How to Fill Out and Serve the Oregon Summons Form

The Oregon summons form is the document that tells a defendant they are being sued and how long they have to respond. You can download it free from the Oregon Judicial Department, but filling it out and serving it correctly under Rule 7 of the Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure is what actually starts your case. Miss a required element or a service step and the defendant can knock the whole thing out before it moves.

Where to Download the Form

The Oregon Judicial Department publishes a statewide civil summons that every circuit court accepts.¹ You’ll find it in the Civil – General section of the OJD forms website, or you can pick up a paper copy at any circuit court clerk’s counter.² Some smaller counties post additional local forms on their own pages, so it’s worth a quick check of the court where you plan to file.

What the Summons Must Contain

ORCP 7 C spells out exactly what a valid summons has to include. Leaving anything out gives the defendant a clean argument that service was defective.

Case caption. The court name and county at the top, and below that the full legal names of every plaintiff and defendant, exactly as they appear in the complaint.
Direction to the defendant to appear and defend within the time allowed.
Subscription and address. The summons must be signed by the plaintiff or by an active member of the Oregon State Bar, and it must include a mailing address where the defendant can send a response. A missing or bad address can get the case dismissed on its own.³
Notice to Defendant. Every summons has to print a “NOTICE TO DEFENDANT: READ THESE PAPERS CAREFULLY!” block in at least 8-point type, warning that the defendant must file a written response within 30 days of being served or the plaintiff can win by default.³

The wording of that notice has to track the statutory language closely. Paraphrasing it in your own words can make the entire summons defective.

Counting the 30-Day Response Window

Oregon counts the 30 days by excluding the day the defendant was served and including the last day. If that last day lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline rolls forward to the next business day.⁴

Serving an Individual Defendant

Once the summons and complaint are ready, someone has to physically deliver them. Oregon allows any competent person who is at least 18, lives in Oregon or the state where service happens, and is not a party to the case.⁵ A friend can do it, but most plaintiffs hire a professional process server or use the county sheriff, because experienced servers know how to document delivery and deal with defendants who dodge.

The sheriff’s fee is set by statute at $45 per service when directed to no more than two parties at the same address, plus $25 for each additional party at that address.⁶ Private servers set their own rates, commonly $50 to $150 in Oregon depending on how hard the defendant is to locate.

Personal service, meaning handing the papers directly to the defendant, is the standard and most reliable method. It shuts down any later argument that the defendant never got the papers.

Substituted Service

When the defendant can’t be reached in person at home, Oregon allows substituted service. The server leaves true copies of the summons and complaint with any person at least 14 years old who lives at the defendant’s dwelling. The plaintiff then mails another set of copies to the defendant at the same address by first-class mail, along with a note stating the date, time, and place of the substituted delivery.⁵ Service is legally complete on the date of mailing, not the day the server left the papers. The rule calls for first-class mail; certified mail is not required.

Serving a Business

Suing a business changes who can accept the papers. Oregon’s rules give a primary method for each entity type and a set of fallbacks.

Corporations

Start with personal or office service on the corporation’s registered agent, an officer, or a director. You can also serve any clerk on duty at the registered agent’s office.³ If none of those people can be found in the county where you filed, the fallbacks are substituted service on the agent, officer, or director; personal service on any clerk or agent of the corporation found in that county; mailing copies to the registered agent’s office or to the corporation’s last registered office on file with the Oregon Secretary of State; or service on the Secretary of State under ORS 60.121 or 60.731.

Limited Liability Companies

For an LLC, the primary targets are the registered agent, a manager, or, if the LLC is member-managed, a member. The same fallback options that apply to corporations apply here, including substituted service, service on a clerk or agent in the county, mailing to the registered office on file with the Secretary of State, or service on the Secretary of State.³

You can look up any Oregon business entity’s registered agent and office address through the Secretary of State’s business registry, which is free to search online.

When the Defendant Can’t Be Found

If none of the other methods can reach the defendant, and only then, the court can authorize service by publication. It’s a last resort. You have to file an affidavit or declaration showing that you tried the other methods and they failed, or that you know they cannot work.³

If the court grants the order, the published summons has to include everything a standard summons contains plus a summary of the complaint’s claims and the relief demanded. It must run four times in successive calendar weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where you filed. The published notice tells the defendant to respond within 30 days from the date of first publication.

