How to protest your Guadalupe County property appraisal

The district says the ARB may hear a late usual protest for good cause, but not after it approves that year’s appraisal records. Contact the district about omitted-property deadlines.

File, then prepare your evidence

The district’s current forms page lists a Notice of Protest under “ARB – Appraisal Review Board.” Its procedures identify Comptroller Form 50-132 as a form an owner may use for the written hearing request. Check that forms page for the available form before filing. A timely written protest leads to a hearing notice stating the time, date, place and subject. The district may schedule an informal meeting with an appraiser after receiving the protest; an unresolved case may still go to the ARB.

Before the hearing, an owner may request the evidence the district plans to introduce. The owner or authorized representative and the district must exchange materials they intend to offer to the ARB before the hearing or immediately after it begins. The procedures permit paper evidence or a small portable electronic device that the board keeps; they say not to bring evidence on a smartphone. Review the ARB’s hearing procedures before preparing an electronic submission.

Choose how to attend

An owner or authorized representative may appear in person, by telephone, by video call or through a written affidavit. The requested hearing type must be indicated on the written notice. The district’s procedures set an advance notice requirement of five days before the hearing for an owner without a designated agent and 10 days for one with a designated agent; evidence and a written affidavit must arrive before the hearing begins. An evening or Saturday hearing may be requested if necessary. The forms page lists a Property Owner’s Affidavit of Evidence.

After deciding a case, the ARB must send its order by certified mail. The district’s procedures describe further appeal routes, including district court and, for qualifying cases, arbitration or the State Office of Administrative Hearings; those routes have separate deadlines and costs. For a current form, a deadline question or filing instructions, use the district’s forms page or call (830) 303-3313. Its Seguin office is at 3000 N. Austin St., Seguin, TX 78155, option 1; its Schertz office is at 1052 FM 78, Suite 103, Schertz, TX 78154, option 2. The ARB page explains the board’s role, while the protest procedures give the deadline rules to compare with your notice.