Ohio Board of Professional Conduct announces deadline to file financial disclosure reports.

Ohio Board of Professional Conduct announces deadline to file financial disclosure reports.

The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct today reminded judges, magistrates, and judicial candidates of their annual financial disclosure requirements. Most judicial officers must file their 2018 financial disclosure statements by May 15, 2019.

The Ohio Ethics Law and Code of Judicial Conduct require each judicial officer and each candidate for judicial office to file an annual financial disclosure statement with the Board of Professional Conduct. The filing requirement applies to all full- or part-time judges who served by election or appointment at any time in 2018, all full- or part-time magistrates who served at any time in 2018, and each retired judge who served, or was eligible to serve, by assignment of the chief justice in 2018. 

Each candidate for judicial office in 2019 must file a financial disclosure statement. For most 2019 judicial candidates, the filing deadline is 30 days prior to the first election in which the candidate will appear on the ballot.

Judicial branch filers are required to file their statements electronically, using the board’s online filing portal that is offered through a collaborative effort between the board and Ohio Ethics Commission. The on-line portal and instructions for completing and filing the financial disclosure statement can be accessed via the board’s website.

Judicial branch filers are not required to pay a fee for filing their financial disclosure statements. The cost of administering the financial disclosure requirements is covered by the board from its allocation of biennial registration fees paid by Ohio judges and attorneys. Contact the board at 614.387.9370 if there are any questions on how to file annual financial disclosure forms.