Ohio
For Ohio, expiration rule is no person or entity shall sell a gift card to a purchaser containing an expiration date that is less than two years after the date the gift card is issued; dormancy/service fee rule is No person or entity, within two years after a gift card is issued, shall charge service charges or fees relative to that gift card, including dormancy fees, latency fees, or administrative fees; cash redemption threshold is none; covered instruments is Division (A) of this section does not apply to any of the following gift cards: (1) A gift card that is distributed by the issuer to a consumer pursuant to an awards, loyalty, or promotional program without any money or anything of value being given in exchange for the gift card by the consumer; (2) A gift card that is sold below face value at a volume discount to employers or to nonprofit and charitable organizations for fundraising purposes, if the expiration date on that gift card is not more than thirty days after the date of sale; (3) A gift card that is sold by a nonprofit or charitable organization for fundraising purposes; (4) A gift card that an employer gives to an employee if use of the gift card is limited to the employer's business establishment, which may include a group of merchants that are affiliated with that business establishment; (5) A gift certificate issued in accordance with section 1533.131 of the Revised Code that may be used to obtain hunting and fishing licenses, fur taker, special deer, and special wild turkey permits, and wetlands habitat stamps; (6) A gift card that is usable with multiple, unaffiliated sellers of goods or services; (7) A gift card that an employer issues to an employee in recognition of services performed by the employee; statute citation is Ohio Rev. Code § 1349.61, recorded from its source on 2026-10-05.
- State
- Ohio
- Expiration rule
- no person or entity shall sell a gift card to a purchaser containing an expiration date that is less than two years after the date the gift card is issued verified
- Dormancy/service fee rule
- No person or entity, within two years after a gift card is issued, shall charge service charges or fees relative to that gift card, including dormancy fees, latency fees, or administrative fees verified
- Cash redemption threshold
- none
- Covered instruments
- Division (A) of this section does not apply to any of the following gift cards: (1) A gift card that is distributed by the issuer to a consumer pursuant to an awards, loyalty, or promotional program without any money or anything of value being given in exchange for the gift card by the consumer; (2) A gift card that is sold below face value at a volume discount to employers or to nonprofit and charitable organizations for fundraising purposes, if the expiration date on that gift card is not more than thirty days after the date of sale; (3) A gift card that is sold by a nonprofit or charitable organization for fundraising purposes; (4) A gift card that an employer gives to an employee if use of the gift card is limited to the employer's business establishment, which may include a group of merchants that are affiliated with that business establishment; (5) A gift certificate issued in accordance with section 1533.131 of the Revised Code that may be used to obtain hunting and fishing licenses, fur taker, special deer, and special wild turkey permits, and wetlands habitat stamps; (6) A gift card that is usable with multiple, unaffiliated sellers of goods or services; (7) A gift card that an employer issues to an employee in recognition of services performed by the employee. verified
- Statute citation
- Ohio Rev. Code § 1349.61 our reading
Values marked our reading are our classification of what the source says — the source does not print them in those words. The quote below is the evidence for each one; judge it yourself.
What the source says
(A)(1) Subject to division (C) of this section, no person or entity shall sell a gift card to a purchaser containing an expiration date that is less than two years after the date the gift card is issued. (2) No person or entity, within two years after a gift card is issued, shall charge service charges or fees relative to that gift card, including dormancy fees, latency fees, or administrative fees, that have the effect of reducing the total amount for which the holder of the gift card may redeem the gift card. (B) A gift card sold without an expiration date is valid until redeemed or replaced with a new gift card.
— codes.ohio.gov, retrieved 2026-10-05
Where each value comes from
The value above is stated away from the sentence quoted with the answer, so the passage that states it is shown here too.
Covered instruments
(C) Division (A) of this section does not apply to any of the following gift cards: (1) A gift card that is distributed by the issuer to a consumer pursuant to an awards, loyalty, or promotional program without any money or anything of value being given in exchange for the gift card by the consumer; (2) A gift card that is sold below face value at a volume discount to employers or to nonprofit and charitable organizations for fundraising purposes, if the expiration date on that gift card is not more than thirty days after the date of sale; (3) A gift card that is sold by a nonprofit or charitable organization for fundraising purposes; (4) A gift card that an employer gives to an employee if use of the gift card is limited to the employer's business establishment, which may include a group of merchants that are affiliated with that business establishment; (5) A gift certificate issued in accordance with section 1533.131 of the Revised Code that may be used to obtain hunting and fishing licenses, fur taker, special deer, and special wild turkey permits, and wetlands habitat stamps; (6) A gift card that is usable with multiple, unaffiliated sellers of goods or services; (7) A gift card that an employer issues to an employee in recognition of services performed by the employee.
— all from codes.ohio.gov, retrieved 2026-10-05
Source
- codes.ohio.govhttps://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1349.61