Step 1 — Notice of Appraised Value
Each spring, every Texas appraisal district mails a Notice of Appraised Value to property owners whose appraised value has changed. The notice identifies the proposed market value, the appraised (taxable) value after caps and exemptions, and the deadline to file a protest — typically May 15, or 30 days after the notice is delivered, whichever is later. Tex. Tax Code § 41.44.
Step 2 — The Protest
The protest is filed with the appraisal review board (ARB) of the county where the property is located. The grounds are set out in § 41.41 and include, among others:
- determination of market value,
- unequal appraisal,
- denial of an exemption or special-use valuation,
- incorrect ownership, situs, or inclusion on the appraisal roll, and
- failure to give required notice.
Which grounds are protested matters. Only the grounds raised at the ARB survive into a Chapter 42 lawsuit. Owners (or their agents) who check only "market value" and ignore the unequal-appraisal box forfeit the most valuable remedy in the Tax Code.
Step 3 — Informal Conference
Most appraisal districts offer an informal meeting with a staff appraiser before the ARB hearing. A meaningful percentage of protests resolve here. From a litigation perspective the informal is also a free preview of the district's data and assumptions.
Step 4 — ARB Hearing
If informal discussions do not resolve the protest, the matter proceeds to a hearing before the ARB. The ARB is a panel of citizens appointed by the local administrative district judge. Hearings are brief — often less than thirty minutes — and the evidentiary rules are relaxed. The property owner has the burden of going forward; the appraisal district has the burden of proof by clear and convincing evidence in certain cases. § 41.43.
Step 5 — Final Order
The ARB issues a written final order setting the appraised value for the year. This order is the document that triggers the 60-day clock under § 42.21 for filing a Chapter 42 petition. From the moment it is received, the litigation timeline begins.
Step 6 — The Decision to Litigate
The economics of judicial appeal generally favor:
- high-value commercial, industrial, and investment properties where small percentage reductions translate into meaningful tax savings;
- properties where the ARB result is materially above the owner's appraisal evidence; and
- properties where the unequal-appraisal sample produces a median well below the ARB value.
Ray Law Group evaluates each ARB order against these criteria within the 60-day window and recommends litigation only when the case justifies it. Where it does, the firm files the petition, develops the appraisal and unequal-appraisal evidence, and tries the case to verdict or favorable settlement.