House Bill 3611: Combat Status of Veterans

Signed by Governor Kitzhaber in June 2011, House Bill 3611 requires the collection of a decedent's status as a veteran, whether they served in combat, and where.

Combat zone status and location information will appear in the Oregon Vital Events Registration System (OVERS) in December. You may answer the questions immediately or wait for January 1, 2012.

Death certificates for all U.S. veterans should be created in OVERS. An interim Supplemental Report on Veteran's Status form for fully paper records is also available through 2012. To obtain copies, complete a Request for Vital Records Forms & Tags and order Form 45-26V, or you may download the form and print your own.

We have updated our death registration instructions, as well as our worksheet for families, to include these new questions. We have also created a list of combat zones as defined by the Veterans Administration.

A short training video is available on House Bill 3611 and how to answer the questions in EDRS. Flash and Internet Explorer 6 or higher are required to view it.

Please contact JoAnn Jackson, Registration manager, at 971-673-1160 if you have any questions. If you need information about using OVERS, please contact our OVERS help desk at 971-673-0279.