Wasco County Sheriff's Office Inmate Bail & Bonds

A judge does. Oregon's statutes use the older word "magistrate." The statute promises every jailed person a trip before one "without undue delay" (ORS 135.245). If the person stays locked up, the arraignment must take place within the first 36 hours of custody, and the clock pauses for weekends and holidays (ORS 135.010). Many of these hearings happen over video from the jail.

State charges are heard by the circuit court at 511 Washington Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-506-2700. Its judges serve the 7th Judicial District, which also takes in Gilliam, Hood River, Sherman and Wheeler counties. The release decision is due at the first appearance. A judge who wants more facts can push it to a separate hearing, held inside 48 hours and in no case past day five (ORS 135.245).

A good share of people skip the wait entirely. Statewide guidelines from the Chief Justice (ORS 135.233) back a standing order in every district, and that order lets jail staff send many people with minor charges home once they sign a promise. The law also has a release assistance officer meet with people soon after booking, then send the judge a written report (ORS 135.235).

You will hear "bail" at the jail counter, yet the statute book says "security." Either way, Oregon recognizes three kinds of release (ORS 135.230):

• Personal recognizance. The person signs, promising to be at each hearing, and pays nothing. The law begins here (ORS 135.245).
• Conditional release. Still free of charge, but with strings attached, like a curfew, sobriety, reporting in, or staying away from someone the judge names.
• Security release. The pledge is backed with cash or property. Families most often hand over a tenth of the figure the judge picks.

Judges must reach for the mildest condition able to guard the victim and everyone else (ORS 135.245). Every release also carries two standard rules. The person appears in court on the date given, and stays inside Oregon unless the court agrees otherwise (ORS 135.250).

SB 48, passed in 2021, removed the old minimum bail figures from the statutes. The charge now mostly decides whether money is needed in the first place. The Chief Justice's guidelines put each charge in one of three buckets:

• Bucket one: sign and go. Nonperson misdemeanors, nonperson Class C felonies (crimes aimed at things rather than people) and driving while suspended.
• Bucket two, a promise plus rules. DUII, person misdemeanors without domestic violence, and many Class B felonies.
• Bucket three, a wait for the judge. Any Class A felony, Measure 11 crimes, sex offenses, domestic violence, failure to appear, felony strangulation or stalking, a few felonies tied to making or dealing drugs, and drug crimes involving kids.

If the judge does pick a security amount, families usually deposit 10 percent, with $25 as the floor (ORS 135.265). A $5,000 figure means a $500 deposit. NORCOR notes that a few traffic charges call for the whole amount. Its online list carries a bail column showing what is due when a figure exists. For a single case, ask NORCOR at 541-298-1576.

Any adult (18 or older) may put up security at NORCOR, 201 Webber Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, whenever they arrive, day or night, weekends included. Work through it in this order:

1. Phone 541-298-1576. At night or on weekends, choose "Adult Booking" in the menu. Confirm the amount and ask if anything else is holding the person.
2. Carry an official photo ID. Arrive sober, since staff refuse bail from anyone under the influence.
3. Skip the main entrance. Go to the door on its left side and press the call button there.
4. Pay by cash or card at the kiosk inside.
5. Hang on to each receipt. Release comes "as soon as possible," though shift workload and the change out of jail clothes can add time.

One person in custody may not post for another. A victim is allowed to post bail but may not be present when the person walks out. People booked with their own cash or cards can also cover their own bail from Booking.

Yes. NORCOR lists the arraigning court as another place to post, open during that court's own business hours. Courts differ on the payments they take, so call first.

• Wasco County Circuit Court (state charges), 511 Washington Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-506-2700. It sits up on the courthouse's third floor. The counter runs weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to noon, then 1:00 to 4:30 p.m.
• The Dalles Municipal Court (city cases), City Hall, 313 Court Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-296-5481. The city says this court may require a deposit from people who skipped court on earlier charges.

A court window has one real advantage. Whoever's name is printed on that court receipt is the one who gets the refund later. Before leaving, find out from the clerk whether the court tells NORCOR directly that the deposit is in.

The NORCOR lobby kiosk accepts cash, Visa and Mastercard for bail. American Express can fund an account but is refused for bail.

For paying by phone, NORCOR's bail page sends people to the jail's phone and deposit company, Telmate (now known as GettingOut), at 866-516-0115. A credit or debit card is needed. After the call, tell NORCOR staff at 541-298-1576 that you paid. Expect a company fee added to the bail:

• Paying cash: 3.95 percent of the bail, $3.95 at the least
• Paying by card: 9 percent of the bail plus $9.95

On $500 bail, the extra is about $19.75 in cash or $54.95 by card. Deposit just the bail plus that fee. Whatever goes through the company lands in the arrested person's bail account, which means any refund belongs to that person alone. Court windows set their own rules, so ask the clerk. Cash should never go in the mail.

