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Statutes & Rules Overview

Statutes (Medical Practice Act)

The Board’s operating statutes are provided in Chapter 677 of the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS), also known as the Oregon Medical Practice Act. ORS 646 also regulations health professionals.

Administrative Rules

The Board adopts Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) to carry out its prescribed duties and responsibilities. An OAR is generally an applicable administrative directive, standard, regulation, or statement which implements, interprets, or prescribes law. Once established, OARs have the force of law and all persons or entities to which the rule applies must adhere to the rule.
Because rules affect the public, they must be adopted in compliance with the requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act (ORS Chapter 183). The Board may adopt, amend, or repeal a rule either on its own initiative or in response to outside requests. Receive OMB rulemaking notices by going to Subscriber Lists and selecting the link for Administrative Rules.
The Oregon Medical Board’s Administrative Affairs Committee, Acupuncture Advisory Committee, or EMS Advisory Committee review all proposed rulemakings and make recommendations to the Oregon Medical Board regarding rulemakings. Meeting materials, recordings, and minutes are avalible on the Public Meetings webpage.

OMB's Administrative Rules (OARs), chapter 847 

Proposed Rules

Written comments for all proposed rulemakings were due by 5 p.m. on August 25, 2025. All comments received will be posted on this rulemaking webpage.
847-001-0000: Updating proposed rule notice requirements.
ORS 183.341 requires all state agencies to adopt rules of procedure to provide a reasonable opportunity for interested persons to be notified of the agency’s intention to adopt, amend or repeal a rule. To align with current practice and account for advances in technology, the proposed rule amendments remove specific delivery methods and requirements to provide notice to specific media outlets. For more than 15 years, the Oregon Medical Board has emailed rulemaking notices to persons on the OMB’s interested parties list. Currently, there are over 1,100 emails on this list. There are links on the OMB’s webpage to allow anyone to sign up. OMB has been mailing the Capitol Press room in the State Capitol rulemaking notices. With
construction and other changes, this room no longer exists, and mail was returned. To ensure the media still receive rulemaking notices, OMB staff added the Oregon Capitol press corps members to OMB’s interested party list, which includes Associated Press reporters.

847-010-0300: Implementing SB 1557 (2024) and SB 729 (2025) for access to mental health assessment, treatment, or services.
Each person is an individual with unique strengths and needs and must be met with developmentally, culturally and linguistically appropriate and individually responsive services that recognize the individual as a whole person. SB 1557 (2024) and SB 729 (2025) direct the Oregon Medical Board, among other health licensing agencies that license or certify mental or behavioral health providers, to adopt rules that prohibit licensees from denying any individual to access mental health assessment, treatment or services on the basis that the individual also has an intellectual or developmental disability. The proposed rulemaking implements this statutory requirement.

847-020-0170: Updating licensure examination requirements for the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination.
In 2021, the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination (MCCQE) part 2 was discontinued and no longer required to receive Licentiate of Medical Council of Canada (LMCC) certification. The examination requirement for LMCC only requires a physician to pass MCCQE part 1. Other states such as Washington, California, Maine, Minnesota, and Arizona that accept a Canadian examination require LMCC certification, rather than specifying MCCQE parts. To align with the Oregon Medical Board’s current practice of accepting LMCC certification for examination purposes, the proposed rulemaking updates the requirement to LMCC certification.

847-008-0020: Clarifies locum tenens status requirements.
The proposed rulemaking clarifies the locum tenens status requirements, that the licensee must not qualify for active status under OAR 847-008-0015.

Permanent Rules 
Adopted July 10, 2025
847-005-0005: Adding Health Professionals’ Services Program passthrough fee for licensees.
The Oregon Medical Board's 2025-27 budget (House Bill 5022) added an annual passthrough fee of $25 per licensee to sustain the Health Professionals' Services Program (HPSP) starting in July 2025. HPSP is a consolidated statewide program to assist health care providers with substance use or mental health disorders so they may continue practicing in Oregon. The passthrough fee would be first paid by most OMB licensees during the license renewal in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2025. The rule amendments also update the terminology for limited licenses to clarify the fee includes registration. Lastly, to conform with rule construction standards, the rule amendments remove footnotes and inserts the relevant information within the rule section where applicable. No public comments received.

