The Health Care Licensure and Certification (HCLC) section of the Department of Human Services is the agency responsible for the licensure of health care facilities in the State of Oregon.

The DHS-Public Health Division, HCLC program, has finalized and adopted OARs relating to hospitals. The rules were revised to provide clarification on processes for licensing, complaints, investigations, surveys and discipline; make more consistent with CMS regulations; provide clearer wording; establish clear classifications for different types of hospitals; clarifies medical records; make clear the types of patient services that are required for different categories of hospitals, and other housekeeping changes. The revised rules are available below and will be available on the online Secretary of States OAR compilation on November 1, 2009.

In 2001 the Oregon Legislature enacted into law the provisions of House Bill (HB) 2800, a law setting forth requirements for hospital nursing services staffing. HCLC is responsible for conducting nursing staffing audits to evaluate a hospital's compliance with all of the rules related to nurse staffing.

The 2007 Oregon Legislature passed SB 341 requiring DHS to adopt rule standards and a system of registration for every organ procurement organization, tissue bank and eye bank doing business in Oregon.