Oregon
Death Laws & End-of-Life Guide

At a Glance

The 5-day rule.

In Oregon, a death certificate must be filed with the Oregon Center for Health Statistics within 5 days of death and before the body is buried, cremated, or transported out of state. The funeral home or person handling disposition is responsible for filing.

Who files it.

The funeral home, mortuary, or person in charge of disposition files the death certificate. The attending physician, medical examiner, or coroner certifies the cause of death. If the death was unexpected or the cause is unknown, the medical examiner takes over.

Who can order copies.

Immediate family members, legal representatives, and others with a direct and tangible interest in the record can order certified copies. Oregon Vital Records is the primary source.

• -Oregon Vital Records: oregon.gov/oha/ph/BirthDeathCertificates
• -Cost: $25 for the initial record search and first certificate, and $25 for each additional copy ordered at the same time
• -Allow 3 to 5 weeks by mail; expedited options available
• -County clerk offices may have faster turnaround for local deaths

Who can order a death certificate in Oregon?

Death records are restricted for 50 years. Eligible: a parent, stepparent or grandparent; a child, grandchild or sibling; the spouse or registered domestic partner; a legal guardian, attorney or authorized representative such as the estate administrator; the funeral establishment named on the record; the person in charge of disposition; a government agency; or someone protecting a property right, who gets the short form without the cause of death. Certified copies come from Oregon's Center for Health Statistics, Oregon Health Authority; county health departments issue copies too, online or by phone through VitalChek, by mail, by drop box, or in person by appointment.

How do I get a death certificate in Oregon?

Order certified copies from Oregon's vital records office; this section's source link is the official process. The funeral home or cremation provider usually orders the first copies for you. Ask each bank, insurer, court, and agency whether it needs its own certified copy before you decide how many to order.

How much does a death certificate cost in Oregon?

$25 per certified copy in Oregon, as shown above. Additional-copy pricing varies; the official source linked in this section has the current fee schedule.

At a Glance

Two limits, not one: $75,000 and $200,000.

Oregon now calls the simplified route a 'simple estate affidavit,' and ORS 114.510 sets two separate caps that both have to be met. No more than $75,000 of the estate's fair market value can be personal property other than manufactured homes, and no more than $200,000 can be real property and manufactured homes combined. Miss either cap and the estate needs formal probate. There's one exception for a death on or after January 1, 2026: if the person left a will and a living trust that was in place before the death, the caps apply only to property the will leaves to people other than the trustee, and what the will leaves to the trustee doesn't count (ORS 114.510(1)(b)). Value is measured at the date of death, or, if you file more than a year after the death, within 45 days before filing, and it's the full value of the property without subtracting liens or debts.

Simple estate affidavit.

If the estate fits under both caps, a claiming successor, or the person named executor in the will, can file a simple estate affidavit with the clerk of the probate court in any county where a personal representative could be appointed. You have to wait 30 days after the death before filing (ORS 114.515).

• -Wait 30 days from date of death
• -File with the clerk of the probate court
• -Filing fee: set by ORS 21.145, so confirm the current amount with the circuit court
• -Attach certified copy of death certificate
• -If there's a will, attach the original
• -Must notify Oregon Department of Human Services and Oregon Health Authority

What avoids probate.

Living trusts, joint tenancy property, accounts with named beneficiaries (POD/TOD), life insurance with named beneficiaries, and retirement accounts all pass outside probate. Oregon also recognizes Transfer-on-Death deeds for real property, which allow real estate to transfer automatically without probate.

Transfer-on-Death deeds.

Oregon allows property owners to record a Transfer-on-Death (TOD) deed, which transfers real property to named beneficiaries automatically at death, no probate required. The deed must be recorded before death and can be revoked at any time.

Handwritten wills.

