Oregon Eviction Record Sealing: How to Clear Your Rental History

An eviction on your record follows you. Every rental application, every tenant screening report, every time a landlord runs your name through a database — the eviction shows up. Even if it happened years ago. Even if you paid everything you owed. Even if it was dismissed in your favor.

Tenant screening companies do not distinguish between an eviction where you lost and one where the landlord dropped the case. They report the filing. And for most landlords using automated screening, a filing is a rejection.

Oregon changed this. In 2019, the legislature passed SB 484, creating a petition-based process for sealing eviction records under ORS 105.163. Then in 2023, SB 799 added automatic court-initiated sealing under ORS 105.164. Together, these two laws give Oregon tenants a real path to clearing their rental history.

This guide explains both pathways — who may qualify, what it costs (nothing to file), and what the process looks like step by step.

Two Paths to Sealing an Eviction Record in Oregon

Oregon has two separate mechanisms for sealing eviction records. They work differently and apply to different situations.

Path 1: Petition-based sealing (ORS 105.163)

This is the path where you take action. You file a petition with the circuit court asking the court to seal your eviction record. This has been available since 2019 when SB 484 was enacted.

Path 2: Automatic court-initiated sealing (ORS 105.164)

This is the path where the court acts on its own. Under SB 799 (effective 2023), Oregon courts are required to annually review eviction records and automatically seal cases that meet certain criteria — primarily judgments that are five or more years old where any money award has been satisfied or expired.

If your eviction is older than five years and any money judgment has been satisfied, it may have already been sealed automatically under ORS 105.164. Check with the court clerk in the county where the case was filed before you go through the petition process.

Who May Qualify for Petition-Based Sealing

Under ORS 105.163, several categories of eviction records are generally eligible for sealing by petition. The specific eligibility depends on the outcome of your case and how much time has passed.

Cases that are generally NOT eligible

Oregon law excludes certain eviction cases from sealing. Per ORS 105.163(3), cases involving the following are generally not eligible:

What It Costs: $0 Filing Fee

Oregon does not charge a filing fee for eviction record sealing petitions. This is written directly into ORS 105.163(3): “No filing fee, service fee or hearing fee may be charged for a petition filed under this section.”

The total out-of-pocket cost for most people is zero. If you need copies of court documents, some counties charge a small fee for copies (typically $5 to $25), but the filing itself is free.

Compare this to criminal record expungement in most states, where filing fees range from $100 to $400. Oregon's decision to eliminate fees for eviction sealing reflects the legislature's recognition that the people who need this relief are often the people least able to afford court costs.

How to File: Step by Step

The 30-Day Landlord Objection Window

After you file your petition, the court serves a copy on the landlord (or the landlord's attorney). The landlord has 30 days to file an objection (per ORS 105.163(5)).

If the landlord does not object within 30 days, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. In practice, most landlords do not object — especially for older cases where the tenancy ended years ago.

If the landlord does object, the court schedules a hearing. At the hearing, the court considers whether sealing serves the interests of justice. The landlord must show “good cause” why the record should remain public.

Automatic Sealing Under ORS 105.164

SB 799, enacted in 2023, created a second pathway that requires no action from you. Under ORS 105.164, Oregon courts are required to conduct an annual review of all residential eviction cases and automatically seal those that meet the criteria.

The automatic sealing provision is significant because it does not require the tenant to know about the law, hire an attorney, or even be aware that an eviction is on their record. The court handles it.

However, automatic sealing only covers cases that meet the five-year threshold. If your eviction is more recent, or if the money judgment has not yet been satisfied, the petition-based process under ORS 105.163 may still be available depending on your specific circumstances — particularly for COVID-era judgments, dismissals, or completed stipulated agreements.

What Happens After Your Record Is Sealed

When the court grants a sealing order — whether by petition or automatically — the eviction case is sealed from public view. Here is what that means in practice:

The practical effect is significant. When a landlord runs a background check through a tenant screening service, the sealed eviction should not appear. The automated rejection that has been blocking your housing applications goes away.

The Screening Company Problem

There is an important gap between a court order and the real world. Even after your record is sealed, some tenant screening companies may continue to report the old eviction filing for a period of time. This happens because private screening companies pull data from multiple sources, and their databases do not always update immediately when a court seals a record.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), tenant screening companies are required to maintain accurate records and to remove information that is no longer reportable. If a sealed eviction continues to appear on a tenant screening report after the court has sealed it, you have the right to dispute the entry directly with the screening company.

We cover this problem in detail in our article on whether a sealed eviction can show up on a background check.

Free Legal Help in Oregon

Oregon Tenant Protections: The Bigger Picture

Eviction record sealing is part of a broader set of tenant protections Oregon has enacted in recent years. Understanding the full picture can help you know your rights.

SB 873, in particular, changed the landscape for Oregon renters. Even before your eviction record is sealed, Oregon landlords are now required to conduct individualized assessments when considering rental applicants with eviction histories. Blanket policies that automatically reject anyone with an eviction filing are no longer permitted under Oregon law.

That said, sealing the record is still the strongest protection. An individualized assessment still means the landlord sees the eviction. A sealed record means they do not.

Oregon has built one of the more tenant-friendly eviction sealing frameworks in the country. The combination of petition-based sealing, automatic court-initiated sealing, and no filing fees means that clearing an old eviction record is genuinely accessible.

If you have an eviction on your record and you are struggling to find housing, this is worth pursuing. The process is straightforward. The cost is zero. And the effect on your rental applications can be immediate.

Start by calling the circuit court clerk in the county where your eviction was filed. Ask whether your case has already been sealed under ORS 105.164. If it has not, ask about filing a petition under ORS 105.163. Many clerks can walk you through the process or point you to the right form.

If you also have a criminal record that is affecting your housing search, Oregon's criminal record expungement process may help. Our Oregon expungement guide covers that process in detail.