Clatsop County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

Oregon law leans toward letting people out on their word. Rules or a money deposit get added only if they are truly needed (ORS 135.245). Here, a release decision comes one of two ways.

• The standing order. Each judicial district's presiding judge keeps a standing release order in place, shaped by guidelines set for the whole state (ORS 135.233). This county makes up the 18th Judicial District. For lots of small charges with no injured victim, the jail itself can release the person once they sign a pledge to come to court. No judge has to weigh in.
• The first court appearance. Every other charge waits for a judge. A person who stays locked up must see a judge for arraignment inside 36 hours. That clock pauses on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays (ORS 135.010). In-custody arraignments here usually start at 1:15 p.m. daily. Short hearings often happen over video.

Release gets decided right at that hearing. When the judge postpones that call, the law gives it 48 hours to hold a release hearing, and never more than five days (ORS 135.245). A release officer may also sit down with the person in jail early on and give the judge a written summary (ORS 135.235).

Judges here sit at the Clatsop County Circuit Court, 749 Commercial Street, Astoria, OR 97103. Phone 503-325-8555, then press 3 for criminal cases.

Oregon names three kinds of release (ORS 135.230). The law tells the judge to go with the lightest option that still keeps people safe, the victim included (ORS 135.245).

• Personal recognizance. They sign, swearing to appear, and pay nothing.
• Conditional release. Home, but with rules. Two basic ones: show up on the court's chosen date, and get the court's OK before any trip out of state (ORS 135.250).
• Security release. This adds money or property on top of the promise. This is what people mean by bail. In most cases the family puts down a tenth of the amount set (ORS 135.265).

A judge can combine rules with security. Community Corrections, a part of the Sheriff's Office, also runs electronic monitoring, and people wearing a monitor can show up on the jail roster.

Please know this rule. Charges involving domestic abuse, sex offenses or bias crimes carry a strict no-contact rule toward the alleged victim. That includes calls from jail and notes passed through relatives (ORS 135.247, 135.250). Delivering a message for them could bring fresh charges.

There is no simple price tag for each crime in Oregon. Statewide guidelines put each charge into a group, and the group points to what usually happens. Since SB 48 of 2021, those guidelines are meant to rely less on money (ORS 135.233). Common charges tend to sort like this:

• Theft, second-degree burglary and drug possession: most often a signed promise, no money.
• Other misdemeanors that hurt no one, and driving while suspended: most often a signed promise.
• DUII, harassment outside a family and aggravated driving while suspended: most often release with rules.
• Domestic violence, such as fourth-degree assault on a partner: the person stays until a judge rules.
• First-degree burglary, rape, Measure 11 crimes and Class A felonies: the person stays until a judge rules.
• Failure to appear, felony stalking and felony strangulation: a judge must rule first.
• Some felony drug making or dealing, and drug crimes tied to minors: a judge must rule first.

If the judge does set security, the deposit is a tenth of it, with $25 as the floor (ORS 135.265). Security of $2,500 means paying $250, and $20,000 means paying $2,000. Warrants usually list the security, too (ORS 133.140). OJD keeps a current list of offenses by release guideline on its pretrial programs page. To hear the exact figure for your person, phone the jail at 503-325-8641.

Jail staff take bail payments at every hour, on weekends and holidays too. The address is 1190 SE 19th St., Warrenton, OR 97146. Take these steps:

1. Phone 503-325-8641. Spell out their full legal name and give their birthday.
2. Ask for the security amount, and whether a 10 percent deposit works or the whole sum is due. Some cases call for the whole sum.
3. Ask whether the person can leave once you pay, or must still see a judge.
4. Cash has to be the exact amount. A money order or cashier's check is fine too. Write the Clatsop County Circuit Court Clerk as the payee.
5. Credit cards also work for up to $5,000, and a 5 percent convenience fee is added.
6. Hold on to your receipt. Refund checks are made out to whoever it names.

Sometimes the person can pay their own way out. If their commissary account holds enough, they can use that money for their bail.

Yes, for circuit court cases. The courthouse takes bail during regular business hours at 749 Commercial Street, Astoria, OR 97103.

1. Phone the criminal desk at 503-325-8555 (press 3) to confirm the amount and get the case number.
2. Visit a customer service window between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on a weekday. Staff take phone calls until 5 p.m.
3. Watch for closures. The court closes on state holidays, and also from 4 to 5 p.m. on each month's first Wednesday.
4. Pay by cash, cashier's check, money order, or a debit or credit card. Visa, MasterCard and Discover are taken.
5. Ask the clerk when the jail will learn the bail is paid.

At night, on weekends and on holidays, bring payment to the Warrenton jail.

The jail and the courthouse take slightly different kinds of payment. Look this over before you leave home:

• Jail: money orders, cashier's checks, cash in the exact amount, or a credit card up to $5,000 plus a 5 percent fee.
• Courthouse: money orders, cashier's checks, cash, and Visa, MasterCard or Discover cards, debit or credit.
• Who to pay: at either place, write checks and money orders to the Clatsop County Circuit Court Clerk.