Oregon has no handwritten-will rule. A will needs at least two witnesses (ORS 112.235). A court can still treat a writing as a will if whoever offers it proves by clear and convincing evidence that the person meant it as their will (ORS 112.238). For deaths on or after January 1, 2026, the writing has to have been signed before death, by the person or by someone signing at their direction. That takes a court petition, and electronic documents don't qualify. A will valid under the law of the person's home state or of the place it was signed is valid here (ORS 112.255).

Source: ORS chapter 112 (Oregon State Legislature) ↗Source: Oregon Laws 2025, chapter 34 ↗

How long does probate take in Oregon?

A straightforward Oregon probate typically runs 4-12 months, as shown in this section. Contested wills, missing heirs, or real property in other states stretch it well past that.

What is the small-estate limit in Oregon?

$75,000. Estates under that figure can use the simplified process or affidavit covered above instead of full probate.

Do I need a probate attorney in Oregon?

Not always. If the estate qualifies for the simplified process covered above, many people handle it without a lawyer. Hire one for full probate, a contested will, or property in more than one state. Before you hire anyone, know the fee structures: hourly, flat, and (in a few states) statutory percentages. Our probate attorney cost guide covers what each should run you.

Does Oregon allow transfer-on-death deeds?

Yes. Oregon authorizes the transfer on death deed under Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 93.948 to 93.985 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act). Record it while you’re alive and the property passes to your named beneficiary at death, outside probate, revocable any time before then. Oregon has had a statutory TOD deed since 2012 under the uniform act; the deed must be recorded in the county where the property sits before the owner dies.

Source: Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 93.948 to 93.985 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act) ↗

Time off work after a death in Oregon

Oregon is one of nine states that require a private employer to give bereavement leave. The limits matter as much as the entitlement.

Who it covers. Employers with 25 or more employees. BOLI states the worker must have worked an average of 25 hours per week for 180 days: "To be eligible, your employer must have at least 25 employees. In addition, you must have worked an average of 25 hours per week for 180 days." (https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/oregon-family-leave.aspx)

How much. Two weeks per family member who dies, capped at four weeks of bereavement leave in an OFLA leave year. BOLI adds that the leave has to be used inside a window: "Bereavement leave is available within 60 days after an employee learns of the death of a family member." Bereavement also counts toward the overall OFLA cap: "OFLA leave is capped at 12 weeks for sick child leave and bereavement."

Paid or unpaid. Unpaid but job-protected. BOLI: "Although OFLA leave is unpaid (unless you or your employer also apply vacation, sick, or other paid leave benefits), OFLA will protect your job if you need to take time off for qualifying reasons."

Oregon was the first state to require bereavement leave and it's still the broadest. What counts as bereavement is defined by rule, and it's wider than attending a service. Or. Admin. R. 839-009-0230 (OFLA: Purposes for Taking Leave): "Bereavement leave is leave taken to deal with the death of a family member and includes leave taken to attend the funeral or alternative to a funeral of the family member, to make arrangements necessitated by the death of the family member, or to grieve the death of the family member." So grieving at home qualifies on its own. SB 1515 (2024) reorganized OFLA effective July 1, 2024, moving parental and serious-health-condition leave to Paid Leave Oregon and leaving OFLA as the home for bereavement, sick child leave and a few others. That's also where the four-week annual bereavement cap comes from. Or. Admin. R. 839-009-0240(13) covers leave taken for the death of someone related by blood or affinity whose relationship is family-like, and lets the employer require a written attestation. The rule's authority line is ORS 659A.805 and ORS 651.060, implementing ORS 659A.150 to 659A.186. Oregon protected sick time can be applied to OFLA-qualifying absences, which is how an unpaid entitlement often gets paid in practice. We found no express pregnancy-loss or stillbirth bereavement provision in the OFLA rules we read.

Source: Or. Admin. R. 839-009-0240(1)(b), implementing the Oregon Family Leave Act, Or. Rev. Stat. 659A.150 to 659A.186 (bereavement purpose defined at Or. Admin. R. 839-009-0230) ↗

Can I leave money to care for my pet in Oregon?

