Survivors of domestic violence now have the option to keep their home, work, and school addresses private. Ohio’s “Safe at Home” program keeps a survivor’s address out of public records, including voter registration and real estate records. By keeping a survivor’s address private, the program tries to prevent a perpetrator of violence from finding out where the survivor is and following them to work, school, or home.
Safe at Home is a free program, which assists people who have experienced domestic violence, human trafficking, rape or sexual battery. Safe at Home allows a survivor to receive a substitute Post Office Box (P.O. Box) address in place of their home address. Another benefit of the program is that the survivor can keep their address private and away from public records. The office of the Ohio Secretary of State will forward any mail sent to the P.O. Box address to the survivor’s home address.
Applications for Safe at Home can be made online or in person. To find an Application Assistant, visit Safe at Home-List of Application Assistants or call (614) 995-2255. Once an applicant is approved, a Safe at Home staff member will give the survivor a P.O. Box address. When asked for an address, the survivor may choose to give the P.O. Box address instead of their home, work, or school address. The P.O. Box address may be used for four years. After four years, a survivor may reapply for the program to receive another P.O. Box address.
The Safe at Home program works ONLY for survivors when their abuser does not know their current address. Survivors of domestic violence should only give their home, work, and school addresses to trusted people. Contact information, including addresses and phone numbers, should never be shared on the internet.
Additionally, there is a way to protect residential property records with an additional form. By filing that form with the County Auditor, the property will be listed under a fictitious name. View the Residential Property Form here.
To learn more about the Safe at Home program, visit www.SafeatHomeOhio.com, call (614) 995-2255, or send an email to safeathome@ohiosecretaryofstate.gov.
This information was updated in April 2024.