Common snags are cash that doesn't match the amount, a payee written wrong, and a card limit below the deposit. Mailing paper bills is a mistake, too.

Before the drive, call the jail at 503-325-8641 to make sure your payment plan fits the case.

Commercial bail bonds don't exist in Oregon, and neither do bondsmen. The Sheriff's bail page states this plainly. A 2009 report to the Legislature notes that paid sureties stopped working in Oregon in the mid-1970s.

Families have these choices instead:

• Pay the deposit yourself. The 10 percent goes to the court, or to the jail on the court's behalf. Most of it is returned later, unlike a bondsman's fee.
• Sign as a surety. A parent, partner or friend can sign the release papers and agree to owe the full security if the person skips court (ORS 135.230).
• Pledge property. Land or other property in Oregon worth twice the security can stand in for cash, with a sworn statement to back it (ORS 135.265).

Someone who asks you for money to "bond out" your person is not part of this system. Call the jail at 503-325-8641 instead.

Yes. Each deposit covers one case only. Ask the jail about every one of these:

• A charge that needs a judge. Domestic violence, sex crimes and Measure 11 crimes wait for a ruling.
• A probation or parole hold. A violation can bring a hold of its own. Community Corrections is at 1190 SE 19th Street, Warrenton, OR 97146, 503-861-2875.
• A warrant from somewhere else. Paperwork from another Oregon county, or out of state, can keep them in.
• A second case. A city court ticket and a circuit court charge are released separately.
• A sentence. If the person is already serving jail time, they stay until it is done.
• A federal hold. Someone charged with a federal crime can be kept for the U.S. Marshals.

An ICE request by itself falls under Oregon's sanctuary law, which sharply limits holds. Before you pay, phone 503-325-8641 and have jail staff list each hold on the person.

Oregon's Constitution allows courts to refuse bail in murder, aggravated murder and treason cases when guilt is clear (Or. Const. art. I § 14 and § 43). State law makes denial a must in those cases when the evidence is that strong (ORS 135.240).

Violent felonies are crimes that caused a victim serious injury or put them in fear of it. For those charges, the judge may also, after a hearing, deny release outright. The judge must find real risk that the person would injure someone or sexually abuse them, whether the victim or anyone else. The defense has to ask for that hearing at arraignment (ORS 135.240).

Victims get a voice in pretrial release decisions (Or. Const. art. I § 43). The prosecutors who argue these cases are at the District Attorney's Office, 800 Exchange Street, Astoria, OR 97103, 503-325-8581.

When facts change, a judge may adjust the release agreement or the security amount (ORS 135.285). A family can push for this. Steps that help:

1. Your lawyer files a motion in circuit court asking for the change.
2. Collect proof of steady work, a home address and relatives in the area.
3. Be honest about what the family can afford. Statewide guidelines say release rules shouldn't hinge on how much money someone has.
4. Suggest rules that ease the judge's concern, like staying away from a certain person or regular check-ins.
5. Come to the hearing and sit close enough that the judge sees your support.

For the hearing date, phone the criminal desk at 503-325-8555 (press 3).

The Oregon Public Defense Commission (OPDC) pays for defense lawyers. It took that name at the start of 2024, then moved into the executive branch a year later, on January 1, 2025.

• Say "I want a lawyer" at the first hearing, then complete a signed form that lists income and assets. A court screener reviews the answers.
• There is usually a $20 fee to apply, and the court can waive it. Separately, a judge may order them to chip in on what the defense costs.
• Being broke never means facing court alone.

Oregon is short of public defenders. As 2025 ended, the statewide backlog stood near 2,500 people with no appointed lawyer, about 160 of them jailed. After Betschart, a federal court ruling, anyone still jailed and still unrepresented seven days after that first hearing generally gets released on conditions. The charges remain.

The criminal desk at 503-325-8555 (press 3) can tell you which lawyer took the case. OPDC's business office is at 198 Commercial Street SE, Suite 205, Salem, OR 97301, 503-378-2700.

State crimes all go to one courthouse. City courts take smaller local cases.

• Circuit Court (felonies, misdemeanors and juvenile cases), 749 Commercial Street, Astoria, OR 97103, 503-325-8555. Warrenton also runs a municipal court. Ask the clerk at this number how to reach it.
• Astoria Municipal Court, City Hall, third floor, 1095 Duane St., Astoria, OR 97103, 503-325-3939. It handles citations written by city police.
• Seaside Municipal Court, 989 Broadway, Seaside, OR 97138, 503-738-5511. It handles minor traffic, city code cases and some misdemeanors inside city limits.
• Gearhart Municipal Court, Gearhart City Hall, 698 Pacific Way, Gearhart, OR 97138, 503-738-5501.
• Cannon Beach Municipal Court, PO Box 368, Cannon Beach, OR 97110, 503-436-1581. City Hall is at 163 E. Gower, Cannon Beach, OR 97110.
• U.S. District Court, Portland Division, 1000 Southwest Third Avenue, Suite 740, Portland, OR 97204 (the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse), 503-326-8000.