Yes. Oregon enforces pet trusts under Or. Rev. Stat. § 130.185, so money you set aside for an animal is legally binding on whoever you put in charge of it. The trust ends when your animal dies, or when the last of them dies if you covered more than one, and there's no year cap. Whatever's left then goes to whoever you named in the trust, or back to you if you're living, otherwise to your heirs. Whoever you name in the trust enforces it, and if you name nobody a court appoints someone. Anyone who cares about the animal can ask the court to appoint an enforcer or to remove one who isn't doing the job, and a court-appointed enforcer can be paid out of the trust and has a beneficiary's right to demand a report on how the money's being spent. Oregon left the court-reduction power out of its pet trust section even though it kept that power for other purpose trusts, so no judge can trim your pet fund for being larger than the animal needs. A court here also has to read a written or spoken instruction in favor of finding a real trust, and has to start from the assumption that you meant to bind the money rather than just express a wish.

Source: Or. Rev. Stat. § 130.185 ↗

How to set one up, and what it costs →

Die without a will in Oregon and this law picks your heirs.

If you die intestate (without a valid will) in Oregon, Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 112.025 to 112.055 decides who inherits everything a will would have covered. The shares depend on exactly who survives you: spouse, children, parents, siblings. What you told people you wanted doesn't matter. Only a signed will changes these defaults.

What your spouse gets.

What your spouse inherits depends on who else survives you. The four common family shapes:

• -Spouse only (no descendants or parents): the entire estate.
• -Spouse + parents (no descendants): still the entire estate, parents take nothing when a spouse survives.
• -Spouse + joint descendants: the entire estate.
• -Spouse + blended family: one-half to the spouse, one-half to the descendants.
• -Source: Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 112.025 to 112.055

Children's shares.

The descendants take the whole estate by representation: equal shares at the nearest generation with survivors.

No spouse, no children: the line of succession.

After descendants come parents, then siblings and their descendants, then grandparents and their descendants, and if a diligent search finds no taker the estate escheats to the State of Oregon.

At a Glance

Oregon's advance directive.

Oregon's Advance Directive for Health Care (updated by SB 199 in 2021) allows you to name a healthcare representative and specify your wishes for end-of-life care. It covers decisions about life-sustaining treatment, artificial nutrition, and organ donation.

How to make it valid.

An Oregon advance directive has to be signed by you, or by someone at your direction if you can't sign, and then either witnessed and signed by at least two adults or notarized (ORS 127.515). Either route works. If you use witnesses, neither one can be your attending physician or health care provider, and neither can be the health care representative or alternate you're appointing. If you're in a long term care facility when you sign, one witness has to be someone the facility designates.

POLST: for serious illness.

Oregon is the founding state of the POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) program, created in 1991. The Oregon POLST is a medical order that must be signed by a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant. It specifies CPR preferences, level of medical intervention, and artificial nutrition.

• -Oregon POLST is for people with serious illness, frailty, or advanced age
• -Must be signed by a licensed healthcare provider
• -Bright pink form, kept visible and accessible
• -Download form: oregonpolst.org
• -Oregon was the first state to develop the POLST program (1991)

Death with Dignity.

Oregon's Death with Dignity Act (ORS 127.800 to 127.897), passed in 1997, allows a capable adult with a terminal disease to request a prescription for a lethal dose of medication. Oregon dropped the residency requirement in 2023, so being an Oregon resident is no longer a condition (ORS 127.805, as amended by 2023 c.241). The process takes two oral requests plus one written request witnessed by two people, confirmation by both an attending and a consulting physician, and a counseling referral if either doctor thinks a psychiatric condition is impairing judgment. On timing, at least 15 days have to pass between the first oral request and the writing of the prescription, and at least 48 hours between the written request and the prescription, unless the attending physician confirms the patient will die before a waiting period runs out (ORS 127.850). The patient must self-administer.

Where do I get Oregon's advance directive form?

Start with ORS §§ 127.505 to 127.660 (Advance Directive); ORS §§ 127.800 to 127.897 (Death with Dignity Act), linked as this section's source. Use the current form or sample that the official source provides or identifies. Form authority and execution requirements vary by state, so confirm the source before signing and get legal help if your situation or the instructions are unclear.

Does Oregon require a notary or witnesses for an advance directive?

Oregon accepts either 2 adult witnesses or a notary, as shown in the requirements above; you don't need both. Anyone 18 or older of sound mind can make one.

At a Glance

No waiting period, but paperwork first.

Oregon statutes set no minimum waiting period after death before cremation. What they require is documentation. The report of death goes to the Center for Health Statistics within five calendar days and before final disposition (ORS 432.133), the person who first takes possession of the body notifies the county registrar within 24 hours (ORS 432.158), and written authorization for final disposition has to come from the medical certifier or medical examiner who certifies the cause of death before the body is cremated or buried (ORS 432.158).

Authorization requirements.

Cremation requires written authorization from the person with the right to control disposition. Oregon law establishes a priority order: (1) person named in an advance directive or disposition authorization, (2) spouse or domestic partner, (3) adult children (majority if multiple), (4) parents, (5) adult siblings, (6) adult grandchildren, (7) other relatives.

Scattering ashes.

Oregon allows scattering of cremated remains on private property (with owner's permission), at sea (at least 3 nautical miles from shore), and in some public areas with appropriate permits. Scattering in state parks requires a permit from Oregon Parks and Recreation.

• -Ocean scattering: minimum 3 nautical miles from shore; EPA notification within 30 days
• -Private property: permission of landowner required
• -State parks: permit from Oregon Parks and Recreation (oregonstateparks.org)
• -No specific restrictions on air scattering

Natural burial and home burial.

Oregon permits natural (green) burial and has several natural burial grounds. Home burial on private property is permitted in Oregon, subject to local zoning ordinances and setback requirements from water sources. Contact your county health department for local requirements.

Alkaline hydrolysis.

Oregon permits alkaline hydrolysis (water cremation), which uses water and alkali to dissolve the body. Several Oregon funeral homes offer this option.

Who decides what happens to the body in Oregon

Oregon sets this order by statute. The first person on the list who is available and willing decides, and a funeral home takes its instructions from them.

1. person named on a DD Form 93 or successor form (ORS 97.130(4)(c): the form supersedes any other written instrument directing disposition, regardless of when it was signed)
2. decedent's own written signed instrument or prearrangement with a licensed funeral service practitioner (ORS 97.130(1))
3. person to whom the decedent delegated authority (ORS 97.130(3); the delegate has the same authority as the person who delegated, so a decedent's delegate sits at the top of the class list)
4. spouse of the decedent
5. son or daughter of the decedent 18 years of age or older
6. either parent of the decedent
7. brother or sister of the decedent 18 years of age or older
8. guardian of the decedent at the time of death
9. person in the next degree of kindred to the decedent
10. personal representative of the estate
11. person nominated as personal representative in the decedent's last will
12. public health officer

Naming someone in advance. Yes, and Oregon prints the form in the statute. ORS 97.130(3) lets the decedent, or any person authorized under subsection (2), delegate authority to any person 18 or older, by completing either the written instrument set out in ORS 97.130(8), titled APPOINTMENT OF PERSON TO MAKE DECISIONS CONCERNING DISPOSITION OF REMAINS, or a DD Form 93 under subsection (4). The subsection (8) form names a primary and an alternate, and must be notarized or signed by two competent adult witnesses who are not the person appointed. The Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board publishes the same form as a PDF at oregon.gov/omcb.

When the same tier disagrees. Not a court process. Authority in a class is defeated by actual notice of opposition by completion of a written instrument by a member of the same class or a member of a prior class, or by actual notice of a contrary direction by the decedent (ORS 97.130(2)). ORS 97.145 backs this up: a cemetery authority, crematory or alternative disposition facility operator, or licensed funeral service practitioner is not liable for failing to follow the priority order except when it received two or more conflicting written instruments before disposition. Under ORS 97.130(5), if more than one authorization was issued, only the most recent is binding, except that a DD Form 93 always supersedes.

A person arrested for or charged with criminal homicide by reason of the decedent's death may not direct disposition (ORS 97.130(10)). If the decedent's own directions cannot be paid for out of the estate or by those financially responsible, or if the direction is unlawful, the direction is void and disposition follows the highest-priority person under subsection (2) who agrees to be financially responsible (ORS 97.130(7)). If nobody has directed disposition within 10 days of death, a public health officer may (ORS 97.130(9)).

Source: Or. Rev. Stat. § 97.130 (Right to control disposition of remains; delegation) ↗

If you can't afford the funeral in Oregon

Three separate pots of money, on three different agencies' websites, collected nowhere. A family that qualifies for all three usually claims none of them.

1. When nobody can pay. Indigent Disposition Program (IDP). It reimburses the funeral home, not the family. Oregon has no burial assistance fund for families. Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board (OMCB), Indigent Program Specialist, 971-673-1504, IDP.Claims@omcb.oregon.gov

What it pays. $550 per approved claim, paid to the funeral establishment. The Board sets the rate annually. $550 is the rate OMCB has published since July 2023, and in its 2024 Year in Review the Board recommended holding it at $550 for July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. The rate for the current year isn't posted on the OMCB page, so a funeral director should confirm it.

What disqualifies you. Only a licensed funeral establishment or immediate disposition company can apply. A family member can't file this claim. Under ORS 97.170 an indigent person is someone who died with no death or final expense benefit, insurance policy, or other means to pay for disposition, and who also meets one of three things: no relative or other person has both the legal right to direct disposition and the means to pay; or the person with that right doesn't pay, doesn't arrange to pay, or refuses to direct disposition within 10 days of being told about the death; or nobody else wants to direct and pay for it. If anyone signs a contract to pay, the death isn't indigent, even if that person later doesn't pay. The funeral home files within 90 days of final disposition, or within 30 days of a denial by another state or federal agency.

The official page ↗

2. If the death was caused by a crime. Up to $5,000 for funeral expenses, payable to a funeral service provider, "with an additional amount awarded at the discretion of the department" (ORS 147.035(3)(a)). Oregon DOJ's own page says that additional benefit can go to families who paid out of pocket for funeral, burial, memorial, or celebration of life costs. The rule publishes no separate sub-caps for a headstone, flowers, or burial clothing. The aggregate cap for the victim and all survivors and dependents combined is $47,000 (ORS 147.035(1)(b)). For the funeral benefit specifically, DOJ does not count a GoFundMe account as a prior resource you have to spend first. File within one year of the injury, or within a longer extension the department allows for good cause (ORS 147.015(1)(e)).

Oregon crime victim compensation ↗

3. Money the person was already owed. Search Oregon's unclaimed property before you borrow anything. Searching and claiming are free.

Oregon unclaimed property ↗

Start here: Oregon doesn't have a burial assistance fund, and the state says so in writing. The Mortuary and Cemetery Board's own consumer sheet reads: "Please note, the State of Oregon does not have a 'burial assistance' fund. Members of the public often confuse the Oregon Indigent Disposition Program (IDP) with 'burial assistance.'" The IDP pays a funeral home $550 per approved claim. You can't apply to it, and $550 doesn't cover a funeral. What to do, in order. 1. Call funeral homes and ask for prices before you sign anything. Under the FTC Funeral Rule they have to give you prices over the phone if you ask, and hand you a General Price List before you start making arrangements. Direct cremation is the cheapest option most of them offer. 2. Tell the funeral director plainly that nobody can pay. If no relative or friend can or will pay, the funeral home can handle it as an indigent case under ORS 97.170 and claim the state's $550. Once you sign a contract agreeing to pay, the death is no longer indigent under the statute, so say it before you sign, not after. 3. If the person died because of a crime, apply to Oregon DOJ Crime Victims' Compensation. That's up to $5,000 paid to the funeral provider, plus a discretionary amount for what you paid out of pocket. Call 503-378-5348 or email CVSSD@doj.oregon.gov. A GoFundMe doesn't disqualify you from the funeral benefit. 4. Check for money the person left behind at unclaimed.oregon.gov. It's free and the Treasury doesn't charge to search. 5. If the person was a veteran or a veteran's spouse, call the VA at 1-800-827-1000 about burial benefits, and if they belonged to one of Oregon's nine federally recognized tribes, call the tribe. OMCB lists all nine with phone numbers in its consumer sheet.

