The Ohio military affidavit

How Ohio handles it

Ohio has no statewide military affidavit. The Supreme Court of Ohio's Court Services Forms index carries none, and Ohio Civ.R. 55, read in the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure on August 15, 2026, never mentions military service. Rule 55(A) bars a default judgment against a minor or an incompetent person who is not represented, and requires seven days' written notice of the application to a party who has already appeared, and that is the whole of the state rule. The document you need therefore comes from the clerk of the specific court you are filing in, and it changes from county to county and from division to division.

Franklin County Municipal Court, the busiest civil and eviction docket in the state capital, publishes a one-page Military Service Affidavit in its civil forms set. It is short to the point of thin. The affiant states that he or she "is the attorney representing the Plaintiff(s) in the above Captioned matter," then states "that to his/her best knowledge, Defendant(s) ______ is/are not in the military service," then closes with "Further affiant sayeth naught." There is no space for supporting facts, no line for a Defense Manpower Data Center certificate, and no option to say the defendant is serving or that you cannot tell. The footer code reads 09/2006.

It travels with two companion forms from the same set. The Motion for Default Judgment asks for the judgment amount, the date the complaint was filed, the method and date service was obtained from a list that includes certified mail, ordinary mail, personal service, and publication, and a statement that the defendant filed no responsive pleadings and is not an unrepresented minor or incompetent individual. The Entry for Default Judgment is the proposed order, with blanks for principal, an interest rate per annum from the date of judgment, and costs. File all three together.

A fuller Ohio template exists one county north. The Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, Division of Domestic Relations, publishes its own Military Service Affidavit that opens with the affiant stating "I visited the Department of Defense Manpower Data Center website https://scra.dmdc.osd.mil/scra/#/home to inquire about military service," followed by a table for the name, date of birth, and last four digits of the Social Security number entered, a blank for "I know the identifying information to be correct because," the line "A certificate from the Department of Defense Manpower Data Center is attached," and all three outcomes: on active duty, not on active duty, or unable to determine with a reason. It is also notarized.

The practical rule for an Ohio filer: use the form your court publishes, and where that form is thinner than 50 U.S.C. section 3931 requires, attach what the statute wants anyway. Run the search, attach the certificate, and write the facts on a separate page that the affidavit refers to by name.

What trips filers up here

• Franklin County's civil form assumes a lawyer. The only affiant option printed is "the attorney representing the Plaintiff(s)," and the signature block asks for a Supreme Court of Ohio attorney registration number. A self-represented landlord or creditor filing in Columbus has no box on the page that fits.
• The Franklin County form offers one outcome and one only: the defendant "is/are not in the military service." There is no active-duty option, no unable-to-determine option, and no facts block, so a plaintiff whose search comes back ambiguous cannot tell the truth on the form as printed.
• Its own footer misspells the document: "09/2006 CAF Miliary Aff."
• Both Ohio forms are dated in their citations. The Cuyahoga domestic relations version is captioned "Pursuant to 50 U.S.C. 521," the pre-2015 numbering of the default judgment section, which is now 50 U.S.C. section 3931.
• Ohio's own statute reaches further than the federal one for state-called Guard members, and no Ohio form asks about it. Under R.C. 5923.12, when ordered by the governor to perform training or duty, members of the Ohio National Guard "shall have the protections afforded to persons on federal active duty by The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act."

Signing it: notarization required

Sworn, not declared. Under the affiant signature line the form prints "STATE OF OHIO / COUNTY OF FRANKLIN SS:" and then "Sworn to and subscribed in my presence this ___ day of ___, 20___," over a Notary Public signature line. There is no penalty-of-perjury alternative on the page, and the signature block asks for a "Sup. Ct. Reg. No.," the attorney registration number issued by the Supreme Court of Ohio.

This form carries a notary block, so budget for a notary before your filing date. Federal law sets a floor, not a ceiling: 50 U.S.C. § 3931(b)(4) permits an unsworn declaration under penalty of perjury, but a state is free to require more on its own form, and this one does.

Ohio law on top of the federal rule

Ohio Rev. Code section 5923.12: Effective October 3, 2023. Sets pay and allowances for state active duty and provides that when ordered by the governor to perform training or duty under that section or section 5919.29, members of the Ohio National Guard have the protections the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act gives people on federal active duty. The statute still cites the Act by its former designation, 117 Stat. 2835, 50 U.S.C.A. App. 501.

Getting the military-status answer right

The affidavit is only as good as the search behind it. The Defense Manpower Data Center runs the free lookup that courts and creditors rely on, and since 2026 it requires a free account even for a single record. Our guide to the DMDC SCRA website covers the search itself, what a "no information found" result does and does not prove, and the batch route for high-volume filers. The federal rules behind this form, including what happens when you genuinely cannot determine status, sit on the hub page.

If one was filed against you

A false affidavit is not a technicality. In May 2026 the Justice Department settled with a Florida property manager that swore a Navy sailor was not on active duty, took a default eviction judgment, and left him with an eviction on his record that a dozen landlords then refused to rent around: $60,000 to one servicemember plus a civil penalty . If a default judgment was entered against you while you were serving, it can be reopened; the default-judgment shield walks the deadlines.

Serving in Ohio and looking for what the state adds to your own protections rather than court procedure? That is a different page: Ohio SCRA benefits.