Class B Felony in Oregon: Sentences, Fines, and Measure 11

A Class B felony in Oregon carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.¹² What you’ll actually serve depends heavily on whether the charge falls under Measure 11, which imposes fixed mandatory minimums of 70 or 75 months for a specific list of violent and sex-related offenses. Everything else is sentenced under Oregon’s guidelines grid, where a first-time offender may qualify for probation.

Which Crimes Are Class B Felonies

Oregon labels a broad mix of crimes at this level. The ones most often charged include:

Second-degree manslaughter, meaning a reckless killing or a criminally negligent death of a child under 14 or a dependent person in defined circumstances.³
Second-degree assault, meaning knowingly or intentionally causing serious injury, or causing serious injury with a deadly weapon under extreme indifference.⁴
Second-degree robbery, meaning robbery committed while claiming to be armed or with another person present.⁵
Aggravated first-degree theft, meaning property valued at $10,000 or more, excluding personal-use vehicles.⁶
Manufacturing or delivering a Schedule II controlled substance, such as methamphetamine or fentanyl.⁷

Some offenses only reach Class B status under specific facts. Third-degree assault, usually a Class C felony, is elevated to a Class B when the injury was caused by driving under the influence.⁸

Prison Term and Fine Ceilings

Ten years is the statutory maximum for any Class B felony unless a separate statute or enhancement pushes it higher.¹ The fine ceiling is $250,000. If the defendant profited from the crime, the court can bypass that cap and impose a fine of up to twice the financial gain.² Restitution to the victim is often ordered on top of any fine.

Measure 11 Mandatory Minimums

Measure 11, passed by Oregon voters in 1994, forces judges to impose a fixed minimum prison term for a specified list of violent and sex-related crimes. No parole, no early release, no time off for good behavior.⁹

Class B felonies on the Measure 11 list, with their required minimums:

Second-degree assault: 70 months
Second-degree kidnapping: 70 months
Second-degree robbery: 70 months
Compelling prostitution: 70 months
Using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct: 70 months
Second-degree manslaughter: 75 months
Second-degree rape: 75 months
First-degree sexual abuse: 75 months
Second-degree sodomy: 75 months
Second-degree unlawful sexual penetration: 75 months

These are floors. A judge can go higher but cannot go lower for any reason.⁹ A 70-month sentence works out to just under five years and ten months of guaranteed incarceration, served day for day.

Sentencing for Non-Measure 11 Class B Felonies

Class B felonies outside the Measure 11 list are sentenced under Oregon’s guidelines grid, which crosses the crime’s seriousness (scored 1 to 11) with the defendant’s criminal history (A through I, with I meaning no prior felonies or Class A misdemeanors).¹⁰

A first-time offender at a lower seriousness level may land in a grid block calling for probation with local jail time rather than prison. As seriousness or criminal history climbs, presumptive sentences shift into prison ranges that run from roughly 16 months up past 100 months at the top of the grid.¹⁰ Judges can depart from the presumptive sentence but must state their reasons on the record.

Non-violent Class B felonies such as drug offenses and aggravated theft are the ones most likely to draw probation for someone with a clean record. Conditions typically include treatment, community service, and regular check-ins. Violating probation can lead to revocation and a prison term.

Sentence Enhancements

Firearm Use

Using or threatening to use a firearm during any felony triggers a separate mandatory minimum on top of the underlying sentence. First offense: five years. If the firearm is a machine gun, short-barreled rifle or shotgun, or silencer-equipped, the minimum jumps to 10 years. A second firearm-enhanced felony carries a 10-year minimum, or 20 years for the prohibited weapon types. A third carries 30 years.¹¹ Operability of the firearm is not a factor.

Repeat Sex Offenses

A defendant convicted of a felony sex crime with at least two prior felony sex crime convictions faces a presumptive life sentence without parole.¹² The rule reaches any felony-level sex crime, Class B included, and prior convictions from other states or the federal system count toward the threshold.

