, the label controls: "Regardless of the penalty that may be imposed, any offense specifically classified as a felony is a felony, and any offense specifically classified as a misdemeanor is a misdemeanor" (R.C. 2901.02(D)). Aggravated murder and murder are felonies (R.C. 2901.02(C)); their sentences are not set by the degree table below, and the Ohio life sentence page covers what a life term means there.

For an offense with no stated class, the possible penalty decides it:

For an unclassified offense committed before January 1, 2004, the minor misdemeanor test is "a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars" (R.C. 2901.02(G)(1)).

Ohio uses degrees, not letters. There is no "Class A misdemeanor" in Ohio; the highest misdemeanor is a misdemeanor of the first degree.

Ohio felony and misdemeanor sentences and fines

The table lists the prison or jail terms a court may choose from for each degree and the fine ceiling. Terms are maximums or lists of permitted terms, so every figure means "up to" the top of the range.

These are the ranges for the degree itself. R.C. 2929.14(B)(2) lets a court add, and in some cases requires, 1 to 10 years for a repeat violent offender, described below, and an offense statute can set its own term: for a first- or second-degree felony, "if the section that criminalizes the conduct constituting the felony specifies a different minimum term or penalty for the offense, the specific language of that section shall control" (R.C. 2929.14(A)(1)(a), (A)(2)(a)).

Which third-degree felonies get the longer range

The 12-to-60-month range in R.C. 2929.14(A)(3)(a) applies to a third-degree felony that violates R.C. 2903.06, 2903.08, 2907.03, 2907.04, 2907.05, 2907.321, 2907.322, 2907.323, 2919.25 or 3795.04, to a violation of R.C. 4511.19(A) where the offender has a prior felony violation of that division, and to other offenses the subsection lists. Every other third-degree felony carries 9 to 36 months under R.C. 2929.14(A)(3)(b). The Ohio assault laws page explains how individual violent offenses are graded.

Fines and jail-term exceptions

The felony fine ceilings in R.C. 2929.18(A)(3) are subject to exceptions stated in the section's own introductory clause. The misdemeanor jail list in R.C. 2929.24(A) applies "Except as provided in section 2929.22 or 2929.23 of the Revised Code or division (E) of this section and unless another term is required or authorized pursuant to law," so an offense statute can set a different jail term.

How an Ohio felony sentence is actually set

R.C. 2929.14(A) lists, for each degree, the specific terms a court may select, and the court picks one. For third- through fifth-degree felonies, the top of the list is the longest term for the degree itself, not the typical sentence; for first- and second-degree felonies committed on or after March 22, 2019, the list sets the minimum term and R.C. 2929.144 sets the maximum. The lists apply "Except as provided in" divisions (B) through (K) of R.C. 2929.14, which add terms for specifications such as firearm, repeat violent offender and major drug offender findings, and R.C. 2929.14(B)(4) allows a definite term of up to 30 months for a fourth-degree felony OVI offense.

Indefinite terms for first- and second-degree felonies (Reagan Tokes)

For a first- or second-degree felony committed on or after March 22, 2019, the court imposes "an indefinite prison term with a stated minimum term selected by the court" and a maximum determined under R.C. 2929.144 (R.C. 2929.14(A)(1)(a), (A)(2)(a)). When a person is sentenced for one such felony, "the maximum prison term shall be equal to the minimum term imposed on the offender ... plus fifty per cent of that term" (R.C. 2929.144(B)(1)). R.C. 2929.144(B) sets separate formulas for a person sentenced for more than one felony, and R.C. 2929.144(D) provides that R.C. 2967.271 governs how the indefinite term is served. R.C. 2929.144 took effect March 22, 2019, under Senate Bill 201 of the 132nd General Assembly.

