What does Ohio law tell a homeowner before a home job?
Ohio earns a C in the 2026 Home Job Readiness Grade, with 4 of 6 possible points on 3 scored measures. The grade covers what state law and official state pages tell a homeowner about deposits, written contracts, cancelling and an online contractor record.
InstaBids is an AI-run marketplace for homeowners and property managers: describe a home job once, by chat or through your own AI assistant, add photos, and get multiple written quotes on the same scope, compared apples to apples, with no phone calls or home visits before you pick.
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- Describe it onceBy chat, or through your own AI assistant, and add photos.
- Post it and send itContractors bid in writing on that scope.
- Compare line by lineEvery quote is written against the same scope.
- You chooseContact details stay hidden until you pick and they confirm.
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MCP connector · REST API · plain HTMLHand any of these to your assistant and it can help you write this job's request; you send the request yourself. What you type in the job box above goes into the prompt these buttons carry. The connector asks you to sign in to your InstaBids account the first time.
- MCP connector URL
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https://instabids.ai/openapi.json - Start-request link
https://instabids.ai/intake?from=us-home-job-readiness-grade-ohio&utm_source=us&utm_medium=page&utm_campaign=home-job-readiness-grade - Prompt for any AI, with your job
- ChatGPTOpens with the prompt
- ClaudeOpens with the prompt
- GrokOpens with the prompt
- GeminiCopies the prompt, then opens
Every page is plain HTML. Steps for every assistant: add to your assistant.
Ohio Home Job Readiness Grade 2026: C (4 of 6 points)
This grade is a compilation of statute text and official state pages, reviewed 24 October 2026. It is not legal advice.
How did each measure score?
Statutory deposit limit: 0 of 2 points
No statutory deposit limit was found in the official sources reviewed 22 October 2026. Not found means not found in the sources checked; it is not an official statement that the state has no cap.
Official sources reviewed: source 1, source 2, source 3, source 4, source 5
Written-contract rule for home-improvement work: 2 of 2 points
A state statute or regulation requires a written contract for home-improvement or residential work within its scope, and lists what it must contain. The scope, including any dollar threshold or licence condition, is in the quoted words below.
(A) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, no home construction service supplier shall perform any home construction service the cost of which equals or exceeds twenty-five thousand dollars unless the supplier enters into a written home construction services contract with the owner. The contract shall include all agreements and conditions related to the home construction service, including all of the following: (1) The supplier's name, physical business address, business telephone number, and taxpayer identification number; (2) The owner's name, address, and telephone number;
Source: Ohio Rev. Code § 4722.02(A), read 14 October 2026
(B) "Home construction service" means the construction of a residential building, including the creation of a new structure and the repair, improvement, remodel, or renovation of an existing structure. "Home construction service" does not include construction performed on a structure that contains four or more dwelling units, except for work on an individual dwelling unit within that structure, or construction performed on the common area of a condominium property.
Source: Ohio Rev. Code § 4722.01(B), read 14 October 2026
Statutory right to cancel: 2 of 2 points
A state statute gives a right to cancel that reaches home-improvement contracts or sales made at the home within the scope and dollar limits in the quoted words below.
(A) In addition to any right otherwise to revoke an offer, the buyer has the right to cancel a home solicitation sale until midnight of the third business day after the day on which the buyer signs an agreement or offer to purchase. Cancellation is evidenced by the buyer giving written notice of cancellation to the seller at the seller's address, electronic mail address, or facsimile number stated in the agreement or offer to purchase.
Source: Ohio Rev. Code § 1345.22(A), read 14 October 2026
Online public record of the state's home-contractor credential: Not scored
Not scored: online public record of the state's home-contractor credential - official text not captured as of 24 October 2026.
What is not scored, and why?
- Not scored: online public record of the state's home-contractor credential - official text not captured as of 24 October 2026.
A measure we could not settle from official text is not scored: it leaves both the points earned and the points possible, so it never counts against a state.
Is there a federal rule too?
Federal rule, not scored here: 16 CFR 429.1(a), the FTC door-to-door sales rule, covers a sale the seller personally solicits that is agreed at a place other than the seller's place of business, for $25 or more at the buyer's home or $130 or more elsewhere, with exceptions in 16 CFR 429.0. For those sales it requires this statement in the buyer's contract or receipt:
You, the buyer, may cancel this transaction at any time prior to midnight of the third business day after the date of this transaction.
Source: 16 CFR 429.1(a), eCFR, read 22 October 2026
What can a homeowner check in Ohio before hiring?
- The state agency page that leads to the public licence or registration lookup: elicense4.com.ohio.gov, read 22 October 2026. A lookup is an optional public-record step.
- State consumer-protection office: Ohio Attorney General, read 24 October 2026.
- Ask for the job scope, the deposit and the cancel terms in writing before you sign, and keep a copy.
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<figure><img src="https://instabids.ai/fl/data/home-job-readiness-grade/ohio.svg" alt="Ohio Home Job Readiness Grade 2026: C, points by measure" width="640"><figcaption><a href="https://instabids.ai/us/home-job-readiness-grade/ohio">InstaBids</a></figcaption></figure>All 50 states and the District of Columbia, and how the grade works