How to start a nonprofit in Oregon

How to start a nonprofit in Oregon, step by step

1. Name your Oregon nonprofit

   No corporate ending is required. The name may not state or imply a purpose other than one permitted by statute and your articles, and may not contain the word cooperative or the phrase limited partnership. Names must be distinguishable, and Oregon is strict about what counts: differences only in entity-type words, punctuation, pluralization, spacing or capitalization do not make a name distinguishable. A reservation costs $100 and holds the name 120 days.

2. Choose your first board of directors

   Plan on at least three people who are not related to each other. Some states allow fewer on paper, but three unrelated directors is what the IRS application works best with, and what funders expect. Pick people who will actually show up.

3. File your Articles of Incorporation (nonprofit)

   File with the Secretary of State's Corporation Division for $50, online or on paper, with an optional $5 confirmation copy. You must classify the corporation at filing as religious, public benefit or mutual benefit, and the choice matters: a public benefit corporation needs three or more directors, while religious and mutual benefit corporations need only one. Oregon publishes no expedited service at any price.

4. Name your registered agent

   Oregon requires a registered agent with an Oregon street address who has agreed to accept legal documents. The registered office may not be a post office box, a commercial mail receiving agency, a mail forwarding business, or a virtual office.

5. Adopt bylaws and hold your first board meeting

   Bylaws are your internal rulebook: how directors are chosen, how votes work, what officers you have. At the first meeting the board adopts them, elects officers, and approves opening a bank account. Keep minutes; they are your first governance record.

6. Get your free EIN

   It is free from the IRS; any site charging for an EIN is reselling a free thing. Apply online if your responsible party has an SSN or ITIN and your principal place of business is in the US. It takes minutes. Three limits to know: one EIN per responsible party per day, the tool is not open around the clock, and it times out after 15 minutes with nothing saved. Without an SSN or ITIN you file Form SS-4 by fax or mail instead, which takes weeks. You need the EIN for the bank account and every filing after this.

7. Apply for 501(c)(3) status with the IRS

   Two forms, two fees. The short Form 1023-EZ has a $275 user fee, but you may use it only if you clear the whole Eligibility Worksheet. That means three things. Gross receipts did not exceed $50,000 in any of the past three years. They are not projected to exceed $50,000 in any of the next three years. And total assets are $250,000 or less. Churches, schools, hospitals and a few other types cannot use it at all. Everyone else files the full Form 1023, $600. This is the step that makes donations tax-deductible. The IRS currently issues 80 percent of 1023-EZ decisions within about 22 days and 80 percent of full 1023 decisions within about 191 days. It publishes current figures on its status page. Fees read 1 September 2026.

8. Handle Oregon taxes

   There is nothing to apply for on either tax. If the IRS determines you are exempt, you are exempt for Oregon too, with no state application; file an Oregon Form OR-20 if you file a federal 990-T for unrelated business income. And Oregon has no sales or use tax, so there is no exemption certificate to chase, which removes an entire step other states make you take.

9. Register to fundraise

   Register with the Department of Justice Charitable Activities Section on Form RF-C before conducting activities, holding assets, or soliciting for a charitable purpose. Registration itself is free. What is not free is the annual Form CT-12, and there is no small-organization exemption: every registered charity files. The fee is a revenue fee banded from $20 up to $400, plus a separate net assets fee, capped at $2,000. The minimum revenue fee is $20 even at zero revenue.

10. Stay in good standing

    Two filings, two agencies, two clocks. The Secretary of State renewal is due on the anniversary of your original filing, $50; miss it by 45 days and the nonprofit is administratively dissolved. The DOJ Form CT-12 is due no later than four months and fifteen days after fiscal year end, and the DOJ counts the date it receives the report, not the postmark. Late fees run $20, then $50 past 13 months, then $100 past 16 months.

Oregon-specific things to know

1. Registration comes before the IRS letter

   Oregon requires DOJ registration before you conduct activities, hold assets or solicit, which is usually well before your determination letter arrives. Founders who wait for the IRS are already late.

2. The CT-12 fee is two fees stacked

   A revenue fee from $20 to $400, plus a net assets fee calculated on line 13 and capped at $2,000. An organization with modest revenue and a building can pay far more than the headline minimum suggests.

3. Name reservation costs twice the incorporation

   $100 to reserve, $50 to incorporate. Unless you have a specific reason to hold a name, reserving is money spent for nothing.

General information for people starting a nonprofit in Oregon, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and fees are updated; confirm specifics with the Oregon offices named on this page, the IRS, or a qualified professional before you file.

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Sources: Oregon SOS business registry fee schedule; ORS Chapter 65; Oregon DOJ annual reporting for charities; Oregon DOR, nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations. Read 1 September 2026.