The Oregon Address Confidentiality Program is a free service run by the Oregon Department of Justice that gives survivors of violence and certain at-risk individuals a substitute mailing address to use in place of their real home, work, or school location. The Attorney General’s office receives mail sent to that substitute address and forwards it to your actual residence, keeping your location out of state and local government records. The program also accepts legal service of process on your behalf, so lawsuits and subpoenas reach you without exposing where you live.1Oregon Department of Justice. Address Confidentiality Program (ACP)
Who Qualifies
ORS 192.820 through 192.868 set the eligibility categories. You can apply if you are a victim of domestic violence, a sexual offense, stalking, a bias crime or bias incident, or human trafficking, and you fear for your safety or the safety of your child or legal ward.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 192 – Records; Public Reports and Meetings Bias-crime and bias-incident victims became eligible on January 1, 2024. For that category, no police report or charging decision is required.3Oregon Department of Justice. Resources for Victims
Health care providers who deliver physical or behavioral reproductive and gender-affirming health care services can also enroll. They apply through a separate track at the Department of Justice Civil Rights Unit rather than through a victim advocate.1Oregon Department of Justice. Address Confidentiality Program (ACP)
One requirement cuts across every category. You must already live at a location in Oregon that your assailant or potential assailant does not know about, and you must agree not to share that location with them while enrolled.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 192 – Records; Public Reports and Meetings Household members who share the same safety concern, including minor children and legal wards, can be covered under a single application.
How To Apply
You do not apply directly to the state. Instead, you work with a victim advocate who has been designated as an Application Assistant by the Attorney General. These advocates are usually based at domestic violence shelters, sexual assault resource centers, and other community-based victim service agencies.1Oregon Department of Justice. Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) The Application Assistant walks you through the paperwork, helps gather supporting evidence, and submits the completed application to the Attorney General’s office.
Under ORS 192.826, the application must include a written statement that you are a victim of one of the covered offenses, a declaration that disclosing your actual address would endanger your safety, and confirmation that you live at an Oregon location unknown to your assailant. You’ll also need supporting evidence, which can be law enforcement records, court documents, documentation from a victim services organization, records from a medical or religious professional, or other evidence the Attorney General accepts by rule. The application includes written consent for the Attorney General to act as your agent for legal service and mail, contact information, the names of any household members to be covered, and a sworn statement that everything you’ve provided is true. Your Application Assistant adds a written recommendation supporting your enrollment.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 192 – Records; Public Reports and Meetings
The sworn statement carries real weight. Filing a false application is perjury under Oregon law, a Class C felony.4Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 162 – Offenses Against the State and Public Justice There is no application or enrollment fee.
What You Get and How Long It Lasts
After the Attorney General’s office approves your application, it issues an ACP authorization card. You show this card to government agencies whenever you need to use the substitute address on public records. Most participants receive their card and materials within a few weeks of submitting an application.
Certification lasts four years. You renew by filing a renewal application at least 30 days before your current certification expires.5Cornell Law Institute. Oregon Administrative Code 137-079-0150 – Certification Process for Program Miss that deadline and your enrollment lapses, so track the expiration date carefully.
How Mail and Legal Service Work
The Attorney General designates a substitute address for you and acts as your agent for receiving mail and accepting legal service of process.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 192 – Records; Public Reports and Meetings You use the substitute address on state and local government records where your physical address would otherwise appear, including DMV documents, voter registration, and court filings. Because Oregon runs elections primarily by mail, your ballot goes to the substitute address and is forwarded to you with your other first-class mail.6Oregon Secretary of State. Oregon Secretary of State – Address Confidentiality Resources
The office forwards first-class, certified, and registered mail. It is not required to forward anything else.7Oregon Department of Justice. Address Confidentiality Program Frequently Asked Questions Packages are refused at the post office and returned to the sender. Magazines and junk mail are confidentially shredded and recycled. The Attorney General is not required to track regular first-class mail, though certified and registered mail carry their own tracking.
When someone files a lawsuit against you or serves a subpoena, the paperwork goes to the substitute address, and the office forwards it to you. Your actual location stays out of the court record while you still receive the notice in time to respond.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 192 – Records; Public Reports and Meetings
Where the Program Stops
The ACP is a state program that binds state and local government records. It does not cover every situation where your address gets asked for, and the gaps matter.
Public Schools and Certain Agencies
A school district has the right to ask for your actual physical address when enrolling your child, because it needs that information for admission and placement. The district must use only your ACP substitute address for mailing and school records. The program may also disclose your participation status to the DMV or the Child Support Program in certain circumstances. Enrollment does not cancel your legal or financial obligations.7Oregon Department of Justice. Address Confidentiality Program Frequently Asked Questions
Property Records
Deeds, title records, and real estate excise tax documents are recorded at the county level and are public. The ACP generally does not extend to these records, so buying property in your own name can expose your location. One workaround is purchasing through a revocable living trust, with a co-trustee’s name on the public documents while the trust holds title for your benefit. This works best for new purchases; transferring property you already own into a trust is less effective because the original deed remains in the county’s public records with your name attached. An attorney experienced in real estate and privacy law can walk you through structuring this in Oregon.
Banks and Other Private Businesses
Private businesses are not bound by the ACP. Banks have their own federal requirements: under the customer identification rules, a bank must collect a residential or business street address before opening an account. The regulation allows a military post office box or a contact person’s street address as alternatives, but it does not explicitly list ACP substitute addresses as an accepted option.8eCFR. 31 CFR 1020.220 – Customer Identification Program Requirements for Banks In practice, some banks accept a substitute address once you explain the program and show your card; others will not. Call ahead. Your Application Assistant may know which local institutions have accommodated participants before.
Moving Out of State
Oregon’s ACP protections do not follow you across state lines. Every state runs its own program (or does not have one), and eligibility, covered records, and substitute address rules vary. If you relocate, you’ll need to apply to the new state’s program separately, and gaps in coverage during the transition are possible. Plan the move with your advocate before you leave.
Penalties for Disclosure and Misuse
Under ORS 192.865, knowingly violating the address-disclosure restrictions in ORS 192.852 is a Class C misdemeanor. That applies to government employees and anyone else who handles a participant’s confidential information through official channels.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 192 – Records; Public Reports and Meetings Filing a false application is perjury, a Class C felony that can carry prison time and substantial fines.4Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 162 – Offenses Against the State and Public Justice