Oregon Revised Statutes: How to Read, Search, and Use ORS

The Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) constitute the codified body of Oregon's permanent statutory law, organized by subject matter and maintained by the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Navigating ORS effectively requires understanding how the code is structured, where authoritative text is published, and how statutory provisions interact with administrative rules and court decisions. For litigants, legal professionals, researchers, and self-represented parties, working knowledge of ORS structure is a prerequisite to engaging the Oregon legal system at any level.

Definition and scope

The ORS is the official codification of statutes enacted by the Oregon Legislative Assembly and, where applicable, measures adopted through the Oregon initiative and referendum process. The code is organized into titles, chapters, and sections, with each section assigned a unique numerical identifier — for example, ORS 137.010 governs general sentencing authority in criminal proceedings.

The Oregon Legislative Assembly publishes the ORS through its Legislative Counsel Committee, the body responsible for drafting, codifying, and maintaining statutory text. The ORS is reissued in its entirety every two years following the conclusion of each regular legislative session — a cycle tied to Oregon's biennial legislative schedule. Between codified editions, session laws from the Oregon Laws volumes serve as the authoritative record of enacted legislation.

The ORS covers all permanent, general-interest statutes. It does not include:

• Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR): Agency-promulgated rules are maintained separately in the Oregon Administrative Rules Compilations, published by the Oregon Secretary of State's Archives Division (Oregon Secretary of State).
• Oregon Constitution: Constitutional provisions are not statutes and are codified separately (see Oregon Constitution Overview).
• Local ordinances: Municipal and county codes fall outside ORS scope and are maintained by individual jurisdictions.
• Temporary or special acts: Provisions of limited duration or narrow applicability may appear in Oregon session laws but are not codified into ORS.

The scope of this page is limited to state statutory law in Oregon. Federal statutes — including those enforced through federal courts operating in Oregon — fall under the United States Code and are outside ORS coverage. The relationship between Oregon state law and federal law is addressed separately in the Regulatory Context for Oregon's Legal System.

How it works

Structure of the ORS

The ORS is organized hierarchically:

1. Volumes — Physical or digital groupings of related titles.
2. Titles — Broad subject-matter categories (e.g., Title 11 covers domestic relations; Title 14 covers procedure in civil proceedings).
3. Chapters — Subdivisions within each title (e.g., Chapter 107 governs dissolution of marriage under Title 11).
4. Sections — Individual statutory provisions, each with a unique ORS citation in the format [Chapter].[Section] (e.g., ORS 107.105 sets out the authority of courts in dissolution proceedings).
5. Subsections, paragraphs, and subparagraphs — Further subdivisions within a section, cited by letter or number suffix (e.g., ORS 107.105(1)(a)).

Reading an ORS citation

An ORS citation of "ORS 471.175" identifies Chapter 471 (which covers alcoholic beverages under Title 37) and section 175 within that chapter. When a statutory cross-reference appears — such as "as defined in ORS 161.015" — the reader must consult that separate section for the operative definition before interpreting the citing provision.

Searching ORS

The Oregon Legislative Assembly makes the full ORS text available without charge at oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/Pages/ORS.aspx. The search interface supports full-text keyword search across all titles and chapters. Boolean operators are not natively supported in the basic interface, so targeted searches typically require precise statutory terminology rather than colloquial language.

The Oregon Secretary of State's Oregon Blue Book provides supplementary statutory summaries, though it is not a substitute for primary ORS text.

Relationship between ORS and Oregon Administrative Rules

ORS provisions frequently delegate rulemaking authority to state agencies. For example, ORS Chapter 654 delegates workplace safety rulemaking to the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (Oregon OSHA) within the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS). The resulting administrative rules — codified in the OAR — carry the force of law but are subordinate to the enabling statute. When an OAR conflicts with its authorizing ORS provision, the statute controls. For procedural matters, consulting both ORS and the relevant OAR is required practice — the statute sets authority, the rule sets procedure.

Common scenarios

Civil litigation: A plaintiff researching claims under Oregon tort law would consult ORS Chapter 31 (Tort Actions) for the elements of a tort claim and ORS 12.110 for the applicable statute of limitations. Both the substantive right and its time bar are statutory.

Landlord-tenant disputes: Parties in residential tenancy matters navigate Oregon landlord-tenant law primarily through ORS Chapter 90 (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act). The chapter establishes notice requirements, deposit rules, termination grounds, and remedies — with OAR supplements from the Oregon Housing and Community Services agency applying where rulemaking authority has been exercised.

Employment law compliance: Employers and employees consulting Oregon employment law use ORS Chapter 652 (payment of wages) and Chapter 659A (unlawful discrimination in employment). ORS 659A.030 specifically prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, age, disability, and veteran status in employment — mirroring but extending protections beyond federal law under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Criminal procedure: Defense counsel and prosecutors in criminal matters reference ORS Chapter 131 through Chapter 167 for procedure, charging standards, and offense definitions. Oregon criminal procedure is governed by ORS provisions that must be read alongside Oregon Rules of Criminal Procedure and applicable appellate precedent.

Self-represented litigants: Individuals navigating courts without counsel use ORS alongside resources available through Oregon Legal Aid Services and the Judicial Department's self-help materials. ORS 9.320 governs the right of self-representation in Oregon courts.

Decision boundaries

ORS versus OAR: which governs?

When a question involves a specific agency process — licensing, permit issuance, benefits determination — the operative rule is typically in the OAR, not the ORS. The ORS creates the agency's authority and sets outer limits; the OAR specifies the mechanism. If ORS and OAR conflict on a point within the agency's delegated authority, the ORS prevails. If an OAR falls outside the scope of the enabling statute, it is subject to challenge under ORS 183.400 (judicial review of agency rules).

ORS versus Oregon Constitution

Statutes enacted by the Legislative Assembly cannot override constitutional provisions. Where an ORS provision is challenged as unconstitutional, the Oregon Supreme Court has authority to invalidate it. Constitutional questions are resolved outside the ORS framework itself — see Oregon Constitution Overview and Oregon Supreme Court.

ORS versus federal law

Federal statutes and regulations preempt conflicting state law under the Supremacy Clause, U.S. Constitution, Article VI (National Archives). In areas of concurrent state-federal regulation — such as employment discrimination, environmental permitting, or immigration — practitioners must determine whether federal law preempts the Oregon statutory scheme or whether the two operate in parallel. Oregon statutes that go further than federal minimums (e.g., ORS Chapter 659A extending protected classes beyond federal Title VII coverage) remain valid unless expressly preempted.

Current versus session law

Because the ORS is recodified biennially, statutory changes enacted in an Oregon Legislative Assembly session take effect as Oregon Session Laws before they are incorporated into the next ORS edition. Practitioners requiring the most current statutory text must consult both the ORS and the Oregon Laws volumes for the intervening session. The Legislative Counsel Committee tracks these amendments and provides annotations to ORS sections noting recent changes.

Scope and coverage limitations

This page addresses the Oregon Revised Statutes as a state-level statutory code. It does not cover federal statutes applicable in Oregon, Oregon administrative rules independent of their statutory basis, Oregon constitutional provisions, tribal law (addressed in Oregon Tribal Law and Courts), or local ordinances. The geographic scope is the State of Oregon; statutes of other states, even those with similar numbering conventions, are not covered here.

References

• Oregon Revised Statutes — Oregon Legislative Assembly
• Oregon Legislative Counsel Committee — Oregon Legislative Assembly
• Oregon Administrative Rules Compilations — Oregon Secretary of State
• Oregon Secretary of State — Oregon Blue Book
• Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS)
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
• U.S. Constitution, Article VI — National Archives