Not here. Commercial bail bond companies and bondsmen do no business in Oregon. Relatives hand over the deposit themselves, at the court or at the jail. Legislative staff wrote in 2009 that only four states, Oregon among them, run things this way.

That works in your favor. Elsewhere, a bond company pockets a fee you never see again. Here, most of a deposit is returned after the case closes.

• Paying it all up front. The full security can be put up in cash, stocks or bonds. Land or other property in Oregon also counts if its unmortgaged value is double the amount. Stocks and property each need a sworn statement (ORS 135.265).
• Signing as a surety. A surety is a backer who promises the court the whole sum should the defendant break the release terms (ORS 135.230).
• Staying safe. Hand money only to NORCOR, a court clerk, or the phone line NORCOR itself names.

Each payment clears just one case. Ask NORCOR at 541-298-1576 to list all holds before any money changes hands. Watch for these:

• A case from another county. The roster may show "OUT OF COUNTY HOLD" in the charge column. That case has to be released on its own.
• A bench warrant. Skipping court creates a fresh warrant, and a failure to appear charge normally waits for a judge.
• Supervision trouble. Standing release orders can handle probation violations by separate rules. Probation and parole for the area sit with Wasco County Community Corrections, 421 East 7th Street, Annex B, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-506-2570, open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
• Time already ordered. A person serving a jail sentence stays until it ends.
• Federal charges. Only a federal judge can release on those.

Yes, for a small set of charges. The state constitution makes murder and treason non-bailable when guilt is plain (Or. Const. art. I, § 14). A voter-approved section adds aggravated murder and lets victims weigh in on pretrial release (Or. Const. art. I, § 43). The release statute, ORS 135.240, sets out two paths:

• Murder, aggravated murder or treason: the judge holds the person when the evidence of guilt is strong.
• A violent felony: the judge holds a hearing. If the person poses a real risk of hurting someone, release is denied.

When the charge is a sex offense, family or household violence, or a bias crime, a no-contact rule starts right away. The person in jail must not try to reach the victim, even by asking a friend or relative to do it (ORS 135.247). Turn down any request to pass along a note or a call.

Arguments for holding someone come from the Wasco County District Attorney's Office, 511 Washington Street, Suite 304, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-506-2680. Its door is kept locked for safety, so phone ahead or knock.

It can. When circumstances shift, a judge is allowed to modify the release agreement or the security figure (ORS 135.285). Families can help in four ways:

1. Make sure a defense lawyer is assigned. The lawyer asks the court for the change.
2. Collect papers showing work, a local address, children or relatives counting on the person, and a frank picture of what the family can afford. The guidelines warn against conditions that turn on wealth.
3. Propose terms aimed at what worries the judge, say reporting to a release officer or staying away from a named person.
4. Attend. The alleged victim may also be heard before a judge rules.

Scheduling questions go to the circuit court clerk, 511 Washington Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-506-2700. Until the judge signs a new order, the old terms still bind the person.

Someone too poor to hire counsel "without substantial hardship" can have the state pay for a lawyer (ORS 151.485). That money flows through the Oregon Public Defense Commission (OPDC). OPDC became an executive branch agency on January 1, 2025.

1. When the judge first sees the person, they should ask for a lawyer right then.
2. Fill in the money questions on the form. Someone working for the court screens the answers.
3. Plan on a $20 application fee. A judge may excuse it, and may also set a later contribution.

Nobody goes without counsel just because they are broke. Oregon still lacks enough defenders, though. When 2025 closed, the state's waiting list held nearly 2,500 names. Roughly 160 of them belonged to people behind bars. Under a federal ruling known as Betschart, a jailed defendant left without counsel for a full week after the first hearing generally must be let out with conditions. The case keeps going all the same.

Help with the form is available from the circuit court clerk, 511 Washington Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-506-2700.

Nearly all local criminal hearings take place under one roof. Here is each court and its share of the work:

• Circuit court (felonies, most misdemeanors, juvenile cases), 511 Washington Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-506-2700. Open weekdays 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 4:30 p.m.
• The Dalles Municipal Court (city violations and misdemeanors), City Hall, 313 Court Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-296-5481. It holds court on the first and third Mondays at 8:30 a.m.
• Federal court (charges under U.S. law), Portland's Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, 1000 SW Third Avenue, Suite 740, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-8000.
• Warm Springs Tribal Court (some cases about tribal members on the reservation), 2126 Warm Springs Street, Warm Springs, OR 97761, 541-553-3278.

