Criminal Record Expungement in OREGON

What is Expungement?  Am I eligible for an Expungement?  How do I clear my criminal record? A criminal conviction can continue to negatively impact a person’s life after their case has been resolved and the requirements of probation have been completed. Continuing consequences of a criminal conviction include restrictions on housing, employment, and financial aid. Expungement is the process in which the record of a criminal conviction or arrest is erased. If you have a limited criminal record you may be eligible for expungement under Oregon law. The rules for expungement in Oregon (formally knows as an “order setting aside conviction or record of arrest”) are found in ORS 137.225.

Eligibility: In general, if you have a criminal conviction for an Oregon misdemeanor or Class C Felony that is at least 3 years old, you are eligible to have that conviction expunged and deleted from your record if you do not have any other convictions in the last 10 years and the conviction is not a traffic crime, sex crime, or one of a few other exceptions to the expungement rules. If you have more than one conviction, you have to wait until it has been ten years from the most recent conviction. If you had multiple convictions at once, you must also wait 10 years.

The Expungement Process: The process of expungement involves getting a motion, affidavit and order together, having them served on the District Attorney and the Court in your county of conviction and paying the necessary filing fees as well as getting a fingerprint card from local law enforcement to allow the DA's office to check your background. This process typically takes roughly three months from the time of the filing of the paperwork. If the DA objects to expungement, there will be a hearing allowing both sides to present evidence.
 
I am a criminal defense attorney based in Hillsboro, Oregon. My law office is in the heart of Washington County, and I represent people who are seeking to have their record expunged throughout the Portland metropolitan area.