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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
Enrolled
House Bill 3127
Sponsored by Representative OWENS, Senator GIROD; Representative WRIGHT, Senators MAN-
NING JR, SMITH DB (Presession filed.)
CHAPTER .................................................
AN ACT
Relating to reports of death; amending ORS 146.095, 247.570 and 432.133.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1.
ORS 432.133 is amended to read:
432.133. (1)(a) A report of death for each death that occurs in this state must be submitted [ to
the county registrar of the county in which the death occurred or ] through the state electronic re-
porting system to the Center for Health Statistics, or as otherwise directed by the State Registrar
of the Center for Health Statistics, within five calendar days after death or the finding of a dead
body and before final disposition, and must be registered if it has been completed and submitted in
accordance with this section.
(b) If the place of death is unknown, but the dead body is found in this state, the report of death
must be completed and submitted in accordance with this section. The place where the body is found
must be noted as the place of death except, if in an emergency the decedent is moved by conveyance
to another county and is dead on arrival, the death shall be considered to have occurred in the
county from where the body was originally moved.
(c) When death occurs in a moving conveyance within or outside the United States and the body
is first removed from the conveyance in this state, the death must be registered in this state and
the place where the body is first removed shall be deemed the place of death. The report of death
may note the actual location of death insofar as it can be determined.
(d) In all other cases, the place where death is pronounced shall be considered the place where
death occurred.
(e) If the date of death is unknown, the medical certifier shall determine the date by approxi-
mation. If the date cannot be determined by approximation, the date that the body was found shall
be entered on the report of death.
(2)(a) The funeral service practitioner or person acting as a funeral service practitioner who
first assumes custody of the dead body shall submit the report of death [ to the county registrar of the
county in which the death occurred or ] to the Center for Health Statistics , or as otherwise directed
by the state registrar . In cases where there is no funeral service practitioner or person acting as
a funeral service practitioner, the medical examiner shall submit the report of death.
(b) The funeral service practitioner or person acting as the funeral service practitioner shall
obtain the personal data from the next of kin or the best qualified person or source available and
shall obtain the medical certification from the person responsible for the medical certification.
Enrolled House Bill 3127 (HB 3127-A)Page 1
(c) The funeral service practitioner or person acting as the funeral service practitioner shall
provide sufficient information to identify the decedent to the medical certifier within 48 hours after
death unless the medical certification has already been submitted.
(3) A medical certification shall be completed within 48 hours after having access to the report
of death by the decedent’s primary or attending medical certifier who was in charge of the care of
the patient for the illness or condition that resulted in death, except when inquiry is required under
ORS chapter 146. In the absence or inability of the medical certifier, or with the medical certifier’s
approval, the report of death may be completed by an associate of the medical certifier, the chief
medical officer of the institution where death occurred or the physician who performed an autopsy
upon the decedent, provided that the associate, chief medical officer or physician has access to the
medical history of the case and death is due to natural causes. The person completing the cause
of death shall attest to its accuracy [ either by signature or ] by electronic signature.
(4) When inquiry is required under ORS chapter 146, the medical examiner in the jurisdiction
where death occurred or the body was found shall determine the cause and manner of death and
shall complete and sign the medical certification within 48 hours after taking charge of the case.
If the cause or manner of death is unknown or pending investigation, the cause or manner of death
shall be noted as such on the report of death.
(5) When the death occurs in a hospital [ where more than 10 deaths occurred during the previous
calendar year ], the person in charge of the hospital shall require the medical certification to be re-
ported through the state electronic reporting system and the report of death to include the elec-
tronic signature of the medical certifier.
(6)(a) When a death occurs in a hospital described in subsection (5) of this section and the death
is not under the jurisdiction of a medical examiner, the person in charge of the hospital or the
designated representative of the person in charge of the hospital shall enter the following informa-
tion on the report of death within 48 hours of death:
(A) If the report of death does not exist in the state electronic reporting system, the name of
the decedent, the date of the decedent’s birth, the date of the decedent’s death and the county in
which the decedent died; and
(B) The medical certification of death, accompanied by the [ signature or ] electronic signature
of the person completing the cause of death as described in subsection (3) of this section.
(b) The partially completed report of death prepared under this subsection shall be made avail-
able to the funeral service practitioner or person acting as a funeral service practitioner within 48
hours of death.
(7) Upon receipt of autopsy results or other information that would change the information re-
lated to the cause or manner of death, a medical certifier or medical examiner shall submit an
amendment to the record of death within five calendar days to the Center for Health Statistics.
(8) When a death that is not the subject of a presumptive death proceeding in a court in this
state or another state is presumed to have occurred in this state as the result of a known event in
this state, but no remains of the presumed deceased can be located, a report of death may be pre-
pared by the Chief Medical Examiner upon receiving an order from a court of competent jurisdiction
that contains findings of fact necessary to complete the report of death. A report of death prepared
under this subsection [ shall] must be marked or flagged “Presumptive” and [ must] show on its face
the date of death as determined by the court, the date of registration, the identity of the court and
the date of the order.
