What Ohio requires of your website, phones and invoices

Federal law applies in Ohio the way it does everywhere: the TCPA covers texts and autodialed calls, and CAN-SPAM covers email. We explain those in the TCPA guide and the recording guide. Here you get Ohio's own additions, written in October 2026 as general information rather than legal advice, with each item linked to its statute or agency page.

Outbound sales calls: Ohio can require registration and a bond

Ohio's Telephone Solicitation Sales Act starts at Revised Code 4719.01. Under 4719.02 no person may act as a telephone solicitor without a certificate of registration from the Attorney General, and the Attorney General's business guide adds that covered solicitors must post a bond before soliciting Ohio consumers. A "telephone solicitation" is a communication initiated by or for a solicitor that represents a price or the quality or availability of goods or services, or that is used to induce a purchase. The statute lists exemptions in division (B), a long list of categories. Three matter to a service business.

• Previous purchasers. A person soliciting its previous purchasers is exempt if the call uses the same business name used in the earlier sale, the business has operated under that name for at least three years, it runs no prize promotion or investment offer, it follows the FTC's telemarketing rules, and neither it nor its principals have certain felony or theft convictions (4719.01(B)(25)). A company two years old does not meet the three-year test.
• Later face-to-face sales. A solicitation tied to a home solicitation sale is exempt if the sales presentation and the sale happen at a later face-to-face meeting. The exemption is lost if the seller sends someone to collect payment (4719.01(B)(3)). A call that only books a free estimate can fit this pattern, but check the statute's conditions.
• One-time or infrequent transactions. Exempt if not part of a pattern of repeated transactions (4719.01(B)(1)). A company that calls for sales every week is not infrequent.

We cannot tell you from outside whether your campaign needs registration, and the exemptions have conditions beyond what we list. Read section 4719.01 and ask the Attorney General's telemarketing unit before you start a cold-calling program. The Attorney General's page also lists duties for covered solicitors: no blocking caller ID, state real name, company, purpose and goods or services within 60 seconds, and for sales made on the call, either a signed written contract or a notice of cancellation with a seven-day refund right (Attorney General guide).

The same page states that Ohio does not have a separate do-not-call law. Scrubbing against the National Do Not Call Registry and keeping an internal list are federal duties that the Attorney General enforces. The statute and the guide do not address text messages, so a marketing text follows the federal consent rules in our TCPA guide.

Recording calls: one party consents

Ohio Revised Code 2933.52(B)(4) allows you to record a call you take part in, or one where a participant gave you prior consent, as long as the purpose is not criminal or tortious (statute). Calls from customers in all-party states can create exposure under those states' laws, so many Ohio shops play a brief notice. The same goes for an AI receptionist that transcribes calls. See the state-by-state table if you take calls from neighboring states.

Selling at the customer's home gives the buyer three business days

Ohio's Home Solicitation Sales Act applies to a sale of consumer goods or services in which the seller, or someone acting for the seller, personally solicits the sale at the buyer's residence. That includes solicitations made in response to or following the buyer's invitation. The exclusions are narrow: sales totaling less than $25, a buyer-initiated visit specifically requested to repair or maintain the buyer's personal property (additional goods or services sold on the visit are not excluded), and a bona fide immediate personal emergency, where the buyer signs a handwritten, dated waiver (1345.21).

When the Act applies, you need a written, signed, dated agreement with your name and address, a bold cancellation statement of at least 10-point type near the signature, and a detachable notice of cancellation in duplicate. You must tell the buyer orally about the right. The three-business-day period starts only once you have given the required forms, and after a cancellation you have ten business days to refund (1345.23). A crew that knocks on doors after a storm to sell driveway sealing is the textbook case. The repair-visit exclusion is written around the buyer's personal property, such as an appliance, so do not assume it covers a homeowner who asked you to come fix part of the house. Ask a lawyer before you rely on it.

Quotes and contracts: the $25,000 line and the 10% down payment cap

Chapter 4722, the Home Construction Service Suppliers Act, covers construction, repair, improvement, remodel or renovation of one-, two- and three-family dwellings. Section 4722.02 bars a supplier from performing a home construction service costing $25,000 or more without a written contract signed and dated by both parties. The contract must carry:

• your name, physical business address, phone and taxpayer identification number;
• the owner's name, address and phone, and the property address;
• a general description of the work, including goods and services furnished;
• start and completion dates or periods, the total estimated cost, and any installation or delivery costs not covered;
• a copy of your certificate of insurance showing at least $250,000 in general liability coverage.

The contract also needs a statement of the owner's right to an estimate of unforeseen, necessary excess costs once they exceed $5,000 over the whole contract, with the owner choosing a written or oral estimate (4722.02(B)). Section 4722.04 limits a down payment to 10% of the contract price before your work begins, except up to 75% of the cost of a special-order item that cannot be returned or used elsewhere. Cost-plus contracts are excluded from that section (4722.04). The practical consequence for a website: if your online quote tool collects deposits on large remodels, set the deposit percentage under 10% unless the special-order exception applies. Our service contract guide covers the clauses beyond Ohio's list.

Invoices and online payments: Ohio taxes several home services

Ohio taxes only the services its sales tax law lists. Section 5739.01 of the Revised Code includes exterminating, landscaping and lawn care, snow removal, and building maintenance and janitorial services. The last three do not apply to a provider with less than $5,000 in sales of that service in the calendar year (R.C. 5739.01).

The Department's information release on building maintenance (the September 2015 update) gives the power washing example, and it lists power washing building exteriors as a taxable cleaning service. Cleaning a house exterior is taxable, and if the customer also has the driveway washed, the driveway charge escapes tax only when it is stated separately. If it is not billed separately, the entire amount is taxable (ST 2002-04). Collecting tax requires a vendor's license, and county auditors report that the fee for a new vendor's license application rose from $25 to $50 on April 9, 2025 (Hamilton County Auditor). Tax rates differ by county, so your invoicing tool needs the rate for each county you serve. If you also work in other states, check the multi-state sales tax guide.

What this means for your setup

Website. Build quote forms that separate line items, so driveways, flatwork and taxable cleaning appear on their own lines and the invoice math is right from the start. Put your business name, address and phone on every page, since they will appear on a contract anyway. A custom site can generate the line items and tax by county.

Phone line. Record with a notice, and hold any outbound sales program to the registration question above before the first dial. A business phone system with call logs makes the federal do-not-call scrub easy to prove.

AI receptionist. Answering inbound calls does not make you a telemarketer. An AI receptionist that books a free estimate leads naturally into the face-to-face sale that several Ohio exemptions rely on, so have it say clearly that the quote visit is free and the price is given in person.

Email. Chapter 4719 is a telephone law. Email stays under CAN-SPAM, and business email on your own domain keeps your estimates out of spam. Confirm everything above with the Ohio Attorney General and the Department of Taxation before you act. Our Ohio contractor license guide and Ohio startup guide cover the rest of your setup.

Frequently asked questions