Oregon Court Rules (2026)
Browse all 11 rule sets with 2721 rules, each with plain-English summaries and committee notes. Each rule includes the full text, a plain-English summary, committee notes, amendment history, and cross-references to related rules.
Oregon Court Rules & Rules of Practice
How this jurisdiction's courts and rules are organized, written for lawyers new to it: the court system, every ruleset a litigator touches, and how a case actually moves. Last verified September 24, 2026. For informational purposes only.
- Court System Overview
- The Ruleset Map
- Civil Litigation Mechanics
- Criminal Practice Mechanics
- Evidence
- Appellate Mechanics
- Rules of Professional Conduct
- Attorney Discipline & Enforcement
- Newcomer Orientation Notes
- Sources & Verification
Oregon Criminal Procedure (ORS Title 14)
Title 14 of the Oregon Revised Statutes is the state's law of criminal procedure. Oregon promulgates no separate rules of criminal procedure; the Legislative Assembly enacts the procedure directly, and Title 14 is the grouping the Legislature itself uses. Its fourteen chapters run from preliminary provisions, limitations, jurisdiction and venue through civil forfeiture, grand juries and accusatory instruments, arrest, search and seizure and extradition, arraignment and pretrial provisions, criminal trials, judgment and sentencing, appeals and post-conviction relief, stolen property, parole and post-prison supervision, investigations of deaths and missing persons, the rights of crime victims, public defense and counsel for financially eligible persons, and violations and fines.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseOregon Uniform Trial Court Rules
The Uniform Trial Court Rules apply in every Oregon circuit court and, where stated, in the tax and justice courts. Promulgated by the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court on the recommendation of the UTCR Committee, they cover general provisions and the adoption of local rules, standards for pleadings and documents, decorum in proceedings, criminal and civil case procedure, trials, case management and calendaring, domestic relations, probate and adoption, vehicle-law proceedings, juvenile court, arbitration, reference judges, small claims, violations, forcible entry and detainer, contempt, electronic filing and service, and post-conviction relief.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseOregon Rules of Appellate Procedure
The Oregon Rules of Appellate Procedure govern practice in the Oregon Supreme Court and the Oregon Court of Appeals. They cover general rules and terminology, the notice of appeal, the record on appeal and the transcript, judicial review of administrative agency proceedings, the preparation and filing of briefs, submission of cases and oral argument, motions, petitions for review and reconsideration in the Supreme Court, special rules for each court, original proceedings, costs, disbursements, attorney fees and damages, the appellate judgment, the appellate settlement conference program, and filing and service by electronic means.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseOregon Evidence Code
Chapter 40 of the Oregon Revised Statutes is the Oregon Evidence Code. It governs the admissibility of evidence in Oregon courts: general provisions and judicial notice, presumptions, relevance and its limits, privileges, witness competency and impeachment, opinion and expert testimony, hearsay and its exceptions, authentication and identification, and the contents of writings, recordings and photographs. Most of its sections carry two numbers — ORS 40.160 is also Evidence Rule 401 — and Oregon lawyers cite both, so each section is listed by its ORS number with the Evidence Rule number shown in its title.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseOregon Rules of Civil Procedure
The Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure govern civil actions in the state's circuit courts. They are promulgated by the Council on Court Procedures under ORS 1.735 and take effect unless the Legislative Assembly amends or repeals them, so they are published with the statutes rather than by the courts. The rules cover the form of action and commencement, summons and service of process, pleadings and motions, parties and joinder, discovery and depositions, pretrial conferences, trial and jury procedure, judgments, provisional remedies, and appeals from courts of limited jurisdiction. Their subdivisions are cited by a cumulative path, so a practitioner writes "ORCP 7 C(1)(a)".
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseOregon State Bar Rules of Procedure
What happens when a complaint is made against an Oregon lawyer, in ninety-three rules across thirteen Titles, approved by the Supreme Court of Oregon and amended by its orders through January 1, 2026. Rule 1.6 gives them their own name: they may be referred to as Bar Rules and cited "BR". Title 2 builds the machinery — Disciplinary Counsel, the State Professional Responsibility Board, the Disciplinary Board and its Adjudicator — and covers the intake and review of inquiries and complaints, investigations, and diversion. Title 3 holds the special proceedings: interim suspension while a disciplinary proceeding is pending, involuntary transfer to inactive status for mental incompetency or addiction, allegations of criminal conduct and conviction of a licensee, reciprocal discipline, and discipline by consent. Titles 4 and 5 are the formal complaint, the answer, discovery, the prehearing conference and the hearing itself, with Title 6 the sanctions and other remedies that follow. Title 7 covers suspension for failing to respond to a disciplinary investigation, Title 8 reinstatement and what must be proved to obtain it, Title 9 resignation, and Title 10 review by the Supreme Court. Title 12 is the Unlawful Practice of Law Committee.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseOregon Tax Court Rules (Regular Division)
The Oregon Tax Court is a court of statewide jurisdiction over questions of tax law. These are the rules of its Regular Division, which hears appeals from the Magistrate Division de novo. They cover appeals to the Regular Division, jurisdiction, pleadings and motions, parties, discovery and depositions, summary judgment, trial, judgments, costs and disbursements, and appeals to the Oregon Supreme Court. Their subdivisions are cited by a cumulative path in the manner of the Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure, which the court's rules follow closely.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseOregon Rules of Professional Conduct
The Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct govern the professional obligations of every lawyer licensed in Oregon: competence and diligence, confidentiality of information, conflicts of interest, safekeeping property and lawyer trust accounts, the duties of a lawyer as advocate and as counselor, responsibilities within a firm, advertising and solicitation, and the reporting of professional misconduct. Each rule carries the Oregon State Bar's own defined-terms list and its comparison to the superseded Oregon Code of Professional Responsibility.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseOregon Code of Judicial Conduct
The Oregon Code of Judicial Conduct, adopted by the Oregon Supreme Court, governs the conduct of Oregon judges. It addresses the independence, integrity and impartiality of the judiciary, the performance of judicial duties, disqualification, the conduct of extrajudicial and civic activities, restrictions on political and campaign activity, and the obligation to report and to cooperate with disciplinary authorities.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseOregon Tax Court Rules (Magistrate Division)
These are the rules of the Magistrate Division of the Oregon Tax Court, where most Oregon tax appeals begin. Proceedings there are informal and a party need not be represented by a lawyer. The rules cover filing an appeal, responsive and amended pleadings, service and computation of time, case management, discovery, evidence, hearings, and decisions and appeals to the Regular Division. The division cites its own rules as "TCR-MD" and cites the Regular Division's rules, which it applies where its own are silent, as "TCR".
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseOregon Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability Rules of Procedure
The Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability investigates complaints that an Oregon judge has violated the Code of Judicial Conduct or is unable to perform judicial duties. These rules of procedure govern its work: the scope of its authority, its officers and quorum, the intake and investigation of complaints, confidentiality, formal proceedings and hearings, the rights of the judge, and the Commission's recommendations to the Oregon Supreme Court.
Updated 2026 Edition
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