Ohio Department of Taxation Online Services - eForms

Welcome to Ohio eForms - Adobe Reader 9.3 or Above Solution

Overview

When using Adobe Reader 9.3 (or above) to file your eForm return, you may encounter an error (security warning) message. This page describes the issue and provides a solution to enable you to continue filing

Adobe Acrobat Reader and Professional release 9.3 (and above) includes default security features that are designed to protect the user.  You will need to set the Ohio Department of Taxation’s eForms as a trusted site in order to enable the form to function correctly.

The instructions below provide some guidance as to what to expect, and some options on how to get past the warning messages you may encounter. 

For installation concerns with Adobe, please refer to the Adobe website at www.adobe.com

From the Web Browser:

If you are working from within a browser, please note the steps below.  When working with a previously saved return (saved PDF file), please scroll down to that section below.

When attempting to access a PDF eForm using Adobe Reader 9.3 (or above), you may receive the following error message from the Ohio Department of Taxation Web site:

You can still file using eForms by performing the following steps:

1. Click the OK button on the message.
2. A yellow bar will appear at the top of the page as shown below.  Simply click “Options” on the right-hand side of the yellow bar, then click “Add host to Privileged Locations” (note: this action only needs to be performed once).
3. The form will then open and enable you to continue filing your return.

 

The form will now work normally.

 

For advanced users, in Adobe, in the Edit menu, under Preferences, the updated settings should include:

From the Standalone Reader:

These instructions are for reading a saved tax return, outside of the browser.

If you are working on a return (eForms PDF file) that has been previously saved, please note the steps the prompt in Adobe will ask if you trust the document. 

When attempting to open a PDF eForm using Adobe Reader 9.3 (or above), you may receive the following error (warning message):

You can still open the return and submit a tax return using eForms by performing the following steps:

1. Click the OK button on the message.
2. A yellow bar will appear at the top of the page as shown below.  Simply click “Options” on the right-hand side of the yellow bar, then click “Trust this document always” (note: this action only needs to be performed once).
3. The form will then open and enable you to continue filing your return.

 

Under “Options,” choose “Trust this document always”

 

The save prompt dialog appears:

 

Whether or not you save the form, it will be reloaded.

The form reopens and works properly: