Appraisal Review Board: Protests, Evidence, and Appeals

The Appraisal Review Board in Texas is a panel of local citizens that hears disputes between property owners and the appraisal district over values, exemptions, and other tax-roll issues. Filing a protest costs nothing. The standard deadline is May 15 or 30 days after your notice of appraised value is delivered, whichever is later. The board operates independently of the appraisal district’s staff, so you get a neutral forum before any thought of court.

Who Decides Your Protest

ARB members are appointed either by the local administrative district judge or by the appraisal district’s board of directors, depending on the district’s governance.¹ Every member must have lived in the district for at least two years, and current appraisal district employees, directors, Comptroller employees, and employees of local taxing units cannot serve. In counties of 120,000 or more, former appraisal district employees and officers are also barred.² Members must complete Comptroller-approved training before they can hear a case.³

Reasons You Can Protest

Texas law gives owners a wide set of grounds, not just “the number is too high.”⁴ The recognized grounds include:

Appraised value that is too high
Unequal appraisal compared to similar properties
Inclusion of your property on the appraisal records at all
Denial or partial denial of an exemption, such as homestead or disability
A determination that your property does not qualify for the circuit breaker limitation
Rejection of agricultural, timber, or other special-use valuation
Placement in the wrong taxing unit
Wrong owner listed
A change-in-use determination on land under special valuation
Any other action of the chief appraiser or ARB that adversely affects you

Value Protest vs. Unequal Appraisal

These look similar and often travel together. A value protest says the district’s number exceeds market value. An unequal appraisal protest says your property is assessed at a higher ratio than comparable properties, regardless of whether the raw number is defensible. Filing on both grounds gives the panel two independent reasons to lower your value.

The burden of proof rests with the appraisal district. For a standard value or unequal appraisal protest, the district must prove its number by a preponderance of the evidence. That bar rises to clear and convincing evidence if your property is valued at $1 million or less and you deliver a certified appraisal supporting your claimed value at least 14 days before the hearing.⁵ The elevated standard also applies if the ARB lowered your value the prior year and you file supporting evidence by the same 14-day mark. If the district fails to meet its burden, the ARB must rule for you.

The Filing Deadline

Your protest must be filed by May 15 or the 30th day after the appraisal district delivers your notice of appraised value, whichever is later.⁶ Different triggers apply in specific situations: a change to your records, a change-in-use determination, or a denial of an exemption under Section 11.35 each start a fresh 30-day clock from the date that notice is delivered.

You file on the Notice of Protest, Form 50-132, which asks you to check the specific grounds for your challenge.⁷ There is no filing fee.

Missing the deadline is not automatically fatal. If you file late but before the ARB approves the appraisal records for the year, the board can still hear the protest for good cause.⁶ Two groups get additional protection regardless of good cause: property owners on active military duty outside the United States when the deadline passed, and those continuously employed in the Gulf of Mexico for at least 20 days spanning the deadline. Both must file before taxes go delinquent and must submit proof of the qualifying circumstance. If you never received a required notice from the appraisal district or ARB, you can file before the delinquency date so long as your taxes remain current.⁸

Try the Informal Settlement First

Before the formal hearing, you can request an informal conference with an appraisal district appraiser.⁸ The instructions come with your notice of appraised value. The appraiser reviews your evidence against the district’s data. If you agree on a number, your protest ends there. If you don’t, your case moves to the ARB unchanged. The district’s informal offer is not binding on the ARB, and nothing said in the meeting can be used against you at the formal hearing. The informal meeting is also your first clear look at the district’s reasoning, which sharpens your preparation if you end up in front of the panel.

Building Your Evidence

Once you have filed, request the appraisal district’s evidence packet under Section 41.461. The district must deliver it at least 14 days before your hearing.⁹ The packet contains the comparables, property details, and methodology the district used. Most successful protests start here, because this is where you find errors in square footage, condition ratings, or comparables that don’t actually compare well to your property.

Strong evidence for a value protest usually includes:

Recent sale prices of similar nearby properties, with sales closest to the January 1 assessment date carrying the most weight
Your settlement statement if you recently purchased the property
Photographs of damage, deferred maintenance, or conditions the district may not have captured
Written repair estimates that attach dollar figures to those conditions
Documentation proving eligibility if a denied exemption is at issue

For an unequal appraisal protest, the evidence shifts to appraisal ratios: data showing that comparable properties are assessed at lower ratios relative to market value than yours. The district’s own packet is often the best starting point for that analysis.

