In Oregon the plaintiff’s side issues its own summons under ORCP 7 B, and any competent person 18 or older who lives in Oregon or the state of service may serve it, so long as that person is not a party or a party’s officer, director, employee or attorney. Papers can go into the defendant’s hand, to anyone 14 or older living at the home, or to the person apparently in charge of the defendant’s office during normal working hours, and those last two routes require copies to follow by first class mail as soon as reasonably possible; for computing time, service is complete on that mailing.
Upload the summons issued under ORCP 7 B, the complaint and the defendant’s home address, plus an office or registered agent address for a business.
A written quote for that Oregon county, with cost and turnaround, comes before any work begins.
You receive the server’s signed certificate with the ORCP 7 F(2)(a)(i) details, including when, where and with whom papers were left.
Request a free written quote. Each address starts in Oregon. Serving someone in another state? Change the first address’s State and we take you to that state’s page with your entries kept.
Oregon proof: the certificate, affidavit or declaration of service may be written on the summons itself or attached to it as a separate document (ORCP 7 F(2)(d)).
Oregon’s check on slow service sits in the Uniform Trial Court Rules: if no return or acceptance of service is on file by the 63rd day after the complaint, UTCR 7.020(2) calls for written notice to the plaintiff that the case will be dismissed against each unserved defendant for want of prosecution 28 days after the notice is mailed. Filing proof of service in that time, showing good cause on a motion with an affidavit and a proposed order, or the defendant’s appearance stops it.
Limitations run on a separate count. ORS 12.020 treats an action as commenced when the complaint is filed and the summons served, and service made within 60 days after filing dates the action back to the filing.
The Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure put summons service in Rule 7: who serves (7 E), how (7 D), and how service is proved (7 F). The Revised Statutes add the Secretary of State routes for companies, and the Uniform Trial Court Rules add the day-63 return check.
A summons may be served by any competent person 18 years of age or older who is a resident of the state where service is made or of this state and is neither a party to the action, corporate or otherwise, nor any party’s officer, director, employee, or attorney, except as provided in ORS 180.260.
Rules verified October 2026 against the Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 21, 38 and 55 (2025 Edition) and Oregon Revised Statutes sections 12.020, 44.415, 60.121, 60.731, 63.121, 63.731, 70.040, 70.045, 187.010 and 187.020 as published by the Oregon State Legislature, and Uniform Trial Court Rules 5.140 and 7.020 (2026 edition) as published by the Oregon Judicial Department. ORCP 9 B, 27 B and 69 E, and ORS 1.060, 70.610, 125.005, 174.120, 180.260 and 646A.340, appear only as those rules cite them. General information, not legal advice. The rule controls.
Rule 7 D(1) accepts any manner reasonably calculated to tell the defendant about the case and give a fair chance to defend, and a Served 123 order reaches every Oregon route spelled out here: personal, substituted and office service, entities and the Secretary of State, mail, motor vehicle mailings, defendants out of state or abroad, and alternative service on motion. Service by a sheriff or deputy and a written admission are the only routes beyond it.
Every route above, one order.
Get a Free Quote Online →When a sheriff or deputy did not serve, ORCP 7 F(2)(a)(i) proves service by the certificate of the server. It may be written on the summons or attached to it, and the summons goes back promptly to the clerk where the complaint was filed. The certificate states:
For attorneys, lenders, insurers and self-represented parties with a defendant anywhere from Clatsop and Multnomah counties to Jackson and Malheur counties.
Upload the summons issued under ORCP 7 B, the complaint and the defendant’s home address, plus an office or registered agent address for a business.
A written quote for that Oregon county, with cost and turnaround, comes before any work begins.
A process server who meets ORCP 7 E works the address, noting the date, time and what was seen on each attempt, and serves by personal delivery, substituted service or office service as the situation allows.
You receive the server’s signed certificate with the ORCP 7 F(2)(a)(i) details, including when, where and with whom papers were left.
UTCR 7.020(2) starts the dismissal notice when no return or acceptance of service is on file by the 63rd day after the complaint, and under ORS 12.020(2) service within 60 days of filing dates the action from the filing for limitation purposes. Our turnaround sets when the first attempt is made; a first attempt is not service.
What You Get Back
From Tillamook and Lane to Deschutes and Wallowa, find your county on the map or in the list to start a quote.
Each answer cites the ORCP rule, Uniform Trial Court Rule or ORS section it rests on. General information, not legal advice.
ORCP 3 commences an action by filing the complaint, other than for limitation statutes. If no return or acceptance of service is filed by the 63rd day after the complaint, UTCR 7.020(2) calls for written notice to the plaintiff that the case will be dismissed against each unserved defendant for want of prosecution 28 days after the notice is mailed, unless proof of service is filed in that time, good cause to continue is shown on a motion supported by affidavit with a proposed order, or the defendant appears. For limitations, ORS 12.020 treats the action as commenced when the complaint is filed and the summons served, but service within 60 days of filing dates it from the filing. If a limitation period is close, ask counsel.
Copy LinkYes, if the person is 14 or older and resides in the defendant’s dwelling house or usual place of abode. The plaintiff must then, as soon as reasonably possible, mail true copies of the summons and complaint first class to the defendant at that home with a statement of the date, time and place of the substituted service; for computing time, service is complete on that mailing. The server’s certificate states when, where and with whom the copies were left.
