Effective: March 19, 1979
Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 508 – 112th General Assembly
(A) For the purposes of this section, “nonresident alien” means any individual who is not a citizen of, and is not domiciled in, the United States.
(B) Every nonresident alien who acquires any interest either in his own name or in the name of another, in real property located in this state that is in excess of three acres or that has a market value greater than one hundred thousand dollars or any interest in and to minerals, and any mining or other rights appurtenant thereto or in connection therewith that has a market value in excess of fifty thousand dollars shall, within thirty days of the acquisition of the interest in the property, together with a filing fee of five dollars, submit to the secretary of state on forms prescribed by him all of the following information:
(1) Name, address, and telephone number;
(2) Country of citizenship;
(3) Location and amount of acreage of real property;
(4) Intended use of real property at the time of filing.
(C) Every corporation or other business entity that is created or organized under the laws of any state or a foreign nation or that has its principal place of business in a foreign nation, in which a nonresident alien acquires at least ten per cent of the shares of stock or other interests or in which any number of nonresident aliens acquire at least forty per cent of the shares of stock or other interests, and which acquires any interest either in its own name or in the name of another, in real property located in this state that is in excess of three acres or that has a market value greater than one hundred thousand dollars or any interest in and to minerals, and any mining or other rights appurtenant thereto or exercisable in connection therewith that has a market value in excess of fifty thousand dollars shall, within thirty days of acquisition of the interest in the property, together with a filing fee of twenty-five dollars, submit to the secretary of state on forms prescribed by him all of the following information:
(1) Name, address of principal place of business, and address of principal Ohio office;
(2) Name, address, telephone number, and country of citizenship of each nonresident alien who owns at least ten per cent of the shares of stock or other interests, if any;
(3) The percentage, within five percentage points, of shares of stock or other interests controlled by the nonresident aliens of each country represented by them if such interests exceed five per cent;
(4) Location and amount of acreage of real property;
(5) Principal business of corporation or entity;
(6) Intended use of real property at the time of filing;
(7) Chairman of the governing board, if any, chief executive, if any, and partners, if any;
(8) Corporation’s or entity’s agent in this state;
(9) Place of incorporation, if a corporation;
(10) Number of persons who own shares of stock or other interests.
(D) If the ownership or control of a corporation or other business entity that is required in division (C) of this section to file with the secretary of state changes in such a way that the information contained on the filing form is no longer accurate, the corporation or other business entity shall notify the secretary of state in writing of such change within thirty days of the occurrence of the change.
If the ownership or control of a corporation or other business entity that owns real property in an amount larger than three acres or that has a market value greater than one hundred thousand dollars or that owns any interest in and to minerals, and any mining or other rights appurtenant thereto or exercisable in connection therewith that has a market value in excess of fifty thousand dollars changes in such a way that a nonresident alien acquires at least ten per cent of the shares of stock or other interests or any number of nonresident aliens acquire at least forty per cent of the shares of stock or other interests, the corporation or other business entity shall file with the secretary of state as required in division (C) of this section within thirty days of the occurrence of the change.
If a nonresident alien who is required to file with the secretary of state in division (B) of this section becomes a resident alien or a citizen of the United States, he shall notify the secretary of state in writing of the change in his status within thirty days of the change.
If a nonresident alien or a corporation or other business entity that is required to file with the secretary of state pursuant to this section sells the real property or mineral or mining rights that were reported to the secretary of state, the nonresident alien or corporation or other business entity shall notify the secretary of state in writing of the sale within thirty days of the sale.
(E) The secretary of state shall:
(1) Prescribe all forms and make all rules that are necessary for the implementation of this section;
(2) Maintain accurate records of the information that he receives pursuant to this section and make such information available to the public;
(3) Annually report this information, itemized by county, to the general assembly.
(F) No nonresident alien or corporation or other business entity that is required to file with the secretary of state pursuant to this section shall fail to comply with this section. Either the county prosecutor of the county in which the real property or the mineral or mining rights are located or the attorney general may bring action against any alleged offender. The secretary of state may request a county prosecutor or the attorney general to bring such an action.
(G) The filing of the information required by this section shall not be construed to perfect any interests permitted to be perfected under Title XIII of the Revised Code by filing with the secretary of state.