# Oregon

Oregon has no forensic science commission and no crime lab analyst license, and it requires national accreditation of state police labs only for DUII blood-alcohol analyses. Since April 7, 2026, a person whose conviction rested on hair microscopy, bite mark analysis or comparative bullet lead analysis may seek post-conviction relief; the remedy is repealed on January 2, 2031. Since January 1, 2026, physician associates and nurse practitioners may serve as medical examiners. Bills to collect DNA from arrestees failed in 2023 and 2025.

Source: https://uscli.org/forensic-science-tracker/oregon

## At a glance

- **Oversight body:** No forensic science commission or crime lab oversight board. The Department of State Police “may establish forensic laboratories,” which must, subject to funding, furnish “generally accepted types of forensic services” and be available to defendants on court order ([ORS 181A.150](https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors181a.html)). ORS 181A.328 creates a state police committee on tracking sexual assault forensic evidence. For death investigation, the State Medical Examiner Advisory Board makes policy for the medical examiner system and approves pathologist eligibility ([ORS 146.015, 146.003](https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors146.html)).
- **Lab accreditation:** DUII blood-alcohol analyses only. An analysis is valid only if done in a CLIA-certified or accredited lab approved for toxicology, a state-licensed lab approved for toxicology, or “a forensic laboratory established by the Department of State Police under ORS 181A.150 that is accredited by a national forensic accrediting organization” ([ORS 813.160(1)(a)](https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors813.html)). The clause appears in the 2023 ORS and predates this tracker’s period. Urine analyses must be done in “an accredited or licensed toxicology laboratory” (813.131). No general accreditation mandate for state police labs in other disciplines was found in ORS chapter 181A.
- **Analyst licensing:** None for crime lab analysts. The state police issue permits to breath-test operators and must “ascertain the qualifications and competence” of those doing breath analyses ([ORS 813.160(1)(b)](https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors813.html)). Medical examiners must be licensed physicians or, since January 1, 2026, licensed physician associates or nurse practitioners ([ORS 146.003](https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors146.html)).
- **Admissibility standard:** Oregon Evidence Code Rule 702 ([ORS 40.410](https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors040.html)), not amended since 1981. Oregon has not adopted the 2023 change to Federal Rule 702. Under [State v. Southard, 347 Or 127 (2009)](https://cdm17027.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p17027coll3/id/5370), scientific evidence must be relevant (OEC 401), have sufficient indicia of scientific validity and be helpful (OEC 702), and survive OEC 403. Courts weigh the factors from State v. Brown, 297 Or 404 (1984), and the Daubert factors adopted in State v. O’Key, 321 Or 285 (1995); not every factor must be met.
- **Post-conviction forensic relief:** Yes, but limited to three disciplines and temporary. 2026 SB 1515 § 6 lets a person convicted of a crime petition for post-conviction relief if the conviction was “based in whole or in part on” scientific expert testimony, evidence or opinion derived from hair microscopy, bite mark analysis or comparison, or comparative bullet lead analysis ([SB 1515 enrolled](https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2026R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB1515/Enrolled)). The court “shall grant relief” on proof by a preponderance that the conviction “was based substantially” on such evidence and, after trial, a reasonable probability of a different outcome without it, or, after a plea, that the evidence was known at the plea and was “a material factor” in it. People whose direct appeals were exhausted before April 7, 2026 must file by April 7, 2028 (computed: two years after the effective date). The section is repealed on January 2, 2031. Otherwise, general post-conviction relief (ORS 138.510 to 138.680) and post-conviction DNA testing ([ORS 138.688 to 138.700](https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors138.html)) apply.
- **DNA database scope:** Convictions only; no arrestee collection. Samples are taken from people convicted of any felony, third-degree sexual abuse, public indecency, specified conspiracies or attempts, and murder or aggravated murder ([ORS 137.076(1)](https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors137.html)). The state police may analyze, store and maintain a criminal identification database, with analysis priorities when money is short ([ORS 181A.155](https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors181a.html)). Bills to add arrestee collection failed in 2023 and 2025.
- **Facial recognition:** Body cameras only. A law enforcement agency’s body-worn camera policies must include “a prohibition on the use of facial recognition or other biometric matching technology to analyze recordings obtained through the use of the camera” ([ORS 133.741(1)(b)(D)](https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors133.html), 2015). No general statute on police use of facial recognition was found.