847-008-0025: Removing inactive 1-year status for physicians in a postgraduate training program outside of Oregon.
The Inactive - One Year status is for physicians practicing in a postgraduate training program outside of Oregon. To save agency resources, the rulemaking discontinued this status, and OMB only offers an Inactive status with a two-year renewal cycle. The two licensees at this status were transitioned to the two-year cycle. No public comments received.

Adopted April 3, 2025
847-007-0010: Creates criminal conviction determination process to implement SB 1552 (2024).
The rule implements SB 1552 (2024) section 44 allowing a person to petition a licensing board for a determination as to whether a criminal conviction would prevent the person from receiving a license. Section 44 and the rule become operative on July 1, 2025. No public comments received.

847-008-0030: Adds Emeritus status licensee may not receive indirect compensation.
The rule adds that an emeritus status licensee may not receive indirect monetary compensation for their practice in Oregon.

847-026-0500: Implements Servicemembers Civil Relief Act for servicemembers and their spouse or domestic partner to practice. 
The Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act of 2022 (HB 7939) was signed into law on January 5, 2023, and amended on December 23, 2024, at 50 U.S.C. § 4025a as part of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) supporting servicemembers and their spouses. The rule implements licensing portability for servicemembers, or their spouse or domestic partner licensed in another state and relocated to Oregon by military orders. No public comments received.

847-035-0030: Clarifications for AEMT and EMT-I scope of practice related to cardiac arrest and epinephrine administration. 
The rule allowed an Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT) to prepare and administer vasodilators: nitroglycerine. The rule amendments added for “cardiac chest pain sublingual," to clarify not by other routes. Second, the rule stated an AEMT could prepare and administer epinephrine for anaphylaxis, which was also repeated in the EMT scope of practice. The rule amendments removed the duplicative language in the AEMT scope of practice to clarify, similar to an EMT, an AEMT may prepare and administer subcutaneous and intramuscular epinephrine for anaphylaxis. Lastly, for EMT-Intermediates (EMT-I) the rule allowed preparation and administration of vasoactive medications epinephrine and vasopressin. The rule amendments added “for cardiac arrest" to clarify. No public comments received.

Adopted January 9, 2025
847-017-0010: Adds office-based surgery accrediting agency criteria and ACHC as a Board-recognized accreditation agency.
The rule amendment adds the Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc. (ACHC) as a Board-recognized accreditation agency for facilities where Level II or Level III office-based surgeries are performed. The amendment also adds criteria to review future accrediting agency requests. No public comments received.

847-017-0003: Updates office-based surgery requirements for lipoplasty procedures.
The rule amendment updates the requirements for lipoplasty procedures involving more than 500 cc volume of supernatant fat to add, “whether temporarily or permanently removed, or surgeries involving prone, semi-prone, or any positioning which would compromise the patient’s airway must be performed as a Level II or Level III surgical procedure.” Already by rule lipoplasty procedures may not result in the removal of more than 5% of total body weight or 4500 cc or more volume of supernatant fat, whichever is less. The rule amendment clarifies this includes temporary or permanent removal. No public comments received.

847-001-0024: Delegates authority to the Executive Director or Medical Director to issue Orders for Evaluation.
The rule amendment puts into rule the delegation of authority to the Executive Director or Medical Director to issue Orders for Evaluation, which was authorized by the Oregon Medical Board at its meeting on July 6, 2023. No public comments received.

847-070-0016: Updating licensure requirements for acupuncturists who passed the NCCAOM exam in a foreign language.
The rule amendment adds the Occupational English Test as an approved exam to demonstrate basic English fluency if an acupuncturist passed the NCCAOM exam in a foreign language. The Occupational English Test is an English language test for healthcare professionals. Also, the amendment adds the score required if an applicant chooses to take the TOEFL internet-based test (IBT). No public comments received.