Filing Proof of Service

The court will not act against the defendant until you file proof that service actually happened. The person who served the papers prepares a certificate of service. Under ORCP 7 F(2), the certificate has to cover:

The specific documents that were delivered.
The time, place, and manner of service.
Confirmation that the server is at least 18, lives in Oregon or the state where service occurred, and is not a party, officer, director, employee, or attorney of any party.
A statement that the server knew the person served was the defendant named in the action.

If substituted service was used, the certificate also has to describe who received the papers, the circumstances of delivery, and the date the mailed copies went out.⁵ A sheriff or deputy files a slightly simpler certificate that skips the personal-qualification language but still covers the documents, timing, and method.

File the summons, the complaint, and the proof of service with the circuit court clerk. Attorneys generally file electronically through OJD eFile (Odyssey File & Serve).⁷ Self-represented litigants can file paper documents at the courthouse counter. Once the clerk accepts the filing, the 30-day response clock is officially on the record.

The 60-Day Rule That Can Save or Kill Your Case

Oregon ties when your lawsuit officially “began” to how fast you serve after filing. Under ORS 12.020, if you complete service within 60 days of filing the complaint, the action is deemed to have started on the filing date.⁸ If service takes longer, the commencement date shifts to the date of service. When you’re filing close to a statute-of-limitations deadline, that shift can push the case past the limitations period and end it. Line up your server before you file.

Filing Fees

Oregon circuit court filing fees for tort and contract actions depend on the amount you’re claiming. Under the 2026 schedule for ORS 21.160:

$10,000 or less: $170
More than $10,000 but less than $50,000: $283
$50,000 to less than $1 million: $594
$1 million to less than $10 million: $884
$10 million or more: $1,178

The defendant pays the same fee tier when filing an answer or first appearance.⁹ These fees are separate from sheriff or process server charges. If you later amend the pleading to increase the amount claimed, expect an additional fee based on the increase.¹⁰

Fee Waivers

If you can’t afford the filing fee, Oregon courts offer a deferral or waiver. You submit an “Application for Deferral or Waiver of Fees & Declaration in Support” and a proposed order. Eligibility is measured against the federal poverty guidelines.¹¹ The waiver can cover the complaint filing fee, the sheriff’s service fee, and other costs, but each fee needs its own application, except that the sheriff’s service fee can be bundled with the filing-fee request. If the court waives your fees and you later recover money in the lawsuit, the court may collect the waived amounts from that recovery.

If the Defendant Doesn’t Respond

When the 30 days pass with no answer or motion from the defendant, you can seek a default judgment. Oregon treats this as two steps under ORCP 69, and skipping the first step is one of the most common self-represented mistakes.

Step One: Order of Default

File a motion asking the court to enter an order of default. Include an affidavit or declaration establishing that the defendant was properly served, failed to respond within the deadline, and is not a minor, incapacitated, or an active-duty servicemember (or explaining that you cannot determine military status).¹² If the defendant previously filed any appearance or sent written notice of intent to appear, you must give them 10 days’ written notice before applying for the order of default. The order itself doesn’t award anything. It cuts off the defendant’s right to appear going forward unless they can show the court good cause for the missed deadline.

Step Two: Default Judgment

After the order of default is entered, file a second motion asking the court for a default judgment. Spell out the specific relief you want, including dollar amounts and any claim for attorney fees or costs. A judge reviews the motion and can refuse to grant the judgment if the case is legally insufficient. The court does not rubber-stamp defaults.¹²

1
Oregon Judicial Department. Forms Center
2
Oregon Judicial Department. Civil – General
3
Oregon Public Law. ORCP 7 – Summons
4
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 10 – Time
5
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure – Section: SUMMONS
6
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 21.300 – Sheriff and Process Server Fees
7
Oregon Judicial Department. OJD eFile
8
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 12.020 – When Action Deemed Begun
9
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 21.160 – Filing Fee for Tort and Contract Actions
10
Oregon Judicial Department. Circuit Court Fee Schedule Effective 2026-01-01
11
Oregon Judicial Department. Fee Deferral or Waiver Application and Declaration
12
Oregon Public Law. ORCP 69 – Default Orders and Judgments