Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § 696.505 (2026)

Definitions for ORS 696.505 to 696.590

✓ current as of May 2026

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696.505 Definitions for ORS 696.505 to 696.590. As used in ORS 696.505 to 696.590:

(1) “Business day” means a day other than Saturday or Sunday or a federal or State of Oregon legal holiday.

(2) “Close an escrow” means the final disbursement of all funds, property and documents in an escrow as directed by written escrow instructions from the principals.

(3) “Collection escrow” means an escrow in which the escrow agent:

(a) Receives:

(A) Installment payments;

(B) Instruments evidencing or securing an obligation; or

(b) Disburses the payments or delivers the instruments upon specified conditions pursuant to the written instructions of an obligor and obligee.

(4) “Compensation” means valuable consideration for services rendered or to be rendered, whether contingent or otherwise.

(5) “Escrow” means a transaction in which any written instrument, money, evidence of title to real or personal property or other thing of value is delivered, for the purpose of paying an obligation or effecting the sale, transfer, encumbrance or lease of real or personal property, to a person who does not otherwise have a right, title or interest in the real or personal property, to be held by that person as a neutral third party until a specified event happens or a prescribed condition is performed, when the written instrument, money, evidence of title or other thing of value is to be delivered by the neutral third party to a grantee, grantor, promisee, promisor, obligee, obligor, bailee, bailor or any agent or employee of any of them pursuant to the written instructions of the principals to the transaction.

(6) “Escrow agent” means a person who engages in the business of receiving escrows for deposit or delivery and who receives or is promised compensation, whether contingent or otherwise, for or in anticipation of performance.

(7) “Escrow trust account” means a bank account that is:

(a) Kept separate, distinct and apart from funds belonging to the escrow agent;

(b) Designated as an escrow trust account; and

(8) “Principal” means:

(a) The buyer, seller, lessor, lessee or exchanging party in an escrow transaction involving the sale, lease, lease-option or exchange of real property or personal property;

(b) The borrower in an escrow transaction involving the refinancing of real property or personal property, including but not limited to the refinancing of an obligation secured by a land sale contract requiring a deed to be delivered as part of the refinancing;

(d) A person directing the escrow agent to hold back funds from a closing escrow for payment of obligations related to the closing or the financing of real property or personal property;

(e) A person who deposits funds, property or documents in a one-sided escrow, as defined by rule of the Real Estate Commissioner; or

(f) A subservicer.

(9) “Real estate closing escrow” means an escrow in which:

(a) The escrow fee is paid in whole or in part by the principals to a real estate transaction; and

(b) The unpaid purchase price is delivered to an escrow agent for disbursal pursuant to the written instructions of the principals to the transaction simultaneously on the transfer of specified title to the real property.

(10) “Subservicer” means an escrow agent, a financial institution or a trust company, as those terms are defined in ORS 706.008, or a collection agency registered under ORS 697.015 when providing, pursuant to written instructions, a portion of the escrow services for an escrow to an escrow agent, or a person in the business of receiving escrows under the laws of another state, that would otherwise provide the escrow services directly to the principals.

(11) “Trust funds” means funds held by an escrow agent on behalf of a principal. [1963 c.440 §1; 1977 c.351 §4; 1981 c.617 §20; 1991 c.874 §1; 1993 c.18 §150; 2003 c.427 §4; 2005 c.116 §23; 2007 c.337 §2; 2009 c.174 §1; 2017 c.234 §23]

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 8 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1978–2021 · leading case: COST Sec. v. Real Est. Agency, 15 P.3d 29 (Or. 2000).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

COST Sec. v. Real Est. Agency, 15 P.3d 29 (Or. 2000). · cites it 7× “511(1) provides: "No person directly or indirectly shall engage in or carry on, or purport to engage in or carry on the business or act in the capacity of an escrow agent without first obtaining a license as an escrow agent under the provisions of ORS 696.505 to 696.590."…”

Gardner v. First Escrow Corp., 696 P.2d 1172 (Or. Ct. App. 1985). · cites it 8× “They contend that, because the Oregon Escrow Law, ORS 696.505 et seq, contains no explicit provision allowing the state to bring an action against the surety, there is no means of access to the bond proceeds in the absence of a direct action by the injured party.”

