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Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § 203.010 (2026)

General powers of county as body politic and corporate

✓ current as of May 2026
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      203.010 General powers of county as body politic and corporate. Each county is a body politic and corporate for the following purposes:

      (1) To sue and be sued;

      (2) To purchase and hold for the use of the county lands lying within its own limits and any personal estate;

      (3) To make all necessary contracts; and

      (4) To do all other necessary acts in relation to the property and concerns of the county.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases, 1962–1993 · leading case: Coos Cnty. v. State, 734 P.2d 1348 (Or. 1987).
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Coos Cnty. v. State, 734 P.2d 1348 (Or. 1987). · cites it 4× “ORS 203.010, originally enacted in 1854, General Laws of Oregon, chapter IX, § 1, p 672 ( Deady 1845 -1864), provides: ‘Each county is a body politic and corporate for the following purposes: ‘(1) To sue and be sued; ‘(2) To purchase and hold for the use of the county lands…”
Yunker v. Mathews, 574 P.2d 696 (Or. Ct. App. 1978). · cites it 2× “ORS 203.010 early on provided that counties may sue and be sued in regard to matters pertaining to their rights and duties as a corporate body.”
Tillamook Cnty. v. State Ex Rel. State Bd. of Forestry, 730 P.2d 1214 (Or. 1986). “ORS 203.010, originally enacted in 1854, General Laws of Oregon, chapter IX, § 1, p 672 ( Deady 1845 -1864), provides: “Each county is a body politic and corporate for the following purposes: *416 “(1) To sue and be sued; “(2) To purchase and hold for the use of the county lands…”
Yamhill Cnty. v. Dauenhauer, 487 P.2d 1167 (Or. Ct. App. 1971). “ORS 203.010. Their authority in non-Home Rule counties like Yamhill extends only to what is provided by state law.”
Kern Cnty. Land Co. v. Lake Cnty., 375 P.2d 817 (Or. 1962). “ORS 203.010 provides that “[e]ach county is a body politic and corporate for the following purposes : (1) To sue and be sued * * This section is not a general legislative waiver of the county’s immunity from suit.”
Reilley v. Sec'y of State, 598 P.2d 323 (Or. Ct. App. 1979). · cites it 2× “” *304 They cite Article XVIII, section 10, 10 Article I, section 21 and ORS 203.010 11 and proceed to argue that the act is void because "promiscuous tinkering by the legislature with existing county functions can open Pandora’s Box.”
Coos Cnty. v. State, 707 P.2d 1243 (Or. Ct. App. 1985). · cites it 3× “” ORS 203.010. In addition, the legislature has declared it «* * * have been and to be the public policy of this state that when a county has acquired or hereafter acquires real property by foreclosure for delinquent taxes, its title to such property shall have the utmost…”
White v. Umatilla Cnty., 247 F. Supp. 918 (D. Or. 1965). · cites it 2× “ORS 203.010. . ORS 202.010-202.320. . ORS 203.”
Multnomah Cnty. v. Union Pac. R.R., 685 P.2d 988 (Or. 1984). “In this case, the county claims to sue only on behalf of a concern of its citizens, see ORS 203.010(1), (4), but the circuit court declared the county the owner of an easement by prescription.”
Duyck v. Tillamook Cnty., 865 P.2d 370 (Or. Ct. App. 1993). “The words “other public corporations” in the sentence therefore do not include counties, and the authorization for actions against counties that the other provisions of ORS 30.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 203.010(1) — 2 cases
Multnomah Cnty. v. Union Pac. R.R., 685 P.2d 988 (Or. 1984). “In this case, the county claims to sue only on behalf of a concern of its citizens, see ORS 203.010(1), (4), but the circuit court declared the county the owner of an easement by prescription.”
Coos Cnty. v. State, 707 P.2d 1243 (Or. Ct. App. 1985). “” ORS 203.010. In addition, the legislature has declared it «* * * have been and to be the public policy of this state that when a county has acquired or hereafter acquires real property by foreclosure for delinquent taxes, its title to such property shall have the utmost…”
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