Oregon Public Records Law: How to Request Public Records

Oregon's public records law, ORS 192.311 to 192.478, is the statute governing access to records held by Oregon state agencies, counties, cities, school districts and other public bodies. Oregonians usually just call it "the public records law," and requests are commonly called public records requests rather than FOIA requests.

Two features shape how an Oregon request actually plays out. The deadline structure separates acknowledgment from completion, which makes the frequently quoted "5 days" misleading if you read it as a delivery date. And the appeal route runs through the Attorney General or a county district attorney by petition, which is unusually cheap and does not require a lawsuit.

For the rest of the country, see the public records laws by state hub.

Who can request Oregon public records?

Anyone. ORS 192.314(1) states the right plainly:

"Every person has a right to inspect any public record of a public body in this state."

The statute's definition of a requester is broad, covering a natural person, corporation, partnership, firm or association, as well as a member or committee of the Legislative Assembly. There is no Oregon residency requirement and no citizenship condition, which distinguishes Oregon from resident-only states like Tennessee and Virginia.

You also do not have to explain your purpose to establish the right of access. Purpose can become relevant to a fee waiver argument, because the waiver provision turns on the public interest, so it is worth volunteering when you are asking for records to be provided free.

Oregon's two stage deadline

This is the part people get wrong, so it is worth separating carefully.

Stage one: acknowledgment, 5 business days. Under ORS 192.324(2), a public body must acknowledge receipt within five business days where the written request is received by an individual named in the body's published records request procedure, the list of request contacts each body must publish under ORS 192.324(7)(a). Sending your request to the named contact is what starts this clock. Acknowledgment means confirming the request arrived and indicating whether the body holds responsive records. It does not mean handing anything over.

Stage two: completion, 10 business days after that. Under ORS 192.329(5), as soon as reasonably possible and no later than 10 business days after the acknowledgment deadline, the body must either complete its response or provide a written statement that it is still processing the request together with a reasonable estimated completion date.

The statute's structure describes a staged response rather than a guaranteed delivery date for every record. A large or complex request can run past the second marker where the body is working through it and communicating, and the framework contains circumstances that suspend the clock, for example while a fee estimate is outstanding and the requester has not confirmed they want to proceed.

The bigger qualification is ORS 192.329(6), which provides that the time periods in ORS 192.324 and ORS 192.329(5) do not apply at all if compliance would be impracticable because the staff or volunteers necessary to respond are unavailable, because compliance would demonstrably impede the body's ability to perform other necessary services, or because of the volume of requests being processed simultaneously. ORS 192.329(7) counts staff who are on leave or not scheduled to work as unavailable, which is a wide opening. It is not a licence to ignore the request: ORS 192.329(8) still requires a body relying on that provision to acknowledge and respond as soon as practicable and without unreasonable delay.

The practical use of this structure is precision in your follow up. "You have not acknowledged this request and it has been eight business days" cites a specific, short, dated obligation, and it puts the body to a choice: acknowledge, or say in writing that it is relying on the impracticability provision and why. "You have not sent the records yet" invites an argument about reasonableness.

Fees and waivers in Oregon

Oregon's fee standard is reimbursement of actual costs, not profit. Fees must be reasonably calculated to reimburse the body for its actual cost in making the records available, and Oregon expressly allows recovery of the cost of summarizing, compiling or tailoring records to the request.

The 25 dollar estimate rule. A public body cannot charge more than 25 dollars without first providing a written notice of the estimated fee and getting the requester's confirmation that they want the body to proceed. This is the most useful cost control in the statute. It means an ordinary Oregon request should not produce a surprise bill above 25 dollars, and if one arrives, the estimate requirement is the thing to point at.

Two categories sit outside that rule. ORS 192.324(4)(d) provides that the estimate requirement, and the actual cost standard with it, does not govern records filed with the Secretary of State under ORS chapter 79A or ORS 81.230 to 81.263, where the fees are the ones the Secretary of State sets by rule, or records of a county clerk, where fees are set under ORS 205.320. If you are pulling UCC filings or county clerk records, expect a published fee schedule rather than the 25 dollar estimate process.

The waiver. ORS 192.324(5) provides that a custodian may furnish records without charge or at a reduced charge if the custodian determines that the public interest would be served by doing so. Unlike states where a waiver exists only as a court's power, this one is exercisable by the custodian at the point of the request.

Ask for it in the request itself, and give reasons rather than an assertion. Explain what you intend to do with the records and who benefits. A waiver request that says "this is in the public interest" without saying why is easy to decline.

Cost control beyond the waiver: ask to inspect rather than copy where you only need to read, ask for records in the electronic format the body already keeps them in, and narrow the date range, since summarizing and compiling time is chargeable.

How to file an Oregon public records request

There is no single statewide portal, though several large Oregon jurisdictions run their own online records request systems and the state's larger agencies publish records request contacts.

1. Send it to the public body that holds the records. Oregon agencies typically have a designated public records officer or request coordinator.
2. Check whether the body has an online portal. Portland, Multnomah County and several state agencies use request tracking systems that give you a reference number and a visible status.
3. Put it in writing. The 5 business day acknowledgment obligation applies to written requests, and writing is what fixes the date.
4. Describe the records with a date range and a custodian where you can. Chargeable time includes compiling, so specificity lowers the bill.
5. Ask for a fee estimate up front, and remember that anything over 25 dollars requires a written estimate and your approval anyway.
6. Ask for a public interest fee waiver in the same letter if it applies, citing ORS 192.324(5) and giving reasons.
7. Diary two dates: five business days for acknowledgment, and ten business days beyond that for completion.

Our free public records request generator builds a written Oregon request with the correct citations. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Denials and appeals: the petition route

Oregon's appeal mechanism is one of its better features, because it does not require filing a lawsuit.

