Its primary feature is a circular coat of arms that depicts a sunrise in Chillicothe, Ohio's first capital, along with symbols of the state's origins.

Except for a brief period during the 1860s, the layout and details were left largely unregulated until a standardized coat of arms, based on the original design, was introduced in 1967.

[6] The seal bears a Latin inscription, Meliorem lapsa locavit, "He has planted one better than the one fallen," commemorating the decline of wilderness to make way for civilization.

[10] However, most historians regard the story to be apocryphal, noting that the sun, mountains, and agricultural implements were common in seals of that era.

The physical seal of 1803 followed the adopted design loosely: from behind a full mountain range rose a sun with eyes.

[17] On April 6, 1866, a Republican General Assembly responded, calling for an elaborate coat of arms: That the coat of arms of the state of Ohio shall consist of the following device: A shield, upon which shall be engraved on the left, in the foreground, a bundle of 17 arrows; to the right of the arrows, a sheaf of wheat; both standing erect; in the background, and rising above the sheaf and arrows, a range of mountains and the arrows and sheaf, in the left foreground, a river shall be represented flowing toward the right foreground; supporting the shield, on the right, shall be the figure of a farmer, with implements of agriculture, and sheafs of wheat standing erect and recumbent; and in the distance, a locomotive and train of cars; supporting the shield, on the left, shall be the figure of a smith with anvil and hammer; and in the distance, water, with a steamboat; at the bottom of the shield there shall be a motto, in these words: "Imperium in Imperio.

[5] Governor Jacob Dolson Cox issued a proclamation on November 5, 1866, that describes and bears the seal adopted that year.

[18][22] Moreover, the increased size, intricate design, and additional seals more than exhausted the $1,000 that had been appropriated to the Secretary of State (equivalent to $16,346 in 2023).

On May 9, 1868, a newly elected Democratic General Assembly reverted to the 1803 coat of arms and formalized the depiction of a mountain range, present since Creighton's seal.

To the dismay of one historian, the Governor, Secretary of State, and Supreme Court all continued to seal documents with the 1866 device into the 1880s.

Cincinnati-based interior decorator Robert Greiwe had been commissioned to paint the Great Seal on the dropped ceiling of the Ohio Statehouse rotunda.

A reference image was for the first time included in the statute:[13][28][29][30] The coat of arms of the state shall consist of the following device: a circular shield; in the right foreground of the shield a full sheaf of wheat bound and standing erect; in the left foreground, a cluster of seventeen arrows bound in the center and resembling in form the sheaf of wheat; in the background, a representation of Mount Logan, Ross county, as viewed from Adena state memorial; over the mount, a rising sun three-quarters exposed and radiating seventeen rays, the exterior extremities of which form a semicircle; and uniting the background and foreground, a representation of the Scioto river and cultivated fields.

[13] The latest modification, adopted November 20, 1996, reduced the number of rays from 17 to 13, "to represent the thirteen original colonies shining over the first state in the northwest territory".

It also specifies the exact wording of the text surrounding the coat of arms of various courts and statewide elected offices.

Various state agencies, such as the Departments of Transportation[28] and Veterans Services, along with many cities, have developed more distinctive emblems and logos to complement their seals.