Ohio Firefighter Requirements

The short answer. Ohio is not a two-level state. The Division of EMS fire-service certificates page (dated August 9, 2022, read 2026-09-03) lists three firefighter certificates to practice: Volunteer Firefighter, Firefighter I, and Firefighter II. You hold one firefighter level at a time. The card comes from the Executive Director of the State Board of Emergency Medical, Fire, and Transportation Services under Ohio Revised Code 4765.55, after a chartered course and state exams. EMT is a department door, not the firefighter certificate. Older copies of this page mashed the volunteer certificate into a "Level I" label and the career certificate into "Level II," each with an hour count the rules do not use. That mash is wrong.

How many firefighter certificates does Ohio issue?

Three to practice. Fire Safety Inspector is a separate optional card.

OAC 4765-20-02(I) (read 2026-09-03): "No person shall hold a firefighter certificate at more than one level."

The 36-hour EMS course length and the Code cap of not more than 36 hours agree on 36 as the ceiling. A charter cannot run a 40-hour volunteer card.

The 240-hour EMS figure and the 244-hour Code figure disagree. The certificates page is a 2022 summary. The rule is the 2024 Code. Budget for 244 hours so you are not short at a charter that runs the Code clock.

Older copies required Firefighter "Level II" for any paid job in Ohio. The EMS page says typically required for career firefighters. Paid part-time shops can sit on Volunteer or Firefighter I; that is the authority having jurisdiction, not this page.

Is the 36-hour volunteer course Firefighter I?

No. It does not meet NFPA 1001. It does not let you train in IDLH, live fire, or apparatus operation. If you were just appointed as a volunteer, ORC 3737.66 gives you one year after appointment to hold the 4765.55 certificate.

How old do I have to be?

Three clocks, none of them "17.5" as a state certificate line.

Older copies said some departments accept applications at 17.5. That is not an Ohio Division of EMS certificate line.

How do I get the card?

From a chartered fire training program. Then:

1. Pass the practical skills exam before the knowledge exam.
2. Pass the knowledge exam within 180 days of course completion.
3. File the initial application within 90 days of passing knowledge.
4. Complete FEMA IS-700 and IS-100 (ICS-100). Firefighter I and Firefighter II also complete NFPA 1072 hazardous materials awareness and operations.
5. Pass an initial criminal history review.

Those clocks are OAC 4765-20-02 (read 2026-09-03). The EMS initial page lists the same FEMA courses and the conviction screen it uses for the application: "Have not been convicted of any felony, a misdemeanor committed in the course of practice or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude." For renewal and reinstatement, OAC 4765-20-02(C)(2) repeats that list. ORC 4765.55(I) says rules that refuse a certificate for a conviction must follow ORC 9.79, effective March 20, 2026 (Senate Bill 56, 136th General Assembly; last updated January 16, 2026; read 2026-09-03). This page does not print a blanket "no disqualifying felony" without that overlay.

OAC 4765-20-06(A)(1)(b) (effective July 7, 2024, last updated August 10, 2026, read 2026-09-03) is the initial knowledge cut: "A passing score of at least seventy per cent on the knowledge examination is required for certification." Practical skills under (A)(2)(c) are pass or fail. This page does not invent a practical-skills percent. The same rule's (B)(1)(b) prints seventy per cent for reinstatement knowledge as a separate clock.

Do I need an EMT card?

Not for the state firefighter certificate. The certificates-to-practice page lists Volunteer, Firefighter I, Firefighter II, and Fire Safety Inspector. It does not list EMT or paramedic as a firefighter-certificate door. OAC 4765-20-02(H) gives credit for healthcare-provider CPR and basic first aid, and "State certification at any EMS provider level meets this requirement." That is how an EMT counts, not a mandate to hold one.

Departments may still require EMT or paramedic to hire you. That is a city posting, not this certificate page. Older copies put EMT-Basic hours, NREMT psychomotor, and a paramedic training block on this page as firefighter-certificate lines. They are not.

How do I renew?

Every three years. The EMS certificates page (read 2026-09-03): thirty-six hours of continuing education during each three-year cycle for Volunteer, Firefighter I, and Firefighter II. Fire Safety Inspector is twenty-four hours.

The EMS firefighter CE page (dated August 23, 2023) prorates: under 12 months, 0 hours but you still file; 12 to under 24 months, 12 hours; 24 to under 36 months, 24 hours; 36 months or more, 36 hours. Cap 12 CE hours per calendar day. Identical online class once per calendar year. Station duties and runs do not count. If that page disagrees with the Code, OAC 4765-20 applies.

ORC 4765.55(B)(6) caps state CE at 36 hours every three years. Local entities may require more. That extra is not required to renew the state card.

What this page does not claim

Ohio driver's license, NFPA 1582, and CPAT are not on the EMS certificates or initial-certification pages as state firefighter-certificate requirements. Whether a department uses CPAT is that department's posting. This page does not census Ohio career departments. City hire windows, city pay, named colleges, and academy week counts are not on the state certificate sources opened for this article.

Older copies printed a Columbus / Cleveland / Cincinnati / Akron salary table and an OP&F 25-year line. Those figures are not on the Division of EMS pages this article uses, and this page does not print them.

Next step

Open the certificates-to-practice page and the initial certification page. Pick the level you actually need (Volunteer, I, or II), then find a chartered program. Confirm the live course hours against OAC Chapter 4765-24, not only the 2022 EMS summary.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighter certificates does Ohio issue?

Three to practice: Volunteer Firefighter, Firefighter I, and Firefighter II. You hold one level at a time. Fire Safety Inspector is a separate optional card that needs a current firefighter certificate and employment at a listed agency.

Is the 36-hour volunteer course Firefighter I?

No. It does not meet NFPA 1001. No IDLH, no live fire, no apparatus in the course. The chief adds that training if the volunteer will work those jobs. The cap is not more than 36 hours (ORC 4765.55 and OAC 4765-24-09). If you were just appointed, you have one year after appointment to hold the 4765.55 certificate (ORC 3737.66).

How many hours is Firefighter II?

Two clocks, and they disagree. The EMS certificates page (dated August 9, 2022) prints a 240-hour Ohio Firefighter I and II Course, plus EVOC and NIMS. Ohio Administrative Code 4765-24-13 (effective July 7, 2024) requires at least 244 hours (216 + 24 hazardous materials + 4 Courage to Be Safe). Plan for 244. The I-to-II transition is 84 hours on both the EMS page and OAC 4765-24-12.

How old do I have to be?

18 to apply for the certificate. 17 and in 12th grade (or graduated) may enter the course. 16 in 11th-grade public safety: classroom and skills only, no IDLH. Older copies said some departments accept 17.5. That is not an ODPS certificate line.

Do I need an EMT card to be a firefighter in Ohio?

Not for the state firefighter certificate. Departments may. CPR and first aid, or any Ohio EMS provider level, is credit under OAC 4765-20-02(H), not an EMT mandate.

What is the passing score on the firefighter knowledge exam?

At least seventy per cent on the initial knowledge examination (OAC 4765-20-06(A)(1)(b), effective July 7, 2024). Practical skills are pass or fail. This page does not print a practical-skills percent.