State Is Requiring Documents From Sealed Records, Court Says It Is Impossible To Obtain

Location: Ohio

So my wife and I are getting licensed for adoption, but my fingerprinting came back with a conviction from 2007 that was sealed in 2012 (I expected this as background checks for fostering can see these even though the record was sealed). The conviction does not exclude me from being licensed.

Because it showed up, the state is requiring “proof that rehabilitation standards have been met”. I have the sealing order, which I sent them a copy, but I am told that is not good enough and apparently I need a record of my probation having been completed.

I spent a few hours calling different numbers for the court, none of which were helpful. Eventually I got to the court registrar (? Or something like that... whoever actually keeps the records). They told me it is absolutely impossible to get any records pertaining to the case because of the sealing order. This is the same story I got when the record was sealed back in 2012, with the court basically saying the letter they gave me is the only one I could ever get and if I lost it I was SOL in proving it was sealed (I remember that clearly which is why I have always kept that letter in a safe place).

Unfortunately this puts me in a difficult situation, with the state saying I need to produce records that the court is saying are impossible to produce. However, I did look up ORC 2953.34, which says inspection of the sealed records is possible by the person who is the subject of the records, i.e. me.

Was the court incorrect in telling me getting these records is not possible or am I misinterpreting the laws around pulling those records?