Ohio: no state license covers chimney work. Here's what that means.

The triangle completes (comparison): PA registers, Michigan licenses, Ohio does neither statewide — its protections live in consumer law (HSSA 3-day cancel, CSPA damages, an active AG) rather than licensure. Headline: the absence, and where the leverage actually lives.

No state license covers chimney work in Ohio. The Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB, Ohio Dept. of Commerce) licenses exactly five trades under R.C. 4740.01: heating/ventilating/air-conditioning, refrigeration, electrical, plumbing, and hydronics contractors — masonry and general contracting are outside OCILB jurisdiction. Oversight is municipal: Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati each run their own contractor registration/licensing programs (city sources confirmed in July pass); townships and many suburbs have nothing. "Licensed and bonded" in Ohio marketing usually means a city registration plus an insurance certificate — no exam, no state registry to check.

Bigger than anywhere: in unincorporated Ohio there may be NOTHING to verify. Individual certifications (NCSG/NFI/CSIA) and the independent audit fill a genuine vacuum — this is the strongest "why this site exists" state so far.

R.C. 5302.30: Residential Property Disclosure Form required for 1–4 unit sales, delivered before the purchase contract. The official Department of Commerce form (OAC 1301:5-6-10, form eff. 6/2022) has a Mechanical Systems section (G) whose item 6 is "Fireplace/chimney" — the owner marks whether they know of previous or current problems or defects. Disclosure is within the seller's knowledge only; the statute says the statement "is not a substitute for any inspections" and encourages the buyer to get a professional inspection. No inspection mandate at transfer; NFPA 211 Level 2 remains standard-not-law.

Ohio's strength. Home Solicitation Sales Act (R.C. 1345.21–.28): sales of $25 or more solicited at your home — the exact mechanics of chimney scare-sales — may be cancelled until midnight of the third business day after signing (R.C. 1345.22); the three-day clock does not start until the seller provides the required written agreement and cancellation notice, and until then the buyer may cancel (R.C. 1345.23). Exclusion to know: the buyer initiates contact for repair or maintenance and gives the seller a separate, dated, signed statement in the buyer's own handwriting describing the situation requiring immediate remedy (R.C. 1345.21; the exclusion covers only goods/services needed for that repair). CSPA (R.C. 1345.01+) damages, R.C. 1345.09: for an ordinary violation, rescission or actual economic damages plus up to $5,000 in noneconomic damages; where the act was already declared deceptive by rule or by a prior published court decision, three times actual economic damages or $200, whichever is greater, plus up to $5,000 noneconomic damages. The Ohio AG sues home-improvement contractors regularly; complaints via ohioattorneygeneral.gov. Door-knock "we noticed your chimney" repairs are the textbook HSSA scenario.

No statewide burn regime. Ohio AG enforcement against home-improvement contractors is frequent: e.g., March 24, 2026 AG release announcing suits against four businesses including Acme Restoration (CSPA + Home Solicitation Sales Act), KB Co. Builders, United Log Homes, and Atlas Exteriors; November 2025 suit against a Wood County contractor for shoddy/incomplete work. No Ohio AG chimney-specific enforcement action found — patterns, not names, for chimney content.

The 2019 Residential Code of Ohio (RCO, OAC 4101:8), based on the 2018 IRC, effective July 1, 2019, remains the current edition. The Board of Building Standards has opened a five-year rule review of the 2019 RCO (notice July 1, 2026; stakeholder meeting July 22; draft rules filed with the CSI Office August 21; revised rules issued September 23, 2026, dropping the IRC electrical chapters from the proposal; comment deadline September 30, 2026; public hearing not yet scheduled). The BBS page does not say which IRC edition a revised RCO would rest on — a newer edition may follow; re-check before publish. Enforcement is local. Relines/rebuilds/appliance installs generally permit work; municipal variation significant (this state NEEDS the local-variance disclaimer most).

No Ohio Revised Code section imposing a general CO-alarm requirement on owner-occupied homes was found. The RCO carries an IRC-style R315 for new construction (exact Ohio R315 text not reached this pass). The State Fire Marshal's Technical Bulletin TB 18-001 (Feb 2018) says the Ohio Fire Code required CO alarms in existing R occupancies with fuel-burning appliances/fireplaces or attached garages by Jan 1, 2019 — but how far the fire code reaches owner-occupied 1–2 family dwellings is not confirmed. The current Ohio Fire Code chapter 9 rule (OAC 1301:7-7-09, effective November 20, 2025) now modifies the 2021 IFC; its section 915 text was not in the modifications document reached. Rental rules vary by city. Treat as: code-based, new construction; existing-home coverage unclear — say so on the page.