PERSONAL JURISDICTION A court of this state having jurisdiction of the subject matter has jurisdiction over a party served in an action pursuant to Rule 7 under any of the following circumstances:
Rule 4.Jurisdiction (Personal)
Current through June 1, 2026 · Last verified July 11, 2026
In one sentenceRule 4 lists every basis on which an Oregon court can exercise personal jurisdiction over a defendant who has been served, from general connections like presence or incorporation in the state to narrower grounds tied to specific in-state conduct, injuries, contracts, property, or relationships, plus a constitutional catch-all.
Full Text of Rule 4
A. LOCAL PRESENCE OR STATUS In any action, whether arising within or without this state, against a defendant who when the action is commenced:
(1) Is a natural person present within this state when served; or
(2) Is a natural person domiciled within this state; or
(3) Is a corporation created by or under the laws of this state; or
(4) Is engaged in substantial and not isolated activities within this state, whether such activities are wholly interstate, intrastate, or otherwise; or
(5) Has expressly consented to the exercise of personal jurisdiction over such defendant.
B. SPECIAL JURISDICTION STATUTES In any action which may be brought under statutes or rules of this state that specifically confer grounds for personal jurisdiction over the defendant.
C. LOCAL ACT OR OMISSION In any action claiming injury to person or property within or without this state arising out of an act or omission within this state by the defendant.
D. LOCAL INJURY; FOREIGN ACT In any action claiming injury to person or property within this state arising out of an act or omission outside this state by the defendant, provided in addition that at the time of the injury, either:
(1) Solicitation or service activities were carried on within this state by or on behalf of the defendant; or
(2) Products, materials, or things distributed, processed, serviced, or manufactured by the defendant were used or consumed within this state in the ordinary course of trade.
E. LOCAL SERVICES, GOODS, OR CONTRACTS In any action or proceeding which:
(1) Arises out of a promise, made anywhere to the plaintiff or to some third party for the plaintiff's benefit, by the defendant to perform services within this state or to pay for services to be performed in this state by the plaintiff; or
(2) Arises out of services actually performed for the plaintiff by the defendant within this state or services actually performed for the defendant by the plaintiff within this state, if such performance within this state was authorized or ratified by the defendant; or
(3) Arises out of a promise, made anywhere to the plaintiff or to some third party for the plaintiff's benefit, by the defendant to deliver or receive within this state or to send from this state goods, documents of title, or other things of value; or
(4) Relates to goods, documents of title, or other things of value sent from this state by the defendant to the plaintiff or to a third person on the plaintiff's order or direction; or
(5) Relates to goods, documents of title, or other things of value actually received in this state by the plaintiff from the defendant or by the defendant from the plaintiff, without regard to where delivery to carrier occurred.
F. LOCAL PROPERTY In any action which arises out of the ownership, use, or possession of real property situated in this state or the ownership, use, or possession of other tangible property, assets, or things of value which were within this state at the time of such ownership, use, or possession; including, but not limited to, actions to recover a deficiency judgment upon any mortgage, conditional sale contract, or other security agreement relating to such property, executed by the defendant or predecessor to whose obligation the defendant has succeeded.
G. DIRECTOR OR OFFICER OF A DOMESTIC CORPORATION In any action against a defendant who is or was an officer or director of a domestic corporation where the action arises out of the defendant's conduct as such officer or director or out of the activities of such corporation while the defendant held office as a director or officer.
H. TAXES OR ASSESSMENTS In any action for the collection of taxes or assessments levied, assessed, or otherwise imposed by a taxing authority of this state.
I. INSURANCE OR INSURERS In any action which arises out of a promise made anywhere to the plaintiff or some third party by the defendant to insure any person, property, or risk and in addition either:
(1) The person, property, or risk insured was located in this state at the time of the promise; or
(2) The person, property, or risk insured was located within this state when the event out of which the cause of action is claimed to arise occurred; or
(3) The event out of which the cause of action is claimed to arise occurred within this state, regardless of where the person, property, or risk insured was located.
