Government offices

Where to apply for a Social Security number or replace a card. This is the office inside the east-side corridor.

220 S Hamilton Rd, Columbus, OH 43213

1-866-592-0733

Appointments have been required for in-person service since January 2025, but Social Security says it will not turn away people who cannot make one. Call 1-800-772-1213 to book; interpreters are available on that line.

Checked September 17, 2026

Enter a ZIP code and it gives the office that serves it, with hours. Use this if you are outside the east side.

1-800-772-1213

Checked September 17, 2026

Ohio driver licence and state ID. This office also has a driver examination station and a title office in the same building, so three errands become one trip.

1583 Alum Creek Drive, Columbus, OH 43209

614-443-5100

The nearest full-service office to the east-side corridor that could be confirmed. There is a smaller one at 415 Agler Road in Gahanna. Check the official locator for anything closer before driving.

Checked September 17, 2026

What Ohio accepts as proof of name, date of birth, legal presence, Social Security number and Ohio address. Two address documents are required, from different sources.

1-844-644-6268

The document list is published in English, Spanish and Somali. There is no Amharic version. A compliant card carries a star and is needed to board a domestic flight; a standard card costs the same and cannot be.

Checked September 17, 2026

The law that governs what the Ohio BMV may do with the information you give it, and who it may be given to.

Ohio publishes no plain-language notice for licence applicants about what happens to their information — unlike some other states. The law itself permits release to a government agency, including a federal one, carrying out its functions. This is said here because being told plainly is better than being reassured.

Checked September 17, 2026

Free job search help, résumé and interview assistance, training referrals and employer connections. An employer comes on site every Thursday.

1111 E. Broad Street, Columbus, OH 43205

614-559-5052Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm

On the E Broad bus corridor, which runs every fifteen minutes or less. A reader in Whitehall or 43213 can reach it on one bus.

Checked September 17, 2026

Cash assistance, food assistance, Medicaid, child care assistance and emergency assistance. This is the county office, not the state one.

1721 Northland Park Avenue, Columbus, OH 43229

1-844-640-6446

Checked September 17, 2026

Employment assistance, education support, health services and Refugee Cash Assistance.

30 E Broad St, Columbus, OH 43215

614-466-6282

Checked September 17, 2026

Ohio's own rule on which immigration statuses qualify for food assistance and when. Refugees, asylees, trafficking victims and several other statuses qualify immediately; lawful permanent residents generally wait five years, with exceptions for children, people receiving disability benefits, and people with enough work history.

Linked to the rule itself rather than summarised, because eligibility turns on your exact status and a paraphrase is how somebody decides not to apply when they qualify.

Checked September 17, 2026

ESOL and citizenship classes, job training and placement, youth programmes and community navigators. Staff speak more than thirty languages.

4300 E. Broad St., Suite D, Columbus, OH 43213

614-252-5362

Founded in 2000 as outreach to Ethiopian refugees and now serving more than eighty nationalities. It is in the corridor and it is the organisation most likely to answer in Amharic. Call before going — programme details could not be confirmed from the website.

Checked September 17, 2026

Free English classes for speakers of other languages. Orientation and a placement assessment are required before enrolling. Classes run mornings, evenings and Saturdays.

614-287-2471

One of the sites is in Reynoldsburg, inside the corridor. Others are in New Albany, Westerville and Dublin.

Checked September 17, 2026

ESOL, citizenship preparation, adult basic education and workplace English.

5825 Chantry Drive, Columbus, OH 43232

614-282-7661

There is a second site at 1394 Courtright Road, Columbus, OH 43227. Both are in the corridor.

Checked September 17, 2026

ESL, Aspire and high school equivalency classes for adults.

270 E. State St., Columbus, OH 43215

380-997-6293

Checked September 17, 2026

For children from birth to age three who are delayed in growth or learning, or who have a disability. Services come to where the child lives and plays.

1-800-755-4769

Anyone can make the referral — a parent, a doctor, a neighbour. There is no cost to find out whether a child is eligible, and the state says plainly that there is no downside to asking.

Checked September 17, 2026

Ohio's Parent Training and Information Center. Free help understanding evaluations, IEPs and your rights, including trained parent mentors who will sit with you.

1-844-382-5452

Federally designated, serving the whole state. Ask for extension 20 for the parent line.

Checked September 17, 2026

Ohio's federally designated protection and advocacy organisation for people with disabilities. Free legal help.

200 Civic Center Drive, Suite 300, Columbus, OH 43215

1-800-282-9181Intake Monday to Friday, 9am to 12pm and 1pm to 4pm

Checked September 17, 2026

How to ask a school to evaluate a child aged three to twenty-one. Put the request in writing: the school then has thirty days to obtain consent or refuse in writing, sixty days to complete the evaluation once consent is given, and thirty more to write the plan.

The parent rights guide is published in Amharic. It is one of the very few official Ohio documents in this guide that is.

Checked September 17, 2026

The county board for people with developmental disabilities — services, eligibility and family support.

2879 Johnstown Road, Columbus, OH

614-475-6440

Checked September 17, 2026