For records held by a state agency, a denied requester petitions the Attorney General under ORS 192.411. The Attorney General reviews the denial and can order the record disclosed.

For records held by any other public body, meaning counties, cities, school districts, special districts and the rest, the petition goes to the district attorney for the county where the public body is located, under ORS 192.415.

Judicial review follows if the petition route does not resolve matters, and the fee shift is stronger than a discretionary one. ORS 192.431(3) provides that if a person seeking the right to inspect or receive a copy of a public record prevails in the suit, the person shall be awarded costs and disbursements and reasonable attorney fees at trial and on appeal. Only a partial win drops to the court's discretion. That mandatory award on a full win is what makes an individual case viable.

Two practical notes. Petition, not complaint: this is a formal written request for review that sets out the record sought, the denial received, and why you say the record is public, so attach the request and the denial. And get the denial in writing with its exemption cited before petitioning, since the petition is essentially an argument about whether the cited exemption applies.

For records outside the public records law, use the right system. Oregon death certificates run through the state's vital records program with eligibility limits, covered in Oregon death records, and deeds sit with the county clerk, covered in Oregon property records.

Police records and body camera video

Oregon's specific treatment of law enforcement body camera recordings was not independently verified for this page, so this section gives you a method rather than a rule.

Ask the law enforcement agency in writing which exemption it applies to the recording, and require a written denial that cites the provision. Oregon's exemption structure includes categories for investigatory information and for information whose disclosure would harm the public interest, and those are the provisions a denial will normally rest on. Once you have the citation, the Attorney General or district attorney petition route above is inexpensive and is the natural place to test it.

Emergency call audio raises separate questions covered generally in are 911 calls public records.

This article is general legal information about Oregon law as of August 2026, not legal advice. The statutory provisions summarized here were read from the Oregon State Legislature's official publication of ORS Chapter 192. Oregon's treatment of law enforcement body camera recordings was not independently verified for this page. For advice about your own situation, speak with a lawyer licensed in Oregon.

For deadlines, fees, and appeal routes in the other fifty jurisdictions, start at our public records laws by state hub. For records held by a federal agency, see how to file a FOIA request.

Frequently Asked Questions

How fast does Oregon have to respond to a public records request?

Two stages. Under ORS 192.324(2) a public body must acknowledge receipt within five business days, which means confirming the request arrived and indicating whether it holds responsive records. Under ORS 192.329(5) it must then complete its response as soon as reasonably possible and no later than 10 business days after the acknowledgment deadline. The five day figure is an acknowledgment deadline, not a delivery date. Both periods are subject to ORS 192.329(6), which switches them off where compliance would be impracticable because necessary staff are unavailable, because compliance would demonstrably impede the body's other necessary services, or because of the volume of simultaneous requests; the body must then still respond as soon as practicable and without unreasonable delay.

Do I have to live in Oregon to file a public records request?

No. ORS 192.314(1) provides that every person has a right to inspect any public record of a public body in this state, and the statute's requester definition covers natural persons, corporations, partnerships, firms and associations. There is no residency or citizenship requirement, unlike Tennessee or Virginia.

How much can an Oregon agency charge me?

Fees must be reasonably calculated to reimburse the body's actual cost of making the records available, and Oregon allows recovery of the cost of summarizing, compiling or tailoring records. The key protection is that a body cannot charge more than 25 dollars without first giving you a written estimate and obtaining your confirmation that you want it to proceed, so a surprise bill above that figure is not permitted for an ordinary request. ORS 192.324(4)(d) carves out two categories: records filed with the Secretary of State under ORS chapter 79A or ORS 81.230 to 81.263, which carry the fees the Secretary of State sets by rule, and county clerk records, which carry the fees set under ORS 205.320.

Can I get Oregon records for free?

Sometimes. ORS 192.324(5) allows a custodian to furnish records without charge or at a reduced charge if the custodian determines the public interest would be served by doing so. Unlike some states where a waiver is only a court's power, an Oregon custodian can grant it directly. Ask in the request itself and give concrete reasons, including what you intend to do with the records and who benefits.

How do I appeal an Oregon public records denial?

By petition rather than lawsuit. For records held by a state agency, petition the Attorney General under ORS 192.411. For records held by any other public body, including counties, cities, school districts and special districts, petition the district attorney for the county where the body is located under ORS 192.415. If the petition route does not resolve it, judicial review follows. Under ORS 192.431(3), a requester who prevails in the suit shall be awarded costs and disbursements and reasonable attorney fees at trial and on appeal; a requester who prevails only in part gets an award at the court's discretion.

What should I do if a public body never acknowledges my request?

Follow up in writing and cite the acknowledgment obligation specifically. The five business day acknowledgment duty under ORS 192.324(2) is short and concrete, so a missed acknowledgment is a much cleaner point to press than a general complaint about slowness. Note that the deadline is triggered by delivery to an individual named in the body's published request procedure under ORS 192.324(7)(a), and that ORS 192.329(6) suspends it where compliance would be impracticable, so ask the body to confirm in writing whether it is relying on that provision. Keep proof of when the body received your written request.

Do I have to say why I want the records?

Not to establish the right of access. ORS 192.314(1) gives every person the right to inspect public records without a showing of purpose. Purpose does become relevant if you are asking for a public interest fee waiver under ORS 192.324(5), because the custodian has to decide whether the public interest is served, so in that context explaining your purpose helps you.

Can I get police body camera video in Oregon?

We did not independently verify Oregon's body camera provisions for this page, so we are not going to state a rule. Ask the agency in writing which exemption it applies and insist on a written denial citing the provision, since Oregon denials normally rest on investigatory or public interest exemption categories. Once you have that citation, the Attorney General or district attorney petition route is an inexpensive way to test it.