Ohio Rev. Code » Chapter 709
Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 709.02 (2026)

Petition for annexation by owners of contiguous real estate

✓ current as of May 2026
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Effective:
March 27, 2002
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 5 - 124th General Assembly
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(A) The owners of real estate contiguous to a municipal corporation may petition for annexation to a municipal corporation in the manner provided by sections 709.02 to 709.11 of the Revised Code.

(B) Application for annexation shall be made by a petition filed with the clerk of the board of county commissioners of the county in which the territory is located.

(C) The petition required by this section shall contain the following:

(1) The signatures of a majority of the owners of real estate in the territory proposed for annexation. The person who signs or the circulator of the petition also shall write the date the signature was made next to the owner's name. No signature obtained more than one hundred eighty days before the date on which the petition is filed shall be counted in determining the number of signers of the petition. Any owner who signed the petition may have the signature removed before the document is filed by delivering a signed statement to the agent for the petitioners expressing the owner's wish to have the signature removed. Upon receiving a signed statement, the agent for the petitioners shall strike through the signature, causing the signature to be deleted from the petition.

(2) An accurate legal description of the perimeter and an accurate map or plat of the territory proposed for annexation;

(3) The name of a person or persons to act as agent for the petitioners. The agent for the petitioners may be an official, employee, or agent of the municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed.

(D) At the time of filing the petition for annexation, the agent for the petitioners also shall file with the clerk of the board a list of all tracts, lots, or parcels in the territory proposed for annexation, and all tracts, lots, or parcels located adjacent to that territory or directly across the road from it when the road is adjacent to it, including the name and mailing address of the owner of each tract, lot, or parcel, and the permanent parcel number from the county auditor's permanent parcel numbering system established under section 319.28 of the Revised Code for each tract, lot, or parcel. This list shall not be considered to be a part of the petition for annexation, and any error on the list shall not affect the validity of the petition.

(E) As used in sections 709.02 to 709.21, 709.38, and 709.39 of the Revised Code, "owner" or "owners" means any adult individual who is legally competent, the state or any political subdivision as defined in section 5713.081 of the Revised Code, and any firm, trustee, or private corporation, any of which is seized of a freehold estate in land; except that easements and any railroad, utility, street, and highway rights-of-way held in fee, by easement, or by dedication and acceptance are not included within those meanings; and no person, firm, trustee, or private corporation, the state, or any political subdivision, that has become an owner of real estate by a conveyance, the primary purpose of which is to affect the number of owners required to sign a petition for annexation, is included within those meanings. For purposes of sections 709.02 to 709.21, 709.38, and 709.39 of the Revised Code, the state or any political subdivision shall not be considered an owner and shall not be included in determining the number of owners needed to sign a petition unless an authorized agent of the state or the political subdivision signs the petition. The authorized agent for the state shall be the director of administrative services.