Once the case closes with all conditions kept, the clerk sends the deposit back to the person listed on the receipt. A fee of 15 percent stays with the court, never under $5 and never over $750. Any interest stays too (ORS 135.265).

• Deposit $1,000, and you get $850 back. The court keeps $150.
• Deposit $10,000, and the fee stops at the $750 cap, so $9,250 returns.
• Some of a deposit can go toward unpaid child support, within limits (ORS 135.280).

A missed hearing is expensive. The judge may issue an arrest warrant and rule that the full security is forfeited. So a family that put down 10 percent now owes the other 90 percent too. If 30 days pass with no return and no good excuse, a judgment for the full amount follows (ORS 135.280). Not showing up is a crime of its own, too. Skipping court on a misdemeanor adds a Class A misdemeanor. For a felony case, the new count is graded as a Class C felony (ORS 162.195, 162.205).

Questions about a refund go to the circuit court at 503-325-8555.

Sort out money and personal items ahead of the release if possible. The jail is at 1190 SE 19th St., Warrenton, OR 97146. Phone 503-325-8641 and ask what happens to any money left on their books and when their things can be collected.

If someone mailed the person a personal check, the jail stores it with their property and hands it back at release. For how deposits and balances usually work, read our inmate account guide.

Evidence that officers took is handled apart from jail property. The Sheriff's evidence technician returns items by appointment only, with one day's notice, on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call 503-325-8635 and bring a driver's license or state ID. Guns require a background check. Seized evidence usually comes back only after the case ends and the District Attorney approves, often around 90 days after sentencing.

Federal charges filed in this county land in the Portland Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. Its clerk's office is at 1000 Southwest Third Avenue, Suite 740, Portland, OR 97204 (the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse), 503-326-8000.

• Right away, a magistrate judge decides between release and detention, applying 18 U.S.C. 3142.
• Until then, deputies of the U.S. Marshals Service hold the person. Find the Marshals' Oregon office at 1000 Southwest 3rd Avenue, Room 401, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-2209.
• Federal detainees may be held at FCI Sheridan, 27072 Ballston Road, Sheridan, OR 97378, 503-843-4442. The Columbia County Jail (503-366-4630), 901 Port Ave, St. Helens, OR 97051, has signed a Marshals contract in the past to house them as well.
• The Federal Public Defender's office is at 101 SW Main, Suite 1700, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-2123.

Money paid toward state bail does nothing in federal court. Once a federal sentence is handed down, find the person with the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

No. A deposit only resolves the state charge. Immigration is a separate federal matter. Step by step:

1. Immigration agents (ICE) can file a hold request with the jail. Its official name is a detainer, on Form I-247A.
2. ICE uses it to request custody for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Oregon's sanctuary laws step in here (ORS 181A.820 to 181A.829; HB 3265 of 2021). Without a judge's name on it, an immigration request gets set aside by Oregon officers and jails. So, day to day, the Warrenton jail generally won't keep anyone because of an ICE detainer alone, and staff don't share release plans to help immigration agents.
4. Oregon cases fall under ICE's Seattle Field Office. Locally, ICE keeps an office in Portland at 4310 S Macadam Ave, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97239, 503-326-4165.
5. Should ICE take the person, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator with their name and birth country.

Prison time is served with the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC). Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, 24499 SW Grahams Ferry Road, Wilsonville, OR 97070, is where every new prison term starts. Intake there lasts about 30 days. Afterward, men go on to the prison they're assigned to, while women remain at Coffee Creek.

• Look up DOC prisoners by name with the Oregon Offender Search.
• Call DOC's general line at 503-945-9090, or call intake at 503-570-2259.
• Our Oregon state prisons page covers every facility.

Probation and parole run separately from the jail. Community Corrections is at 1190 SE 19th Street, Warrenton, OR 97146, 503-861-2875.

In Oregon, county juvenile departments handle youth from 12 to 17. No one under 18 goes into the Warrenton lockup. This county rents youth detention beds, so any teen needing a secure bed is driven to the Yamhill County Youth Services Center, 535 NE 5th Street, McMinnville, OR 97128, 503-434-7407.

• The Juvenile Department is at 800 Exchange St., Suite 200, Astoria, OR 97103, 503-325-8601. Call there first to find out where the youth is.
• Youth cases are heard in circuit court. Call 503-325-8555 and press 7.
• Since SB 1008 (2019), 15 to 17 year olds facing Measure 11 charges remain juvenile cases until a judge holds a waiver hearing.
• State youth correctional facilities are run by the Oregon Youth Authority.