Does Oregon require an operating agreement?
No. Oregon's LLC law doesn't require an LLC to have one: the operating agreement, if any, may provide for regulating and managing the company's affairs in any way not inconsistent with law or the articles of organization, and may be written or oral (ORS 63.057). It's still worth having. Without one, the Oregon Limited Liability Company Act decides how profits are shared, who can act for the LLC and what happens when a member leaves, and banks often ask to see a signed agreement before opening an account for an LLC.
The Oregon Limited Liability Company Act lets the agreement be oral or implied as well as written (ORS 63.057). A signed, written agreement is still the only kind a bank, a court or a new member can read.
Oregon's LLC law and this template
Oregon LLCs are governed by the Oregon Limited Liability Company Act (ORS chapter 63) (ORS ch. 63). Where your agreement is silent, the act's default rules apply. Where the act lets an operating agreement change one of its rules, your agreement controls.
Choose Oregon in the form and the agreement names the State of Oregon as the LLC's home and governing law, refers to the Articles of Organization filed with the Oregon Secretary of State Corporation Division, and defines “the Act” as the Oregon Limited Liability Company Act. Everything else adapts to your answers: one member or several, run by the members or by managers, with or without a buyout when a member dies.
What the Oregon agreement covers
The agreement follows the order most operating agreements use: formation, name, principal office, registered agent, purpose and term; each member's contribution and, with several members, capital accounts and percentage interests; how profits, losses and cash are shared; management by the members or by managers, with the major decisions that need every member's consent; taxes, books, records and a separate bank account; transfers, new members, withdrawal and what happens when a member dies; and dissolution. Schedule A lists each member's contribution and share.
Forming and keeping an Oregon LLC
The operating agreement stays with the LLC's records; these are the filings that go to the state. Check that the name is free first with our Oregon LLC name search.
| Oregon | |
|---|---|
| Forming the LLC | Articles of Organization, $100, filed with the Oregon Secretary of State Corporation Division |
| Name must end with | “limited liability company”, “L.L.C.”, “LLC” |
| Recurring report | $100 each year (due on the anniversary date) (unconfirmed) |
| Newspaper notice | Not required |
| Name reservation | $100 (unconfirmed), 120 days |
| Good standing certificate | Certificate of Existence, $10 (unconfirmed) |
How to finish your Oregon agreement
- Type the LLC's name exactly as it appears on its Articles of Organization, ending included.
- Fill in or strike out anything left as a blank line, and make Schedule A's percentages add up to 100%.
- Have every member read and sign it. Electronic signatures count, and members can sign separate copies.
- Keep the signed agreement with the LLC's records; don't send it to the Oregon Secretary of State Corporation Division. Give each member a copy.
For an LLC with one owner, see the single-member operating agreement; with partners, the multi-member version explains shares, voting and buyouts.
Sources
Checked on 2026-10-08 against the state's own pages:
- https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors063.html
- https://sos.oregon.gov/business/Pages/default.aspx
- https://sos.oregon.gov/business/Documents/business-registry-forms/br-fee-schedule.pdf
- https://sos.oregon.gov/business/Pages/obr-annual-report-renewal.aspx
Common questions
Does Oregon require an LLC operating agreement?
No. Oregon's LLC law doesn't require one, but it's worth having: without it, the Oregon Limited Liability Company Act's default rules decide how profits are shared and who can act for the LLC.
Do I file the operating agreement with the Oregon Secretary of State Corporation Division?
No. The Oregon Secretary of State Corporation Division receives the Articles of Organization; the operating agreement is an internal document that stays with the LLC's records.
Is this Oregon operating agreement template free?
Yes. There's no sign-up and no email address, and the agreement is built in your browser, so nothing you type is sent to us.