ORS 163.537: Buying or selling a person under 18 years of age.
Edition: 2025 EditionEffective: 2026-01-01Last verified: 2026-09-07
(1) A person commits the crime of buying or selling a person under 18 years of age if the person buys, sells, barters, trades or offers to buy or sell the legal or physical custody of a person under 18 years of age. (2) Subsection (1) of this section does not: (a) Prohibit a person in the process of adopting a child from paying the fees, costs and expenses related to the adoption as allowed in ORS 109.281. (b) Prohibit a negotiated satisfaction of child support arrearages or other settlement in favor of a parent of a child in exchange for consent of the parent to the adoption of the child by the current spouse of the child’s other parent. (c) Apply to fees for services charged by the Department of Human Services or adoption agencies licensed under ORS chapter 418. (d) Apply to fees for services in an adoption pursuant to a surrogacy agreement. (e) Apply to fees for services pursuant to a gestational surrogacy agreement. (f) Prohibit discussion or settlement of disputed issues between parties in a domestic relations proceeding. (3) Buying or selling a person under 18 years of age is a Class B felony. [1997 c.561 §2; 2025 c.592 §78]
Administrative rules citing this section
This rule cites
- ORS 109.281 — resolved
- ORS chapter 418 — target_record_not_published
Cited by
- ORS 131.602: Prohibited conduct for purposes of instrumentalities of crime.
- ORS 443.004: Criminal records check required for employees and volunteers providing direct care; exceptions; rules.
- OAR 213-003-0001: Definitions
- OAR 213-017-0004: Crime Category 8
- OAR 213-017-0007: Crime Category 5
- OAR 407-007-0041: Potentially Disqualifying Convictions
- OAR 407-007-0281: Temporary rule language in effect until 12/01/2026. Potentially Disqualifying Convictions
- OAR 413-015-0115: Temporary rule language in effect until 08/31/2026. Definitions
- OAR 413-140-0031: Actions Performed by the Department upon Receipt of an Adoption Petition
- OAR 413-208-0015: Assessment of Criminal Convictions
- OAR 414-061-0045: Disqualifying Conditions for Enrollment
- OAR 575-007-0280: Potentially Disqualifying Crimes
- OAR 836-072-0020: Crimes Relevant to a Fitness Determination
- OAR 863-005-0030: Crimes Relevant to a Criminal Background Fitness Determination
Official source: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors163.html