Adopted October 3, 2024
847-010-0073; 847-010-0070: Clarifies a reporting timeframe, updates NCCAOM code of ethics, and amends definition of unprofessional conduct.

The rule amendment: (1) Clarifies that a licensee and health care facility must report a voluntary withdrawal from practice, resignation, or limitation of privileges while the licensee is under investigation within 30 calendar days. The 30-day requirement aligns with the ORS 677.172(1) requirement that all licensees notify the Board of any practice address changes within 30 days. (2) Updates the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine's (NCCAOM) code of ethics to the 2023 version. (3) Updates the definition of “unprofessional conduct" to include within the practice of acupuncture the failure to meet the standard of care. (4) Updates the definition of “unprofessional conduct" to include discrimination in the practice of medicine, podiatry, and acupuncture, which would make discrimination a ground for discipline. The amendment is an action item in the Board's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan. (5) Updates an outdated “Board of Medical Examiners" reference in OAR 847-010-0070. Public comments available upon request. 
 
847-010-0051: Increasing maximum registration period for postgraduate Limited License.
The rule amendments increase the maximum registration period for a postgraduate limited license from one year to up to five years, not to exceed a postgraduate trainee's enrollment in the postgraduate program. Most GME programs in Oregon are 3-4 years. If a postgraduate physician needed additional years, they could reapply. The current postgraduate limited license fee of $185 per year remains the same; however, the annual registration fee will be paid up front when the license is issued rather than annually with each reapplication. For postgraduate physicians who wish to continue utilizing the current annual application for a one-year limited license, nothing in the rule would prevent them from doing so. No public comments received.

847-005-0005, 847-008-0005, 847-008-0010, 847-008-0068, 847-008-0070, 847-010-0066, 847-010-0068, 847-010-0110, 847-010-0200, 847-015-0050, 847-017-0005, 847-025-0000, 847-025-0010, 847-025-0020, 847-025-0030, 847-025-0050, 847-028-0020, 847-035-0030, 847-050-0010, 847-050-0015, 847-050-0020, 847-050-0021, 847-050-0022, 847-050-0023, 847-050-0029, 847-050-0035, 847-050-0041, 847-050-0043, 847-050-0046, 847-050-0060, 847-050-0080, 847-050-0082, 847-065-0010, 847-065-0015: Implementing HB 4010 (2024) to update physician assistant title to physician associate.
HB 4010 (2024) changed the title “physician assistant" to “physician associate" throughout Oregon statutes on June 6, 2024. The rule amendments implement the PA title change throughout Oregon Medical Board rules. No public comments received.
 
847-035-0001, 847-035-0020: Updating Qualifications for EMS Supervising Physicians and Agents
The rule amendments update the EMS supervising physician application process to align with current practice. The rule also updates EMS supervising physician and agent qualifications by removing the requirement they be a resident or actively practicing in the EMS area, but adds they hold an Active or Emeritus status MD/DO license with the Oregon Medical Board. A license status qualification can easily be determined on OMB's License Verification webpage. Active status licensees must actively practice in Oregon, with a current Oregon practice address. It can also be granted within certain Oregon bordering regions in California, Idaho, Nevada, or Washington. Emeritus status licensees practice in Oregon for no pay or any other type of compensation; these licensees volunteer their medical skills only. No public comments received.

Administrative Rule Making Process

OAR Process.jpg 


Items to Note:
  • After first review by the Board, the rule is filed with the Secretary of State and interested parties are notified of the proposed rulemaking.
  • Public comments are accepted for 21 days after the notice is published in the Secretary of State Bulletin.
  • If the Board or Committee makes significant changes to the rule at any point in the process, it will be sent back to the Committee as a first review to start the process again.
  • Temporary rules follow the same process as regular rules, but are adopted after the Board’s first review and approval of the rule.
  • Sign up as an interested party by going to Subscriber Lists and selecting the link for Administrative Rules.