Arrested in Antelope, Dufur, Maupin, Mosier or Shaniko? Ask the circuit court clerk which court has the case.

After the case is over and the person kept every rule, the clerk refunds 85 percent. That money goes to the payer printed on the receipt. The court holds on to 15 percent, no less than $5 and no more than $750, and keeps any interest too (ORS 135.265). Put $1,000 down and you get $850 back.

• Whose name counts. NORCOR itself refunds nothing. A deposit made at a court window goes back to the payer on that receipt. A deposit made through the jail's kiosk or phone company is treated as the arrested person's money, so only that person can claim it.
• What gets taken out. The court can put the money toward fines, fees or debts such as overdue child support (ORS 135.280).
• What happens after a no-show. The court may send out a warrant and rule the whole security forfeited, beyond just the tenth you put down (ORS 135.280). A no-show also brings a brand-new charge, failure to appear. A misdemeanor case turns it into a Class A misdemeanor, while a felony case makes it a Class C felony (ORS 162.195, 162.205).

The court can reverse a loss if, within 30 days, the person returns or shows it was impossible to come through no fault of their own. Save the receipt, and phone the circuit court clerk at 541-506-2700 about the refund.

On the way out, the person should ask staff about stored belongings and any balance left on their account. NORCOR is at 201 Webber Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-298-1576.

Family members collecting items for someone still inside face tighter rules:

• Property comes out at the lobby desk only on Tuesday and Friday mornings, 8:00 to 11:00.
• Requests are usually turned down unless the items overflow the storage box, are needed for an emergency, or a hardship applies.
• The person inside signs a release form, and the pickup person shows photo ID.
• People released from NORCOR within the past 90 days are barred from collecting property.
• Walk-in requests for account money are refused unless staff confirm an urgent need.

Read our jail account money page for how deposits and balances are handled.

Only a federal judge. Federal charges from around here are filed with the Portland Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. The clerks keep their counter in Portland, at the federal building called the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, 1000 SW Third Avenue, Suite 740, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-8000. The courthouse opens 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

• A detention hearing comes first. The judge asks if any set of rules can get the person back to court and keep others safe (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Federal deputies keep the person until trial. Their agency's Oregon headquarters is the U.S. Marshals Service, 1000 SW 3rd Avenue, Room 401, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-2209. Call them to learn the holding site.
• A federal detainee might sit in a county jail that holds people for the Marshals, or be sent to FCI Sheridan, 27072 Ballston Road, Sheridan, OR 97378, 503-843-4442.
• People who can't afford a lawyer in a federal case are assigned the Federal Public Defender, 101 SW Main, Suite 1700, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-2123.
• For someone already sentenced in federal court, try the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

A paid deposit only settles the state charge. On the federal side, an immigration case runs like this:

1. The federal agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), may lodge Form I-247A, a detainer request.
2. That request seeks a hold of up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. ICE officers then take custody. The ICE Seattle Field Office oversees Oregon from 12500 Tukwila International Boulevard, Seattle, WA 98168, 206-277-2000. Its Portland branch serves this county from 4310 S Macadam Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97239, 503-326-4165.
4. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator using the person's name and birth country.

Oregon law changes how step 2 plays out here. Under the state's sanctuary statutes (ORS 181A.820 to 181A.829, made stronger by HB 3265 in 2021), local officers and jails must ignore an immigration request that carries no judge's name. That is why NORCOR and other Oregon jails generally do not keep a person just because ICE asked, and do not hand over release information for deportation purposes. A judge-signed warrant is treated differently.

People sentenced to state prison serve under the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC). Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, 24499 SW Grahams Ferry Road, Wilsonville, OR 97070, handles intake for men and women alike. That step lasts about 30 days. Afterward, women stay put at Coffee Creek, and men head to the prison DOC picks for them.

• Type a name into DOC's Oregon Offender Search to see where they are.
• DOC answers general questions at 503-945-9090.
• Our Oregon state prisons pages describe each facility.

Probation and parole supervision after release runs through community corrections, an office separate from the jail.

Youth are held apart from adults. Teens held from this county go to NORCOR's juvenile detention unit, 211 Webber Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-298-1447.

• Oregon's county juvenile departments work with young people from 12 through 17. The local one is Youth Services, 202 E 5th Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, 541-506-2660, staffed weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Youth Services approves who may visit or phone a detained teen.
• Since SB 1008 (2019), a Measure 11 charge no longer sends a 15, 16 or 17 year old straight to adult court. A waiver hearing has to come first.
• Juvenile records stay private, so ask Youth Services about the case instead of searching online.