Civil

The Civil Division is responsible for processing, serving, and enforcing court orders. The Benton County Sheriff's Office Civil Division is comprised of one Civil Deputy who is trained in civil process to ensure that all court orders are processed in accordance with Oregon law and the Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure.  Once processed, the papers are forwarded to Patrol Deputies for service.

Examples of civil papers include:

• small claims
• evictions
• civil subpoenas
• writs of garnishment
• protection orders
• foreclosures of real or personal property as ordered by the courts
• variety of other court documents

Requirements for Civil Process

In order for the Sheriff's Office to process and serve papers, we need the following:

1. A letter of instructions. This can include special instructions that the Sheriff's Office may need such as a description of the person to be served or any other important service information. If more than one defendant is listed, indicate which defendant you want served.
2. Appropriate Fee. If you are sending the documents in the mail, please include a check, money order, or cashiers check made payable to the "Benton County Sheriff's Office." On your envelope please note ATTN: Civil
3. Physical Service Address. Unless allowed by statute, we do not accept papers with a post office box as the address listed for the defendant.
4. Certified True Copies of the Documents. In some instances this must include a court seal. We do not serve papers unless authorized by the Courts.

If you want a copy of the Return of Service, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Legal Questions

The Benton County Sheriff's Office and other public safety agencies, along with Oregon Courts, are not permitted to give legal advice pursuant to Oregon Law. "Legal Advice" means telling a person how to go about court proceedings, filing, what documents need to be served, speculating what the outcome in a court case would be, advising or recommending one procedure, form, or pleading over another, advising what words to put in a form or what to say in court, etc.

Service Fees

Generally, there is a fee charged to process and serve civil papers. State law or county ordinance sets the fee that is charged for our services. Checks, money orders, or cashiers checks should be made payable to the Benton County Sheriff's Office. With the passage of House Bill 2618, Civil Fees increased effective January 1, 2018. Civil Fees are listed in the Supporting Documents on this webpage.

Need More Information?

For civil-related questions, contact our Civil Deputy at 541-766-6814. Please remember that this office cannot give legal advice pursuant to Oregon law.