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 on September 23, 2026.
Belmont County, Ohio, has about 65,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). An OVI arrest in Belmont County 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: Belmont County public records, Belmont County arrest records, Belmont County warrants, Belmont County inmate search, Belmont County 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 Belmont County
The Belmont County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Martins Ferry, St. Clairsville, Barnesville, Bellaire, Shadyside, Bridgeport and three more cities make the OVI arrests in Belmont County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Belmont County: Belmont County Major Crimes Unit (other agency).
Together, the six agencies in Belmont County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 463 arrests to the FBI that year, all offenses together; the FBI's count for Belmont County does not break OVI out.
The Yorkville Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Belmont County, so its arrests are not broken out for Belmont County here.
Booking After an OVI Arrest in Belmont County
A driver arrested for OVI and kept in custody goes to the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The jail, run by the Belmont County Sheriff's Office, held about 190 people on an average day in 2023 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at belmontsheriffohio.gov/jail, phone 740-695-5124. The Belmont County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
The Court Case
An OVI charge from Belmont County is heard in a Municipal or County Court; the Prosecuting Attorney or, in a municipal court, the city's own prosecutor brings it.
The Prosecuting Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at belmontcountycourts.com, phone 740-699-2771.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at belmontcountycourts.com. That page belongs to a lower court, the Municipal and County Courts, not to the Belmont County Court of Common Pleas.
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: Belmont County arrest records, Belmont County police reports and Belmont County court records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the OVI limit in Ohio?
0.08 percent blood alcohol.
Where is an OVI case from Belmont County heard?
In a Municipal or County Court. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at belmontcountycourts.com.
Where is a person arrested for OVI in Belmont County held?
At the county jail, run by the Belmont 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 Belmont County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.