Presumption of community control for some fourth- and fifth-degree felonies

R.C. 2929.13(B)(1)(a) requires community control, rather than prison, for some lower-level felonies. "Except as provided in division (B)(1)(b)," the court "shall sentence the offender to a community control sanction" for a fourth- or fifth-degree felony "that is not an offense of violence or that is a qualifying assault offense" if all of these apply:

• The offender "previously has not been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a felony offense."
• "The most serious charge against the offender at the time of sentencing is a felony of the fourth or fifth degree."
• The offender has no misdemeanor offense of violence committed "within two years prior to the offense for which sentence is being imposed."

The exceptions in R.C. 2929.13(B)(1)(b) can take a case outside the presumption.

Repeat violent offenders

Ohio's repeat-offender rule in R.C. 2929.14(B)(2)(a) adds prison time rather than changing the degree. If R.C. 2929.14(B)(2)(b) does not apply, a court "may impose" an "additional definite prison term of one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, or ten years," on top of the longest prison term (or, for indefinite first- and second-degree terms, the longest minimum term) authorized for the offense, when all of the subsection's criteria are met. Among them:

• The offender is convicted of or pleads guilty to a specification under R.C. 2941.149 "that the offender is a repeat violent offender."
• The offense is one the subsection lists, as qualified there: aggravated murder, murder, terrorism, a first-degree felony that is an offense of violence, or a second-degree felony offense of violence where the offense involved an attempt or threat to cause serious physical harm to a person or resulted in serious physical harm to a person.

The term is mandatory in some cases. Under R.C. 2929.14(B)(2)(b), the court "shall impose" the longest prison term (or longest minimum term) authorized or required for the offense plus an additional 1 to 10 years when the offender has a repeat violent offender specification, the current offense is one of those listed, and the offender "within the preceding twenty years has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to three or more" qualifying offenses described in R.C. 2929.01(CC)(1). A term under R.C. 2929.14(B)(2)(a) or (b) cannot be reduced under R.C. 2929.20 or Chapters 2967 and 5120, and the offender serves it "consecutively to and prior to the prison term imposed for the underlying offense" (R.C. 2929.14(B)(2)(d)). Separately, R.C. 2929.14(K)(1) requires an additional mandatory term of 2 to 11 years for a violent felony offense when the offender is also convicted of a specification under R.C. 2941.1424 that the offender is a violent career criminal and had a firearm while committing the offense and displayed or brandished it, indicated possessing it, or used it to facilitate the offense.

A repeat violent offender, as defined in R.C. 2929.01(CC), is a person being sentenced for aggravated murder, murder or a first- or second-degree offense of violence who previously was convicted of or pleaded guilty to such an offense.

Can a felony be reduced to a misdemeanor in Ohio?

Ohio's classification section and the sentencing sections described here (R.C. 2901.02, 2929.13, 2929.14, 2929.144, 2929.15, 2929.18, 2929.24, 2929.25, 2929.27 and 2929.28) contain no provision letting a court treat a felony conviction as a misdemeanor, the mechanism other states call a "wobbler." The degree comes from the offense statute (R.C. 2901.02(D)). Many offense statutes set a different degree depending on the facts; the Ohio theft laws page shows how theft is graded into these degrees.

Minor misdemeanors

A minor misdemeanor is the lowest of the classes listed in R.C. 2901.02(A). It appears in that list of offenses alongside the felony degrees and the four misdemeanor degrees.

The fine ceiling is $150 (R.C. 2929.28(A)(2)(a)(v)). The jail-term list in R.C. 2929.24(A) covers only first- through fourth-degree misdemeanors. In place of all or part of the fine, "The court imposing a sentence for a minor misdemeanor may impose a term of community service," and that term "shall not exceed thirty hours" (R.C. 2929.27(D)).

How long is probation in Ohio?