An owner is determined as of the date the petition is filed with the board of county commissioners. If the owner is a corporation, partnership, business trust, estate, trust, organization, association, group, institution, society, state, or political subdivision, the petition shall be signed by a person who is authorized to sign for that entity. A person who owns more than one parcel of real estate, either individually or as a tenant in common or by survivorship tenancy, shall be counted as one owner for purposes of this chapter.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 85 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1955–2026 · leading case: State ex rel. Butler Twp. Bd. of Trs. v. Montgomery Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners, 858 N.E.2d 1193 (Ohio 2006).
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State ex rel. Butler Twp. Bd. of Trs. v. Montgomery Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners, 858 N.E.2d 1193 (Ohio 2006). · cites it 52× “1 See former R.C. 709.02. 137 Ohio Laws, Part II, 3313.”
State Ex Rel. Butler Twp. Bd. of Trs. v. Montgomery Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners, 833 N.E.2d 788 (Ohio Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 30× “Prior to Senate Bill 5, R.C. 709.02 defined an owner as “any adult individual seized of a freehold estate in land who is legally competent and any firm, trustee, or private corporation that is seized of a freehold estate in land; except that individuals, firms, and corporations…”
City of North Canton v. City of Canton, 871 N.E.2d 586 (Ohio 2007). · cites it 10× “{¶ 1} We must decide whether the city of North Canton has standing to challenge the constitutionality of R.C. 709.02(E) as denying due process and equal protection even though North Canton is not a member of the class of persons against whom the statute is applied.”
City of Cleveland v. City of Fairview Park, 545 N.E.2d 1287 (Ohio Ct. App. 1988). · cites it 14× “R.C. 709.02 provides in part: “The owners of real estate adjacent to a municipal corporation may, at their option, cause such territory to be annexed thereto * * *.”
Cincinnati Milacron, Inc. v. Doughman, 64 Ohio St. 3d 585 (Ohio 1992). · cites it 9× “R.C. 709.02. The petition must contain a full description and accurate map or plat of the territory sought to be annexed.”
In Re Petition for Annexation of 162.631 Acres, 556 N.E.2d 200 (Ohio Ct. App. 1988). · cites it 10× “631 acres adjacent to Westerville collected signatures of landowners in an annexation petition pursuant to R.C. 709.02 to 709.11. The Franklin County Board of Commissioners (“board”) held a hearing on the annexation petition and unanimously agreed to allow Westerville to annex…”
Miami Twp. Bd. of Trs. v. Caton, 556 N.E.2d 1140 (Ohio 1990). · cites it 7× “The Board of Township Trustees of Miami Township, as well as the amid township associations basically argue in this appeal that the methods of annexing territory to a municipality, (1) by the petition of landowners pursuant to R.C. 709.02 through 709.12, and (2) by the petition…”
Tuscarawas Twp. Bd. of Trs. v. Stark Cty. Bd. of Commrs., 2011 Ohio 5581 (Ohio Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 31× “Our decision is based in part on the analysis of the relevant law for a Type 1 annexation found in R.C. 709.02 and 709.033(A)-(E), and the law of the case doctrine supported by our findings on the 2008 Petition in Tuscarawas Twp.”
Taylor v. City of London, 723 N.E.2d 1089 (Ohio 2000). · cites it 3× “R.C. 709.02 provides that owners of real estate adjacent to a municipal corporation may apply for such territory to be annexed by filing a petition with the board of county commissioners of the county in which the territory is located.”
Bd. of Commissioners v. City of Lebanon, 540 N.E.2d 242 (Ohio 1989). · cites it 4× “31, does not create a “freehold estate” in such land required by R.C. 709.02. 10 The sole “owner,” for purposes of R.”
Lawrence Twp. Bd. of Trs. v. City of Canal Fulton, 923 N.E.2d 1180 (Ohio Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 9× “015 states as follows: “The procedural requirements set forth in sections 709.02 to 709.21 of the Revised Code are directory in nature.”
Bd. of Trs. of Perry Twp. v. Cicchinelli, 520 N.E.2d 235 (Ohio Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 8× “07 injunction based on a finding that the wrong statutory provisions were applied, specifically that the annexation petition should [not] have been filed under R.C. 709.02 through 709.10 as a petition of landowner but should have been filed as a petition of a municipality under…”
Show all 85 citing cases →
— Ohio Rev. Code § 709.02(A) — 9 cases
Cincinnati Milacron, Inc. v. Doughman, 64 Ohio St. 3d 585 (Ohio 1992). “R.C. 709.02. The petition must contain a full description and accurate map or plat of the territory sought to be annexed.”
Tuscarawas Twp. Bd. of Trs. v. Stark Cty. Bd. of Commrs., 2011 Ohio 5581 (Ohio Ct. App. 2011). “Our decision is based in part on the analysis of the relevant law for a Type 1 annexation found in R.C. 709.02 and 709.033(A)-(E), and the law of the case doctrine supported by our findings on the 2008 Petition in Tuscarawas Twp.”
Lawrence Twp. Bd. of Trs. v. City of Canal Fulton, 923 N.E.2d 1180 (Ohio Ct. App. 2009). “015 states as follows: “The procedural requirements set forth in sections 709.02 to 709.21 of the Revised Code are directory in nature.”
State Ex Rel. Butler Twp. Bd. of Trs. v. Montgomery Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners, 833 N.E.2d 788 (Ohio Ct. App. 2005). “Prior to Senate Bill 5, R.C. 709.02 defined an owner as “any adult individual seized of a freehold estate in land who is legally competent and any firm, trustee, or private corporation that is seized of a freehold estate in land; except that individuals, firms, and corporations…”
State ex rel. Xenia v. Greene Cty. Bd. of Commrs., 2019 Ohio 4801 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 709.02(B) — 2 cases
Cincinnati Milacron, Inc. v. Doughman, 64 Ohio St. 3d 585 (Ohio 1992). “R.C. 709.02. The petition must contain a full description and accurate map or plat of the territory sought to be annexed.”
In re Petition to Annex 320 Acres to the Vill. of S. Lebanon, 1992 Ohio 134 (Ohio 1992).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 709.02(C) — 1 case
State ex rel. Cornell v. Greene Cty. Bd. Commrs., 2014 Ohio 5584 (Ohio Ct. App. 2014).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 709.02(C)(1) — 2 cases
Witschey v. Medina Cnty. Bd. of Commissioners, 862 N.E.2d 535 (Ohio Ct. App. 2006).
In Re Annexation of 259.15 Acres, 825 N.E.2d 238 (Ohio Ct. App. 2005).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 709.02(C)(2) — 3 cases
State ex rel. Xenia v. Greene Cty. Bd. of Commrs., 2019 Ohio 4801 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019).
Lawrence Twp. Bd. of Trs. v. City of Canal Fulton, 923 N.E.2d 1180 (Ohio Ct. App. 2009). “015 states as follows: “The procedural requirements set forth in sections 709.02 to 709.21 of the Revised Code are directory in nature.”
State ex rel. Cornell v. Greene Cty. Bd. Commrs., 2014 Ohio 5584 (Ohio Ct. App. 2014).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 709.02(E) — 7 cases
State ex rel. Butler Twp. Bd. of Trs. v. Montgomery Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners, 858 N.E.2d 1193 (Ohio 2006). “1 See former R.C. 709.02. 137 Ohio Laws, Part II, 3313.”
City of North Canton v. City of Canton, 871 N.E.2d 586 (Ohio 2007). “{¶ 1} We must decide whether the city of North Canton has standing to challenge the constitutionality of R.C. 709.02(E) as denying due process and equal protection even though North Canton is not a member of the class of persons against whom the statute is applied.”
State Ex Rel. Butler Twp. Bd. of Trs. v. Montgomery Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners, 833 N.E.2d 788 (Ohio Ct. App. 2005). “Prior to Senate Bill 5, R.C. 709.02 defined an owner as “any adult individual seized of a freehold estate in land who is legally competent and any firm, trustee, or private corporation that is seized of a freehold estate in land; except that individuals, firms, and corporations…”
State ex rel. Natl. Lime & Stone Co. v. Marion Cty. Bd. Commrs., 2016 Ohio 859 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016).
Lawrence Twp. Bd. of Trs. v. City of Canal Fulton, 923 N.E.2d 1180 (Ohio Ct. App. 2009). “015 states as follows: “The procedural requirements set forth in sections 709.02 to 709.21 of the Revised Code are directory in nature.”
— Ohio Rev. Code § 709.02(c) — 1 case
In re Annexation of Acres in Jefferson Twp., 7 Ohio App. Unrep. 47 (Ohio Ct. App. 1990).
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