## Changes, 2023 to 2026

- Apr 7, 2026 — **Post-conviction relief for convictions based on hair microscopy, bite mark analysis or comparative bullet lead analysis, until 2031** — 2026 SB 1515, Or. Laws 2026, ch. 131, §§ 5 to 11, ORS 138.510 · Governor signed April 7, 2026; effective April 7, 2026 (emergency clause); §§ 5, 6 and 8 repealed January 2, 2031 — Section 6 lets a person convicted of a crime petition for post-conviction relief if the conviction was “based in whole or in part on” scientific expert testimony, evidence or opinion derived from (a) hair microscopy, (b) bite mark analysis or bite mark comparison, or (c) comparative bullet lead analysis. “Notwithstanding ORS 138.530,” the court “shall grant relief” if the petitioner proves by a preponderance that the conviction “was based substantially” on such evidence and either, after trial, that there is “a reasonable probability” the outcome would have been different without it, or, after a guilty or no contest plea, that the evidence was known at the plea and was “a material factor” in the decision to plead. The court follows ORS 138.620 procedures. A petition may be filed despite a guilty or no contest plea, a confession, a completed sentence, or no objection at trial (unless the trial was on or after April 7, 2026), and the successive-petition bars in ORS 138.550(3) and (4) do not apply. The section is to be “liberally construed.” — Limits: the remedy does not reach convictions resting on “objective and validated computational methods” that replaced the subjective techniques, DNA analysis of material in or around a bite mark, dental identification of the dead, or mitochondrial or nuclear DNA testing of hair. “Hair microscopy” covers only testimony that tied a hair to one person to the exclusion of all others, assigned a statistical weight or rarity, or cited counts of past indistinguishable comparisons. The remedy covers convictions whose direct appeals were not exhausted on April 7, 2026, and convictions with exhausted appeals only if the petition is filed by April 7, 2028 (computed: two years after the effective date). The normal ORS 138.510 time limits are made subject to § 6 until January 2, 2031, when §§ 5, 6 and 8 are repealed; timely petitions without final judgment by then are saved. Sections 1 to 4 of the act separately revise wrongful-conviction compensation: a judgment for the petitioner must now include a certificate of innocence, a prior court finding that no reasonable juror would have convicted is sufficient proof of innocence, and the Attorney General must decide within 180 days whether the claim meets the requirements and, if so, may not oppose it. — **For practitioners:** For a client whose direct appeals ended before April 7, 2026, the filing deadline is April 7, 2028; check trial records for hair, bite mark or bullet lead testimony now. — [SB 1515 enrolled](https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2026R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB1515/Enrolled)[SB 1515 history](https://api.oregonlegislature.gov/odata/ODataService.svc/MeasureHistoryActions?$filter=SessionKey%20eq%20'2026R1'%20and%20MeasurePrefix%20eq%20'SB'%20and%20MeasureNumber%20eq%201515)
- Jan 1, 2026 — **Physician associates and nurse practitioners may serve as medical examiners** — 2025 SB 536, Or. Laws 2025, ch. 223, ORS 146.003 · Governor signed May 28, 2025; effective January 1, 2026 — The definitions of “medical examiner,” “district medical examiner” and “assistant district medical examiner” now include a physician associate licensed under ORS 677.505 to 677.525 or a nurse practitioner licensed under ORS 678.375 to 678.390, alongside licensed physicians. “Pathologist” now means a physician “licensed under ORS chapter 677” who is eligible for American Board of Pathology certification, as approved by the State Medical Examiner Advisory Board. Pathologist qualifications are unchanged in substance. — **For practitioners:** Check who certified the cause and manner of death; since 2026 it may be a physician associate or nurse practitioner rather than a physician. — [SB 536 enrolled](https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB536/Enrolled)[ORS 146.003](https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors146.html)
- Apr 4, 2024 — **One-time state police study of the medical examiner shortage (expired)** — 2024 HB 4003, Or. Laws 2024, ch. 72 · Governor signed April 4, 2024; effective April 4, 2024; expired January 2, 2025 — The act directed the Department of State Police to study the causes of, and ways to address, the medical examiner shortage and report to interim committees by October 1, 2024. It created no standing body and sunset on January 2, 2025. The session-law text was not reviewed; this entry rests on the legislature’s measure summary and history. — **For practitioners:** The study duty has expired; it changed no medical examiner rule. — [HB 4003](https://api.oregonlegislature.gov/odata/ODataService.svc/Measures?$filter=SessionKey%20eq%20'2024R1'%20and%20MeasurePrefix%20eq%20'HB'%20and%20MeasureNumber%20eq%204003)