Ohio calls probation "community control." Felony community control is available only when the court "is not required to impose a prison term, a mandatory prison term, or a term of life imprisonment" (R.C. 2929.15(A)(1)). R.C. 2929.13(F) lists offenses that require a prison term, among them aggravated murder when death is not imposed, murder, any rape, certain felony drug offenses, and any first- or second-degree felony not otherwise listed there if the offender previously was convicted of aggravated murder, murder or a first- or second-degree felony. For other first- and second-degree felonies, "it is presumed that a prison term is necessary" (R.C. 2929.13(D)(1)), though the court may impose community control if it makes both findings in R.C. 2929.13(D)(2).

Where community control is imposed, the cap is the same for felonies and for misdemeanors other than minor misdemeanors: five years.

• Felonies: "The duration of all community control sanctions imposed on an offender under this division shall not exceed five years" (R.C. 2929.15(A)(1)).
• Misdemeanors (other than minor misdemeanors): "The duration of all community control sanctions imposed upon an offender and in effect for an offender at any time shall not exceed five years" (R.C. 2929.25(A)(2)).

What happens after a community control violation in Ohio?

Felony community control

Under R.C. 2929.15(B)(1), "Except as provided in division (B)(2)," if a person violates the conditions of felony community control, "violates a law or leaves the state without the permission of the court or the offender's probation officer," the court may impose one or more of the following:

• "A longer time under the same sanction if the total time under the sanctions does not exceed the five-year limit specified in division (A) of this section."
• A more restrictive sanction under R.C. 2929.16, 2929.17 or 2929.18.
• A prison term under R.C. 2929.14, subject to the conditions in R.C. 2929.15(B)(3) and the limits for technical violations below.

Those limits depend on the degree. For "any technical violation" of community control imposed for a fifth-degree felony, "the prison term shall not exceed ninety days." For a fourth-degree felony "that is not an offense of violence and is not a sexually oriented offense," the prison term for a technical violation "shall not exceed one hundred eighty days" (R.C. 2929.15(B)(1)(c)(i)-(ii)).

Misdemeanor community control

When a court imposes misdemeanor community control, it must state the duration and tell the offender that if a condition is violated the court may impose a longer time under the same sanction (within the five-year limit), impose a more restrictive sanction, or "Impose a definite jail term from the range of jail terms authorized for the offense under section 2929.24 of the Revised Code" (R.C. 2929.25(A)(3)).

Recent changes to Ohio's sentencing sections

The classification section, R.C. 2901.02, took effect in its current version on September 23, 2011 (House Bill 5, 129th General Assembly). The later changes are in the sentencing sections:

• Senate Bill 201 (132nd General Assembly) enacted R.C. 2929.144, the maximum-term formula for indefinite first- and second-degree felony terms, effective March 22, 2019.
• Senate Bill 288 (134th General Assembly) amended R.C. 2929.13, 2929.24 and 2929.25, effective April 4, 2023, and, with House Bills 110 and 281, amended R.C. 2929.15, effective April 6, 2023.
• House Bill 33 (135th General Assembly) amended R.C. 2929.18 and, with Senate Bill 16, R.C. 2929.28, effective October 3, 2023.
• House Bills 111, 56 and 37 and Senate Bill 106 (135th General Assembly) amended R.C. 2929.14, effective April 9, 2025.

Related legal issues in Ohio

The degree of a particular offense comes from its own statute. The Ohio theft laws page explains how theft is graded into these degrees, and the Ohio assault laws page covers the assault offenses. For sealing or expunging an old record, see Ohio expungement laws. For the time limits on bringing felony charges, see the Ohio statute of limitations.

Federal law, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), bars firearm possession by a person convicted of "a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year," and 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(20)(B) excludes "any State offense classified by the laws of the State as a misdemeanor and punishable by a term of imprisonment of two years or less." Separately, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9) bars possessing a firearm or ammunition after a conviction in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, as 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33) defines it, whatever the misdemeanor's maximum sentence. The federal classes are covered on the felony and misdemeanor classes hub.

