CUYAHOGA COUNTY
AGENCY OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
CONTRACTOR
REGISTRATION &
ETHICS
CERTIFICATION
Introduction
Title 4 of the Cuyahoga County (“County”) Code (the “Ethics Law”) sets forth several
requirements for County Contractors (“Contractor”) doing business with the County. A
Contractor is defined as a person or entity - including but not limited to service
providers, vendors and consultants – that provides goods or services to the County
under terms specified in a binding, officially approved agreement. Therefore, all service
providers, contractors, vendors or consultants that provide goods or services to the
County under the terms of a contract or in exchange for a purchase order or voucher,
are required to adhere to the provisions of the Ethics Law.
Pre-Business Requirements
Effective January 1, 2012, Section 407.34 of the County Code requires the following
from all Contractors prior to doing business with the County:

The Contractor must be registered with the Cuyahoga County Agency of
Inspector General (“AIG”). Registration includes completion of the attached
registration form, signing of the Ethics Certification, and, if not exempted,
submittal of a $100 registration fee. Registration is a pre-condition for the
signing of any contract with the County. All registrations will expire on
December 31st of the respective registration year that is four (4) calendar years
after the year in which the Contractor previously registered.

A representative from each non-exempt Contractor must successfully complete
an ethics training program provided by the AIG within fifteen (15) days of
submission of the registration form and Ethics Certification to the AIG. Nonexempt Contractors must submit the above-cited registration documents and
registration fee and successfully complete the ethics training requirement prior to
approval and signature of any contract by the County. The ethics training
program can be completed through the Ethics Training Page on the AIG’s
website. Ethics training for Contractors shall remain effective until December
31st of the respective registration year that is four (4) calendar years after the
year in which the Contractor previously registered.
Submittal of the $100 registration fee and attendance at training is not required for any
Contractor whose annual aggregate amount of contracting with the County totals
$15,000.00 or less on a calendar year basis. Such Contractors will, however, still be
required to sign an Exempt Contractor Registration Form and Ethics Certification prior
to doing business with the County. It is the Contractor’s responsibility to track their
annual aggregate amount of contracting with the County and to comply with all
registration and training requirements if their annual aggregate amount of contracting
will exceed $15,000.00.
Cuyahoga County Agency of Inspector General
2079 East Ninth Street – 6th Floor • Cleveland, Ohio 44115
Contractor Registration & Ethics Certification
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In addition, the County has approved multiple exemptions to the registration fee and
training requirements. Contractors are encouraged to review the exemption list prior to
starting the registration and training process. Each exempted Contractor, however, is
still required to complete an Exempt Contractor Registration Form and Ethics
Certification.
Title 4 of the County Code (“Ethics Law”)
The following is a brief summary of some of the provisions of the Ethics Law that
directly relate to Contractors seeking to do business with the County:

Contractors are prohibited from giving or promising to give “anything of value”
that is such a character as to manifest a substantial and improper influence upon
a County public official or employee in the performance of their duties (Sections
402.07 and 407.35).

County officials and employees are prohibited from using the authority or
influence of their position to secure authorization of a public contract with any
entity in which they, their family or their business associates have an interest
(Section 404.01).

Former County officials and employees within one year after separation from the
County are generally prohibited from occupying any position of profit in the
prosecution of a public contract authorized by the public official or employee
(Section 404.03).

Contractors are prohibited from making campaign contributions for or otherwise
on the behalf of any elected officials or candidates for public office for the
purpose of influencing the elected official(s) or candidate(s) on any matter of
county business (Section 407.35).
Penalties
The Inspector General is designated by Section 409 of the County Code as the ethics
investigative officer for the County and is required to conduct all investigations
pertaining to the Ethics Law.
Failure to complete the pre-business requirements noted above will result in the
Contractor being prohibited from entering into any contracts with the County until they
are in compliance. In addition, Contractors who are found to be in violation of the
substantive provisions of the Ethics Law may be subjected to any of the following
penalties:
Contractor Registration & Ethics Certification
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
Removal from registry;

Prohibition on entering into any contracts with the County for a period determined
by the Inspector General;

Voiding of existing contract; and/or

Any other penalty(ies) as the Inspector General may deem appropriate.
Training
As noted above, a representative from each non-exempt Contractor must successfully
complete an ethics training program provided by the AIG prior to approval and signature
of any contract by the County.
Visit the AIG website (http://inspectorgeneral.cuyahogacounty.us) for instructions on
how to complete the ethics training program.
Contractor Registration & Ethics Certification
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Contractor Registration (all applicable fields are required)
Contractor’s Corporate Name:
Corporate Alias (if applicable):
Federal Tax Identification Number:
Type of Business:
Contact Name:
Contact Phone Number:
Contact Title:
Contact Email Address:
Contact Street Number:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Contractor Principals (i.e. Owner(s) and Officer(s)):
Name
Address
Last Four Digits of
Social Security No.
1.
2.
3.
List of Contracts with Cuyahoga County in the past four (4) years, including project name and
date:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Contractor Registration & Ethics Certification
Page 5 of 5
Ethics Certification
As an authorized representative of the above cited Contractor, I hereby certify the
following:





Contractor has been provided with the electronic website address
(http://code.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/CCRC-T4.aspx) for the Cuyahoga County
Ethics Law;
Contractor agrees that it has read and understands the pertinent sections of the
Cuyahoga County Ethics Law;
Contractor agrees to follow the pertinent sections of the Cuyahoga County Ethics
Law; and
Contractor acknowledges that it is its responsibility to periodically review the
Cuyahoga County Ethics Law to keep informed of any pertinent amendments.
If not exempt, Contractor will complete an ethics training program provided by the
Inspector General within fifteen (15) days of submission of this Registration and
Ethics Certification to the Inspector General.
____________________________________
Signature
____________________
Date
____________________________________
Name (Print)
_____________________________________
Title
Submittal
This Registration/Certification form should be submitted along with a check made
payable to Cuyahoga County Treasurer for One Hundred and 00/100ths Dollars
($100.00) to the following address:
Cuyahoga County Agency of Inspector General
2079 East Ninth Street, 6th Floor
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
Please Note: This form will be returned if the registry application fee is not included,
and/or the form is not fully completed.
For Internal Use Only
Registration Received: __________________
IG Approval: ____________________________
Application Fee Received: _______________
Registration Expiration Date: _______________
Ethics Training Date: ___________________
Approval Letter Sent: _____________________