Privacy Statement
Privacy
The Ohio Secretary of State’s office understands the importance of privacy for website visitors. Please be aware of the office’s policy as described on this page. This policy is subject to change without notice in the future.
Public Records
Users should be aware that, subject to certain statutory exceptions, most documents and records maintained by the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, including but not limited to electronic data, are public records under Ohio Public Records Act, R.C. 149.43.
Information submitted through this website may be subject to disclosure pursuant to a public records request. This is true regardless of whether information is provided by personal visit, mail, or website. Once received by the Secretary of State’s Office, such information becomes public record and is open to public inspection unless exempt from disclosure by state or federal law.
Plug-ins
The Ohio Secretary of State’s office website includes Portable Document Format (PDF) files that require Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing.
The office’s website may use audio files in an MP3 format. These files will play on any web audio player, and do not require the download of any additional third-party plug-in.
Web Cookies
Visitors who browse or submit information through the Ohio Secretary of State’s office website should be aware that a cookie may be created during their session. Any webpage or application on this site using cookies will identify itself as such.
A cookie is a text file, stored by a website on your computer hard drive. Cookies track visitor behavior and store information provided by the user (e.g. name, address, phone number, etc.). Session cookies may be used when necessary to complete an action, to process data submitted to the office online, or to facilitate ongoing web interactions.
The information that is collected through cookies at the office’s website is handled in the same manner as other information collected through the site. Therefore, information collected on the office’s website through cookies, and the cookies themselves, may be subject to disclosure pursuant to a public records request.
The office does not collect home or business addresses or other personally identifiable information from visitors who browse the site without taking any action to supply that information.
Usage Statistics
The Ohio Secretary of State’s office automatically collects certain information regarding every visitor to the site to generate usage statistics. This data helps us improve the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State’s website. The information collected does not disclose personal identifiers (e.g. name, address, phone number, email address, etc.). Every time you view a page at this website, it creates a server log file that captures generic user information. Examples of this information include, but are not limited to:
Web browser used
Computer operating system used
Date
Time the site was accessed
Internet protocol (IP) address of the computer (or proxy server)
URL of the site from which you may have linked to the office’s site
All information collected through server log files is used only in aggregate form, a manner that does not identify the visitor to whom specific data applies. This information may be analyzed for trends and statistics by the office.
Online Forms and Email
The Ohio Secretary of State’s website will not collect personally identifiable information (e.g. name, address, phone number, etc.) unless you provide this information.
You are free to provide or not provide this requested information. If you choose not to provide this information, you can still visit most of the website, but you may be unable to participate in certain online forums.
Any personal information voluntarily provided by visitors, including personal information submitted through online forms and email, will be used for the purposes stated on the webpage, and may also be shared with other agencies as required by law or pursuant to agency authority. Information submitted through this website also may be subject to disclosure pursuant to a public records request.
Security Measures
The Ohio Secretary of State’s office takes the integrity of the information and systems that the office maintains seriously. Therefore, the office has instituted security measures designed to identify attempts to tamper with this website, including, but not limited to:
Authentication
Monitoring
Auditing
Encryption
Information collected through these security measures may be used in connection with criminal prosecution or other legal proceedings.