Washington County Easement Deed (Ingress and Egress) Form

An ingress and egress easement is a recorded right to cross one parcel of land to reach another. In Oregon it is created by grant, the way a deed is, and once recorded it runs with the land so that future owners of both parcels take it as they find it. This form prepares that grant: a perpetual, nonexclusive easement for a private right of way over a servient estate for the benefit of a dominant estate.

An interest in land, not a transfer of ownership

An easement is a nonpossessory interest. The grantor keeps title to the burdened land, called the servient estate, and keeps the right to use the easement area in any way that does not interfere with the grantee's right of way. What changes is that the benefited land, called the dominant estate, gains a defined path across the neighbor's parcel. ORS 93.020 creates an interest in real property by a written instrument executed with the formalities of a deed, and Oregon courts treat a grant of an easement as drawn and executed with those same formalities.

Why recording matters under ORS 93.710

Easements have their own recording statute. ORS 93.710 provides that an instrument creating an easement, signed by the owner of the servient estate and acknowledged, may be recorded in the deed records of the county where the property sits, and that recording gives third persons notice of the rights of the parties. A purchaser of the servient estate then takes title with that easement of record, and a buyer of the dominant estate receives the easement automatically with the parcel. Because the easement here is appurtenant, identifying both the dominant estate and the servient estate is what fixes it to the land rather than to a person.

Appurtenant, and why the distinction is built into the form

Oregon authority describes a strong preference for reading an easement as appurtenant rather than in gross. An appurtenant easement serves a parcel and cannot be split off from the dominant estate; an easement in gross serves a person or company, the way a utility line easement does. This form names both parcels and grants the easement to the grantee and the grantee's heirs, successors, and assigns, so the appurtenant, runs with the land character is clear of record.

Nonexclusive use and shared upkeep

Unless an instrument says otherwise, an Oregon easement grantee takes a nonexclusive right, and the grantor keeps the right to use and to let others use the area in ways that do not conflict. The deed states that default and reserves the grantor's use. For upkeep, ORS 105.170 to 105.185 govern a private right of way: absent an agreement or a maintenance term in the recorded easement, the cost of keeping the easement in repair is shared by each holder in proportion to the use each makes of it. A special provisions section lets the parties set width, exclusivity, duration, and a maintenance split instead of the default.

The package includes the blank fillable PDF, a completed example built on a realistic Washington County fact pattern, and a plain language guide that walks every section and the recording steps. The materials are informational and are not legal advice.