To file a notice of intent to relocate in Oregon, use the statewide court form titled “Notice – Intent to Move More than 60 Miles,” deliver a copy to the other parent, and file a copy with the court that issued your custody or parenting-time order. The requirement is triggered by ORS 107.159, which applies whenever a planned move would put you more than 60 miles farther from the other parent than you currently live.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 107.159 – Notice of Change of Residence The process itself is short. Skipping it is what causes problems.
When You Have To File
The trigger is distance, not state lines. A move across Portland does not require notice. A move from Portland to Bend almost certainly does, because it puts you far more than 60 miles farther from the other parent. The rule cuts both ways: whether you are the custodial or noncustodial parent, if you are a party to the custody or parenting-time order and your move crosses that 60-mile threshold, you owe notice.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 107.159 – Notice of Change of Residence
The statute requires “reasonable notice” before the move. It does not specify a number of days. In practice, that means enough lead time for the other parent to review the plan and, if they choose, file an objection with the court. Earlier is safer. Some individual custody orders build in specific notice periods that are stricter than the statute, so read your order before you calendar the move.
What Goes On the Form
The Oregon Judicial Department publishes a statewide form that every circuit court accepts.2Oregon Judicial Department. Notice – Intent to Move More Than 60 Miles It is short and asks for:
- Case name, case number, and whether you are the petitioner or respondent.
- The reason the notice is required — usually that your new address will be more than 60 miles farther from the other party, or that your judgment contains its own notice trigger.
- The date you plan to move.
- Your new address and phone number.
- Your signature.
The form does not require a proposed parenting plan. Attaching one anyway is worth considering if you expect the other parent to push back. Laying out how visitation, transportation, and phone or video contact will work after the move signals to the court that you have thought about preserving the child’s relationship with the other parent. That matters if the case ever reaches a judge.
Local courts sometimes publish their own versions of family law forms. The statewide form is accepted everywhere, but a quick check with your county clerk’s office confirms whether anything local applies.3Oregon Judicial Department. Forms for Family Law
Delivering the Notice and Filing With the Court
The statewide form includes a Certificate of Mailing at the bottom, which means U.S. Mail is an accepted method of delivery to the other parent.2Oregon Judicial Department. Notice – Intent to Move More Than 60 Miles Whoever puts the notice in the mail signs and dates the certificate and lists the address it was sent to. That signed certificate becomes your record that notice was given.
You can also use personal service through a sheriff’s deputy or a private process server if you want a stronger proof of receipt. The statute does not require it, but it removes any argument later that the notice never arrived.
Delivering the notice to the other parent is only half the job. ORS 107.159 also requires you to file a copy with the court that issued the custody or parenting-time order.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 107.159 – Notice of Change of Residence This is a separate step and easy to miss. File the same signed notice, with the completed Certificate of Mailing, in the case file at the circuit court clerk’s office.
When Notice Is Not Required
Two situations are carved out of the notice rule.
The first is a Family Abuse Prevention Act order. Restraining orders issued under ORS 107.700 through 107.735 are excluded from the notice provision, because requiring a protected party to hand their new address to a respondent would defeat the purpose of the order.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 107.159 – Notice of Change of Residence
The second is a good-cause waiver. A parent can ask the court to suspend the notice requirement by filing an ex parte or other motion showing good cause.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 107.159 – Notice of Change of Residence This route exists for safety-driven relocations that fall outside the FAPA framework or situations where advance disclosure of the new address would put the parent or child at risk.
If the Other Parent Objects
Filing the notice does not require the other parent’s permission. If they take no action, the move goes forward. If they want to stop or restructure the relocation, they have to file a motion with the court asking for a hearing. Texts and phone calls are not a legal objection.
Many Oregon custody orders give the non-moving parent 30 days after receiving notice to file that motion, though your specific order controls. If the case does go before a judge, the court decides under the same best-interests-of-the-child standard that governs every Oregon custody question, weighing the reason for the move, the child’s relationships with both parents, the proposed parenting plan, and the child’s ties to school and community.4Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 107.137 – Factors Considered in Determining Custody of Child
What Happens If You Move Without Filing
Moving before you give notice, or without filing the copy with the court, is one of the fastest ways to weaken your position in a custody case. The court can treat the move as a violation of its order.
The most immediate risk is that a judge orders the child returned to the original location while the dispute gets sorted out. Beyond that, noncompliance follows a parent into every future custody decision. A judge who sees that a parent bypassed a court-ordered procedure is less likely to trust that parent with primary custody going forward. A deliberate violation can, in some cases, be handled as contempt of court.
The damage does not always show up right away. Even if the other parent lets an unnoticed move slide at the time, they can point to it later as part of a pattern when they file for modification.
What It Costs
Filing the notice itself carries no separate court fee. Costs come in only if the relocation turns into a contested motion or if you choose to serve the notice through a professional.
If a dispute escalates into a motion to modify custody or parenting time, filing costs depend on the type of motion. As of January 2026, Oregon circuit courts charge $56 for an expedited parenting-time motion under ORS 107.434, and certain temporary custody and status-quo motions under ORS 107.138 and 107.139 carry no filing fee.5Oregon Judicial Department. Oregon Circuit Court Fee Schedule – Effective January 1, 2026
Using a process server for personal delivery of the notice generally runs $40 to $200, depending on the provider and how easy the other parent is to locate. Attorney fees vary widely: an uncontested notice may only take a few hours of legal work, while a contested evidentiary hearing on the move can run into the thousands. Several counties staff court facilitators who help self-represented parents complete family law forms at no charge.3Oregon Judicial Department. Forms for Family Law