Oregon
Oregon has no statute written for deposits on a personal service. Its Supreme Court took the rule for sales of goods and made it the test for every contract: an agreed sum holds only at an amount reasonable in light of the harm, anticipated or actual, and how hard the loss is to prove. In Illingworth v. Bushong, a buyer’s 10 percent earnest-money deposit on a purchase, picked by rule of thumb, failed, with the actual damage grossly disproportionate to it, so a deposit sized from the shop’s own lost appointment is on firmer ground. And a shop that keeps a deposit for work never done, when the client asks for it back, needs a right it can assert in good faith.
Does a non-refundable deposit hold up in Oregon?
The law’s word for a set sum agreed in advance is liquidated damages.
In Illingworth v. Bushong, a case about a forfeited earnest-money deposit, the Oregon Supreme Court took ORS 72.7180(1), which by its own terms governs sales of goods, as the starting point for judging liquidated damages in every contract. The test is whether the amount is reasonable in light of the harm the breach was expected to cause or did cause, the difficulty of proving the loss, and how hard it is to get an adequate remedy another way; an unreasonably large sum is void as a penalty. The court upheld a finding that a deposit set at 10 percent of the price by rule of thumb was not a genuine pre-estimate of the damage, with the actual damage grossly disproportionate to it, and the buyer got it back less the seller’s proven loss.
“Damages for breach by either party may be liquidated in the agreement but only at an amount which is reasonable in the light of the anticipated or actual harm caused by the breach, the difficulties of proof of loss, and the inconvenience or nonfeasibility of otherwise obtaining an adequate remedy.” Illingworth v. Bushong, 297 Or. 675, 688 P.2d 379 (1984)
Showing your refund policy
No refund-policy disclosure statute was found. The full text of ORS chapters 646 (Trade Practices and Antitrust Regulation, including the Unlawful Trade Practices Act) and 646A (Trade Regulation) was searched for any refund or return policy duty, and the Department of Justice’s trade-practice rules (OAR chapter 137, division 20) were read; none requires a business to post or disclose a refund policy.
Body-art rules and money
Nothing about client deposits, refunds, prices or payment records in OAR chapter 331, division 915 (Tattoo), division 900 (Body Piercing), division 925 (Facility Licensing) or division 950 (Civil Penalties). The only money in them is license, renewal and delinquency fees paid to the Health Licensing Office.
What reaches your deposit page
Keeping money for work not done needs a good-faith right
ORS 646.607(2) makes it an unlawful trade practice to fail to deliver a service as promised and then, when the client asks, fail to refund the money, unless the business keeps it under a right, claim or defense it can assert in good faith. A written deposit policy the client agreed to is the kind of right a shop asserts when it keeps a no-show’s deposit. When the shop is the one that cancels, the refund is due when the client asks for it.
“Fails to deliver all or any portion of real estate, goods or services as promised, and at a customer's request, fails to refund money ... that the person does not retain pursuant to any right, claim or defense the person may assert in good faith” ORS 646.607(2)
- Your whole deposit policy is on the pay screen above a box your client ticks, and the Pay button stays off until they tick it. The deposit keeps the exact words and the moment they agreed.
- The default deposit policy says your client gets the whole deposit back if you have to cancel, and a full refund from your dashboard returns everything they paid, the fee included when they paid it.
This page summarizes public law in plain language, with the source each point comes from, read at the source on 2026-09-23. It is not legal advice.