
The League has created a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document covering oaths of office, and it has been posted online. Members of the League’s Legal Research Department often receive questions from city employees and officials regarding how oaths of office are to be administered. The FAQ is meant to serve as a starting point for understanding Oregon’s laws on oaths of office by answering some basic questions.
The FAQ includes answers to these questions and more:
• Which public officials are required to take an oath office?
• When must an oath of office be taken?
• Who is qualified to administer an oath of office?
• What content is required in an oath of office for the oath to be valid?
• Must oaths of office be reduced to writing and signed?
• What happens if a public official fails to take a required oath of office?
This FAQ also contains a sample oath of office that cities can use a starting point in crafting
their own oaths of office.
The FAQ is available here, as well as on the LOC website in the Library section under the
Publications tab, and in the A-Z Index under “Oaths.”
Contact: Patty Mulvihill, General Counsel – [email protected]