Contact Your Legislators.
A short message from an Oregon constituent can help lawmakers understand why this change matters. Ask your State Representative and State Senator to support making Oregon’s second marriage witness optional.
Three Simple Steps.
You don’t need to be a policy expert. Tell your legislators what you support, why it matters to you, and ask them to support the change.
Find Your Legislators
Enter your address in the Oregon Legislature’s official lookup tool to find your State Representative and State Senator.
Send a Message
Email both offices and ask them to support modernizing ORS 106.150 by making the second marriage witness optional.
Make It Personal
If this issue affects you, your business, your couples, your family or your community, add a sentence or two about why.
Find Who Represents You.
Oregon’s official legislator lookup will identify the State Representative and State Senator who represent your address.
Use This Email.
Copy the message below, personalize it if you’d like, and send it separately to your State Representative and State Senator.
Dear [Representative/Senator Name],
I’m an Oregon resident in your district, and I’m writing to ask you to support legislation modernizing Oregon’s marriage witness requirement under ORS 106.150.
Oregon currently requires at least two witnesses to solemnize a marriage. I support changing that minimum requirement to one witness, making the second witness optional.
This is a simple modernization that would preserve a witness to the marriage while giving Oregon couples more choice and privacy. California and Nevada already allow marriages with one witness, and Oregon should offer couples the same flexibility.
This change also has the potential to strengthen Oregon as a destination for intimate weddings and elopements, supporting wedding professionals, hospitality businesses, tourism and communities throughout our state.
I hope you’ll support making the second marriage witness optional in Oregon.
Thank you for your time and service to our state.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[City, Oregon]
Your Story Is the Strongest Part.
Consider adding a few sentences about why this matters to you. You might be a couple who values privacy, a wedding professional who serves eloping couples, a hospitality business that benefits from wedding tourism, or simply an Oregonian who believes couples should have more choice in how they marry.
One Witness. More Choice.
Together, we can modernize a requirement that has remained unchanged since 1862 and make Oregon an even better place to get married.