Coast Sec. Mortg. Corp. v. Real Est. Agency, 15 P.3d 29 (Or. 2000). · cites it 7× “511(1) provides: “No person directly or indirectly shall engage in or carry on, or purport to engage in or carry on the business or act in the capacity of an escrow agent without first obtaining a license as an escrow agent under the provisions of ORS 696.505 to 696.590.”…”

Willms v. AmeriTitle, Inc., 499 P.3d 79 (Or. Ct. App. 2021). “990(3), which provides that “[a] violation of any one of the provisions of ORS 696.505 to 696.590 is a Class A Cite as 314 Or App 687 (2021) 705 We conclude that defendant adequately preserved only its contention that plaintiffs had not presented sufficient evi- dence of a…”

In Re Complaint as to the Conduct of Bauer, 581 P.2d 511 (Or. 1978). · cites it 2× “ORS 696.505 provides: * * * * "(2) 'Escrow’ means any transaction wherein any written instrument, money, evidence of title to real or personal property or other thing of value is delivered to a person not otherwise having any right, title or interest therein for the purpose of…”

Coast Sec. Mortg. Corp. v. Real Est. Agency, 964 P.2d 306 (Or. Ct. App. 1998). · cites it 4× “*581 “No person directly or indirectly shall engage in or carry on, or purport to engage in or carry on the business or act in the capacity of an escrow agent without first obtaining a license as an escrow agent under the provisions of ORS 696.505 to 696.590.” *582 Petitioner…”

Key Title Co. v. Real Est. Div., 602 P.2d 663 (Or. Ct. App. 1979). “541(1) authorizes the the Commissioner to "adopt such rules as reasonably necessary for the enforcement of ORS 696.505 to 696.585”. Petitioner contends that OAR 863-50-060 is "an arbitrary economic restriction not reasonably related to the enforcement of any of the provisions of…”

Bentz v. Wallowa Title Co., 761 P.2d 10 (Or. Ct. App. 1988). “OAR 863-50-010(l). 3 Defendant was, however, bound by the oral instructions that it received.”

— Or. Rev. Stat. § 696.505(2) — 4 cases

COST Sec. v. Real Est. Agency, 15 P.3d 29 (Or. 2000). “511(1) provides: "No person directly or indirectly shall engage in or carry on, or purport to engage in or carry on the business or act in the capacity of an escrow agent without first obtaining a license as an escrow agent under the provisions of ORS 696.505 to 696.590."…”

Coast Sec. Mortg. Corp. v. Real Est. Agency, 15 P.3d 29 (Or. 2000). “511(1) provides: “No person directly or indirectly shall engage in or carry on, or purport to engage in or carry on the business or act in the capacity of an escrow agent without first obtaining a license as an escrow agent under the provisions of ORS 696.505 to 696.590.”…”

Coast Sec. Mortg. Corp. v. Real Est. Agency, 964 P.2d 306 (Or. Ct. App. 1998). “*581 “No person directly or indirectly shall engage in or carry on, or purport to engage in or carry on the business or act in the capacity of an escrow agent without first obtaining a license as an escrow agent under the provisions of ORS 696.505 to 696.590.” *582 Petitioner…”

Bentz v. Wallowa Title Co., 761 P.2d 10 (Or. Ct. App. 1988). “OAR 863-50-010(l). 3 Defendant was, however, bound by the oral instructions that it received.”

— Or. Rev. Stat. § 696.505(2)(a) — 2 cases

— Or. Rev. Stat. § 696.505(3) — 3 cases

— Or. Rev. Stat. § 696.505(4) — 2 cases

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.