Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and September 25, 2026.
Whitehall, Ohio, in Franklin County, has about 20,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). An OVI arrest in Whitehall starts two cases, a criminal case in a Municipal or County Court and a license case before the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and leaves three records. This guide follows the arrest from the roadside to the court file and the driving record.
This guide covers the law, the arrest, booking, the court case, the license case, the records and common questions.
Related guides: Whitehall public records, Franklin County OVI, Whitehall arrest records, Whitehall warrants, Whitehall inmate search, Whitehall criminal records, Ohio arrest records and Ohio inmate search.
The OVI Law in Ohio
In Ohio the offense is OVI, and the limit is 0.08.
Driving in Ohio is consent to a breath or blood test when an officer has cause to suspect OVI; the license case that follows a refusal or a failed test is run by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, separately from the criminal case.
For charging and sentencing, Ohio counts prior offenses within 10 years.
Who Makes OVI Arrests in Whitehall
The Franklin County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Whitehall (filed by the FBI as Whitehall Police Department) make the OVI arrests in and around Whitehall.
The FBI's agency list also places two other agencies and four campus police departments in Franklin County (the arrest records guide names each one).
Together, the 24 agencies in Franklin County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 19,932 arrests to the FBI that year, all offenses together; the FBI's count for Franklin County does not break OVI out.
The Pickerington Police Department and the Lithopolis Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Franklin County, so their arrests are not broken out for Franklin County here.
Booking After an OVI Arrest in Whitehall
A driver arrested for OVI and kept in custody goes to the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The jail, run by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, held about 1,660 people on an average day in 2023 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at sheriff.franklincountyohio.gov/Services/Inmate-Information. The Whitehall inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
The Court Case
The case is heard in a Municipal or County Court, brought by the Prosecuting Attorney or, in a municipal court, by the city's own prosecutor.
The Prosecuting Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at franklincountyohio.gov, phone 614-525-3555.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at fcdcfcjs.co.franklin.oh.us/CaseInformationOnline.
Ohio has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
The License Case
The court case is only half the record. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles runs a separate administrative case over the license, which can suspend it before the criminal case is decided, and the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles keeps the driving record the conviction goes on.
The Records an OVI Leaves
- The arrest report: from the agency that made the arrest, under the Ohio Public Records Act.
- The court file: from a Municipal or County Court, kept by the Clerk of Courts.
- The driving record: from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
More on each: Whitehall arrest records, Whitehall police reports and Whitehall court records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the OVI limit in Ohio?
0.08 percent blood alcohol.
Where is an OVI case from Whitehall heard?
In a Municipal or County Court. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at fcdcfcjs.co.franklin.oh.us.
Where is a person arrested for OVI in Whitehall held?
At the county jail, run by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
Who handles the license after an OVI arrest in Ohio?
The Bureau of Motor Vehicles, in an administrative case separate from the court case.
How long does an OVI count as a prior in Ohio?
10 years.
Is this the official Whitehall website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.