Medical Power of Attorney Oregon: How to Appoint a Health Care Representative

Most states split medical decision-making authority across two documents — a living will for treatment preferences and a separate durable power of attorney for healthcare. Oregon doesn't. The state consolidates everything into a single statutory Advance Directive (Form OHA 3905), which lets you name a Health Care Representative (HCR) and document your treatment wishes in one form.

That simplicity is deceptive. The form has seven sections, strict witness requirements, and disqualification rules that catch people off guard. Here's what you actually need to know.

What Oregon Calls "Medical Power of Attorney"

Oregon doesn't use the term "medical power of attorney" in its statutes. The legal equivalent is appointing a Health Care Representative under ORS 127.505 to 127.660. Your HCR gains authority to make medical decisions on your behalf only when you can no longer make or communicate decisions yourself.

You appoint your HCR in Section 2 of the Advance Directive. You can also name up to two alternates who step in if your primary representative is unavailable or unwilling to serve.

The appointment isn't legally effective until your HCR signs Section 7 (Acceptance of Appointment). This is the step most people skip — and without it, the entire designation is void.

Who Can and Cannot Serve as Your HCR

Oregon law disqualifies certain people from serving as your Health Care Representative:

• Your treating healthcare provider (doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant actively involved in your care)
• An owner, operator, or employee of the healthcare facility where you receive care

The exception: if the person is related to you by blood, marriage, or adoption, they can serve even if they work at your facility.

Beyond legal disqualifications, choose someone who lives close enough to reach a hospital within hours, understands your values around quality of life, and can handle pressure from medical staff and family members who may disagree.

Witness Rules That Trip People Up

Your signature on the Advance Directive must be validated by either a notary public or two adult witnesses. If you use witnesses, Oregon imposes specific restrictions:

• Neither witness can be your designated HCR or alternate representative
• Neither witness can be your treating healthcare provider
• Only one witness can be a relative by blood, marriage, or adoption, or a person entitled to any portion of your estate

In practice, this means your second witness (Witness B) must be completely impartial — unrelated, not in your will, not employed at your care facility. A neighbor, coworker, or family friend typically works.

How to Fill Out Form OHA 3905

The current version of the Oregon Advance Directive was updated after Senate Bill 199 took effect in 2022. The form has seven sections:

1. Section 1 (About Me): Your legal name, date of birth, and contact information
2. Section 2 (Health Care Representative): Name and contact details for your primary HCR and up to two alternates
3. Section 3 (Health Care Instructions): Optional but recommended — your preferences for three clinical states: terminal condition, advanced progressive illness, and permanent unconsciousness
4. Section 4 (Additional Instructions): Space for quality-of-life values, spiritual preferences, and specific scenarios like dementia care
5. Section 5 (Signature): Your dated signature, confirming you have decision-making capacity
6. Section 6 (Witnessing or Notarization): Two witnesses or a notary validate your signature
7. Section 7 (Representative Acceptance): Your HCR and alternates sign to accept the role

Sections 3 and 4 are optional, but they give your representative concrete guidance instead of forcing them to guess during a crisis.

Advance Directive vs. Power of Attorney: Why Oregon Is Different

In most states, "medical power of attorney" and "advance directive" are separate documents with different legal functions. Oregon's unified approach means:

• You don't need to hire an attorney to draft two separate forms
• There's no risk of conflicting instructions between documents
• One set of witnesses covers everything

The trade-off is that generic, out-of-state forms from national legal websites often don't comply with Oregon's specific requirements. Using a template designed for a state that separates these documents can create an invalid directive.

What Happens If You Don't Appoint Anyone

Without a valid HCR appointment, Oregon defaults to a statutory surrogate hierarchy under ORS 127.635. The attending physician must locate a surrogate in this order:

1. Court-appointed guardian
2. Spouse or registered domestic partner
3. Designated adult (chosen by other surrogates, with no objections)
4. Majority of adult children
5. Either parent
6. Majority of adult siblings
7. Any adult relative or close friend familiar with your values

The problem: when consensus is required among a majority of adult children or siblings, disagreements can stall critical medical decisions. Disputes may end up before a Patient Care Advisory Committee or in probate court — exactly the scenario most families want to avoid.

Get Your Oregon Advance Directive Right

The Oregon Advance Directive & Living Will Kit walks you through every section of Form OHA 3905 with plain-language instructions, a witness selection checklist, and a distribution guide for getting your completed directive into the right hands — your HCR, your doctor's office, and your MyChart portal.

See more Oregon guides →