Appraisal Review Board

A property owner who disagrees with an order of an Appraisal Review Board may appeal the order to the State Office of Administrative Hearings for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, if the value of the subject property as determined by the Appraisal Review Board is more than one million dollars ($1,000,000).

Appeal Process

Notice of Appeal by Property Owner

Please complete the Notice of Appeal by Property Owner form within thirty (30) days after you receive the notice of the Appraisal Review Board Order and file it, and the deposit, with the Chief Appraiser of your county. The Chief Appraiser of your county will forward your appeal and the deposit to the State Office of Administrative Hearings.

Deposit

A deposit of $1,500, payable to the State Office of Administrative Hearings is required to be filed with the Chief Appraiser within ninety (90) days after you receive the notice of Appraisal Review Board Order. The deposit includes a $300 filing fee.

Failure to submit the full deposit of $1,500 within ninety (90) days of receipt of the Appraisal Review Board Order may result in the dismissal of the appeal from the State Office of Administrative Hearings schedule.

If all the contested issues are resolved and the parties enter into a settlement agreement before a hearing on the merits, the deposit, less the $300 filing fee, will be refunded to the property owner.

Hearing

An Administrative Law Judge will conduct a hearing to determine the value of the subject property.

Determination

After the hearing is held, the Administrative Law Judge will make a determination of the appraised or market value of the subject property.

Costs of Appeal

Depending on the outcome, you may also be required to pay the costs of the appeal process at the State Office of Administrative Hearings.

If the Administrative Law Judge’s determination of the value is nearer to the value the property owner stated in the Notice of Appeal by Property Owner than to the value determined by the Appraisal Review Board in its order, your deposit, including the filing fee will be refunded and the Appraisal District will pay all the costs of the appeal.

If the Administrative Law Judge’s determination of the value is nearer to the value determined by the Appraisal Review Board, the State Office of Administrative Hearings will retain your deposit, and you will be required to pay any costs of appeal that are in excess of $1,500. Costs include the Administrative Law Judge’s time at the rate per hour established by the General Appropriations Act (GAA), travel expenses, and other similar expenses.

If all the contested issues are resolved and the parties enter into a settlement agreement after a hearing on the merits but before a Determination is issued, costs will be assessed based on the agreed valuation and the considerations previously discussed.