Copy LinkAny competent person 18 or older who resides in Oregon or in the state where service is made and is neither a party, corporate or otherwise, nor any party’s officer, director, employee or attorney, except as ORS 180.260 provides. An attorney for any party may make the service by mail and the mailings that follow substituted, office and mail-agent service. The certificate of service repeats those qualifications. Served 123 LLC arranges service through process servers who meet ORCP 7 E.
Copy LinkA corporation or LLC may also be served on a clerk or agent of the company, by substituted service on the registered agent, a corporation’s officer or director, or an LLC’s manager or (in a member-managed LLC) member, or by mail to the registered office on the Secretary of State’s records (or, for a company not authorized to do business in Oregon when the claim arose, its principal office) and any address most likely to give actual notice. Where the company has no registered agent, or the agent cannot with reasonable diligence be found at the registered office, the Secretary of State is its agent: serve or mail the papers to that office with the required fee, mail notice and a copy to the company by certified or registered mail, and file the return receipt and an affidavit with the return.
Copy LinkYes, for an individual defendant who is not a minor under 14 or an incapacitated or financially incapable person, when the defendant or another authorized person signs the receipt for the certified, registered or express mailing, which goes with a first class copy; service is then complete on the day the defendant signs. Mail service in general, except as otherwise provided, counts as complete on the signature, or 3 days after mailing to an Oregon address or 7 days after mailing outside Oregon, whichever comes first. In motor vehicle cases, ORCP 7 D(4) allows mailings to listed addresses after at least one unsuccessful attempt by another method.
Copy LinkBy order under ORCP 7 D(6)(b), only when service is not possible under any other rule or statute. The supporting affidavit or declaration must include verification that diligent inquiry showed the defendant’s residence address, mailing address and place of employment are unlikely to accomplish service; the reason the plaintiff believes the defendant recently sent and received transmissions from the specific e-mail address or telephone or fax number, or maintains an active account on the specific social media platform; and facts showing the defendant is likely to personally receive the transmission. The case name, case number and court go where most likely to be read first, such as an e-mail’s subject line, the papers are attached in a format that shows a true copy, the certificate of service must verify compliance with those content and format rules (D(6)(b)(i)–(ii)), and an amended certificate of service is filed if it later becomes evident the defendant did not personally receive the transmission. The court may instead order publication four times in successive calendar weeks, mailing, or posting. Copies are also mailed to the defendant’s current address if the plaintiff knows it or with reasonable diligence can find it, otherwise to the last known address; if neither can be found, no mailing is required.
Copy LinkUnder ORCP 7 F(2)(a)(i): the specific documents served; the time, place and manner of service; that the server is a competent person 18 or older, a resident of the state of service or of Oregon, and not a party or a party’s officer, director, employee or attorney; and that the server knew the person, firm or corporation served is the one named in the action; if the defendant was not personally served, when, where and with whom the copies were left, or the manner in detail. For mailings, the certificate states the circumstances and attaches any return receipt. The summons goes back promptly to the clerk where the complaint was filed with proof of service or mailing, or a statement that the defendant cannot be found. A defendant’s written admission is also proof.
Copy LinkA party or attorney submits the foreign subpoena to a clerk of court in the county where discovery will happen. UTCR 5.140 lists the filing: the foreign subpoena; an original and two copies of a completed Oregon subpoena naming every attorney of record and self-represented party with addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers; and a petition and request substantially in the form at courts.oregon.gov. The clerk assigns a case number and promptly issues the subpoena, which follows ORCP 55 and is served under Rule 55. The request is not an appearance, and a motion about the subpoena goes to the court in that county. ORCP 1 A applies the rules to civil actions and special proceedings.
Copy LinkAny person 18 or older, a party or the party’s attorney may serve it. A nonparty witness 14 or older receives it by personal delivery with fees for one day’s attendance and mileage as allowed by law, unless the witness expressly declines payment; for a witness under 14 it goes to a parent, guardian or guardian ad litem. A subpoena naming a nonparty organization as a deponent is delivered with fees for one day’s attendance and mileage as allowed by law, in the manner ORCP 7 D(3)(b)(i), (c)(i), (d)(i), (e), (f) or (h) provides for a summons on that kind of entity. Mail or electronic service on a witness who waives personal service is valid only when every Rule 55 B(2)(c) condition is met, including fee arrangements and the witness’s confirmed receipt. A party that has appeared may be served under Rule 9 B without fees (55 B(5)), and a peace officer subpoenaed in a professional capacity may be served, with fees, on the employing agency’s designee (or, if none is available, the person in charge) at least 10 days ahead, if the officer is still employed there and in Oregon when the agency is served (55 B(3)(b)). ORS 44.415 sets the witness fee for each day’s attendance and mileage reimbursement.
Copy LinkOutside confidential health information, a subpoena for production that does not command the witness to appear and testify may be served by mail, and one issued solely to command production or inspection before a deposition, hearing or trial must, unless the court orders less time, be served on every party not in default at least 7 days before it is served on the person commanded to produce and allow at least 14 days for production, and must specify whether originals or true copies will satisfy it. A subpoena for confidential health information follows ORCP 55 D instead: the custodian is served with a qualified protective order or a declaration or affidavit with supporting documentation, and if the records are to be delivered to the attorney or party that issued it, a copy goes to the person whose information is sought and every party not in default at least 14 days before service on the custodian. Proof follows Rule 7 F(2)(a), except that the server need not disavow being a party, a party’s attorney, or a party’s officer, director or employee.
Copy LinkSend the issued summons, the complaint and the address. A written quote comes before any work begins.
