Oregon Probate Bond Requirements

Most Oregon estates never post a bond. ORS 113.105 requires one before a personal representative may act and before letters issue, then removes it outright in four situations and lets the court waive or reduce it in two more. Where a bond is required, the amount is whatever the court sets.

Read the timing before you read the exceptions. ORS 113.105(1)(a) says the personal representative may not act, and letters may not be issued, until the bond reaches the clerk of the court. ORS 113.125(1) says the same thing from the other direction: the court issues letters upon the filing with the clerk of the bond, if any, required by the court. Until that paper is on file nobody has signed a deed, closed an account or paid a creditor. This page covers the four automatic exceptions, the two ways to ask the court to let you out, how a court sizes a bond, who may sign as surety, what it costs and how the obligation ends, alongside the whole Oregon probate sequence. It is general information about Oregon law rather than advice about one estate.

One Section, Eight Outcomes

Everything about a decedent estate bond in Oregon starts in a single statute, ORS 113.105, catchlined "Bond for personal representative." Sorted by what actually happens, it produces eight outcomes.

The bottom row is where an intestate estate with several children, a family friend serving as personal representative, or a will that never mentioned bond all land. Nothing in the statute presumes a bond in that row and nothing presumes a waiver.

What the Bond Promises

ORS 113.105(1)(a) states the obligation in one breath. The bond runs to the clerk of the court, in an amount set by the court, for the security and benefit of all interested persons, conditioned upon the personal representative faithfully performing the duties of the position, and executed by a surety qualified under ORCP 82 D to G.

Two details are worth pulling out of that sentence. The condition is faithful performance of the duties of the position, which imports every obligation in the probate chapters, so failing one of the duties on the personal representative's list or one of Oregon's probate deadlines is failing the condition your surety signed. And the bond is filed with the clerk, which is why it is a gate on getting appointed in Oregon rather than a filing you catch up on later.

How the Court Sets the Amount

Oregon publishes no percentage, no schedule and no arithmetic for a decedent estate bond. ORS 113.105(1)(b) says the amount must be adequate to protect interested persons and hands the court three things it shall consider:

• the nature, liquidity and apparent value of the assets of the estate,
• the anticipated income during administration, and
• the probable indebtedness and taxes.

That is the whole rule. Any site quoting an Oregon probate bond formula for a decedent estate made it up.

The petition is where the court gets its numbers. ORS 113.035(11) requires the petition to include a statement of the extent and nature of assets of the estate, if any, so the court can set the amount of bond of the personal representative. ORS 113.035(12) adds that where the petition says no assets are known and the filing is not made under ORS 114.453, the petition must state the purpose for filing.

The contrast with a conservatorship is instructive and lives in a different chapter. ORS 125.410(1) gives conservators a real formula: unless the court directs otherwise, the bond is the aggregate capital value of the property in the conservator's control plus one year's estimated income, minus securities and money deposited under arrangements requiring a court order for removal and minus real property the conservator lacks power to sell without court authorization. Decedent estates have no equivalent, so the Oregon guardianship and conservatorship rules are not a source for a personal representative's number.

One practical note on who signs the order. ORS 111.185(1)(b) lets a probate commissioner or deputy probate commissioner make and enter orders and judgments admitting wills to probate and appointing and setting the amount of the bonds of special administrators, personal representatives, guardians and conservators, to the extent authorized by rule or order under ORS 111.175. An uncontested bond amount can be set without a judge.

The Four Automatic Exceptions, Read Closely

The will. ORS 113.105(2)(a) turns the requirement off where the will provides that no bond is required, and the same paragraph lets the court require a bond for good cause even so. This branch covers most Oregon probates, because most professionally drafted wills say it. An old bond clause in an Oregon will is worth reading before anyone petitions.

Sole heir or devisee. ORS 113.105(2)(b) reaches a personal representative who is the sole heir or devisee, and the court keeps the same good cause override. Read the word sole. A spouse who takes alongside children does not fit, so test it against the actual Oregon intestate shares before relying on it.

