Originally Posted by Steve - UK
Its true, the oil filter holds some oil. Best thing to do is stand the car on level ground (hot engine) and let it sit there for 20 mins or so to give the oil chance to drain down into pan (sump).
I want to second Steve's suggestion to let the oil drain for a
long time. When I did my first oil change it drained level for over 15 minutes before the tiny stream changed to drops.
Then I repositioned the drain side one stop lower on my jack stand and the stream started up again for more than 5 minutes. At this point I went inside and came back 20 more minutes later and the pan was still dripping, just slowly now.
If someone merely pulled the drain plug on a level car and only drained it for 5 minutes I wouldn't be surprised to find out that there is 1/4 to 1/2 quart still spread around in the motor.