Oregon law holds the privacy of the deceased at the highest priority and our office complies with all ordinances and policies.
State law (ORS 146.035) allows certain individuals, including immediate family members and representatives, to receive medical examiner records. Only first-degree relatives and/or the legal next of kin are eligible to receive reports for personal or financial reasons; this includes spouses, adult children, parents, siblings, and parents of minor children of the deceased. Any person who may be criminally or civilly liable for a death, or their authorized representatives can also receive Medical Examiner records. Domestic partners, significant others, ex-spouses, friends, and neighbors are not included in the eligible parties for receipt of records.
Oregon law also allows government agencies such as law enforcement, the District Attorney’s Office, other district and private attorneys, as well as primary care, hospital, and mental health care providers that have an established patient doctor relationship.
Medical Examiner’s Report
Medical Examiner records are exempt from public disclosure except in certain circumstances. You can request records that include the investigative report, pathologist’s report, and toxicology report, if performed.
For deaths occurring in Multnomah County, please fill out
and return by mail, fax, or email. Please ensure the request form is signed, applicable fees are included, and photo ID is included if specified on the form.
Mailing address:Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office619 NW 6th Avenue, Fourth Floor,Portland, OR 97209
Fax: 503-988-4588
Email: medical.examiner@multco.us
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For insurance companies
Insurance companies are eligible to receive reports if they pertain to a current policy held by the deceased and provide written consent from the confirmed next of kin. The applicable agency can request the necessary reports to close out an insurance policy, but they cannot release these reports to an individual. There is a processing fee for these agencies of $25, and additional charges may be applied if the request asks for information other than that included in a basic report package. All processing fees, consent, and request forms must be paid and received prior to release of records.
Checks must be made out to Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office and mailed to:
Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office619 NW 6th Avenue, Fourth Floor, Portland, OR 97209
Requesting records from other counties
The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office handles records requests for all Oregon counties, with the exception of Multnomah and Clackamas. The Clackamas County Medical Examiner’s Office handles records requests for deaths occurring in Clackamas County only. They can be reached by phone at 503-655-8380. For questions around deaths occurring outside Multnomah County, click here for a list of surrounding Medical Examiner Offices.