163.537 Buying or selling a person under 18 years of age. (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]
Stored review status: 2025_edition_later_amendments_unresolved. A text match is a research starting point; applicability is not established.
Official chapter context and edition notices
Chapter 163 — Offenses Against Persons
2025 EDITION
OFFENSES AGAINST PERSONS
CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS
HOMICIDE
ASSAULT AND RELATED OFFENSES
KIDNAPPING AND RELATED OFFENSES
COERCION
SEXUAL OFFENSES
OFFENSES AGAINST FAMILY
VISUAL RECORDING OF SEXUAL CONDUCT OF CHILDREN
INVASION OF PRIVACY
MISCELLANEOUS
STALKING
SEXUAL ABUSE RESTRAINING ORDERS
HOMICIDE
File SHA-256: 81109a43a5631ebec4ebfde641092a6c60ecd13ec77452c9939b53ff86a4d40c. The original may include catalog metadata, neighboring provisions, or embedded records outside this collection's scope. This page displays the selected Oregon section record with its printed versions and adjoining notes. Historical editions and unverified snapshots are not a statement of current law.
Authority boundary: official snapshot extraction not current law verified.
Stable record: oregon_criminal_law:legal_authorities:163.537 Source file: ors163.html Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded Passage SHA-256: 56a0d459932b228a39ee692eb4ec2d182e6fed86d4a8a3604a8c24bb13e94628 Retained source evidence SHA-256: 81109a43a5631ebec4ebfde641092a6c60ecd13ec77452c9939b53ff86a4d40c
Source location: ORS 163.537 (all printed versions and notes)
Stored source content
163.537 Buying or selling a person under 18 years of age. (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]
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