Rule 8.020.Support Orders
Current through August 1, 2026 · Last verified September 12, 2026
Full Text of Rule 8.020
Plain-English Summary
This rule governs the drafting of support documents. Any proposed order or judgment that provides for the support of a person under ORS chapters 25, 107, 108, 109, 110, 419A, 419B, or 419C must say on its face when the first payment is due, the means of payment, and the person to whom payment must be made. The same requirement applies to a document that modifies an existing support order or judgment under those chapters.
The rule does not pick the payment method or the payee for you. It requires the document to answer those questions so nobody has to guess later. A support order that leaves the start date open, or that says an amount without saying where it goes, invites exactly the enforcement fight the rule is designed to head off.
There is a second requirement for any proposed order or judgment that includes a child support provision. The document must give notice that, if the Division of Child Support provides services, the obligor and the obligee each must tell the administrator, as that term is defined in ORS 25.010(1), in writing about any change in private health insurance enrollment status within 10 days of the change. That notice goes in the document itself, not in a cover letter, so build it into your form before you submit it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What has to appear in a proposed support order in Oregon?
The due date of the first support payment, the means of payment, and the person to whom payment must be made. If your draft leaves any of those blank, the document does not meet this rule.
Does this rule apply to a modification, or only to the original order?
Both. The rule reaches every proposed order or judgment providing for support under the listed chapters and every proposed order or judgment modifying one of them.
So an amended support judgment needs the same payment details spelled out as the original did.
What is the health insurance notice the rule requires?
If the proposed order or judgment includes a child support provision, it must notify the parties that when the Division of Child Support provides services, the obligor and obligee have to inform the administrator in writing of any change in private health insurance enrollment status within 10 days of the change.
The administrator is the person defined in ORS 25.010(1). The notice is a drafting requirement, so the language has to be in the document you submit.
Which kinds of cases does UTCR 8.020 cover?
Support orders and judgments entered under ORS chapters 25, 107, 108, 109, 110, 419A, 419B, and 419C. The rule lists the chapters by number and does not narrow them further.
Does the rule tell me how support has to be paid?
No. It requires the proposed order or judgment to state the means of payment, but it leaves the choice of method to the statutes and to the court entering the order.
Your job as the drafter is to make the answer explicit on the face of the document.