The Value Adjustment Board (VAB) is the independent county panel that hears petitions against a Property Appraiser's valuation, exemption or classification decisions.
Each county has one. It has five members β two county commissioners, one school board member, and two citizen members β and in most counties the hearings themselves are conducted by appointed special magistrates.
You petition on Form DR-486, usually with a $15 filing fee per parcel, by the deadline printed on your TRIM notice.
The VAB is a genuine second opinion β it is not the Property Appraiser's office, and the magistrates hearing valuation cases are required to be qualified appraisers.
The practical trap is timing. The informal review with the Property Appraiser does not pause the VAB clock, so an owner waiting on an informal answer can talk their way past the deadline.
An owner disputes a $600,000 just value. They first ask the Property Appraiser for an informal review, which is free and sometimes settles it.
Unconvinced, they file a DR-486 with the county VAB before the TRIM deadline and present comparable sales at a hearing before a special magistrate, who recommends a decision to the board.
Most counties charge $15 per parcel, set by statute. That is separate from anything you pay a representative.
You or a representative should. Many counties allow telephone hearings, and evidence must be exchanged with the Property Appraiser ahead of time under the VAB rules.
Usually yes β it is free and can resolve the value without a hearing. Just watch the calendar, because the VAB deadline does not pause while you wait for an answer.