It is the mission of Malheur County to administrate an economically sound local government, while maintaining the highest standards of leadership and service.

Malheur County is located in beautiful Eastern Oregon. It is a place filled with fascinating history, diverse landscape and friendly people. Malheur County is one of Oregon’s best-kept secrets! Located in Oregon’s southeast corner, the county is the state’s second largest. It is 94 percent rangeland, two-thirds of which is controlled by the Federal Bureau of Land Management. Today, irrigated fields in the county’s northeastern corner, known as Western Treasure Valley, are the center of intensive and diversified farming.

One of Malheur County’s greatest resources is its people — people that still believe in hard work and traditional values. Malheur County has beautiful, enchanting scenery and a wide variety of excellent recreational opportunities.

The name Malheur is French for “misfortune.” Legend has it some French trappers and traders were in the area searching for furs. Their trip was unsuccessful and they were attacked by Indians, a portion of the party was killed and others wounded. Because of the misfortunes of their trip, the French named the river Malheur, or loosely translated, “unhappy river.”

The county was created in 1887, and Henry C. Murray was appointed the first sheriff. Vale was granted temporary status as county seat, and battled with Ontario and Jordan Valley for the permanent title. The law called for a majority vote, and a county-wide election was held in 1888. Vale won the election, with Jordan Valley second and Ontario third, but because Vale did not receive the required majority, a second election between the top two contenders was held, with Vale receiving 459 votes and Jordan Valley 138.

The first courthouse was built in 1887, for $1,400. Rhinehart donated the site for a new courthouse, and a committee raised and donated $10,000 for the two-story stone building completed in 1902.

In addition to Ontario, Jordan Valley, and Vale, there are several other communities of size in Malheur County: Nyssa and Adrian are incorporated cities, while Juntura, Ironside, Jamieson, Westfall, Harper, Arock, Annex and Brogan are unincorporated communities.

This includes:
County Administration
County Clerk (Recording/Probate/Elections/Marriage License/Passports)
County Court/County Counsel
County Assessor
County Tax/Treasurer
County Environmental Health
County Planning & Zoning
County Surveyor
Juvenile Department
County I.S. Department
District Attorney
State Court/Circuit Court
State Watermaster

Click Here for PDF of this notice.

Effective June 12th, a BURN BAN for each of the fire districts, as well as the Unincorporated areas of Malheur County will be in effect. Due to a wet spring, our fuels are extra high this year and the threat of causing a major fire event are high. Trash should be hauled off to land-fills during the burn ban and not burned.

Please click the following link for full information. Click here / burn ban information

Click Here for a Copy of This Document.

Contact for RFP Packet:

Keith Ishida
Malheur County Ambulance Service District
316 NE Goodfellow Street
Ontario, OR 97914
Phone: (541) 473-5598
Email: Keith.Ishida@malheurco.org

The Malheur County drive-up drop box is available for:

Tax Payments

Juvenile Department

Planning Department

Environmental Health

Assessor Office

Clerk/Recording Office

DO NOT PLACE PAYMENTS TO ANY OTHER DEPARTMENT IN THIS BOX

DO NOT PLACE VOTING BALLOTS IN THIS BOX (THE OFFICIAL BALLOT BOX HAS BEEN MOVED AND IS TO THE IMMEDIATE RIGHT OF THE PAYMENT DROP BOX)

If you are placing payment or paperwork in the drop box, please indicate with an account number or the department it is pertaining to.

The drop box is located behind the Courthouse on the corner of C Street and Bryant Street, entrance is off of C street.