Reviewed July 2026
Filing for Divorce in Oregon
A plain-language look at how divorce works under Oregon law: who can file, how long it takes, what it costs, and where Oregon's own court forms and self-help resources are.
Virdix's document-preparation product currently prepares divorce paperwork for California cases only. This page explains how the process works under Oregon law, using Oregon's own court forms and self-help resources, for people researching before they file. It is not legal advice, and Virdix does not prepare or file Oregon divorce paperwork. See how Virdix works for California divorces.
Oregon's most genuinely distinctive fact is the combination of no mandatory statutory waiting period at all (unusual even among no-fault states) with a real, well-defined summary dissolution track for couples who qualify under ORS 107.485's eight conditions, no kids, no pregnancy, no real property, under 10 years married, under $20,000 in separate property or debt, combined income under $60,000, a signed settlement agreement, and mutual consent, which lets a judge grant the dissolution on the paperwork alone, without a hearing, under ORS 107.490. Oregon's residency rule also has a real exception worth getting right: couples married in Oregon can sometimes skip the standard six-month residency requirement, but only for the narrow annulment/voidable-marriage grounds in ORS 106.020 and 107.015, not for the ordinary no-fault ground most filers use, a nuance easy to misstate as 'no residency requirement if married here.'
Grounds for divorce in Oregon
No-fault grounds
- Irreconcilable differences have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage (ORS 107.025), the sole ground
Oregon is a no-fault-only state; ORS 107.036 expressly abolishes the doctrines of fault and in pari delicto in dissolution suits, and fault is excluded from property-division and support determinations. (ORS 107.015's incapacity/fraud grounds relate to voidable marriages/annulment, not fault-based divorce.)
Source: oregonlegislature.gov
Who can file: residency rules
General rule: at least one party must be a resident of or domiciled in Oregon at the time the suit is filed and continuously for the six months immediately before filing. Exception: if the marriage was solemnized in Oregon and either party resides or is domiciled in Oregon when the suit is commenced, the suit may proceed without the six-month residency period, but only where the ground alleged is one set forth in ORS 106.020 (void marriage grounds) or ORS 107.015 (marriage voidable for incapacity/fraud grounds), in practice this exception is narrow and does not cover the ordinary no-fault (irreconcilable differences) ground. For a legal separation, one party need only reside or be domiciled in Oregon when the action begins, with no minimum time period.
ORS 107.075
Source: oregonlegislature.gov
How long it takes
Oregon Revised Statutes chapter 107 does not impose a mandatory statutory waiting period between filing a petition for dissolution and entry of a final judgment. Oregon is a genuinely uncommon case among the pilot states in having no cooling-off period written into the domestic-relations statute itself; actual timing depends on service, response deadlines, and court scheduling rather than a fixed statutory floor.
No statutory waiting period found in ORS chapter 107
Source: oregonlegislature.gov
That figure is the statutory floor, not a promise. Service, exchanging financial disclosures, and the court's own hearing calendar routinely add time on top of it, and a contested case takes longer than an uncontested one regardless of the minimum. California, by comparison, requires a mandatory six month waiting period from the date of service.
Cost and filing fees
$301.00 for first appearance by plaintiff, defendant, or other party in a dissolution of marriage, annulment, or separation proceeding, per ORS 21.155(1). This is a single statewide fee, not county-set. Confirmed directly from the Oregon Judicial Department's official '2026 Circuit Court Fee Schedule' PDF, effective January 1, 2026, located via browser search after earlier guessed URLs 404'd, the correct filename pattern was 2026_CircuitFeeSchedule_public_eff-2026-01-01.pdf, not a generic 'fee schedule' path.
Source: courts.oregon.gov
California's own statewide filing fee is generally $435 to $450 statewide, with a fee waiver available for those who qualify.
Divorce forms and papers
The petition
Oregon does not use a single numbered Judicial-Council-style petition form the way California does. The OJD Forms Center organizes statewide dissolution forms by role and circumstance ("Dissolution (Divorce) for Petitioners with Children," "...without Children," "...for Respondents with Children," "...without Children," plus a "Co-party Petition"), each a packaged category of forms rather than one titled/numbered petition document.
Source: courts.oregon.gov
Fee waiver
Oregon Judicial Department 'Fee Deferral and Waiver' application, available statewide through the OJD Forms Center's Fee Waiver & Deferral category; this research could not confirm the exact form title/number used on the current fillable PDF within this pass.
Source: courts.oregon.gov
Oregon publishes fillable forms for this process.
California uses standardized Judicial Council forms, starting with the Petition (Form FL-100), across every county. See California's own divorce forms.
Filing online
Oregon Judicial Department operates a statewide electronic filing system (OJD eFile) for circuit courts, plus OJD iForms, a free interactive guide for filling out and e-filing certain court forms online ('limited case types available'). This research could not confirm from a primary source whether e-filing is mandatory or optional for self-represented divorce filers, or whether iForms' 'limited case types' currently includes dissolution of marriage.
Source: courts.oregon.gov
Uncontested and simplified divorce
Oregon offers a distinct simplified or summary track.
Yes. Oregon's summary dissolution procedure (ORS 107.485-107.500) is available only if, per ORS 107.485: the parties have no minor children born to or adopted by them; the marriage has not resulted in any pregnancy; neither party owns or has any interest in real property; the marriage has existed less than 10 years; neither party has separate property or debts exceeding $20,000; the parties' combined annual gross income is less than $60,000; the parties have executed a marital settlement agreement covering property division and spousal support; and both parties consent to the dissolution. Under ORS 107.490, the court may grant the dissolution based on the petition alone, without a hearing, when these conditions and documentation requirements are satisfied; ORS 107.500 requires the State Court Administrator to publish standardized statewide forms for this track.
Source: oregonlegislature.gov
California's equivalent is uncontested divorce in California, which uses the same statewide forms as any other case but moves faster once both spouses agree on every term.
Filing without a lawyer
Oregon allows self-represented filers, and most divorces filed in the state proceed this way. Because Virdix prepares paperwork for California cases only, a Oregon filer handling their own case works directly from Oregon's own forms and self-help materials rather than a Virdix-prepared packet. Oregon's official self-help resources are the direct source for the current forms and instructions.
For how self-representation works in the state Virdix does serve, see divorce without a lawyer in California and DIY divorce vs. hiring a lawyer.
More about divorce in Oregon
How property is divided
Equitable distribution, not community property. ORS 107.105 directs the court to divide marital property 'as may be just and proper in all the circumstances,' and establishes a rebuttable presumption that both spouses contributed equally to property acquired during the marriage (whether held jointly or separately), with an exception for property acquired by gift, devise, bequest, or inheritance that has been kept separate on a continuing basis. Homemaker contributions must be considered as contributions to acquisition, and full asset disclosure is required before division.
Source: oregonlegislature.gov
Court structure
Divorce (dissolution of marriage) cases are filed in the Circuit Court of the county where a party resides; Oregon does not have a separate unified statewide family court, but the Oregon Judicial Department runs a single statewide self-help and forms system used across all circuit courts.
California is the only state on this site with a full county-by-county breakdown. See how California's divorce process compares across its 58 counties.
This page is general information about Oregon divorce procedure, not legal advice for your situation. Laws, fees, and forms change over time; confirm current details with Oregon's own courts before relying on anything here. Virdix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law in Oregon, and does not prepare or file Oregon divorce paperwork. It is not a substitute for an attorney licensed in Oregon.