A larger crash case from Portland is usually filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, at the Central Courthouse, 1200 SW 1st Ave, Portland, OR 97204. That is the Fourth Judicial District. It is a short trip south from the Nob Hill area, on the downtown transit mall. The civil desk can be reached at 971-274-0540. The court’s own page is at courts.oregon.gov for Multnomah County.
Not every Portland mailing address sits in Multnomah County. Some Portland postal codes fall in Clackamas County or Washington County. Salem has a similar split with Polk County. If the wreck, the defendant or your own address sits in one of those other counties, the case may belong in a different courthouse. Ask a lawyer which county is the right one before you drive downtown with a filing.
Hours and how to reach a clerk
Walk-up customer help at Multnomah court locations runs on weekdays starting at 8 in the morning and wrapping up at 5, based on the court’s business-hours bulletin, which was updated on August 13, 2026 and has been in effect since September 10, 2025. Phone help is narrower. Clerks take calls in a morning window that starts at 8:30 and ends at 10:30, then again after 1:30 until 4. Those phone hours are easy to miss if you only remember the building’s closing time.
The same bulletin and the court’s contact pages also point to other Multnomah buildings. The East County Courthouse is at 18480 SE Stark Street, Portland, OR 97233, and that desk can be reached at 971-274-0700. The Justice Center at 1120 SW Third Avenue handles arraignments. The Juvenile Justice Center is at 1401 NE 68th Avenue. A typical adult civil crash case is a Central Courthouse matter, not a juvenile-court matter. Confirm the current hours before you go, because posted hours do change.
Mandatory arbitration for many smaller civil claims
Multnomah County’s civil page states that civil cases with a monetary claim for less than $50,000 are subject to mandatory arbitration. That is a court-managed process, not a private deal you invent with the insurer. If your claim is in that range, ask the civil desk, or a lawyer, how the arbitration track works and what has to be filed to get onto it. Do not assume a circuit-court trial date is the next step for every injury file.
Filing a complaint is also how the two-year period in section 12.110 is actually used. A claim with an insurer, a PIP file or a demand letter is not the same step. Section 12.020 treats an action as commenced when the complaint is filed and the summons is served, with a narrow additional rule in that section. Bring enough time on the clock to get the papers right. If a public body is a defendant, the 180-day notice in section 30.275 has to already have been handled, or you need a lawyer’s advice about that duty before you file.
When the case may belong in Hillsboro, Oregon City, Salem or McMinnville
Washington County Circuit Court sits at 145 NE 2nd Avenue, Hillsboro, OR 97124. Mail can be sent to 150 N 1st Avenue, MS37, Hillsboro, OR 97124. The main number is 503-846-8888. The Hillsboro clerks take a midday break. Windows are open from 8 until noon, then from 1 until 5 on weekdays, and they close on legal holidays. Details are on the Washington County court page. Beaverton, Hillsboro, Sherwood and Tigard all sit in that county.
Clackamas County’s courthouse has moved to 1000 Courthouse Rd., Oregon City, OR 97045. The building itself opens at 7 in the morning and closes at 5 on weekdays. Public service counters run a shorter day, from 9 until 4. The services line is 503-655-8447. The Clackamas court page is the place to confirm those hours. Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, Oregon City, West Linn and Wilsonville are in Clackamas County. The Clackamas area itself is also served by that courthouse.
Marion County Circuit Court is at 100 High St. NE, Salem, OR 97301. The main number is 503-588-5105. On weekdays the courthouse stays open from 8 in the morning until 5, and it is closed on holidays, per the Marion court page. Keizer and Woodburn are in Marion County. Some Salem addresses, including those in the 97304 ZIP Code, sit in Polk County. Do not assume every Salem crash is a Marion County filing. Ask which county actually applies.
Yamhill County Circuit Court is at 535 NE 5th Street, McMinnville, OR 97128, at 503-434-7530. The courthouse is open from 8 until 5 on weekdays. The court office itself is staffed from 8 until noon and from 1 until 4, and it is closed on holidays. See the Yamhill court page. Dundee and Newberg cases often belong there.
Practical filing notes
Wear something you can sit in for a while, and bring a government identification card, your incident number if you have one, and any earlier case number a clerk already assigned. Ask the clerk for the current filing fee rather than relying on a number you saw last year. When you already have counsel, that office will typically take care of the filing and the service of summons. If you do not, the two-year clock is still running, and a late visit to First Avenue does not restart it.
Comparative fault under section 31.600 and several-only liability under section 31.610 will shape the judgment if the case is tried or arbitrated. Those rules are explained in our fault guide. Before you retain anyone to file the case, ask them to show a current Oregon license, and check it yourself.