At a Glance

Oregon has an estate tax. The threshold is $1 million.

Oregon imposes a state estate tax on estates with a gross value over $1 million. This is significantly lower than the federal exemption of $15 million (2026). Oregon's estate tax rates range from 10% to 16% on the taxable amount above the exemption.

The rates.

Oregon estate tax rates are graduated: 10% on the first $1 million above the exemption, rising to 16% on amounts over $9.5 million. The tax is calculated on the Oregon taxable estate, which is the gross estate minus allowable deductions (debts, funeral expenses, charitable bequests, marital deduction).

No inheritance tax.

Oregon doesn't have an inheritance tax. The estate tax is paid by the estate, not by the beneficiaries who receive assets.

Farm, forest, and fishing property.

Qualifying farm, forest, or fishing property can be exempt from Oregon estate tax, up to $15 million per estate (ORS 118.145). The decedent has to have held it for five years, and the decedent or a family member has to have worked in the business on at least 75 percent of the relevant business days in each of those five years. The property has to pass to a family member or a family-owned entity, and a family member has to keep working in the business in each of the five years after the death. Selling to someone outside the family within those five years brings the tax back, and so does ending that work. A small forestland owner, with at least 10 and fewer than 5,000 acres, has a separate path for deaths on or after January 1, 2026, built on documented forest management and five years of family ownership after the death.

Source: ORS 118.145 (Oregon Legislature, 2025 edition) ↗Source: Oregon Laws 2025, chapter 577 (HB 3630) ↗Source: Oregon Laws 2025, chapter 595 (SB 485) ↗

Federal estate tax.

The federal estate tax exemption is $15 million per individual in 2026. Oregon's $1 million threshold is much lower, so many Oregon estates owe state estate tax but no federal estate tax.

Does Oregon have an estate tax?

Yes. Oregon levies its own estate tax, with a state exemption of $1 million and rates of 10%-16%. The federal estate tax can also apply, but only to estates over $15 million per person (2026).

Does Oregon have an inheritance tax?

No. Oregon doesn’t tax inheritances. Heirs owe no state tax on what they receive, though the estate itself can owe state estate tax before anything is distributed.

What is the federal estate tax exemption for 2026?

$15 million per person, $30 million for a married couple, indexed for inflation. The Working Families Tax Cuts Bill (Public Law 119-21, 2025) made the higher exemption permanent. Estates below the threshold owe no federal estate tax.

At a Glance

Register through the DMV or Donate Life Oregon.

Oregon uses an opt-in donor registry. You can register when you get or renew your driver's license or ID, or online at DonateLifeOregon.org. Registration is legally binding: family members can't override an adult donor's decision.

First-person authorization.

Oregon follows the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA). A registered donor's decision is legally binding: nobody else can amend or revoke the gift after your death (ORS 97.959(1)). One exception: if the donor is an unemancipated minor, a parent who is reasonably available can revoke or amend the gift (ORS 97.959(7)). If you're not registered, your next of kin can authorize donation. Organ procurement organizations still consult families in practice, so tell yours what you decided.

Source: ORS 97.959 (revocation or amendment of anatomical gift) ↗