Related

• Felony and misdemeanor classes by state
• Ohio theft laws
• Ohio assault and battery laws
• Ohio expungement laws
• Pennsylvania felony and misdemeanor degrees
• Michigan felony and misdemeanor penalties

This article provides general legal information about Ohio offense classes and sentencing statutes, current as of 2026-10-17. It is not legal advice. For a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Ohio.

Last updated: 2026-10-17.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor in Ohio?

If the offense statute labels it, that label controls regardless of penalty. If not, an offense is a felony when imprisonment for more than one year may be imposed and a misdemeanor when not more than one year may be imposed (R.C. 2901.02(D)-(F)).

What are the felony degrees in Ohio and how much time does each carry?

Ohio has five felony degrees. Under R.C. 2929.14(A), the terms are 3 to 11 years (first degree) and 2 to 8 years (second degree), set as indefinite minimums for offenses on or after March 22, 2019; 9 to 36 months, or 12 to 60 months for listed offenses (third degree); 6 to 18 months (fourth degree); and 6 to 12 months (fifth degree). For a first- or second-degree felony, a different minimum or penalty in the offense statute controls (R.C. 2929.14(A)(1)(a), (A)(2)(a)); a repeat violent offender term can add 1 to 10 years, mandatory in some cases (R.C. 2929.14(B)(2)), and other specification terms in R.C. 2929.14(B) through (K) can add more.

What is a first-degree misdemeanor in Ohio?

It is Ohio's highest misdemeanor degree, punishable by up to 180 days in jail (R.C. 2929.24(A)(1)), unless another term is required or authorized by law, and a fine of up to $1,000 (R.C. 2929.28(A)(2)(a)(i)). Ohio does not use Class A, B or C misdemeanor labels.

Is a minor misdemeanor a crime in Ohio?

A minor misdemeanor is one of the classes of offense listed in R.C. 2901.02(A). It carries a fine of up to $150 (R.C. 2929.28(A)(2)(a)(v)), and the court may impose up to 30 hours of community service in place of all or part of the fine (R.C. 2929.27(D)); the jail-term list in R.C. 2929.24(A) covers only first- through fourth-degree misdemeanors.

What is the Reagan Tokes indefinite sentence in Ohio?

For a first- or second-degree felony committed on or after March 22, 2019, the court picks a stated minimum term (R.C. 2929.14(A)(1)(a), (A)(2)(a)), and when one felony is being sentenced the maximum equals that minimum plus 50% (R.C. 2929.144(B)(1)). R.C. 2967.271 governs how the term is served (R.C. 2929.144(D)).

Does Ohio have wobblers?

The classification section and the sentencing sections covered here (R.C. 2901.02, 2929.13, 2929.14, 2929.144, 2929.15, 2929.18, 2929.24, 2929.25, 2929.27 and 2929.28) contain no provision letting a court reclassify a felony conviction as a misdemeanor. The degree comes from the offense statute (R.C. 2901.02(D)).

How long is probation in Ohio?

All community control sanctions for a felony may not exceed five years (R.C. 2929.15(A)(1)), and the same five-year cap applies to misdemeanors other than minor misdemeanors (R.C. 2929.25(A)(2)). Felony community control is not available when the court must impose a prison term; R.C. 2929.13(F) requires prison for listed offenses, such as murder, rape and some first- or second-degree felonies by repeat offenders, and R.C. 2929.13(D)(1) presumes prison for other first- and second-degree felonies.

What happens if you violate probation in Ohio?

For felony community control, the court may extend the sanction within the five-year limit, impose a more restrictive sanction, or impose a prison term, which for a technical violation may not exceed 90 days (fifth degree) or 180 days (a fourth-degree felony that is neither an offense of violence nor a sexually oriented offense) (R.C. 2929.15(B)(1)). For misdemeanors, the court may extend, tighten the sanction, or impose a jail term from the offense's R.C. 2929.24 range (R.C. 2929.25(A)(3)).