The public fiduciaries and approved persons. ORS 113.105(2)(c) removes the bond where the personal representative is the State Treasurer, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the Director of Human Services or the Director of the Oregon Health Authority, and it extends the same treatment to a person approved under ORS 113.085 or ORS 113.086. No good cause override sits on this branch. Both approval routes are narrow. ORS 113.085(4) lets the court appoint someone other than the State Treasurer for a decedent who died wholly intestate and without known heirs, but only where the petition attaches the State Treasurer's written authorization, and the Treasurer may consent only if the estate appears insolvent after investigation, except as the Treasurer's own rules provide. ORS 113.086 lets the Director of Human Services or the Director of the Oregon Health Authority approve attorneys in writing to serve where the decedent received public assistance or medical assistance and the cost may be recovered from the estate.

No known assets. ORS 113.105(2)(d) turns the requirement off where the petition for appointment states that no assets of the estate are known to the petitioner. This one has a tail, and it is the trap on this page.

The 30-Day Motion Almost Nobody Calendars

ORS 113.105(3) is short and easy to miss. Where no bond was required because the petition said no assets were known, and assets of the estate later come into the possession or knowledge of the personal representative, the personal representative shall file a motion to set or waive the bond within 30 days after filing the inventory or supplemental inventory first showing assets of the estate.

Two things about that clock. It starts at the inventory filing, not at the discovery, so filing the inventory is the act that arms it. And the motion asks for one of two outcomes, set or waive, which means the answer can still be no bond. Skipping the motion is the failure, not needing a bond.

Two Ways to Ask the Court to Let You Out

ORS 113.105(4) is the plain request. On a request by the personal representative the court may waive the bond requirement where the request states the reasons why the waiver is requested and describes the known creditors of the estate. Creditors are the point of the exercise, so a request that skips them is asking the court to guess at the risk. Oregon creditor claims are what the bond is standing behind.

ORS 113.105(5) is the collateral route. The court may waive or reduce the requirement to the extent that the personal representative provides written confirmation from a financial institution that property of the estate is held by that institution subject to withdrawal only on order of the court, or to the extent that the court restricts the sale, encumbrance or other disposition of property of the estate without prior court approval. Read the words "to the extent that." Locking a bank account can shrink a bond to the value of what remains loose rather than erase it.

One more carve-out sits at the end of the section. ORS 113.105(6) says nothing in the section affects ORS 709.240, and ORS 709.240 provides that no official oath or indemnity bond or other security is required when a trust company is appointed as fiduciary, except as required by ORS 709.030 and 709.130.

Who May Sign as Surety

ORS 113.105(1)(a) borrows its surety rules from the Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure, which is unusual, because ORS 111.200(2) says the ORCP and the Oregon Evidence Code do not apply to probate proceedings except as otherwise provided in a short list of sections. ORS 113.105 is on that list by name, so the cross-reference works.

An individual surety. ORCP 82 D(1) requires each individual surety to be a resident of the state. Where there is one surety, that surety must be worth twice the sum specified in the undertaking, exclusive of property exempt from execution and over and above all just debts and liabilities. Where there is more than one, each may be worth less so long as their total net worth equals twice the sum. No attorney at law, peace officer, clerk of any court or other officer of any court qualifies.

A corporate surety. ORCP 82 D(2) requires a corporate surety to be qualified by law to issue surety insurance as defined in ORS 731.186. ORCP 82 G(3) then makes justification simple for that company: exhibiting the certificate of authority issued to it by the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, or a certified copy, is enough. That one sentence is why families facing a required bond usually buy one rather than recruiting neighbors.

The paperwork the rule adds. ORCP 82 E(1) requires the bond to contain an affidavit or declaration of each individual surety stating that the surety possesses the qualifications in section D. ORCP 82 E(2) requires a corporate surety's bond to carry affidavits or declarations showing the agent's authority to act for the corporation and stating that the corporation is qualified to issue surety insurance. ORCP 82 E(3) requires a copy of the bond to be served promptly on the party for whose benefit it is given, in the manner of Rule 9 A, with proof of service filed promptly.

Objecting to a surety. ORCP 82 F gives the party for whose benefit the bond was given 10 days after receiving a copy to serve notice objecting to the sufficiency of the sureties. Miss the window and that party is deemed to have waived all objection. ORCP 82 G(1) turns a timely objection into a motion for hearing, at which each surety must appear on demand and be examined about pecuniary responsibility or the validity of the execution, and the court may approve the bond, reject it, or require an amended, substitute or additional bond.

