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In Ohio, a streamlined database conveniently hosts records of all offenders – no matter their status – and includes insight into probation and parole eligibility. Probationers are those released with community supervision instead of serving time behind bars, while parole is available to prisoners with good behavior who are eligible for early release with community supervision — but only after completing a minimum portion of their sentence incarcerated.

No matter what type of community release, in Ohio, records are readily available. This resource covers the best methods for finding information about probationers, their supervising officers, and parolee details statewide.

How To Look Up Probationers Statewide: Ohio Probation Search

To run an Ohio supervision record search for free, start by identifying the district where the offense occurred. Ohio doesn’t have a unified court system, which means researchers will need to use the search tool offered by each court system.

In Ohio, there are 88 counties and a Court of Common Pleas located in each. The Department of Correction & Rehabilitation offers an Offender Search tool, but it doesn’t contain information about probation, only parole.¹

For information specifically about those released on probation without a prison term or with only minimal jail time, searchers will need to either know the location of the offense to run a case search or make public records requests online, through the mail or via an in-person request delivered to:²

Department of Correction & Rehabilitation
4545 Fisher Road, Suite D
Columbus, OH 43228

Telephone: 614-752-1159

However, some probation and parole records may be specifically exempted from public records requests, so information obtained through this method may be incomplete or heavily redacted.

How To Look Up Ohio Probationers on the County Level

To figure out who is on probation versus parole, researchers often must cross-reference Adult Parole Authority Supervision listings found using an Offender Search with court records from the specific county.³ Ohio does offer case search options as a matter of public record, but every county has its own system.

To streamline the process of running an Ohio supervision record search, here are links to case search options for some of the state’s most populous counties as well as where and how to send in a records request for those counties when online access isn’t available.

Summit County is the only county listed here that doesn’t offer online access to court records. However, searchers are always allowed to visit any Clerk of Courts location for a county to get records in person.

Summit County does accept online public records requests with fees ranging from $0.10 per page to $25 per 15 minutes of IT time, depending on the complexity of the request.⁴

Using County Search Tools: Most case search tools only require minimal information. Users can typically search by last name and first initial of the first name, with optional information such as date of birth or case number used to narrow the results.

Some county case search tools allow partial matches. Name searches offer a lot of utility for those working with a partial name but may also return unaffiliated results. For example, a search for Smith as a last name will also include anyone with a hyphenated last name that includes Smith or longer names such as Smithson. A search for Brown would also bring up Browning, while a search for Johns would also list Johnson.

The more information available, the fewer the results and the easier it is to find a specific offender.

It’s also important to note that both parolees and probationers are under Adult Parole Authority supervision, so it may be difficult to tell which applies without cross-referencing other database results.

Information you’ll find includes:

• Offense Information
• Case Type
• Bond Amount
• Demographic Information
• Notes

All online public records requests come with a disclaimer that details the user’s rights and responsibilities for using court records.

Offenders who have violated the terms of their probation may appear on wanted or fugitive lists published by county sheriffs or police departments. More details on these will be provided later.

Probation offices are responsible for supervising offenders who have been released into the community, and are a good contact point for individuals concerned about the safety or conduct of an offender. However, they can’t generally confirm who is under community supervision. Details of some Ohio probation offices are provided later in this guide.

How To Look Up Probation Violations & Contact Supervising Officers in OH

Finding someone’s probation officer contact information is as convenient as running two searches. First, use the county case search tool where the offense happened to confirm they are still on probation. Then, contact the probation office located in the committing county, which is the location where the case was tried.

To find the location of the probation office serving that county, start with the county courthouse. In many Ohio counties, the probation office is also part of the court system and housed in the same building. During an Ohio supervision record search, keep in mind that probation offices typically only accept reports from the public and won’t provide information about those currently under community supervision.

To contact probation offices directly, use the following table to find contact information for one of the six regional offices throughout the state:

The Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation also operates district and satellite offices, which regional offices may direct inquiries to, or searchers can directly contact the office closest to an offender.⁵

Probation Violation Lookup: To find out if someone has violated their probation, the Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation posts a list of Parole Violators at Large.⁶ This list includes anyone who has violated the terms of their community supervision agreement, even those with very minimal reporting requirements. Some probationers may only need to report once every six months.

Failure to make those mandatory reports can result in revocation of a probation agreement and jail time.

Reporting a Probation Violation: When seeking probation officers to make a report about a possible probation violation, it may be faster and more reliable to make the same report to local law enforcement. While probation officers do accept violation reports, there are often limited numbers of probation officers, so calling the local law enforcement agency typically gets faster results.

How To Conduct a Parolee Lookup in Ohio

There is no one-stop option for all criminal history searches in Ohio. However, the Offender Search tool makes running a parole violation search fast and effective. To find out more about inmates who have not yet been offered parole, the Parole Board is the point of contact for future release information.⁷

Researchers can send an information request to:

Ohio Parole Board
4545 Fisher Road, Suite D
Columbus, Ohio 43228

Offenders, their families and their victims can all use an online hearing input form to communicate with the parole board prior to a release hearing. The Offender Search tool also lists eligibility information regarding parole hearings in search results. To find out when an inmate might be released, check their record and see when their first hearing could be scheduled.

For information requests about inmates already released on parole, contact the Adult Parole Authority (APA) Field Services Department at 614-752-1136 or email Fugitive.Val@odrc.state.oh.us to report a violation. The APA handles all community supervision for those convicted of a felony. The APA is a part of the Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation and offers several levels of monitoring.

In some instances, the APA may even recommend programs such as Treatment Transfers, where inmates may be switched to a treatment facility within one year of the end of their sentence.⁸

Check out the Ohio parolee lookup instructions for additional guidance on finding these offender records.

Ohio makes a lot of information available to the public, simplifying the process of finding parole information. Completing an Ohio probation search for free is convenient when using tools like the Offender Search, as linked and explained above in this resource; conduct a statewide criminal and arrest record search for more insight on anybody in OH.