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How much does it cost to file for adoption in Oregon?

Filing an adoption petition in an Oregon circuit court costs $263, set by ORS 21.135(3)(a) in the state's standard filing-fee statute and published on the Oregon Judicial Department's statewide fee schedule. The $263 already includes the cost of issuing the certificates of adoption, and Oregon adds a rule adoptive families should know before they file: when the same petitioners file separate petitions for several children at the same time, only the first petition is charged — the concurrent sibling petitions carry no filing fee at all.

Oregon adoption fees at a glance

Oregon sets its circuit court filing fees in a single statute, ORS 21.135, rather than county by county. Subsection (1) sets the standard fee at $281 for commencing a civil proceeding or filing a first appearance. Subsection (3)(a) then gives adoption its own, slightly lower figure — $263 "when a petition is filed for the purpose of commencing an adoption proceeding or when any other document or other first appearance is filed in the proceeding" — and states expressly that the fee includes the cost of issuing one or more certificates of adoption under ORS 109.410. Subsection (3)(b) contains the sibling rule: for separate petitions for multiple minor children filed concurrently by the same petitioner under ORS 109.276, one filing fee is charged for the first petition and the rest are not charged. A family adopting three siblings at once therefore pays $263 at the window, not $789. The subsection excludes readoptions under ORS 109.385, which follow a different posture. The national comparison is on the adoption filing costs hub and the wider state picture on the Oregon court costs guide.

What the $263 opens — and what it does not price

An Oregon adoption under ORS Chapter 109 requires the court to address consent (or a statutory exception to it), notice, the home study or investigation the court orders, criminal and child-welfare background checks for petitioners, and the child's best interests, before a judgment of adoption can be entered. Stepparent and adult adoptions are the most common Oregon filings and typically the most streamlined. The court-side price of all of that is the $263. The process-side prices — a home study by an agency or approved provider, background-check charges collected by the agencies that run them, and attorney fees where you use one — are not set anywhere in ORS 21.135 or the Judicial Department's fee schedule, and this page does not invent figures for them. Get the home-study price in writing from the provider before you file; it, not the filing fee, is the variable that decides what an Oregon adoption costs in total. Oregon also excludes adoption proceedings from the circuit court trial fees that apply to ordinary civil cases (ORS 21.225), so there is no trial-fee line waiting later in the case.

Fee deferral and waiver in Oregon

Oregon's fee system has a formal safety valve, and adoption filers can use it: under ORS 21.682 a judge or court administrator may waive or defer fees for a party who is unable to pay, using the Judicial Department's Application for Waiver or Deferral of Fees. A waiver ends the obligation; a deferral puts the filer on a payment plan, and the Judicial Department's guidance notes deferred cases are typically set at no less than $25 per month until the fees are paid or the case is decided. File the application with the petition — the fee is due at filing unless relief is granted first. This site's Oregon divorce costs page works through the same deferral machinery for the $301 family filing fee there.

How the case runs

1. Complete the adoption petition and consent paperwork for your type of adoption; if you are adopting siblings, prepare each child's petition for concurrent filing
2. File in the circuit court and pay the fee $263 for the first petition — concurrent sibling petitions free
3. Complete the background checks and the home study or investigation the court requires, priced by the provider
4. Give all required notices and file proof with the court
5. Attend the hearing; on the judgment of adoption, the certificates of adoption included in your filing fee are issued, and you can apply for the amended birth certificate

What adoption really costs beyond the clerk

Oregon is a study in contrasts with its northern neighbour on this site: Alaska charges $100 to open an adoption (see Alaska adoption costs) and California charges $20 per child (see California adoption costs), against Oregon's $263. But in all three states the filing fee is the smallest honest line in the budget. The costs that decide an adoption's total — home study, background checks, agency involvement where there is an agency, and attorney time — sit outside every court fee schedule, and any page that quotes you a single "average adoption cost" for Oregon is blending those unlike things together. Price them separately: $263 to the clerk, a written quote for the home study, and a written fee agreement if you retain counsel. Families adopting through Oregon's foster system should ask the Department of Human Services what process costs the state bears in their case before paying anyone privately.

Can't afford the fee?

Apply for waiver or deferral under ORS 21.682 with the Judicial Department's fee waiver/deferral packet, filed with the petition. Approval is a judicial or court-administrator decision on your financial declaration. The general mechanics are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: ORS 21.135 — standard filing fee $281 (subsection (1)); adoption filing fee $263 including certificates of adoption under ORS 109.410 (subsection (3)(a)); concurrently filed sibling petitions charged only on the first petition (subsection (3)(b)); readoptions under ORS 109.385 excluded from subsection (3) · Oregon Judicial Department — State Court Filing and Other Fees schedule (courts.oregon.gov/pages/fees.aspx) · ORS 21.225 (trial fees; adoption proceedings excluded) · ORS 21.682 (waiver and deferral of fees) and Oregon Judicial Department Fee Deferral and Waiver guidance (deferred payment plans typically at least $25/month). Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with your circuit court clerk.