What an Oregon Probate Bond Costs

No Oregon statute sets a premium and none names a rate, so the only honest answer comes from a surety quote priced against the amount, the makeup of the estate and the applicant's credit.

Where the money lands is clearer. ORS 116.183(1) says a personal representative shall be allowed, in the settlement of the final account, all necessary expenses incurred in the care, management and settlement of the estate. A premium paid on a bond the court required is that kind of expense, so it belongs in the accounting with the invoice behind it. Where the estate cannot cover everything, ORS 115.125(1)(b) ranks expenses of administration second in the payment order, behind support of spouse and children under ORS 114.065.

Oregon does say one thing about bond money directly. ORS 33.510 closes with a refund rule: upon demand in writing by the principal, the surety shall return any compensation that has been paid for the unexpired period of the bond. Ask for it when the estate closes early.

Changing the Bond After the Appointment

A bond decision made at appointment is not fixed for the life of the estate, in either direction.

The court can move it. ORS 113.115 lets the court increase or reduce the amount of the bond of a personal representative, or require a new bond, if it appears the bond was inadequate or excessive or a new bond is necessary. A waiver granted at the first hearing does not survive a later reason to doubt it, and a bond set against a modest inventory does not survive the sale of a house.

Somebody else can push. ORS 111.200(5)(a)(E)(i) treats a motion to increase the amount of the bond, or to require a new bond, as a contested issue whenever it is filed by a person other than the personal representative. That classification matters: under ORS 111.200(3) a long list of the ORCP and the whole Oregon Evidence Code apply to a contested issue in a probate proceeding.

The surety can leave. ORS 113.115 sends surety discharge to ORS 33.510 and ORS 33.520. Under ORS 33.510 a surety is entitled as a matter of right to be discharged from future liability, on at least five days notice to the principal, and if the principal fails to file a new bond in the time the court fixes, the court must enter an order revoking the appointment or removing the principal and requiring an account within not more than 20 days. ORS 33.520 runs the same play from the fiduciary's side, on at least 10 days written notice to the surety and to interested persons. ORS 33.530 then splits the liability cleanly: the old surety is off the hook for acts after the new bond issues, and the new surety is off the hook for acts before it.

Special Administrators Have Their Own Section

A special administrator appointed under ORS 113.005 to protect property in danger of loss, injury or deterioration, or to handle the remains, carries a separate bond rule that reads almost the same and is not the same.

ORS 113.005(2)(a) says the special administrator may not act, and letters may not be issued, until a bond reaches the clerk of the court, conditioned on faithfully performing the duties of the position and executed by a surety qualified under ORCP 82 D to G. ORS 113.005(2)(b) asks the court to weigh the nature, liquidity and apparent value of the property subject to administration, the anticipated income during administration, and the probable indebtedness and taxes.

The exceptions are where the two diverge. ORS 113.007 gives a special administrator three ways out: the will provides that no bond is required of the person appointed as special administrator, with a good cause override for the court; a request stating the reasons for the waiver and describing the known creditors, where the special administrator will administer property of the estate; or a court order for written confirmation from a financial institution that estate property is held subject to withdrawal only on order of the court. There is no sole heir exception and no no-known-assets exception on this branch. Do not carry ORS 113.105(2)(b) or (2)(d) across.

Two Appointments Where the Bond Waits or Disappears

Oregon wrote two special rules for estates whose only asset is a lawsuit.

ORS 114.450 covers an estate whose only asset is a personal injury cause of action that has not been adjudicated or settled. The court shall defer bond requirements until a settlement of the personal injury claim is approved under ORS 114.447, and shall accept an annual report on the status of the claim in lieu of the annual account required under ORS 116.083.

ORS 114.459 goes further for a probate opened under ORS 114.453 for the sole purpose of pursuing a wrongful death claim. Where no assets of the estate have been discovered, the section waives the information to devisees and heirs under ORS 113.145, publication under ORS 113.155, the bond required under ORS 113.105, proof of the diligent creditor search under ORS 115.003, and the inventory under ORS 113.165.

The Affidavit Route Never Reaches a Bond

The cheapest answer to a bond question is often that no bond exists, because no appointment does. Oregon's simple estate affidavit under ORS 114.505 to 114.560 appoints no personal representative, so ORS 113.105 never engages. The Oregon simple estate affidavit page walks the eligibility limits and what the route can and cannot move.