Earned Time and Post-Prison Supervision

Inmates serving non-Measure 11 Class B felony sentences can earn reductions of up to 20% or 30% of the term, depending on the statute. The Department of Corrections awards these credits based on compliance with the inmate’s case plan and institutional conduct, and major misconduct can strip credits already earned.¹³ Measure 11 sentences allow none of this. The mandatory minimum is served in full.⁹

After release, a period of post-prison supervision follows. Length depends on the crime seriousness category: one year for categories 1 through 3, two years for 4 through 6, and three years for 7 through 11.¹⁴ The combined prison and supervision term cannot exceed the 10-year statutory maximum; if it would, the judge trims the supervision period.

Consequences That Outlast the Sentence

Firearm Rights

Federal law bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition.¹⁵ Because every Class B felony carries a 10-year maximum, every Class B conviction triggers the ban, regardless of the sentence actually imposed. The bar is permanent absent a formal restoration of rights.

Employment and Professional Licensing

Oregon’s “Ban the Box” law blocks employers from asking about convictions before an initial interview, or before a conditional offer if no interview happens.¹⁶ After that point, employers can weigh a conviction. Law enforcement agencies, criminal justice employers, and positions where background checks are required by law are exempt from the restriction.

Licensing boards in healthcare, law, real estate, and similar fields weigh convictions against the applicant’s honesty and fitness for the profession. Oregon administrative rules identify crimes involving dishonesty, harm to others, or disrespect for legal norms as potentially disqualifying.¹⁷ Fraud and violent convictions raise the biggest problems.

Voting

Oregon suspends voting rights during incarceration and restores them automatically on release. You have to re-register, but no court petition is needed. A return to prison for a parole violation suspends rights again until the next release.¹⁸

Travel to Canada

Canada is the most common travel problem for Oregonians with a felony record. A felony conviction makes you inadmissible, and Canadian border agents pull directly from FBI criminal records. Expunged or sealed records can still surface at the border. Once you’ve completed your full sentence, including probation and fines, you can apply for Canadian Criminal Rehabilitation five years later. A Temporary Resident Permit is available for urgent travel before that.

Immigration Status

For noncitizens, a Class B felony can trigger deportation. Federal immigration law defines certain crimes as “aggravated felonies,” and that federal label is independent of how Oregon classifies the offense. A crime Oregon treats as a Class B felony can still count as an aggravated felony for immigration purposes, which blocks nearly all forms of relief from removal and prohibits future reentry. Any noncitizen facing a felony charge should talk to an immigration attorney before entering a plea.

Setting Aside a Class B Felony Conviction

Oregon lets some Class B convictions be set aside (the state’s version of expungement) after a seven-year waiting period, measured from the date of conviction or release from prison, whichever is later. But the exclusions swallow most serious offenses. Any Class B felony classified as a “person felony” under Criminal Justice Commission rules is ineligible, as are sex crimes and specifically listed offenses like using a firearm during a felony.¹⁹ Assault, robbery, manslaughter, and kidnapping are person felonies, so most Measure 11 Class B convictions cannot be set aside at all. The realistic candidates are non-person offenses like aggravated theft and certain drug crimes.

1
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 161.605 – Maximum Terms of Imprisonment for Felonies
2
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 161.625 – Fines for Felonies
3
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 163.125 – Manslaughter in the Second Degree
4
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 163.175 – Assault in the Second Degree
5
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 164.405 – Robbery in the Second Degree
6
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 164.057 – Aggravated Theft in the First Degree
7
Public Law. Oregon Code 475.752 – Prohibited Acts Generally
8
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 163.165 – Assault in the Third Degree
9
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 137.700 – Offenses Requiring Imposition of Mandatory Minimum Sentences
10
Oregon Criminal Justice Commission. Oregon Sentencing Guidelines Grid
11
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 161.610 – Enhanced Penalty for Use of Firearm During Commission of Felony
12
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 137.719 – Presumptive Life Sentence for Certain Sex Offenders Upon Third Conviction
13
Oregon Public Law. Calculation and Application of Earned Time Credits
14
Oregon Public Law. Term of Post-Prison Community Supervision
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
16
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 659A.360 – Restricting Criminal Conviction Inquiries
17
Oregon Public Law. OAR 161-530-0030 – Potentially Disqualifying Crimes
18
Multnomah County. Voting Rights in Oregon for Person Convicted of a Felony
19
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 137.225 – Order Setting Aside Conviction or Record of Criminal Charge