How to Find Oregon Court Records (2026)

In person. Go to the Circuit Court records office (often called the Records Department) in the county where the case was filed. Public access terminals let you search the court index yourself at no charge, and staff can help locate a file if you have a case number or the party names and approximate year. Copies are paid at the counter.

Online. Start with the free OJD Online Records Search for basic case information and calendars. It covers every circuit court, the Tax Court, and the appellate courts, but it only shows summary information and leaves out adoption, juvenile, mental-health, and VAWA-protected cases entirely. For the complete register of actions, or for high-volume searching, an OJCIN Online subscription is required.

By mail. Most circuit courts post a records request form. Typical information to include:

• the case number, or the full names of the parties and the approximate filing year;
• exactly which documents you need;
• whether you need plain, certified ($5 plus per-page charges), or exemplified ($10 plus per-page charges) copies; and
• payment, or a request for a cost estimate first (courts generally must give you one before proceeding if the cost looks like it will exceed $25).

Turnaround varies by county and whether the file must be pulled from storage.

Records not yet online. Circuit courts vary in how far back their electronic case index goes. Older paper files may require an in-person request or a mailed request describing the case as specifically as possible.

Oregon court records are open to the public unless a specific statute, court rule, or judge's order restricts them. Categories that will not show up in a routine search include:

• Set-aside (expunged) convictions and arrests. Under ORS 137.225, a person may ask the circuit court that handled the case to set aside a conviction, an arrest, or in some cases a citation, once the statutory waiting period has passed (one to five years depending on the offense) and other eligibility rules are met. Motions to set aside are filed at no fee. Once granted, the record is sealed from public view, including from the free online search and the Oregon State Police criminal history search, and the arrest or conviction is treated in law as if it never occurred.
• Juvenile records. Juvenile dependency and delinquency case records are confidential under ORS chapter 419A, with separate expunction procedures (ORS 419A.260-419A.262) for many juvenile records once a person reaches adulthood.
• Adoption records. Adoption case files are sealed by statute (ORS 109.289) and can be inspected only by court order or under narrow statutory exceptions.
• Mental health and certain protective-proceeding records. Civil commitment and related mental health case records, and some guardianship/conservatorship financial details, are restricted by statute and court rule.
• Cases covered by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and similar protections. OJD excludes these from its online search regardless of the underlying case type.

Court filings also routinely have personal identifiers (Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, minors' names) redacted under the Uniform Trial Court Rules, chapter 2 (UTCR 2.100-2.130), before they are made public, and a party can move to redact or segregate other confidential material for a fee set by the circuit court fee schedule.