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Washington County, OR Code Violation Reporting: Response Times (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Reply deadline after notice
10 days, section 1.14.130(A)(6)
Standard hearing lead time
Not less than 30 days
Priority 1 hearing
Expedited, section 1.14.210(A)
Order becomes final
14 days after decision
Reconsideration deadline
14 days of final order
Mail service presumption
3rd business day after mailing

Summary

After the county issues a notice of violation in unincorporated Washington County, the hearing before the hearings officer must be set at least thirty days out, unless a priority 1 case gets an expedited schedule. The cited person then has ten days to reply.

These county ordinances apply to unincorporated areas of Washington County. Incorporated cities within the county may have their own rules that take precedence over county-level regulations.

10.The time and place at which the person cited is to appear before the hearings officer which shall be not less than thirty (30) days from the date of the notice of violation unless the director of land use and transportation or designee determines that an expedited hearing schedule is required to remedy a priority 1 classification under Section 1.14.210(A).

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Community Development Code: Supplement 2 | Code of Ordinances: Supplement 25).

Full Breakdown

130 of the Washington County Code sets the procedural clock for the county's Building and Land Use Code Compliance program in the unincorporated area. 120, the notice must give the person cited ten days to reply, admitting the violation and proposing mitigation, denying it while waiving a hearing, or denying it and requesting to appear. 210(A). Failure to reply is treated as a denial that preserves the right to appear, and failure to appear at the hearing is treated as an admission that lets the hearings officer impose penalties.

210(A) applies instead. 190, and the hearings officer must then decide whether to grant a new hearing within another fourteen days of receiving that request. 140(C) creates a rebuttable presumption that mailed correspondence is served on the third business day after it is deposited in the mail, which affects when these response clocks start running.

Violations & Fines

Missing the ten-day reply window after a notice of violation is treated as a denial that still preserves hearing rights, but failing to appear at the scheduled hearing under Section 1.14.170(B) lets the county present a prima facie case and results in a presumed admission, exposing the cited party to the full priority-based penalty, up to $5,000 for a priority 1 violation. Reconsideration requests filed outside the fourteen-day window under Section 1.14.190 are not addressed by the chapter's ordinary process.

Frequently Asked Questions

How soon after a notice of violation will my hearing be scheduled?
Section 1.14.130(A)(10) requires the hearing date to be not less than thirty days from the date of the notice of violation, unless the director of land use and transportation or a designee orders an expedited schedule to address a priority 1 classification under Section 1.14.210(A).
How long do I have to respond to a notice of violation?
Section 1.14.130(A)(6) gives the person cited ten days from the date of the notice to reply in writing, either admitting the violation and how it will be fixed, denying it and waiving the hearing, or denying it and requesting to appear.
When does a hearings officer's order become final?
Under Section 1.14.180, the order becomes final and effective fourteen days after the decision date, unless the hearings officer sets a different timeline to address a priority 1 classification under Section 1.14.210(A).

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Washington County

All Washington County rules

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