Guides · State guides · Oregon
Advance Directive in Oregon: The Form, Witnesses and Your Health Care Representative
Oregon's advance directive names a health care representative and records your parent's wishes. It needs two adult witnesses or a notary, and the representative has to accept. Here is how it works under ORS 127.505 to 127.660.
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What to know
- An Oregon advance directive must be signed by your parent and either witnessed and signed by at least two adults or notarized (ORS 127.515).
- A witness can't be your parent's attending physician or health care provider, or a health care representative or alternate named in the document.
- The appointment of a health care representative isn't effective until the representative accepts it, by signing or by telling a third party they've accepted (ORS 127.525).
- Without an appointed representative, Oregon law sets a priority list (guardian, spouse, then others) for decisions about life support in specific medical conditions (ORS 127.635).
- Retirement Checklist puts these documents in order alongside everything else your family needs to settle.
An advance directive in Oregon is a document that contains "A form appointing a health care representative" and "Instructions to the health care representative," plus anything your parent attaches. Under ORS 127.510, "The advance directive is effective when it is signed by the principal and witnessed or notarized as described in ORS 127.515." The Oregon Health Authority posts the current form for free and says, "You do not have to use this specific form, but any form you use must be substantially the same."
What documents does Oregon use?
Oregon uses two advance directive documents, the full Oregon Advance Directive for Health Care and a shorter form that only appoints a health care representative, and a separate medical order called POLST.
| Document | What it does | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon Advance Directive for Health Care | Names a health care representative and up to two alternates, and records your parent's values and wishes about life support and tube feeding | ORS 127.529 |
| Form appointing a health care representative | Names a representative and alternates, without the instructions | ORS 127.527 |
| POLST | A medical order signed by a clinician, not a legal form your parent writes | ORS 127.663 |
The current advance directive form was enacted by Senate Bill 199 in 2021. An Advance Directive Advisory Committee reviews it at least every four years and recommends changes to the Legislature; the committee's 2025 meetings reviewed proposed changes, and the form in the 2025 edition of the statute is still the 2021 version. Documents signed under earlier Oregon law stay valid under the law in effect when they were signed (ORS 127.658).
A financial power of attorney is separate; see our Oregon power of attorney guide. For the general picture, see power of attorney vs. advance directive.
How do you sign an Oregon advance directive?
Under ORS 127.515, the form "must be signed and" either "Witnessed and signed by at least two adults; or" "Notarized by a notary public." Each witness must see your parent sign, or hear your parent acknowledge the signature.
On the day of signing, a witness can't be:
- your parent's attending physician or attending health care provider;
- the health care representative or an alternate named in the document.
If your parent is a patient in a long term care facility when signing with witnesses, one witness must be someone designated by the facility and qualified under Department of Human Services rules. In the form's witness declaration, each witness states that your parent appears "to be not under duress and to understand the purpose and effect of this form." Oregon residents can sign the Oregon form, and so can residents of other states while they're physically in Oregon.
Who can't be a health care representative?
Under ORS 127.520, unless they're related to your parent by blood, marriage or adoption, these people can't serve as your parent's health care representative:
- your parent's attending physician or attending health care provider, or an employee of either;
- an owner, operator or employee of a health care facility where your parent is a patient or resident, unless your parent appointed them before admission.
The representative must also be a competent adult, and your parent can disqualify specific people in a signed writing. The Oregon Health Authority's guide says you can appoint up to three representatives, a primary and two alternates, and "Only one can speak for you at any given time."
Does the health care representative have to accept?
Yes. Under ORS 127.510, "An appointment made under this section is effective when it is accepted by the health care representative." The form itself warns: "Your appointment of a health care representative is not effective until the health care representative accepts the appointment."
ORS 127.525 allows two ways to accept: signing the acceptance in the form, or "Representing to a third party that the person has accepted the authority and duties of a health care representative." Signing section 7 at the same time your parent signs leaves the clearest record. A representative can later withdraw by notice to your parent, or, once your parent is incapable, by notice to the health care provider.
When does the health care representative make decisions?
"A health care representative has authority to make a health care decision for a principal only when the principal is incapable" (ORS 127.535). Incapable means a court, or the attending physician or health care provider, finds your parent can't make and communicate health care decisions.
The representative has "a duty to act consistently with the desires of the principal as expressed in the principal's advance directive, or as otherwise made known by the principal to the health care representative," and otherwise acts in your parent's best interests. They have the same right as your parent to see medical records, and they aren't personally responsible for the cost of care. A representative can't decide on convulsive treatment, psychosurgery, sterilization or abortion, and life support can't be withheld or withdrawn if your parent objects.