How You Can Attend the Hearing

You do not have to appear in person. You can attend by telephone conference or videoconference if you notify the board in your notice of protest or by a separate written notice filed at least 10 days before the hearing.¹⁰ The board must give you the call-in number or video link. If you appear remotely, you must submit any evidence by affidavit. Choosing a remote hearing does not waive your right to appear in person if you change your mind. Counties with fewer than 100,000 residents are not required to offer videoconference if they lack the technology, but telephone hearings are available everywhere.

If you cannot attend at all, submit a written affidavit using Form 50-283. The affidavit must be notarized and delivered to the ARB before the hearing begins.¹¹ You can attach evidence on paper or on a USB drive. One trap: if you indicate you do not intend to appear and also fail to elect a phone or video hearing, the ARB is not required to consider your affidavit at a regularly scheduled hearing. They may process it in a separate affidavit session, which removes your chance to respond to the district’s arguments in real time.

You can also designate an agent to file and appear for you. The authorization must be made under Section 1.111 of the Tax Code, and the agent has the same authority and limits you would have.¹²

Inside the Hearing

The hearing follows a set format. You and the district representative are sworn in.¹³ The ARB usually asks who wants to present first. The district lays out its evidence and may make a settlement offer during the hearing itself. At that point you can accept and end the protest with a signed agreement, or ask the panel to decide. If the hearing continues, you present your evidence and argument, the district responds, and the panel deliberates in open session and votes on a specific motion for each issue.

You will not leave with a final written answer. The ARB announces its determination at the hearing, but the formal Order Determining Protest is mailed afterward by certified mail. In counties over 120,000, electronic delivery may be available on request.¹³ All testimony is recorded so a complete record exists for any appeal. The written order sets your property’s value for the tax year unless you take further action.

If You Miss Your Hearing

If you fail to appear and have not submitted a valid affidavit or sent an agent, the ARB will dismiss your protest. You can ask the ARB chair to reopen the hearing by submitting a written request within four calendar days of the scheduled date and showing good cause for missing it. Without that request, the dismissal stands and the district’s value holds.

Appealing the ARB’s Order

If you disagree with the order, Texas law gives you three ways forward. Each has its own deadline, cost, and scope, and missing the deadline forfeits your right to challenge the value beyond the ARB.

District Court

You can appeal in state district court within 60 days of receiving the ARB’s order. There is no property-value cap, and the court holds a full trial on the merits. It is the most expensive option, with filing fees, likely attorney costs, and a longer timeline.

Binding Arbitration

For properties valued at $5 million or less, binding arbitration is faster and cheaper. You must file a completed request with the Comptroller within 60 days of receiving the order, along with a deposit that varies by property type and value:¹⁴

Homestead, $500,000 or less: $450
Homestead, over $500,000: $500
Non-homestead, $1 million or less: $500
Non-homestead, $1–2 million: $800
Non-homestead, $2–3 million: $1,050
Non-homestead, $3–5 million: $1,550

Filing a district court appeal waives your right to arbitrate the same property, and vice versa. Strict compliance with the filing rules is mandatory; a misstep costs you the arbitration option.¹⁴

State Office of Administrative Hearings

If the ARB order values your property at more than $1 million, you may appeal to SOAH instead of district court. This route is limited to disputes over appraised value, market value, or unequal appraisal for real or personal property, excluding industrial property. File a Notice of Appeal with the chief appraiser within 30 days of receiving the ARB’s order and submit a $1,500 deposit within 90 days.⁸

1
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 6.41 – Appraisal Review Board
2
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Appraisal Review Board Training Manual
3
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Appraisal Review Board (ARB) Training
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State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 41.41 – Right to Protest Before Appraisal Review Board
5
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 41.43 – Protest of Determination of Value or Unequal Appraisal
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State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 41.44 – Notice of Protest
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Owner’s Notice of Protest
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Appraisal Protests and Appeals
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State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 41.461 – Notice of Certain Matters Before Hearing; Delivery of Requested Information
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State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 41.45 – Hearing on Protest
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Owner’s Affidavit of Evidence
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State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 41.413 – Protest by Person Leasing Property
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. 2026 Model Hearing Procedures for Appraisal Review Boards
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State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 41A.03 – Request for Arbitration