Oregon Expungement: The Complete 2026 Guide

Oregon's current misdemeanor waiting periods are much shorter than they used to be. As of July 2023, many Class B and C misdemeanors now use a 1 year wait. That means some people who checked eligibility under the older rules should look again. This guide covers who qualifies, how long the current waits are, and how the filing process works in plain language.

What changed in 2023 — and why it matters

Oregon House Bill 2417 took effect on July 1, 2023. It made two significant changes to Oregon's expungement law, which Oregon officially calls a motion to set aside under ORS 137.225.

First, the current waiting period for Class B and C misdemeanors is 1 year. That is substantially shorter than Oregon's pre-2023 rule.

Second, HB 2417 added new categories of offenses that can now be set aside — including some offenses that previously had no path to expungement. The legislature also clarified the rules around arrests that did not result in convictions.

If you were told "no" before July 2023, that answer may no longer be accurate. The law changed. It is worth checking again.

Who qualifies — and who does not

Oregon's eligibility rules are specific. The type of charge matters. The class of the offense matters. And certain categories are completely excluded no matter how much time has passed.

How long do you have to wait

This is the part people get wrong most often. Oregon measures the waiting-period clock from the completion point specified for the relief path, not just from the arrest date. For conviction cases, pay close attention to the supervision-completion notes in the table below. For no-charge arrests and dismissals, use the separate path-specific rules shown in the cards underneath the table.

What "set aside" actually means in Oregon

Oregon uses the term "set aside" rather than "expungement," but in practice the effect most people care about is that the record is no longer treated like an open public record in the ordinary way.

In most ordinary job and housing situations, the point of a set aside is that the old case stops functioning like an open conviction record. But some regulated contexts still use different disclosure rules, which is why the limits matter just as much as the relief.

What it does not do

A set aside in Oregon has real limits. It is important to understand them so you are not caught off guard later.

The filing process, step by step

Most people file their Oregon set-aside petition without a lawyer. It takes preparation, but the process is designed for people to navigate on their own. Here is exactly what you do.

The two numbers most people care about once they start filing are the statewide court filing fee of $0 and the conviction-motion prosecutor window of 120 days. For conviction petitions, the Oregon State Police fee is $33; arrest-only motions still require fingerprints but not that OSP fee.

What to gather before you go to the courthouse

Fees

Oregon's court filing fee for set-aside motions is $0. Under Oregon's current rules, there is no court filing fee to file a motion to set aside a conviction or arrest record.

The main government fee that remains is the $33 fingerprint-based background check fee paid to the Oregon State Police if your motion involves setting aside a conviction. This fee covers the cost of the criminal history check required by the court. A fingerprint card is still required for all set-aside motions, but the OSP fee applies only to conviction set-asides.

Fee waivers are available for the OSP fee for people who qualify based on income. Ask the court clerk for the fee waiver form before you pay.

Free legal help

You do not need a lawyer to file an Oregon set-aside petition. But if your case is complicated — multiple convictions, a DA objection, an offense you are not sure qualifies, or a situation involving immigration — legal help matters. Oregon has strong free resources.

After the order is signed

When the judge signs your set-aside order, the court sends a copy to the Oregon State Police. OSP then updates its records on its own processing timeline. Once that update lands, your case will no longer appear on Oregon's official criminal history database.

Keep multiple certified copies of the signed order. You will want them on hand because private background check companies — the ones employers and landlords often use — can be slow to update. If a company still shows your record after the court and OSP have already refreshed their own systems, send a certified copy of the order in writing and demand removal. If they refuse or delay further, contact the Oregon Attorney General's office.

For most everyday job and rental applications, this is the practical point of the order: the old case stops functioning like an open conviction record. There are still narrower contexts where disclosure questions are different, especially in federal and heavily regulated settings, so keep the signed order and do not assume every screening system updates at once.

A few things worth knowing

Oregon's set-aside law leaves room for judicial discretion. Meeting the checklist is critical, but it does not turn the order into an automatic rubber stamp in every case.

If your petition is denied, ask the court or a lawyer what the next filing window is for your case. A denial is not always the end of the road, and using that time to tighten up the record you present can make a real difference the next time around.

Finally, if you were convicted of multiple offenses, each charge must be eligible on its own. You cannot bundle an eligible charge together with an ineligible one and expect both to get set aside. The motion covers each count separately. The court will address each charge individually.

Oregon expanded access to expungement in 2023 because the legislature recognized that records follow people far longer than sentences do. The process takes some paperwork and time, but it is genuinely navigable. Tens of thousands of Oregonians have done it. This guide exists to make that path a little clearer.