(9) When a death of a missing person domiciled in this state, and that is not the subject of a
presumptive death proceeding in a court of this state or another state, has been determined by a
court of competent jurisdiction to have presumptively occurred in another state, a report of death
may be prepared by the Chief Medical Examiner upon receiving an order from the court that con-
tains findings of fact necessary to complete the report of death. A report of death prepared under
this subsection [ shall] must be marked or flagged “Presumptive” and [ must] show on its face the
date of death as determined by the court, the date of registration, the identity of the court and the
date of the order.
Enrolled House Bill 3127 (HB 3127-A) Page 2
(10) When a death occurring in this state has not been registered as prescribed by this section,
a report of death may be submitted to the state registrar as described in this section provided that
the medical certifier or medical examiner and the funeral service practitioner or person acting as
a funeral service practitioner are available to complete the report of death. If the report of death
is submitted more than one year after the date of death or the date on which the body was found,
the medical certifier or medical examiner and funeral service practitioner or person acting as a fu-
neral service practitioner shall state in accompanying notarized statements that the information
submitted is based on records kept in the files of the medical certifier or medical examiner and fu-
neral service practitioner or person acting as a funeral service practitioner. If the medical certifier
or medical examiner and funeral service practitioner or person acting as a funeral service practi-
tioner are unavailable to complete the report of death, or decline to complete the report death, then
the death shall not be registered except upon the receipt of an order from a court of competent ju-
risdiction.
(11) A report of death required to be submitted under this section must contain the Social Se-
curity number of the decedent when the Social Security number is reasonably available from other
records related to the decedent or can be obtained from the person in charge of the final disposition
of the decedent.
(12) For a decedent who was homeless at the time of death, including a decedent who was
homeless but receiving care at a hospital or other institution, a report of death required to be sub-
mitted under this section must indicate that the decedent’s residence address was “Domicile Un-
known.”
(13) If a decedent’s death was caused by suicide, the person who submits the report of death to
[the county registrar or to ] the Center for Health Statistics, or as otherwise directed by the state
registrar, shall make reasonable efforts to ascertain whether the decedent was a veteran and, if the
decedent was a veteran, whether the decedent served in combat and, if so, where the decedent
served. Information acquired under this subsection must be reported to the Center for Health Sta-
tistics through the state electronic reporting system.
SECTION 2.
ORS 146.095 is amended to read:
146.095. (1) The district medical examiner and the district attorney for the county where death
occurs, as provided by ORS 146.100 (2), shall be responsible for the investigation of all deaths re-
quiring investigation.
(2) The medical examiner shall certify the manner and the cause of all deaths which the medical
examiner is required to investigate. The report of death shall be submitted to [ a county registrar ]
the State Registrar of the Center of Health Statistics as required by ORS 432.133.
(3) The medical examiner shall make a report of death investigation to the Chief Medical Ex-
aminer as soon as possible after being notified of a death requiring investigation.
(4) Within five days after notification of a death requiring investigation, the medical examiner
shall make a written report of the investigation and file it in the district medical examiner’s office.
(5) The district medical examiner shall supervise the assistant district medical examiners and
medical-legal death investigators in cooperation with the district attorney.
(6) The district medical examiner shall regularly conduct administrative training programs for
the assistant district medical examiners, medical-legal death investigators and law enforcement
agencies.
SECTION 3. ORS 247.570 is amended to read:
247.570. (1) Not later than five business days after receiving a report of death as authorized
by the State Registrar of the Center for Health Statistics under ORS 432.133, a county registrar
designated under ORS 432.035 shall furnish to the county clerk of that county the name, age, date
of birth and residence address of the person for whom the registrar has received the report of death.
If the person was registered to vote in the county, the county clerk immediately shall cancel the
registration of the person.
(2) Not later than five business days after receiving information from the county registrar under
subsection (1) of this section, the county clerk shall furnish the information to the Secretary of
Enrolled House Bill 3127 (HB 3127-A) Page 3
State. The Secretary of State shall furnish a copy of the appropriate names received under this
subsection to each county clerk. Each county clerk immediately shall cancel the registrations of
those persons.
(3) The Oregon Health Authority, during the last week of each month, shall furnish to the Sec-
retary of State a list of the name, age, date of birth, county of residence and residence address of
each resident of this state who has died during the preceding month and for whom a report of death
was not submitted to a county registrar. The Secretary of State shall furnish a copy of the appro-
priate names to each county clerk. Each county clerk immediately shall cancel registrations of those
persons.
Passed by House March 4, 2025
..................................................................................
Timothy G. Sekerak, Chief Clerk of House
..................................................................................
Julie Fahey, Speaker of House
Passed by Senate June 11, 2025
Repassed by Senate June 18, 2025
..................................................................................
Rob Wagner, President of Senate
Received by Governor:
........................M.,........................................................., 2025
Approved:
........................M.,........................................................., 2025
..................................................................................
Tina Kotek, Governor
Filed in Office of Secretary of State:
........................M.,........................................................., 2025
..................................................................................
Tobias Read, Secretary of State
Enrolled House Bill 3127 (HB 3127-A) Page 4