Ohio bounce house insurance: the two-or-more-people limit, the fees and the 12-month permit

Ohio writes its insurance minimum around how many people are hurt in one occurrence. The Ohio Department of Agriculture says the policy must provide at least $1 million of coverage for bodily injury or death of two or more persons in each occurrence (Amusement Ride Safety page). The statute behind that sentence has a second tier, and it adds duties for your insurer. The requirements map lists the other states we confirmed.

Ohio's code website didn't load for us. The statute and rule text below comes from Internet Archive copies captured between April 2025 and March 2026, while the agency page, read directly on October 1, 2026, carries a January 21, 2022 date. Check both for later changes.

The insurance sentence in the statute

Section 993.06 of the Revised Code requires, before a permit issues, a certificate showing liability coverage of not less than $500,000 for bodily injury or death of one person in each occurrence and, subject to that limit for one person, not less than $1,000,000 for two or more persons. The agency's page states only the $1 million figure.

The same section reaches into the policy itself. The insurer may not cancel without 30 days' written notice to the department and a full report of the reasons. It must also report to the department within 24 hours if it pays a claim or sets a reserve that drops the two-or-more-persons limit below $1 million. And if the policy is cancelled or lapses, including by being reduced below the required amount, the owner has to replace it. Without a new certificate on file, the owner must stop operating under the permit immediately until the department approves.

The reporting duty is the odd one. If your limits wear down as claims are paid or reserved, it can trigger, and Ohio treats a policy that falls under the number as a reason to stop. So the questions for a carrier are specific: which limit applies when one claimant is hurt and when several are, how limits erode on your policy, and whether the cancellation and claim-reduction notices to the department are written into the policy or an endorsement.

Proof the department accepts

Under Ohio Administrative Code 901:9-1-01, proof of insurance can be a copy of the executed policy, a certified statement from the insurer attesting to the statute's requirements, or other evidence the director finds satisfactory. It must show the amount and duration of coverage and either list each ride by manufacturer, make, model and serial or unique number, or state that every ride under the insured's control is covered, with any exclusions documented by the insurer. The agency says you upload the certificate to its owner portal.

What the permit costs

The fee table is in section 993.04 and matches the agency page, with one twist for inflatables.

Item	Amount
Permit	$225 a year (the statute issues a permit for each ride, and the agency says it applies to any attraction)
Inspection and reinspection, inflatable	$104
Midseason operational inspection, per ride	$25
Expedited inspection (requested within 10 days), per ride	$100
Failure to cancel a scheduled inspection, per ride	$100
Failure to have the ride ready, per ride	$100

The statute tells the director to set the inflatable inspection fee by rule below $105, and rule 901:9-1-01 sets it at $104. The ride has to be ready for inspection no later than two hours after the time requested. The permit guide compares Ohio's fees with Illinois and Tennessee.

A 12-month permit

Other Ohio rides are permitted to the end of the calendar year. Inflatable permits run 12 months instead, expiring on the 365th day after issue (366th in a leap year), according to rule 901:9-1-01(C). Keep the policy period in step with that odd date. The application, the fees and a list of locations where a portable ride was stored for more than 30 days or operated outside Ohio are due at least 30 days before operation, and the department decides within 30 days. An inflatable must be fully assembled and operating for the initial inspection.

If a unit is sold or transferred during the permit, the new owner needs a new permit in the new owner's name.

ASTM and the manual

The agency page says every ride must document that it meets ASTM chapters on amusement ride safety, and inflatables specifically must meet ASTM-2374 guidelines. A ride that cannot show that "will not be able to be permitted." Rule 901:9-1-06.1 says inflatables are amusement rides under the chapter and that the manufacturer's specifications must be on hand at inspection. You may change the manufacturer's operating instructions or design only with the manufacturer's written permission, submitted to the department, and a reinspection. That limits improvising with anchoring or blowers.

Itineraries and who runs the ride

Owners of temporary rides, including inflatables, submit the places they will operate. Section 993.07(C) requires a list of out-of-state and long-storage locations and a tentative schedule of events for the season. Rule 901:9-1-01(F) asks for a yearly itinerary with the permit application and says changes must be reported at least ten days ahead. The agency's portal has an "Itinerary" button for this.

The operator must be at least 16, be present whenever the ride runs, and operate no more than one ride at a time. After an accident, which the code defines as a death or an injury needing immediate hospital admission, the owner telephones the department immediately and files a written report within 24 hours.

Venues

Columbus Recreation and Parks says inflatable devices are not permitted at its event venues unless you arrange it with Rental Services first. The permit holder must then supply proof of public liability insurance naming the City of Columbus as additionally insured, at least 15 days before the rental (rental rules). The page does not state a dollar limit. A venue's additional insured request sits on top of the state filing, and the additional insured guide explains how one policy answers both. Several other Ohio park systems publish bounce house terms that we did not read.

Who the law reaches

Section 993.10 exempts a "private facility," which the code defines as one open only to members and requiring approval by a membership committee. A family's backyard does not fit that description, and nothing in the pages we read exempts home parties. The definition of amusement ride in section 993.01 lists "mechanical, aquatic, or inflatable" devices, so we found no exclusion for inflatable water slides.

Rule 901:9-1-03 goes after the supply side as well. It bars anyone from operating, contracting to operate, or offering to operate by renting or leasing a ride without a valid permit or without the required insurance. The statute directs a schedule of fines, none above $5,000.