By Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce · Published · Updated
You must currently live in Oregon and in the county where you file, and there is no mandatory wait between filing and judgment. Oregon does grant legal separation.
Divorce in Oregon dissolves faster on paper than in many states — there's no mandatory waiting period — but the property rules underneath still reward whoever comes prepared.
| Residency requirement | At least one spouse must currently live in Oregon and live in the county where you file. If the marriage took place outside Oregon (or any ground other than irreconcilable differences is used), that spouse must have lived in Oregon continuously for 6 months before filing. Registered Domestic Partners follow the same rule. |
|---|---|
| Grounds | No-fault only: 'irreconcilable differences' that have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage (ORS 107.025). Oregon does not require proof of fault. |
| Waiting period | No mandatory waiting period between filing and judgment under current Oregon law (the former 90-day rule was repealed). Contested cases still take longer in practice — confirm current timelines with your circuit court. |
| Legal separation | Oregon does grant legal separation. It settles the same questions a divorce settles — support, parenting and, depending on the case, property — but leaves the marriage in place, so neither spouse can remarry without a divorce. |
| If you were never married | Oregon does not create common-law marriage, and living together gives neither partner property or support rights. Claims rest on agreements between you. A common-law marriage validly formed in a state that does create them is generally still recognised. |
| Where you file | The Circuit Court in the Oregon county where you or your spouse/partner currently live. |
| Filing fee | Payable when you file your opening divorce document. Set by regulation and revised from time to time. A fee waiver is available if you cannot afford it (ORS 21.155). Filing fees are set by the court and change without notice: check the current schedule on the court's own website before you file, and ask about a fee waiver if the cost is a barrier. |
| Starting forms | Petition for Dissolution of Marriage/RDP, Summons for Family Law Case, Confidential Information Form (one per party), Notice of CIF Filing, Record of Dissolution of Marriage/Annulment/RDP, and Notice of Statutory Restraining Order Preventing Dissipation of Assets (attached to the Summons). |
| Simplified option | Yes — if you and your spouse agree on everything, you can file together as 'co-parties' using the Co-Petition for Entry of Stipulated Judgment, which requires only one filing fee and no formal service. |
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Oregon calls the process 'dissolution of marriage,' and it's filed in the Circuit Court for the county where you or your spouse lives. Property division follows Oregon's equitable distribution model: courts aim for a fair division, not an automatic 50/50 split, but Oregon law builds in a significant rebuttable presumption — both spouses are presumed to have contributed equally to the acquisition of marital assets, regardless of whose name is on the title or whose income bought them. That presumption can be overcome with evidence (for example, separate property brought into the marriage and kept clearly apart), but the starting assumption favors equal contribution, which shapes how negotiations open.
A distinctive Oregon feature: since 2011, there is no mandatory waiting period to finalize a dissolution once both spouses agree and paperwork is complete — cases can resolve quickly if uncontested. Residency generally requires one spouse to have lived in Oregon for at least six months before filing, though that requirement is generally waived if the marriage itself took place in Oregon and either spouse still lives there. Confirm your specific residency situation with the local court or a family law attorney, since edge cases exist.
Because Oregon's equal-contribution presumption applies broadly, documentation of what came into the marriage separately — and what happened to it since — matters more than in states with a stricter separate-property tracking regime. Start gathering: several years of tax returns, recent pay stubs, statements for every bank, retirement, and investment account, mortgage and property tax records, and business financials if either spouse is self-employed or owns a company. If you're claiming any asset as separate property (inherited funds, a pre-marriage account, a gift from a third party), collect the paper trail showing its origin and how it was kept separate or commingled — that record is what rebuts the presumption of equal contribution.
Save every letter and communication from opposing counsel or the other spouse from the day this starts. Because Oregon cases can move quickly once uncontested, having your deadlines, disclosures, and stated positions organized early — rather than scrambling once a response window is already ticking — is a real practical advantage here.
Oregon uses its own Child Support Guidelines, based primarily on both parents' incomes and parenting time. If custody or parenting time is contested, Oregon courts generally require the parties to attend mediation before a contested hearing on those issues — a step worth preparing for with a realistic, detailed parenting plan proposal rather than a vague one. Courts decide parenting arrangements based on the best interests of the child, and specificity (schedules, holidays, decision-making authority) tends to produce smoother outcomes than broad statements of intent.
Legal separation is available in Oregon. It is a court proceeding, and in most respects it runs like a divorce: the court can settle support, parenting arrangements and, depending on the case, the division of property, and the resulting order binds both spouses.
What it does not do is end the marriage. People choose it for a range of reasons — health coverage, religious conviction, immigration status, or simply not being ready — and it leaves the door open to reconciling without starting over.
