Special districts as defined in ORS 198 ​must designate a registered agent. The registered agent is a person authorized by a board to conduct business and receive official communication on behalf of the board. The registered agent should be an Oregon resident whose address is identical with the registered office of the district. The registered office may be, but need not be, the same as the place of business of the special district. The address should be a physical address and not a post office box.

The Notice of Designation of Special District Registered Office and Registered Agent form​ must be filed with the Secretary of State Archives Division. This form must be com​pleted each time a change is made in either the registered agent or the registered office. There is no fee for filing this form. ​​​

An SRE is the annual Summary of Revenues and Expenditures form​.

* To remain eligible for these reporting avenues, the municipality must 1) file timely and 2) maintain adequate fidelity or faithful performance bond coverage. 

** Auditor communicated deficiencies are filed with the Secretary of State by the auditor. The plan of action is the responsibility of the municipal governing body.

If the municipality’s fiscal year ended on or after January 1, 2024, use the decision tree below to determine which type of report is required.

An SRE is the Summary of Revenues and Expenditures . 

* To remain eligible for these reporting avenues, the municipality must 1) file timely and 2) maintain adequate fidelity or faithful performance bond coverage.

** Auditor communicated deficiencies are filed with the Secretary of State by the auditor. The plan of action is the responsibility of the municipal governing body.

​For All Municipalities​

Periodically, notices of incomplete filings are mailed to each municipality. If filing fees are unpaid, invoices are also mailed. A list of delinquent filers​ is maintained on our website.

Additionally, for special districts formed under ORS 198

If a special district does not file required reports for three years, the Secretary of State must send a dissolution notice to the respective County. The County will proceed to dissolve the municipality.

Additionally, for School Districts, ESD’s, and charter schools:

Annual financial reports must comply with rules established by the Oregon Department of Education. Failure to provide the required reports could result in actions taken by the Department of Education. ​

A municipality is not exempt from the audit requirement if the Secretary of State receives a petition requesting an audit from the municipality’s residents. The petition for a municipality with a population of less than 150 residents must contain the signatures of at least 10 residents. A petition for a municipality with a population of 151 or more residents must contain the signatures of at least 30 residents. The petition must be submitted to the Secretary of State within six months of the end of the fiscal year end. The municipality will bear the cost of the audit.

Where can I find a petition and where do I mail it once completed?

Please contact the Secretary of State’s office, Municipal Audit Law program manager at 503-986-2255 prior to initiating a petition.

• The principles of accounting and methods followed by the municipal corporation in recording, summarizing and reporting its financial transactions and financial condition
• The accuracy and legality of the transactions, accounts, records, files and financial reports of the officers and employees of the municipal corporation as they relate to its fiscal affairs
• Compliance with requirements, orders and regulations of other public officials which pertain to the financial condition or financial operations of the municipal corporation
• The municipality’s compliance with the legal provisions of federal laws, state laws, charter provisions, court orders, ordinances, resolutions, and rules and regulations issued by any governmental entity; and
• The municipality’s compliance with programs wholly or partially funded by federal, state or other local government agencies, if applicable.

• The names and mailing addresses of officers of the municipal corporation and members of its governing body;
• The name and address of the registered agent, if applicable 
• An individual schedule of receipts/revenues, expenditures/expenses, and changes in fund balances/net position, budgeted and actual, for each fund of the municipality for which budgets are legally required;
• A comparison between the estimated budget schedule with the actual revenues or receipts, transfers in, expenditures or disbursements, transfers out and ending balances on the basis of the legally adopted budget;
• If the municipality has made appropriations in a manner which differs materially from the presentation of estimated expenditures in the budget document, a separate schedule must be included which compares actual expenditures/expenses with the legally adopted appropriations;
• Although uncommon, if an independently elected official is collecting or receiving money on behalf of the municipality, then a schedule of accountability should be included;
• Appropriate comments and disclosures relating to the independent auditor’s review of fiscal affairs and compliance with legal requirements;
• A separately issued by-product report, that in planning the audit, the auditor followed generally accepted auditing standards in obtaining an understanding of the municipality and its internal control over financial reporting containing that includes comments over all relevant aspects of the minimum standards.

Agreed-upon procedures (AUP) may be an allowable alternative to an audit (OAR 162-040-0165) and are an attestation service provided by an accountant who is a licensed municipal auditor. The objectives of an AUP are to perform certain procedures over a municipality’s operations and compliance, and certain financial statement assertions, and issue a report that describes the procedures applied and the results of those procedures. An AUP report does not provide an opinion or other conclusions.

AUPs are specified in Oregon Administrative Rule Chapter 162, Division 40​. For a complete filing, a municipality must submit the following:

• Annual financial statements, notes, and management’s representation of compliance;
• The accountant’s AUP report;
• Summary information including total revenues/receipts and expenditures/disbursements of the municipality;
• Filing fee

​Some required procedures include:

• Compare estimated budgets to actual spending;
• Confirm payroll records correspond with personnel records;
• Observe cash reconciliations for timeliness and accuracy;
• Reconcile debt schedules to amounts reported in the financial statements.

For a full list of procedures, consult OAR 162-040-0165​. ​

• Accounting errors and misstatements
• Internal control weaknesses
• Instances of non-compliance with rules and regulation

• A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the entity’s financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis.
• A significant deficiency is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control that is less severe than a material weakness, yet important enough to merit the attention of those charged with governance.

• within the audit report in a report on internal control and compliance in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards,
• in a management letter or communication issued in accordance with AICPA audit standards (AU-C 265),
• or in a Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs related to an audit of federal programs. 

Less common, but also acceptable, is communicating deficiencies in the auditor's report on compliance in accordance with State Regulation (Minimum Standards comments).​

1. Address all material weaknesses and significant deficiencies communicated by the auditor.
2. Include the estimated period of time necessary to complete the planned actions.
3. Be adopted by the governing body.
4. Be filed with our office within 30 days of filing the audit report.

Plan of Action Resource​

Plan of Action Resource​​​​​​​​

Plan of Action Template​​

​Business registry numbers are not typically needed for governmental entities and are not required by municipal audit law. However, a municipality may be asked for an Oregon business registry number in order to open a bank account, secure a line of credit, or conduct other business.

For more information see Assumed Business Name for Government resource​ and the Register a Business page ​ for details on business registry numbers and governments.