Oregon starts from the rule in ORS 181A.220 that criminal history record information is confidential and exempt from public inspection unless a statute opens it, and then opens a narrow window. The Criminal Justice Information Services Division of the Oregon State Police is the central repository, and under ORS 181A.245 it will run a name based search of the computerized criminal history file for any person or agency outside the criminal justice system, calling the product an open record request. The second window is the copy of your own record, which is fingerprint based and goes to nobody but you.
What the open record returns is deliberately partial. The law provides any Oregon record of conviction and any Oregon record of an arrest less than one year old in which no acquittal or dismissal has been reported, with the arrest date, offense, agency, court of origin and disposition including sentence, parole date and revocations. If the only history is non conviction data, the requester is told the person has no criminal record and nothing more. For the county jails and courts where the arrest itself was recorded, see the Oregon county pages.
- $33 and a letter: the open record fee per name, with the State Police required to notify the subject who is asking and to wait 14 days for a challenge before sending a record.
- One year: an arrest with no acquittal or dismissal is reported only while it is less than a year old; older non conviction history is never released to the public.
- $33 for your own: the fingerprint based copy of own record, mailed only to the requester, with a $30 print session and a $5 notarization available in Salem.
- No filing fee: a motion to set aside an arrest, charge or conviction under ORS 137.225 is exempt from the court filing fee, and a dropped arrest can be set aside 60 days after the prosecutor declines.
Written by SearchSystems.net from Oregon's own systems: the Oregon State Police criminal history record checks page, the request form for Oregon criminal history on another individual, the Oregon State Police open records portal, the Oregon Judicial Department records and calendar search page, the Oregon Judicial Department online records search questions, the Oregon Judicial Department public records request page, the OJCIN OnLine subscription page, ORS chapter 137, including section 137.225 on setting aside a conviction or record of charge, the Oregon Department of Corrections offender search, the Department of Corrections public records center, each read on October 15, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
Ordering a record on someone else
The request goes on the open record form or through the online portal, and must carry the subject's full name, date of birth, social security number if known, and a current or last known mailing address, without which the State Police cannot proceed, because that address is where the notice goes. The requester's name and address are required as well, and the $33 is non refundable. An employer must state on the form whether the applicant was told in person or by phone or letter, since Oregon law requires an employer to advise an employee or prospective employee before asking.
If a reportable record exists, the requester is told that the 14 day waiting period has begun. The subject receives notice of who is asking and may challenge the accuracy of the record; if no challenge arrives within 14 days of that notice, the response is sent. Responses with record information travel only by mail, a mailed request is answered by mail and an online one online, and businesses that ask often can open a billing account that is for submitting requests only, never for viewing records online.
The portal purges accounts inactive for two years and completed requests two years after completion. The Oregon background check guide covers the fingerprint based checks that licensing boards and care agencies use instead.
A copy of your own record
A person who wants their complete Oregon record, including the non conviction history the open record leaves out, sends the State Police the copy of own record form, a fingerprint card and $33, to the CJIS Division at P.O. Box 4395, Portland, OR 97208-4395, or by certified mail to the Salem street address. The prints must be properly rolled on the blue FD-258 applicant card with all ten fingers, both thumbs and the flat impressions, and the card must show name, birth date and place, gender, race, the applicant's signature and the signature of the person who took the prints.
Prints cannot be sent electronically, and prints already on file from an arrest or a job application cannot be reused. The State Police take prints at the Salem headquarters at 3565 Trelstad Avenue SE, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., first come first served, for $30.
Processing takes seven to ten business days before mailing, requests are worked in order with no expediting, and the only way to speed delivery is to supply a prepaid courier shipper. Results go to the requester alone, not to an attorney, family member, friend or employer. A no record answer states that a search of the master fingerprint file found no Oregon criminal record. For an apostille the document must be notarized by the State Police, at $5, before it goes to the Secretary of State, and a person who missed that step can leave the papers in Salem for redrafting.
Payment by mail is check or money order; in person the office takes Visa and MasterCard and will not accept $50 or $100 bills.
What the courts show, and what they refuse to be used for
The Oregon Judicial Department offers a free online records search for the circuit courts, the Tax Court and the appellate courts, with basic case information, party names, events and dispositions. The department's own questions sheet says the display is not the official register under ORS 7.020 and that individuals should not use the system for background checks or other purposes needing fuller identity information, since party details are limited to first and last name and no documents are available.
Adoption, juvenile, mental health and Violence Against Women Act cases are withheld. Fuller access comes at a courthouse kiosk or through OJCIN OnLine, the paid subscription that covers the register of actions and judgment records for every court, which not everyone qualifies to join.
A written request for a case file goes to the trial court administrator of the circuit court that holds it, with copies at $0.25 a page including ten minutes of staff time, $5 for a certified copy, and an estimate required before any job over $25, as the public records page sets out. The Oregon court records guide covers the 36 circuit courts.
Setting aside an arrest or conviction without a filing fee
ORS 137.225 is Oregon's expungement statute, and it reaches arrests that never became cases. When no accusatory instrument is filed, a person may apply to the court in the county of arrest for an order setting aside the record of the arrest, citation or charge at any time after 60 days from the date the prosecutor indicates the state will not proceed. After an acquittal or any other dismissal the motion can be filed at once. For convictions the wait runs from the conviction or release, whichever is later: one year for a Class B or C misdemeanor, a violation or an ordinary contempt finding, three years for a Class A misdemeanor, five for a Class C felony, and seven for a Class B felony, with person felonies and some others excluded, and a revoked probation adding a three year bar.
The person pays no court filing fee under ORS 21.135. The motion is served on the prosecutor, who has 120 days to object to a conviction motion and must send the victim a copy and the hearing date; the person sends a full set of fingerprints to the State Police and pays the department a fee limited to the cost of a criminal record check, one fee however many counties are involved. A motion to set aside an arrest or a dismissal, or an unopposed conviction motion, must be granted.
On an objection the court holds a hearing and grants the order unless it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person's behavior since the conviction creates a risk to public safety. Once entered, the order seals the records of arrest, citation and charge, the person is deemed never to have been arrested or convicted, and the clerk sends a certified copy to the Department of Corrections for any conviction.
State custody and Department of Corrections records
The Department of Corrections Oregon Offender Search lists people in state custody and under its supervision, with a disclaimer that the information is updated periodically and should not be used as an official record by any agency. An official or certified copy of an offender record, or a pen pack with face sheets, photo and court orders, is ordered through the department's public records center, which no longer accepts email requests, asks for the adult in custody's state identification number, estimates fees before filling a request, charges clerical time at $25 an hour, managerial at $40 and professional at $75, and takes money orders, cashier's checks and business checks but no personal checks. The Oregon inmate search guide covers that search and the county jails.
What a county sheriff holds versus the State Police file
The State Police hold the fingerprint based history and run the open record service, but the arrest report, the booking record and the jail photograph belong to the sheriff or police agency that made the arrest, and the court of origin holds the case file that the open record names. A county sheriff's jail roster shows custody now; the State Police record shows fingerprinted history. The 14 day notice means a sheriff's record can be read the same afternoon while a State Police response waits for the subject's chance to object.
For a person being sought, the sheriff and the issuing court are the sources, covered in Oregon wants and warrants, and the Oregon criminal records guide sets out the full map of offices.
Questions about Oregon arrest records
Related Oregon records
Oregon readers can continue with the Oregon background check guide for fingerprint based licensing checks, Oregon court records for the circuit courts and OJCIN, Oregon inmate search for state and county custody, the Oregon sex offender registry guide, the Oregon public records law guide, and the Oregon county pages for every sheriff and trial court.