## Pending bills

No bill on these topics is pending. The 2026 session has adjourned, and the 2027 session has not convened. Bills that ended in committee at adjournment:

- SB 240 (2023): DNA samples from arrested people; state police testing of database samples within 96 hours and sexual assault kits within 7 days ([SB 240](https://api.oregonlegislature.gov/odata/ODataService.svc/MeasureHistoryActions?$filter=SessionKey%20eq%20'2023R1'%20and%20MeasurePrefix%20eq%20'SB'%20and%20MeasureNumber%20eq%20240)).
- HB 2309 (2023) and HB 3093 (2025): DNA samples from people arrested for certain crimes, destruction on request after acquittal or dismissal, and removal of state police testing priorities ([HB 3093](https://api.oregonlegislature.gov/odata/ODataService.svc/MeasureHistoryActions?$filter=SessionKey%20eq%20'2025R1'%20and%20MeasurePrefix%20eq%20'HB'%20and%20MeasureNumber%20eq%203093)).
- SB 554 (2023): post-conviction relief at any time based on “currently available relevant forensic scientific evidence.” The narrower SB 1515 passed in 2026 ([SB 554](https://api.oregonlegislature.gov/odata/ODataService.svc/MeasureHistoryActions?$filter=SessionKey%20eq%20'2023R1'%20and%20MeasurePrefix%20eq%20'SB'%20and%20MeasureNumber%20eq%20554)).
- SB 169 (2025): state police study of forensic science, report due September 15, 2026. SB 924 (2025): state police study of faster forensic testing of controlled substances ([SB 169](https://api.oregonlegislature.gov/odata/ODataService.svc/MeasureHistoryActions?$filter=SessionKey%20eq%20'2025R1'%20and%20MeasurePrefix%20eq%20'SB'%20and%20MeasureNumber%20eq%20169)).

## Checked and unchanged

- ORS 138.688 to 138.700 (post-conviction DNA testing): histories end at 2019 c.368. ORS 40.410 (OEC 702): history shows 1981 c.892 only.
- ORS 181A.150 to 181A.175 (forensic labs, DNA sample authority, fingerprints): no 2023 to 2026 amendment.
- ORS 137.076 (DNA from convicted people): 2024 c.73 § 37 only replaced “physician assistant” with “physician associate” among authorized blood drawers. ORS 133.741 (body-camera policies): 2015 c.550 only.
- ORS 813.160 (DUII chemical analyses): 2025 HB 2473 (ch. 375) added phlebotomists as authorized blood drawers and 2025 SB 844 (ch. 624) revised a licensed-lab cross-reference. The accreditation clause in (1)(a)(C) appears in the 2023 ORS unchanged.
- Not checked: state police administrative rules (OAR ch. 257) on lab accreditation or DNA. No statute on rapid DNA, investigative genetic genealogy or digital forensics labs was found.