Two consequences follow. Neither spouse can remarry unless they later obtain a divorce, and modifying the order generally takes the court's approval rather than a private agreement between you. If you expect to divorce eventually, ask what converting the separation into a divorce involves here before you start.
Oregon does not create common-law marriage. There is no number of years of living together that turns into a marriage here, and none of the divorce machinery on this page applies to a couple who never married — no property division, no spousal support, no residency requirement to satisfy, because there is nothing to dissolve.
What unmarried partners have instead are ordinary civil claims: whatever you agreed between yourselves, in writing or by clear conduct, and claims over property you actually hold jointly. These are argued like any other contract or property dispute rather than as family-law entitlements, and they turn on what can be proved.
One qualification runs the other way and matters. A common-law marriage validly formed in a state that does create them — Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas or Utah — is generally recognised elsewhere. A couple who met that state's test while living there, and later moved here, are married, and separating means divorcing. Children are unaffected either way: custody and child support are decided on the same basis whether or not the parents married.
1) Build your financial disclosure packet early, including anything you'll argue is separate property, with dated records showing its history. 2) Get at least one consultation with a local Oregon family law attorney, since residency rules and county-specific circuit court procedures can vary in ways worth confirming before you file. 3) List marital assets and note which ones might rebut the equal-contribution presumption, with the evidence for each flagged. 4) If children are involved and any disagreement seems likely, expect a mediation step and think through your parenting plan proposal in advance. 5) Because Oregon has no mandatory waiting period, an uncontested case can move fast — track every date and deadline in incoming letters closely so nothing is missed in the compressed timeline.
Confirm you meet Oregon's residency rule and decide whether you qualify for the no-minor-children packet. Oregon does not recognize common-law marriage, but Registered Domestic Partners (RDPs) use the exact same dissolution process and forms as married couples.
Fill out the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage/RDP, Summons, Confidential Information Form, Notice of CIF Filing, and Record of Dissolution of Marriage, Annulment or RDP. If you and your spouse agree on everything, use the Co-Petition for Entry of Stipulated Judgment instead.
File the originals with the Circuit Court clerk in the county where you or your spouse lives. The standard fee is set by the court (effective Jan. 1, 2026); ask about a Fee Deferral or Waiver Application and Declaration if you have low income.
After filing, have someone other than yourself formally serve the Petition, Summons, and related notices — by a sheriff, private process server, or another qualified adult. If safe to do so, your spouse can instead sign an Acceptance of Service.
Your spouse has 30 days after service to file a Response. If none is filed, you can file an Ex Parte Motion for Order of Default (by the 91st day after filing) to move the case toward judgment without a hearing.
Address spousal/partner support and the division of real property, personal property, and debts in your paperwork — issues not addressed usually can't be revisited later. Mediation is available (and sometimes required) if you can't agree.
Whether you resolve the case by agreement, default, or trial, a General Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage/RDP must be completed and reviewed by both parties before being submitted to the court.
Your divorce becomes legally final the day a judge signs the General Judgment. The court will send a Notice of Entry of Judgment once it's recorded.
No. Oregon is an equitable distribution state, meaning courts aim for a fair division rather than an automatic even split. However, Oregon law presumes both spouses contributed equally to acquiring marital property, which often produces near-equal outcomes unless that presumption is rebutted with evidence.
Since 2011, Oregon has not required a mandatory waiting period once an uncontested dissolution is properly filed and complete, so cases can resolve relatively quickly compared to some other states.
Generally one spouse must have lived in Oregon for at least six months before filing, though this is generally waived if the marriage occurred in Oregon and one spouse still resides there. Confirm your situation with the local circuit court or a family law attorney.
A legal separation in Oregon settles much of what a divorce settles — support, parenting and, depending on the case, property — and the order binds both spouses. The difference is that it does not end the marriage, so neither spouse can remarry without later obtaining a divorce. People use it for health coverage, religious reasons, immigration status, or because they are not ready to divorce. Changing the order generally requires the court's approval.
No. Oregon does not create common-law marriage, and living together for any length of time gives neither partner property division nor spousal support. Unmarried partners rely instead on agreements between themselves and on claims over jointly held property, argued as ordinary civil matters. One important exception: a common-law marriage validly formed in a state that does create them — such as Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas or Utah — is generally recognised here, so that couple would need a divorce. Custody and child support apply regardless of marriage.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. There is no statewide crisis line here that we could verify, so use the national one: contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788 if a call is not safe. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
Last reviewed August 2026. Researched and written by Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice — laws, fees and forms change, so please confirm current details with the official sources above or a local family lawyer.
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