J. SECURITIES In any action arising under the Oregon Securities Law, including an action brought by the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, against:
(1) An applicant for registration or registrant, and any person who offers or sells a security in this state, directly or indirectly, unless the security or the sale is exempt from ORS 59.055; or
(2) Any person, a resident or nonresident of this state, who has engaged in conduct prohibited or made actionable under the Oregon Securities Law.
K. CERTAIN MARITAL AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS ACTIONS
(1) In any action to determine a question of status instituted under ORS chapter 106 or 107 when the plaintiff is a resident of or domiciled in this state.
(2) In any action to enforce personal obligations arising under ORS chapter 106 or 107, if the parties to a marriage have concurrently maintained the same or separate residences or domiciles within this state for a period of six months, notwithstanding departure from this state and acquisition of a residence or domicile in another state or country before filing of such action; but if an action to enforce personal obligations arising under ORS chapter 106 or 107 is not commenced within one year following the date upon which the party who left the state acquired a residence or domicile in another state or country, no jurisdiction is conferred by this subsection in any such action.
(3) In any proceeding to establish parentage under ORS chapter 109 or 110, or any action for declaration of parentage where the primary purpose of the action is to establish responsibility for child support, when the act of sexual intercourse which resulted in the birth of the child is alleged to have taken place in this state.
L. OTHER ACTIONS Notwithstanding a failure to satisfy the requirement of sections B. through K. of this rule, in any action where prosecution of the action against a defendant in this state is not inconsistent with the Constitution of this state or the Constitution of the United States.
M. PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE In any action against a personal representative to enforce a claim against the deceased person represented where one or more of the grounds stated in sections A. through L. would have furnished a basis for jurisdiction over the deceased had the deceased been living. It is immaterial whether the action is commenced during the lifetime of the deceased.
N. JOINDER OF CLAIMS IN THE SAME ACTION In any action brought in reliance upon jurisdictional grounds stated in sections B. through L., there cannot be joined in the same action any other claim or cause against the defendant unless grounds exist under this rule, or other rule or statute, for personal jurisdiction over the defendant as to the claim or cause to be joined.
Amendment History
[CCP 12/2/78; § K amended by 1979 c.284 § 8; § M amended by CCP 12/13/80; § E amended by CCP 12/10/88 and 1/6/89; § K(3) amended by 1993 c.33, § 364 11/4/93; § J amended by 1995, c.79 § 401 9/9/95; § K amended by 1995, c.608, § 40 9/9/95; § K amended by 2003, c.14 § 13 eff. 1/1/04; § K amended by 2017, c.651 § 49 (SB 512), eff 1/1/2018]
Plain-English Summary
Rule 4 answers a question every civil case must answer before it can proceed: does an Oregon court have authority over this particular defendant? Subject-matter jurisdiction alone is not enough — the court also needs personal jurisdiction over the defendant, established once that defendant has been served under Rule 7. Rule 4 lists the many independent grounds on which that authority can rest, running from a defendant being present in Oregon when served all the way to a catch-all provision reaching as far as the Oregon and United States Constitutions allow.
The grounds fall into two broad groups. Section A covers defendants with a general connection to Oregon — a natural person present in the state when served, someone domiciled here, a corporation formed under Oregon law, a defendant carrying on substantial and regular activity in the state, or a defendant who has agreed to be sued here. Any of those connections supports jurisdiction over any claim, whether or not that particular claim has anything to do with Oregon. Sections B through K work differently: section B lets other Oregon statutes or rules supply their own grounds for jurisdiction, and sections C through K each tie jurisdiction to a specific kind of Oregon connection — an act or omission here, an injury here traceable to conduct elsewhere, a contract for local services or goods, local property, conduct as an officer or director of an Oregon corporation, local taxes, an insurance risk located here, securities activity, or family-law ties to the state. Section N makes the difference concrete: when jurisdiction rests on one of these narrower grounds, a plaintiff cannot add an unrelated claim against the same defendant unless that claim also has its own jurisdictional footing.