What happens if your parent has no advance directive?
Oregon law names a health care representative from a priority list, but only for decisions about withholding or withdrawing life support. ORS 127.635 applies when your parent is incapable, has no appointed representative or applicable advance directive, and is medically confirmed to be in one of four conditions, such as a terminal condition or permanent unconsciousness. The representative is then the first of these who can be located and is willing to serve:
- a guardian authorized to make health care decisions;
- your parent's spouse;
- an adult designated by the others on this list, if none of them objects;
- a majority of your parent's adult children who can be located;
- either parent of your parent;
- a majority of the adult siblings who can be located;
- any adult relative or adult friend.
That person must consult "concerned family and close friends" before life support is withheld or withdrawn. A spouse, parent, sibling, adult child or close friend can also petition the circuit court, for example over whether a representative is following your parent's wishes (ORS 127.550). For broader authority, the route is a guardianship; see conservatorship and guardianship.
How do you revoke an Oregon advance directive?
Under ORS 127.545, an advance directive can be revoked "At any time and in any manner by a capable principal." If it involves withholding or withdrawing life support or tube feeding, your parent can revoke it "at any time and in any manner by which the principal is able to communicate the intent to revoke." Revocation takes effect when your parent communicates it to the attending physician, health care provider or representative.
A new advance directive revokes any earlier one unless it says otherwise. Divorce matters too: if your parent named a spouse, the appointment is suspended once a petition for dissolution or annulment is filed, unless your parent reaffirms it after the filing. Reinstating a document must be done in writing.
What about POLST?
A POLST is "a physician order for life-sustaining treatment signed by a physician, naturopathic physician, nurse practitioner or physician associate." The Oregon Health Authority runs a statewide POLST registry, and copies go to it unless your parent opts out. No one is required to have a POLST, and "A POLST may be revoked at any time." The OHA guide adds, "Even if you have a POLST, you still need an Advance Directive."
Frequently asked questions
Does an advance directive need to be notarized in Oregon?
No, a notary is one of two options. Under ORS 127.515, your parent signs, and then the form is either witnessed and signed by at least two adults or notarized by a notary public. Witnesses can't be your parent's attending physician or provider, or a health care representative or alternate named in it.
Can a family member witness an Oregon advance directive?
The sections we read don't bar relatives from witnessing. The limits are that a witness can't be your parent's attending physician or attending health care provider, or the health care representative or an alternate. In a long term care facility, one witness must be a person the facility designates and who meets state rules.
Where can I get an Oregon advance directive form?
The Oregon Health Authority posts the Oregon Advance Directive for Health Care free online, with a user's guide, in English, Spanish, Arabic and other languages. Health care providers may also have the forms. Any form your parent uses must be substantially the same as the statutory form in ORS 127.529.
Who makes medical decisions in Oregon if there's no advance directive?
For life support decisions in four specific medical conditions, ORS 127.635 names a priority order: a guardian with health care authority, the spouse, an adult the others agree on, a majority of adult children, a parent, a majority of adult siblings, then any adult relative or friend. Naming a representative lets your parent choose instead.
Is an advance directive from another state valid in Oregon?
Yes, if your parent lived in another state when signing it and it complied with that state's law, the law where your parent was when signing, or Oregon law. ORS 127.515 treats such a document, or a similar instrument, as validly executed. Oregon residents signing in Oregon use the Oregon form.
Can my parent change their mind after signing?
Yes. A capable parent can revoke an advance directive at any time and in any manner, and revocation takes effect when they tell their doctor, health care provider or representative. Signing a new advance directive revokes the old one unless it says otherwise, so giving the new one to everyone who had the old one matters.
Getting started
An advance directive only helps if it's signed while your parent can sign it, witnessed or notarized, and accepted by the representative. The plan this site builds asks four questions, including which state your parents live in, and puts the steps that matter most for your family in order. It's free and takes about 90 seconds.
Related guides
Sources
- ORS chapter 127 (2025 edition), Oregon Health Care Decisions Act: definitions (127.505), effectiveness and acceptance (127.510, 127.525), signing and witnesses (127.515), who can't serve (127.520), the forms (127.527, 127.529), authority (127.535, 127.540), revocation (127.545), no-document decisions (127.635) and POLST (127.663 to 127.684).
- Oregon Health Authority, Advance Directive Forms: the free form and user's guide in several languages.
- Oregon Health Authority, Your Guide to the Oregon Advance Directive for Health Care: plain-language instructions and the difference from POLST.
- Oregon Health Authority, Advance Directive Advisory Committee: the 2021 form and the committee's review meetings.
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