At a Glance

• Communications may not be false, misleading or nonverifiable.
• Identify a responsible lawyer or firm and its office address.
• Covered targeted communications require source-of-information disclosure, no predetermined merits evaluation, and “ADVERTISING MATERIAL” or “ADVERTISEMENT ONLY.”
• Verify service before soliciting a named civil defendant, with a bankruptcy exception.
• Accident/disaster solicitations within 30 days require the prescribed rights notice. This is not a general 30-day prohibition in Rule 7.3.
• Advertising solely to refer the work, without intended active participation, is restricted.

Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct, Rules 7.1–7.5

Read source: Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct

Who Regulates

The Supreme Court of Ohio establishes professional-conduct requirements. The Office of Disciplinary Counsel investigates allegations and initiates complaints; the Board of Professional Conduct administers the disciplinary process described in Gov.Bar Rule V. Certified grievance committees also participate in Ohio’s disciplinary system. Official disciplinary-system information.

Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct

Read source: Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct

What Counts as Advertising

Rule 7.1 governs all communications about a lawyer’s services. Rule 7.2(a) permits written, recorded and electronic advertising, including public media. Websites, directory profiles, videos, paid search and promotional social posts therefore need substantive review.

Rule 7.3 distinguishes targeted communications initiated by a lawyer to offer services to a specific person from general-public advertising, responses to information requests and automatically generated search responses. The content and audience matter more than the platform’s label. Rules 7.1–7.3 and comments.

Rules 7.1, 7.2(a), 7.3

Read source: Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct

Required Disclosures

Rule 7.2(c) requires the name and office address of at least one lawyer or firm responsible for an advertising communication.

Rule 7.3(c) adds three requirements for solicitations to someone reasonably believed to need services in a particular matter, subject to its lawyer and relationship exceptions: accurately and fully disclose how the firm learned the recipient’s identity and specific legal need; disclaim or refrain from a predetermined evaluation of the merits; and conspicuously include “ADVERTISING MATERIAL” or “ADVERTISEMENT ONLY” in the text and on the envelope, if any, and at the beginning and end of recorded or electronic communications.

For accident or disaster communications sent within 30 days and giving rise to a potential personal-injury or wrongful-death claim, include the complete “Understanding Your Rights” notice in Rule 7.3(e). A short marketing disclaimer is not a substitute. Rules 7.2(c), 7.3(c), (e).

Rules 7.2(c), 7.3(c), 7.3(e)

Read source: Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct

Filing, Review & Recordkeeping

Rules 7.1–7.5 do not establish a general advertising filing, preapproval or fixed advertising-copy retention requirement. That does not remove the pre-contact verification required by Rule 7.3(d).

Before sending a covered solicitation to a named defendant in a civil action, consult the court docket and verify that mail, personal or residence service has been perfected, or service by publication completed. The paragraph excludes solicitation of a debtor about potential or actual bankruptcy representation. Keep the verification as a practical compliance record. Rule 7.3(d).

Rule 7.3(d)

Read source: Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct

Results, Testimonials & Comparisons

Ohio expressly prohibits nonverifiable communications. Rule 7.1 comments [2]–[3] address misleading omissions, unsupported conclusions, past results that create unjustified expectations and unsupported comparisons. Comment [4] identifies descriptions such as “cut-rate,” “lowest,” “giveaway,” “below cost,” “discount” and “special” for rates or fees as misleading.

The official comparison notes explain that the current rule does not retain the former categorical prohibitions on testimonials or self-laudatory claims. That is not permission for guarantees, unsupported superlatives or confidentiality breaches. Evaluate the full testimonial, any compensation and the permissions needed for client information under Rule 1.6. Rule 7.1 and comments; Rule 1.6.

Rules 1.6, 7.1

Read source: Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct

Specialization & Certification

Rule 7.4(a) permits identifying practice fields, limitations or concentrations. Its operative paragraph (e) prohibits stating or implying specialist status unless the lawyer has been certified and the communication clearly names the certifying organization. Patent, trademark and admiralty designations have specific provisions.

The amendment effective April 15, 2024 removed the former requirement that the certifier be approved by the Supreme Court Commission on Certification of Attorneys as Specialists. The current operative text still requires certification and clear identification of the certifying organization. The comparison notes are not an independent basis for approving an uncertified specialist claim. 2024 final amendment. Rule 7.4.

