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How much does it cost to file an eviction in Oregon?

Filing a residential eviction complaint in Oregon costs $88 — set by ORS 105.130(2)(a), the statute that governs forcible entry and detainer actions, and identical in every circuit court and justice court in the state. Oregon prices the tenant's side of the first fight at the same figure: a defendant who demands a trial pays $88 under ORS 105.130(3). It is one of the lowest eviction filing fees in the country, and it is only reachable after the landlord has given the exact termination notice Oregon's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act requires.

Oregon eviction fees at a glance

The $88 appears twice in ORS 105.130 because of how Oregon structures an eviction. Subsection (2) directs the clerk, on filing a complaint for a dwelling unit covered by ORS Chapter 90, to collect a filing fee of $88, collect any other fee authorised by law, and complete the summons with the plaintiff so there are enough copies for service. Subsection (3) then directs the court to collect $88 from a defendant who demands a trial. In other words, the landlord's $88 buys the filing and the first appearance; if the tenant contests and the case goes to a trial, the tenant's $88 demand fee is the second and last statutory filing charge the section imposes. Contrast the general civil system, where Oregon first appearances run $281 under ORS 21.135 — the eviction track is deliberately cheaper and faster. The national comparison is on the eviction filing costs hub and the wider state picture on the Oregon court costs guide.

The notice is the case: ORS Chapter 90 periods

An Oregon eviction complaint is only as good as the notice underneath it, and the official Residential Eviction Complaint form maps the menu: a 10-day or 13-day notice for nonpayment of rent under ORS 90.394(2) (the period depends on when in the rental period the notice is given); 24-hour notices for outrageous acts, substantial damage or personal injury under ORS 90.396; 10-day notices for pet violations and repeat violations; 20-day notices for repeat violations under ORS 90.630; and 30-, 60- or 90-day notices for terminations without stated cause or with qualifying reasons under ORS 90.427 — where a qualifying-reason termination can also carry an obligation to pay the tenant relocation assistance, an amount set by the statute and the tenancy, not by the court clerk, and not priced as a filing cost here. File before the notice period runs, or on the wrong notice, and the case can be dismissed with the $88 spent for nothing; landlords routinely lose more money to defective notices than to filing fees.

First appearance, trial and restitution

After filing, the summons sets a first appearance on the fast timetable ORS 105.135 prescribes — eviction first appearances are scheduled in days, not months, and nonpayment cases run on a slightly longer fuse than other grounds. The first appearance is not the trial: if the parties agree, the court can enter a stipulated judgment; if the tenant appears and contests, the court schedules trial, and the tenant's demand for that trial carries the second $88. If the landlord wins, the court enters a judgment of restitution of the premises; if the tenant does not then leave, enforcement runs through the sheriff on a notice of restitution — the justice court fee schedule prices issuing that notice at $10 (ORS 51.310(1)(h)) — and the sheriff's service and enforcement charges are set at county level, which is why this page lists them without a figure. A tenant who does not appear at all faces a default judgment of restitution, the most common ending in Oregon eviction practice.

How the case runs

1. Serve the correct ORS Chapter 90 termination notice for your ground — 10/13 days for nonpayment, 24 hours for outrageous acts, 30–90 days for no-cause and qualifying-reason terminations — and let it expire
2. File the Residential Eviction Complaint and summons in the circuit or justice court for the county where the property sits, paying the filing fee $88
3. Have the summons and complaint served on the tenant by the sheriff or a process server (server's charge is separate)
4. Attend the first appearance; settle, take a default if the tenant does not appear, or proceed to a trial the tenant demands $88 tenant trial-demand fee
5. On a judgment of restitution, enforce through the sheriff if the tenant stays — notice of restitution $10 on the justice court schedule, plus county sheriff charges

What an eviction really costs beyond the clerk

Oregon's court charges are the small part of an eviction's economics: $88 to file, and no second landlord-side filing fee in ORS 105.130 if the case is tried. The real money is time and turnover — rent not collected during the notice and court periods, service charges, sheriff enforcement charges set by the county, cleaning and re-letting costs, and attorney fees if you use counsel, all of which are market- or county-priced and none of which a court schedule publishes. Two cautions belong in any Oregon budget. First, a defective notice wastes the filing fee and restarts the clock, so the cheapest eviction is the one filed once, correctly. Second, qualifying-reason terminations under ORS 90.427 can oblige the landlord to pay the tenant one month's rent in relocation assistance (smaller landlords are excepted) — a statutory payment many first-time filers do not know exists until the notice is challenged. Compare the other low-fee state in this run, Maine eviction costs at $100 with mediation included, and the higher-fee structures in Washington eviction costs.

Can't afford the fee?

Oregon's general fee relief applies in eviction cases: under ORS 21.682 a judge or court administrator may waive or defer court fees for a party unable to pay, using the Judicial Department's waiver/deferral packet. Tenants facing the $88 trial-demand fee should ask the clerk about deferral before the first appearance rather than after it. The general mechanics are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: ORS 105.130 — clerk collects $88 filing fee on a residential (ORS Chapter 90) eviction complaint (subsection (2)(a)); court collects $88 from a defendant demanding trial (subsection (3)) · ORS 105.135 (service and first appearance) · ORS 51.310(1)(h) — notice of restitution $10 (justice court schedule) · ORS 90.394 (nonpayment notices), 90.396 (24-hour notices), 90.427 (termination notices; qualifying reasons and relocation assistance), 90.630 (repeat violations) — as catalogued on the Oregon Judicial Department Residential Eviction Complaint form · ORS 21.135(1) (standard $281 filing fee, for comparison) · ORS 21.682 (fee waiver/deferral). Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with your circuit court clerk.