What the Surety Is Standing Behind

Oregon points several enforcement tools at the surety, not only at the person who signed.

• Surcharge. ORS 111.095(4)(c) lets a probate court surcharge a fiduciary and any surety for any loss caused by failure of a fiduciary to perform a fiduciary duty or any other duty imposed by the probate chapters. ORS 111.095(1) and (2) confirm that a probate court exercises the general legal and equitable powers of a circuit court, and that its orders carry the same validity and finality.
• Removal. ORS 113.195 lets the court remove a personal representative who has been unfaithful to or neglectful of the trust, and subsection (5) requires the show cause order and any petition to be served on the personal representative and on the surety of the personal representative, using the notice method in ORS 111.215. Your surety learns about a removal motion at the same time you do.
• A creditor's direct action. ORS 115.004(1) gives a claimant a cause of action against the personal representative and the surety where a breach of the ORS 115.003 search and notice duty left a claim unpaid. Subsections (3) and (4) make distributees indemnify both, and subsection (5) requires the action to be commenced within two years after the death or within the statute of limitations applicable to the claim, whichever is earlier.
• A judgment before the estate closes. ORS 111.275(1)(i) lets the court enter a limited judgment on a decision on surcharge of a fiduciary or a surety.

One related bond runs the other way. ORS 116.023 lets the court require a bond or other security from any distributee on a partial distribution under ORS 116.013, protecting creditors and interested persons who might lose out because property left early.

How the Bond Ends

Approval of the accounting is the first release. ORS 116.123 says that to the extent the final account is approved, the personal representative and the surety are relieved from liability for the administration of the trust, subject to the right of appeal, to the court's power to vacate its final orders and to ORS 116.213. The same section lets the court disapprove an account in whole or in part and surcharge the personal representative for any loss caused by a breach of duty.

Discharge is the second. ORS 116.213 says that on satisfactory evidence that distribution has been made as ordered, the court shall enter a supplemental judgment of discharge, and that the discharge operates as a release of the personal representative and as a bar to any action against the personal representative and the surety. Two openings survive it. The court may, within one year after entry, permit an action where the discharge was taken through fraud or misrepresentation by the personal representative or the surety, or through the mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect of the claimant. And ORS 115.004 is carved out by name, so the creditor action described above is not barred by the discharge.

Send the surety a copy of the discharge when it issues. A company that never learns the estate closed keeps billing for a bond that no longer secures anything.

Where the Bond Paper Comes From

Oregon's statewide form library is the Oregon Judicial Department Forms Center, and the one statewide probate form its county self-help probate pages link is the simple estate affidavit packet. Ask the court that will hear the estate which bond paper it accepts before anyone signs, because a corporate surety normally supplies its own bond form for the court to approve. The Oregon probate court directory maps all 36 counties to the court that hears their probate, which matters more here than in most states: six Oregon counties hear probate in a county court rather than a circuit court.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does an Oregon executor have to post a bond?

Often not. ORS 113.105(1)(a) requires a bond before the personal representative may act and before letters issue, then subsection (2) removes it outright in four situations: the will provides that no bond is required, the personal representative is the sole heir or devisee, the personal representative is the State Treasurer, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the Director of Human Services, the Director of the Oregon Health Authority or a person approved under ORS 113.085 or 113.086, or the petition states that no assets of the estate are known to the petitioner. On the first two the court may still require a bond for good cause. Everything outside those four lands in the default rule, and the court sets the amount.

How much is an Oregon probate bond?

Oregon publishes no percentage and no schedule for a decedent estate. ORS 113.105(1)(b) says only that the amount must be adequate to protect interested persons, and it gives the court three things to weigh: the nature, liquidity and apparent value of the assets of the estate, the anticipated income during administration, and the probable indebtedness and taxes. Any page quoting an Oregon probate bond formula invented it. Conservatorships are the opposite: ORS 125.410(1) sets a real formula, and it does not reach decedent estates.

Does a will that waives bond bind the Oregon court?

Not completely. ORS 113.105(2)(a) says the bond requirement does not apply where the will provides that no bond is required, and the same paragraph lets the court require a bond for good cause anyway. The waiver also does not lock the file. ORS 113.115 lets the court increase or reduce the amount of the bond, or require a new bond, whenever it appears the bond was inadequate or excessive or a new bond is necessary.

