State Resources
Oregon
Oregon’s statewide court search is a paid subscription. The business search is free and unusually good, and the Public Records Advocate gives you somewhere to go that most states don’t have.
At a glance
| Record | Held by | Cost | Online |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business and entity search | Secretary of State — Corporation Division | Free to search | Yes |
| UCC filings | Secretary of State — UCC | Free to search | Yes |
| Professional licenses | Individual boards; CCB for construction | Free | By board |
| Property and land records | County clerk and county assessor | Free online in most counties | By county |
| Court records | Oregon Judicial Department — OJCIN OnLine | Subscription; free at courthouse terminals | Paid only |
| Criminal records | Oregon State Police | Fee per name | Yes |
| Vital records | Oregon Health Authority, Center for Health Statistics | Certified copies carry a fee | Yes |
| Unclaimed property | Department of State Lands | Free | Yes |
| Voter and resident records | Secretary of State | Free | Yes |
Worth knowing about Oregon
OJCIN is paid; the free routes are narrower than you want
Oregon eCourt covers every circuit court in the state, and remote access to it runs through OJCIN OnLine — a subscription service with a monthly fee. It’s the official route and it isn’t free.
What is free:
- Courthouse terminals in every circuit court.
- Oregon Judicial Case Information Network access through some public libraries, which subscribe on behalf of patrons.
- The clerk, who will run a name search on request.
Appellate opinions and the appellate docket are published free, which is a useful side door: if a case was appealed, the appellate record names the parties, the circuit court and the case number below.
Oregon has a Public Records Advocate
Most states give you a choice between accepting a denial and hiring a lawyer. Oregon created an office in between.
The Public Records Advocate is an independent state official who mediates disputes between requesters and agencies, at no cost. It’s voluntary rather than binding, but it puts a neutral party in the room and it resolves a great many disputes that would otherwise sit.
The formal appeal route runs through the district attorney for county and local records, or the Attorney General for state agencies. Both issue orders. That’s a genuinely strong structure — a prosecutor can order a city to hand over records, and it costs you nothing to ask.
Oregon also sets a real clock: agencies must acknowledge within five business days and respond substantively within fifteen.
Record by record
Business and entity search
Open business search →- Held by
- Secretary of State — Corporation Division
- Cost
- Free to search
Free and unusually good. Search by entity name, registry number, registered agent or associated name — which returns every Oregon entity a named person is connected to.
Oregon requires an annual report, and filings are viewable free. The associated name search is the one to reach for on an asset case.
UCC filings
Open UCC search →- Held by
- Secretary of State — UCC
- Cost
- Free to search
Free UCC search by debtor or secured party. A UCC-1 names the debtor, the secured party and the collateral, and the secured party is usually a lender.
Searching the secured party side returns every Oregon business a given lender has financed, which is a fast way to map who banks where.
Professional licenses
- Held by
- Individual boards; CCB for construction
- Cost
- Free
No single statewide lookup. The one worth knowing is the Construction Contractors Board, which publishes license status, bond and insurance details, and complaint history free.
That complaint history is genuinely useful — it’s a public record of disputes that never became lawsuits.
Property and land records
- Held by
- County clerk and county assessor
- Cost
- Free online in most counties
No statewide property search. The county clerk records documents and the assessor holds ownership and value across 36 counties.
Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas cover the Portland metro and are the deepest online. Oregon’s land use system also means a lot of rural property carries zoning restrictions that affect value in ways an assessed figure won’t show.
Court records
Open OJCIN OnLine →- Held by
- Oregon Judicial Department — OJCIN OnLine
- Cost
- Subscription; free at courthouse terminals
Statewide circuit court records through a paid subscription. Free at courthouse terminals and through some public libraries.
Oregon consolidated municipal and justice courts less than most states, so the circuit courts carry the great majority of the work — there’s less of a hidden lower tier here than in Ohio or Nevada.
Criminal records
Open Oregon State Police →- Held by
- Oregon State Police
- Cost
- Fee per name
Oregon State Police provide criminal history checks to the public. The open-record version returns conviction data, and arrests less than one year old where no disposition has been entered.
The subject is notified when a member of the public requests their record, which is worth knowing before you run one. That notification requirement is unusual and it means the search isn’t discreet.
Vital records
Open vital records →- Held by
- Oregon Health Authority, Center for Health Statistics
- Cost
- Certified copies carry a fee
Births, deaths, marriages and divorces from the state office, with county offices also issuing. Oregon restricts certified copies to people with a direct interest.
Unclaimed property
Open unclaimed property →- Held by
- Department of State Lands
- Cost
- Free
Free name search. Note the agency — Oregon runs unclaimed property through the Department of State Lands rather than a treasurer, so older guides send you to the wrong place.
The holder named on a reported item is a confirmed bank, insurer or employer relationship with a last known address.
Voter and resident records
Open voter search →- Held by
- Secretary of State
- Cost
- Free
Individual registration lookup. Oregon has automatic voter registration through the DMV, so registration coverage is unusually high — which makes an absent record more meaningful here than in most states.
Public records requests in Oregon
- Statute
- Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 192.311 et seq. (Public Records Law)
- Response deadline
- Five business days to acknowledge, fifteen to respond
- Appeal to
- District attorney or Attorney General; Public Records Advocate mediates
- Appeal window
- No fixed deadline
Five business days to acknowledge and fifteen to complete the response. Both are in the statute, and an agency that misses them without explanation is in violation.
Appeals go to the district attorney for local records and the Attorney General for state agencies. Both can order disclosure. Free.
The Public Records Advocate mediates disputes at no cost and is worth using before the formal route, particularly where the argument is about fees or scope rather than a flat refusal.
No residency requirement and no purpose requirement. Fee waivers are available in the public interest.
What Oregon will not give you
- A free statewide court search. OJCIN is a paid subscription. Courthouse terminals and some libraries are free.
- Discreet criminal history checks. Oregon notifies the subject when the public requests their record.
- Driver and vehicle records. Closed under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act.
- Expunged records. Oregon set-aside removes the record from the public index.
- Juvenile records. Not public.
Course
The Ultimate FOIA and Public Records Course
Every state page here tells you what the law says. The course shows you how to write the request, what to do when it comes back gutted, and how to appeal without a lawyer — the part that decides whether you actually get the records.
See the FOIA courseRelated
- Washington — free courts and an $11 criminal history
- Idaho — free statewide portal to the east
- Utah — the other paid-search state
- UCC filings name the lender
- Appealing a public records denial
Fees and procedures verified August 2026. Clerks change their counter rules more often than the statutes change — call before you drive.