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Welcome!
Welcome to the monthly newsletter for the Center for Health Statistics (CHS), Vital Records office. Here you will find information that is important for you and your facility like changes to the Oregon Vital Events Registration System (OVERS), updates to Oregon laws, process reminders, and links to available reports and statistics.
In the table of contents on the left, choose a category to jump to a news article of interest. CHS encourages everyone to read through other sections; something may pertain to you and your facility.
We would love to hear from you regarding future newsletter topics.
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2026 Legislative Update
The 2026 legislative session has concluded. The Center for Health Statistics tracks legislation and provides analysis for bills that may affect our vital records work. Of the bills that were tracked, only House Bill 4152 was passed.
House Bill 4152 allows members of the US armed forces to complete a marriage ceremony virtually if they are unable to appear in person due to active service.
For questions about legislation relating to vital records, please contact Partner Services.
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Using the Correct AOP Form
To establish legal parentage for children born to unmarried parents in Oregon, Birth Information Specialists (BIS) use two different Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage (AOP) forms based on the location and timing of the birth.
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AOP Form 45-31 is used at a hospital or birthing center and must be completed within five days of the date of birth or before the parent that gave birth is discharged from the facility. This form is signed by a hospital witness.
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AOP Form 45-21 is for home births, deliveries outside of a medical facility, or instances where parents were unable to complete the AOP 45-31 during their hospital stay. BIS or labor and delivery staff should provide this version to unmarried parents who did not complete the facility-based form. This form requires signatures to be witnessed by a notary.
If you have any questions about which AOP form should be given to parents, please contact Partner Services.
This month’s highlights from the OVERS login screen.
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House Bill 3127: Important Dates to Remember
House Bill 3127 was passed in the 2025 Legislative Session and requires that all death records in Oregon be registered electronically, with some exceptions possible. We wanted to remind you of some important HB 3127 dates to keep in mind.
March 31: Hybrid/drop to paper death records can be registered at the county through March 31, 2026.
April 1: From this date on, all drop to paper records or affidavits to amend a record must be sent to the state.
Oregon Vital Records
ATTN: Registration
PO Box 14050
Portland, OR 97293
Counties will no longer be registering or amending records starting April 1.
If you have any questions concerning HB 3127, please contact Partner Services. The updated drop to paper process was printed in the February 2026 Matters of Record.
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Checking the Certification Required Queue
Facility Administrators have an important role to play when it comes to helping medical certifiers ensure that death records are certified promptly. Oregon law, ORS 432.133 (3), states that the death record must be completed within 48 hours after having access to the report of death. Death records that need to be completed are found in the Queues in OVERS which can be accessed by clicking Main and then Current Activities.
The Current Activities page will show the number of records in each queue as well as the age of the oldest record in days.
 A common issue that we see at the Center for Health Statistics is when medical certifiers don’t complete the Certify step when entering a death record. The records that are complete except for the certification step will appear in the Certification Required queue. These records will show “Uncertified” in the Status Line. The Status Line can be found at the top of every record.
 To complete these records, the medical certifier clicks on the Case ID or decedent name to open the record, clicks the Validate Page button, and then clicks on the Certify link. After reading and checking off the Affirmation Statements the certifier clicks the Affirm button to certify the record. The status line of the record will then change to “Certified.”
We appreciate the assistance that Facility Administrators provide in checking the queues often and letting certifiers know if they have records to complete. This ensures that records are certified without delay which greatly helps families so they can settle the decedents’ affairs.
If you have any questions about accessing or using the queues, please contact Partner Services.
The Facility Administrator Work Group
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The Facility Administrator Work Group is an optional meeting for OVERS facility administrators to discuss helpful tips, training opportunities, workflows, strategies to overcome barriers, and other topics that will help with death records at their facilities. We hope to see you at the work group to support and collaborate with peers across the state!
Facility Administrator Work Group
Wednesday, April 8
1:00 - 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Register here!
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Upcoming Changes Due to House Bill 3127
In our December 2025 newsletter article “Fully Electronic Death Reporting Starts January 1” we shared information about upcoming changes to county responsibilities. These changes are an effect of House Bill 3127, which was passed in the 2025 Legislative Session. House Bill 3127 requires that death records be registered electronically, with some exceptions possible. This means that some county processes related to paper records can be simplified.
The following changes begin on April 1, 2026:
- Counties will no longer register paper death records. Any paper death records that are exceptions to the electronic requirement should instead be sent directly to the state.
- Death amendments will no longer be processed at the county because there will be no paper death record in their possession to amend.
- Running the Decedents by County of Death report will no longer be required. This report is provided to the County Clerk to remove deceased individuals from the voter rolls. Because all deaths will be registered by the state, the state will report all deaths to the Secretary of State who provides that information to the County Clerks.
- Triennial review questions related to registering or amending death records and the voter roll will be “Not Applicable.” We are working to update the Triennial Review Tool to remove these outdated requirements.
If county vital records staff are mistakenly sent a paper death record or death amendment request, they can choose to return it to the funeral home or forward it to the state for processing.
Oregon Vital Records
ATTN: Registration
PO Box 14050
Portland, OR 97293
If you have any questions concerning these upcoming changes, please contact Partner Services.
The County Work Group
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The County Work Group is an optional meeting for county vital records staff to learn about current vital records topics, ask questions and share ideas with each other.
County Work Group
Tuesday April 28, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Register here!
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Birth and Death Data Dashboards |
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For various reports on birth and death that can be broken down by factors like county, age, cause of death, etc., visit our Annual Report Dashboards |
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Center for Health Statistics Contact Information |
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Amendments Unit
Certification Unit
Partner Services Unit
Registration Unit
Statistics Unit |
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If you would like to request this document in an accessible alternate format, please email CHS.PartnerServices@oha.oregon.gov or call 971-673-1190. Oregon Vital Records accepts all relay calls.
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