Section L is the safety net beneath all of it: even when a case does not fit neatly into sections B through K, an Oregon court can still hear it if exercising jurisdiction would not be inconsistent with the Oregon Constitution or the United States Constitution — in practice, the outer boundary due process allows. Section M extends the same grounds to actions against a personal representative, standing in for a deceased defendant who could have been sued here while alive. And section O defines “defendant” broadly for this rule and for Rules 5 and 6 alike — anyone subject to the court’s jurisdiction, not just the party named first in the caption.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the “general” and “specific” jurisdiction grounds in Rule 4?
Section A covers connections that are strong enough to support jurisdiction over any claim against a defendant, regardless of whether that claim has anything to do with Oregon — a person present or domiciled in the state, a corporation formed here, substantial ongoing activity here, or express consent. Sections B through K work differently: each ties jurisdiction to a specific Oregon connection, so the claim being sued on has to be the one that grew out of that connection. Section N enforces the line by barring a plaintiff from tacking an unrelated claim onto a case that relies on sections B through L, unless the added claim has its own jurisdictional basis.
Can an Oregon court have jurisdiction over a defendant who has never been physically present in the state?
Yes. Sections C through K extend jurisdiction to defendants based on conduct connected to Oregon rather than physical presence — an out-of-state act that injures someone here, a contract for services or goods tied to the state, Oregon property, an insurance risk located here, and more. Section L goes further still, reaching any case where exercising jurisdiction would not be inconsistent with the Oregon or United States Constitutions, even if none of the more specific categories applies.
Does agreeing to be sued in Oregon create jurisdiction even without any other connection to the state?
Yes. Section A(5) lists express consent to personal jurisdiction as its own independent ground, alongside presence, domicile, incorporation, and substantial in-state activity. A defendant who agrees to Oregon jurisdiction — through a contract clause or otherwise — can be sued here on that basis alone.
If a court has jurisdiction over one claim, can a plaintiff add other, unrelated claims against the same defendant?
Not automatically. Section N says that when jurisdiction depends on sections B through L — the narrower grounds outside section A’s general connections — a plaintiff cannot join an unrelated claim against that defendant unless the added claim has its own basis for personal jurisdiction under this rule or another rule or statute. This restriction does not apply to the general grounds in section A, since a defendant present, domiciled, incorporated, or doing substantial business in Oregon is already subject to jurisdiction for any claim.
Is a corporation formed in Oregon automatically subject to jurisdiction here for out-of-state disputes?
Yes. Section A(3) treats incorporation under Oregon law the same way it treats a natural person’s domicile in the state — a connection strong enough to support jurisdiction over any claim against the corporation, whether or not that claim arose from Oregon activity.
What if a case does not fit any of Rule 4’s listed categories?
Section L acts as a backstop. Even when a case does not satisfy sections B through K, an Oregon court can still exercise jurisdiction if doing so would not be inconsistent with the Oregon Constitution or the United States Constitution — in effect, the constitutional outer limit on personal jurisdiction rather than a specific factual category.
Does Rule 4 address jurisdiction in divorce or child-support cases?
Yes. Section K gives Oregon courts jurisdiction over certain marital and domestic relations matters: status actions such as dissolution, when the plaintiff resides in or is domiciled in Oregon; enforcement of support obligations arising under Oregon family law, when the spouses have maintained residences in Oregon — together or separately — for at least six months, provided the action is filed within one year after the party who left Oregon established a residence or domicile elsewhere; and parentage proceedings, when the act of intercourse that resulted in the child’s birth is alleged to have taken place in Oregon. These grounds apply alongside, not instead of, the general and specific grounds described elsewhere in the rule.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure (ORCP 4). Prescribed by the Council on Court Procedures (ORS 1.735), subject to amendment, repeal, or supplementation by the Oregon Legislative Assembly. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 11, 2026. ·
Official source
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