Ohio Revised Code General Provisions § 9.311

(A) A bid for a contract with the state or any political subdivision, district, institution, or other agency of the state, for the rendering of services, or the supplying of materials, or for the construction, demolition, alteration, repair, or reconstruction of any public building, structure, highway, or other improvement shall be deemed nonresponsive and shall be rejected if the bidder submits with his bid a bid bond, performance bond, payment bond, or combination of those bonds, executed by a surety not licensed, or a surplus lines company not approved, by the superintendent of insurance to execute such a bond in the state.

(B) All of those bonds shall affirmatively state on their face that the surety is authorized to execute bonds in the state and that the liability incurred is within the limits of section 3929.02 of the Revised Code.  Failure to include this statement shall not cause the bid to be deemed nonresponsive and rejected if the surety is in fact authorized to execute bonds in the state and the liability incurred is within the limits of section 3929.02 of the Revised Code.