How do I get my record expunged (removed or destroyed)?
The Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 575 in the 2021 legislative session.This bill made significant changes to juvenile expungement laws contained in Oregon Revised Statute 419A.260-265.
Expungement is defined as removal by destruction of records, sealing of records, or redacting names and identifiers of the individual from records.
The primary changes involve a system-generated, automatic expungement which has two categories:youth who never had a petition filed in juvenile court and those who had a petition filed but were never adjudicated.
Non-Adjudicated Cases
Qualifications for this automatic expungement is:
- All cases are closed and no adjudications for any offense
- The youth turned 18 years of age after January 2, 2022
For these processes, youth do not need to do anything as the division will complete this automatically and then send notification that their juvenile record has been expunged.
If an individual met the qualifications above but turned 18 years of age prior to January 2, 2022, they would need to request expungement through the completion of an application for expungement.
Adjudicated Cases
The Court handles all expungement of adjudicated cases.Application for expunction, information sheet and juvenile record printouts can be obtained at the juvenile division located at 606 W. 10th Street, Medford, Oregon 97501.There is no fee to process this application.
If an individual has been found by a juvenile court to be involved in a delinquent act, (one which would be a crime if they were an adult), that individual's record, under most circumstances, may be expunged after five (5) years following the most recent termination of the Juvenile Court's legal involvement if:
- As an adult, the individual has not been convicted of a Class A Misdemeanor or greater;
- There are no legal proceedings pending in juvenile or criminal court;
- The individual is not within the jurisdiction of any juvenile court and;
- There is no pending investigation by any law enforcement agency.
Some records which CANNOT be expunged include:
- Murder and related crimes
- Manslaughter in the first and second degree
- Criminally negligent homicide
- Assault in the first degree
- Kidnapping
- Most rape, sodomy and sex abuse convictions
If an individual who is the subject of a record for which expunction under ORS 419A.262 (2) has been denied or that is eligible for expunction under ORS 419A.262 (3) to (10) wishes to apply for expunction, they can request appointment of counsel, through the Juvenile Court, to assist with the expunction process.
Upon entry of an expunction order, the police, court or other contacts shall be treated as if it never occurred. An agency which is subject to an expunction order shall respond to any inquiry about the contact by indicating that no record or reference concerning the contact exists without risking a penalty for perjury or false swearing under the laws of this State. Anyone violating an individual’s right to confidentiality commits a misdemeanor. Intentional violations of the Act may constitute invasion of privacy giving the individual a right to an action against the violator for punitive damages.
Please NOTE:The Juvenile Division has no ability to track or remove information displayed on social media websites. It may be possible for expunged information to still exist on non-official, social media websites even after the official expungement process has been completed.