Rule 7.4

Read source: Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct

Firm, Trade & Domain Names

Ohio removed its categorical prohibition on trade names effective June 17, 2020. A firm may use a trade name that complies with Rules 7.1 and 7.5, including the requirement that it not mislead about the identity of the lawyers practicing under it. The current rule still limits any surnames used to lawyers in the firm, with continuing-succession provisions for deceased or retired members. Professional entities must also address the organizational symbols required by the governing bar rules. 2020 adoption order; Board Advisory Opinion 2021-10, nonbinding interpretive guidance. Board Advisory Opinion 2026-02 (June 5, 2026), which is nonbinding, distinguishes a separately registered DBA or trade name used for marketing from the firm’s formal legal entity name. It permits omitting the entity designation from each appearance of the marketing name if the full entity name and designation are disclosed in the same medium. Its examples call for a visible website location, disclosure on the same printed advertisement or business card, and the full entity name on first reference in an article or blog post. Its signage example separately permits the trade name without the entity designation because of space and design limitations. This is not a waiver of the formal entity-name requirements or the prohibition on misleading names. Advisory Opinion 2026-02.

Multijurisdictional listings must identify limitations of lawyers not licensed in Ohio. Public-office and actual-firm-relationship requirements also apply. Comment [2] says a shared-office designation implying a firm is not cured by “not a partnership” or “an association of sole practitioners.” The comments recognize distinctive website addresses and a continuing relationship for “Of Counsel” status.

In Cincinnati Bar Assn. v. Eppley, 2026-Ohio-160, paragraphs 21–25, the court found misleading firm-name and website representations when a solo lawyer continued using “Eppley Legal Group” and displayed a departed associate’s profile. The decision illustrates why permitted trade names and staff biographies still must reflect the actual practice. Official opinion. Rule 7.5.

Rules 7.1, 7.5

Read source: Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct

Solicitation & Direct Contact

In-person, live telephone and real-time electronic solicitation is prohibited when a significant motive for doing so is the lawyer’s pecuniary gain, unless the recipient is a lawyer or has a family, close personal or prior professional relationship. All solicitation must respect opt-outs and cannot involve coercion, duress or harassment. Rule 7.3(b)(3) also protects minors, incompetent persons and people whose condition makes reasonable judgment unlikely.

Ohio’s ethics rule requires the rights notice for qualifying outreach within 30 days; it does not create the blanket accident waiting period used by some states. Separate law still matters. Revised Code § 1349.05 contains restrictions on specified accident/crime outreach by health-care practitioners and paid solicitors, including provisions framed in terms of persons paid to solicit for another. Its application to a proposed vendor campaign needs separate legal analysis. Rule 7.3; R.C. 1349.05.

Rule 7.3(b)(3); § 1349.05

Read source: R.C. 1349.05

Channel-Specific Notes

Rule 7.2 permits reasonable advertising costs, legal-service-plan charges, qualifying referral-service charges and law-practice purchases. Comment [5] states that reciprocal referral agreements, including with nonlawyers, are prohibited. Do not import another state’s reciprocal-referral exception.

Comment [5A] permits paid lead generation under conditions concerning recommendations, fee division, professional independence and truthful public statements. Rule 7.2(d) separately prohibits seeking a matter the firm intends only to refer, without active participation, except for specified organizations or a permitted practice-sale advertisement. Review the entire intake and referral model, not just the landing page.

Rule 7.2 and comments

Read source: Rule 7.2 and comments

Recent Changes & Scope

Checked November 11, 2026. The official compilation states that it is amended effective January 1, 2026. This guide also addresses the June 17, 2020 trade-name amendment and April 15, 2024 specialist-claim amendment, and considers the January 22, 2026 Eppley decision. This guide does not provide an exhaustive account of later adoption orders and proposals or resolve the paid-solicitor statute’s application to a particular campaign. Advisory Opinion 2026-02 provides DBA/entity-designation guidance concerning Rule 7.5 and Gov.Bar Rule III, Section 2. This article does not claim blanket statutory clearance.

Rule 7.5

Read source: Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct

Official Sources

Read the official rules alongside other applicable law and obtain campaign-specific advice.

1. Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct. Binding rule text with explanatory comments and comparison notes.Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
2. 2024 specialist-claim amendment. Adopted February 27, 2024, effective April 15, 2024.Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
3. 2020 trade-name adoption order. Adopted and effective June 17, 2020.Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
4. Board Advisory Opinion 2021-10. Nonbinding interpretation, October 1, 2021.Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
5. Cincinnati Bar Assn. v. Eppley, 2026-Ohio-160. Court decision, January 22, 2026.Official source · Checked November 12, 2026
6. Official disciplinary-system informationOfficial source · Checked November 12, 2026
7. R.C. 1349.05. Separate solicitation statute.Official source · Checked November 12, 2026