Birth Records in Oregon are closed, by law, for 100 years. State-wide registration began in 1903, though the City of Portland does have earlier registers of birth.

Alternate places to find birth records include newspapers.

In the first half of the 20th century, many individuals applied for delayed birth certificates. This was most often done to obtain Social Security.  These delayed certificates can be even richer records than later birth certificates, as applicants had to provided affidavits from individuals verifying the date and place of their births. This often leads to other family members, or to more details surrounding what might otherwise be little more than a date and a place.

Delayed Birth Certificates