FAQ

To learn more about this OPOTA Training Portal, please read this user guide.

To obtain access to OPOTA Portal, you must have an approved account.

If you recently registered for a course from within OHLEG’s “OPOTA In-Person Registration and Certificates,” you were notified that a new OPOTA Portal is coming and it offered you to pre-register for the OPOTA Portal. If you took the steps necessary to do this, your OPOTA Portal account is already created! All you need to do is click Forgot your password which will reset your password and allow you to log in.

If you did not pre-register via OHLEG, you will need to create a new OPOTA Portal account by clicking the Sign Up / Sign In then “Sign Up Now” to create your account. In the event you get an error during registration that says “A user with the specified ID already exists,” this indicates you pre-registered and all you need to do is reset your password via the above steps.

For private security students, please remember to submit a document from your current employer with agency letterhead (the profile form will allow you to upload the document) to establish your employer in private sector security.

If you have not already created a student profile, create a student profile (only do this once) at the OPOTA Training Portal. Indicate which type(s) of training you require. Once your student profile is linked to your OPOTA Advanced Training account you will receive confirmation and can then sign up for courses.
If you have not already created a student profile, create a student profile (only do this once) at the OPOTA Training Portal. Once your student profile is linked to your OPOTA Advanced Training account you will receive confirmation and can then sign up for a refresher course.

You must have a Letter of Determination assigned to you from OPOTC to register for a refresher course.
If you have not already created a student profile, create a student profile (only do this once) at the OPOTA Training Portal. Once your student profile is linked to your OPOTA Advanced Training account, you will receive confirmation; your employment history, OPOTA advanced training records and basic training records in the possession of OPOTA will be viewable under the Portfolio menu.
You may use your portal account to cancel course registrations on-line. However, cancellations must be received at least four days prior to the start date of the course. Cancel by clicking pending registrations, under the Portfolio menu, and then click the cancel button.
You may use your portal account to view all of your course registrations on-line under the "Pending Registrations" of the Portfolio menu.
No. If you successfully self-pay during the registration process your agency does not need to approve.
In the event you get an error during registration that says “A user with the specified ID already exists,” this indicates you have pre-registered. All you need to do is click Forgot your password which will reset your password and allow you to log in.
Since their creation, OPOTC and OPOTA have collected and maintained certain records pertaining to peace officers. As statutory and regulatory requirements change, so does the information OPOTC and OPOTA has collected. Blank entries in and of themselves have little significance. Certain fields could be absent because the information is not pertinent to the specific officer, the information was not collected at the time the other records were created, or certain discretionary fields might not have been manually retained when the records were digitized. Additionally, OPOTC is reliant upon local law enforcement agencies to provide accurate appointment and separation records in a timely fashion. The public records portal can only display the information provided to it by those agencies.
The information displayed on the portal is updated as soon as our staff has processed the forms relating to appointments and separations. If you have recently submitted appointment or separation paperwork for a peace officer, please allow our staff time to process the documents. If it has been greater than 30 days since the appointment or separation paperwork was submitted and the record is still not reflected, the appointing authority should contact OPOTC and request to speak with their respective Certification Specialist.

Glossary of Key Terms

OPOTC “OPOTC” refers to the “Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission” created pursuant to Section 109.71 of the Revised Code. For more information, see Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission - Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
OPOTA “OPOTA” refers to the “Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy” established by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission pursuant to Section 109.79 of the Revised Code. For more information, see Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy - Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
Peace Officer In Ohio, the term “peace officer” covers a variety of sworn law enforcement personnel. Peace officer includes a sheriff, deputy sheriff, member of a municipal police department, agents of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, and many other sworn law enforcement officers. Section 2935.01 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws. However, the term does not include troopers appointed by the superintendent of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Trooper The Superintendent of the Ohio State Highway Patrol appoints troopers who are empowered to enforce the laws of Ohio on all roads and highways, the laws of the state relating to the titling, registration, and licensing of motor vehicles; troopers also enforce criminal laws of on all state properties and at all state institutions. Section 5503.02 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws. OPOTC does not oversee the professional certification and decertification of troopers.
Appointment When a law enforcement agency hires a peace officer, the peace officer is “appointed” by the agency. Pursuant to section 109.761 of the Revised Code, each agency or entity that appoints a peace officer is required to report the appointment, as well as changes in the status of the appointment, to OPOTC within ten days. Section 109.761 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws. Appointment dates listed do not necessarily represent employment dates (as some agencies employ officers during basic training). Additionally, A peace officer can be appointed to multiple law enforcement agencies at the same time.
Separation A separation occurs when a peace officer’s appointment by a law enforcement agency ends. This can occur when an officer takes a job at another agency, retires, or for a variety of other reasons. Agencies are required by law to report certain separation information to OPOTC. For more information see Section 109.761 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws.
Active Officer OPOTC considers a peace officer to be “active” if the officer has a current appointment by at least one agency in the state of Ohio.
Inactive Officer OPOTC considers a peace officer to be “inactive” if the officer does not have a current appointment by at least one agency in the state of Ohio. If a peace officer is inactive more than a year, the officer may be required to complete additional training when next appointed by an agency. If a peace officer is inactive for more than four years, the officer must once again complete a peace officer basic academy before being appointed as a peace officer. Rule 109:2-1-12 - Ohio Administrative Code | Ohio Laws.
Roster An agency’s roster is a list of all of the peace officers and troopers appointed by an agency. All agencies are required to provide OPOTC a list of all persons who have been appointed as peace officers or troopers by the agency for any length of time or employment status. Section 109.761 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws.
Employment Status When a peace officer is appointed by an agency, the agency is required to notify OPOTC if the individual is appointed as full-time, part-time, reserve, auxiliary, or other capacity. OPOTC maintains record of this information as the employment status.
Advanced training Any training an individual completes after the completion of their basic academy training, and becoming a peace officer, is considered to be advanced training. However, neither OPOTA nor OPOTC is the repository of advanced training records for peace officers in Ohio. OPOTA merely maintains records of advanced trainings an officer scheduled through OPOTA. Many officers receive some, if not all, of their advanced training through their employer or other organizations.
Canine training OPOTC has established minimum standards for the certification of law enforcement canine units. Part of that certification includes successful completion of OPOTA approved training program and examination. Rule 109:2-7-03 - Ohio Administrative Code | Ohio Laws. OPOTC maintains certain records reflecting the successful completion of such programs.
Basic academy Typically, to become a peace officer in Ohio, an individual must complete an OPOTC-approved peace officer basic training academy and then pass the state certification examination. Basic academies must require at least 737 hours of training and utilize the OPOTC-approved curriculum. For more information, see How to Become a Peace Officer in Ohio (ohioattorneygeneral.gov). OPOTC maintains record of the completion of these basic academies as well as passage of the state certification examination.
School number Officer ID This is the unique number OPOTC assigns to a basic academy class.This is the unique number OPOTC assigns to internally identify each officer and their records. This is assigned at the time the officers are initially entered into our database.
Certificate Number This is the unique number OPOTC assigns to each officer when Peace Officer Basic Academy is completed, the State Certification Examination is passed, and the officer is issued their Peace Officer Basic Certificate.

Should you have any questions about the portal or need assistance with course registration, please email OPOTARegistration@OhioAGO.gov.