Who can sign as surety on an Oregon probate bond?

ORS 113.105(1)(a) sends you to ORCP 82 D to G. Under ORCP 82 D(1) an individual surety must be a resident of the state and, if there is only one, must be worth twice the sum specified in the undertaking, exclusive of property exempt from execution and over and above all just debts and liabilities. No attorney at law, peace officer, clerk of any court or other officer of any court qualifies. Under ORCP 82 D(2) a corporate surety must be qualified by law to issue surety insurance as defined in ORS 731.186, and ORCP 82 G(3) lets that insurer justify by exhibiting its certificate of authority from the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services.

Who pays for an Oregon probate bond?

The estate carries it. Oregon sets no premium rate and no statute names the premium by itself, so the number comes from a surety quote. ORS 116.183(1) is the section that allows a personal representative, in the settlement of the final account, all necessary expenses incurred in the care, management and settlement of the estate. If the estate cannot pay everything, ORS 115.125(1)(b) ranks expenses of administration second, behind support of spouse and children. One refund rule exists: ORS 33.510 says that on written demand by the principal, the surety shall return any compensation paid for the unexpired period of the bond.

When does an Oregon probate bond end?

At approval and discharge. ORS 116.123 says that to the extent the final account is approved, the personal representative and the surety are relieved from liability, subject to appeal, to the court's power to vacate its final orders and to ORS 116.213. ORS 116.213 then makes the supplemental judgment of discharge a bar to any action against the personal representative and the surety, with two openings: the court may allow an action within one year where the discharge was taken through fraud, misrepresentation, mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect, and ORS 115.004 is carved out by name.

The petition said there were no assets and assets turned up. What now?

A motion, on a 30-day clock. ORS 113.105(2)(d) excuses the bond where the petition states that no assets of the estate are known to the petitioner. ORS 113.105(3) then says that if assets later come into the possession or knowledge of the personal representative, the personal representative shall file a motion to set or waive the bond within 30 days after filing the inventory or supplemental inventory first showing assets of the estate. The clock runs from the inventory filing, not from the day the asset was found.

Sources:

• Title: ORS Chapter 113, Initiation of Estate Proceedings (2025 Edition), including 113.005, 113.007, 113.035, 113.085, 113.086, 113.105, 113.115, 113.125 and 113.195. Publisher: Oregon State Legislature. Publication Date: 2025 Edition, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors113.html
• Title: ORS Chapter 111, General Provisions (2025 Edition), including 111.095, 111.185, 111.200, 111.215 and 111.275. Publisher: Oregon State Legislature. Publication Date: 2025 Edition, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors111.html
• Title: ORS Chapter 114, Administration of Estates Generally (2025 Edition), including 114.450, 114.459 and 114.505 to 114.560. Publisher: Oregon State Legislature. Publication Date: 2025 Edition, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors114.html
• Title: ORS Chapter 115, Claims, Actions and Suits Against the Estate (2025 Edition), including 115.004 and 115.125. Publisher: Oregon State Legislature. Publication Date: 2025 Edition, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors115.html
• Title: ORS Chapter 116, Accounting, Distribution and Closing (2025 Edition), including 116.023, 116.123, 116.183 and 116.213. Publisher: Oregon State Legislature. Publication Date: 2025 Edition, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors116.html
• Title: ORS Chapter 33, Special Proceedings and Procedures (2025 Edition), sureties at 33.510, 33.520 and 33.530. Publisher: Oregon State Legislature. Publication Date: 2025 Edition, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors033.html
• Title: ORS Chapter 125, Protective Proceedings (2025 Edition), conservator's bond at 125.410. Publisher: Oregon State Legislature. Publication Date: 2025 Edition, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors125.html
• Title: ORS Chapter 709, Trust Business (2025 Edition), oath and bond exemption at 709.240. Publisher: Oregon State Legislature. Publication Date: 2025 Edition, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors709.html
• Title: Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 82, Security; Sureties. Publisher: Oregon State Legislature. Publication Date: 2025 Edition, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/SiteAssets/ORCP.html
• Title: Forms Center. Publisher: Oregon Judicial Department. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.courts.oregon.gov/forms/Pages/default.aspx

It is not legal advice.