ARB hearing prep for Texas homeowners

Most Texas property tax protests settle informally. The ones that do not end up in front of the appraisal review board, the ARB, a panel of local citizens who hear evidence and issue a binding order on your value. The hearing is less formal than a courtroom, but it is a real proceeding with real rules, and preparation is the difference between a persuasive case and a rant.

This guide covers the timeline you are owed, how the hearing runs, and how to organize your evidence so the board can actually use it.

The timeline you are owed

The Tax Code builds specific notice windows into the process, and knowing them helps you plan.

After you file, the ARB must give you at least 15 days' written notice of your hearing date, time, and the subject matter. At least 14 days before the hearing, you are entitled to the Comptroller's "Property Taxpayer Remedies" pamphlet and information about your right to inspect the evidence the chief appraiser plans to use. That inspection right matters: seeing the district's comps before the hearing tells you exactly what you are arguing against.

Use that window. If the district's evidence is weak, you will know it. If it is strong, you know which of your arguments needs shoring up.

Before the hearing: the informal review comes first

You rarely go straight to the ARB. State law obligates the appraisal district to hold an informal conference if you request one, and in most counties this is where the majority of protests resolve. A district appraiser reviews your comparables with you and, if persuaded, offers a settlement. In Dallas County, those offers typically arrive by email after you file online.

If you settle informally, the process ends. If the offer is too high or no offer comes, you proceed to the formal hearing, and the informal conversation does not bind the board in any way.

How the hearing works

Expect a shorter, simpler proceeding than the word "hearing" suggests, especially in Dallas, where uFile filers are typically scheduled for a telephone hearing. The structure is the same in person or by phone:

1. The ARB panel (typically three members) opens the hearing and confirms the property and the protest grounds.
2. You present your evidence. Sworn testimony, exhibits on the record.
3. The district's appraiser presents theirs.
4. The panel may ask questions of both sides.
5. The board closes the hearing and later issues a written order determining the value.

Some counties, Harris and Tarrant among them, expect parties to exchange the evidence they intend to offer before or at the start of the hearing. Check your county's procedures during that 14-day window. Either way, bring copies of everything, even evidence you already submitted.

Preparing your case: three documents

Walk into the hearing with three things organized, whether the hearing is in a conference room or on your phone.

A one-page argument. Your ground (market value or unequal appraisal), your requested value, and the two or three strongest facts supporting it. The board members are volunteers working through a long docket. Make your case scannable.

Your evidence, ordered as exhibits. The structure that works is the one hearing officers see constantly: four to ten exhibits in presentation order, each with a one-line description. Typical order: a summary of your requested value, your comparable sales grid, photographs of any condition issues, and repair estimates or contractor bids backing those photos. Label each exhibit and refer to it by label ("Exhibit 3, the roof bid, shows...").

Anticipated rebuttals. The district's appraiser will respond, and you should know how. If their comps are newer but farther away, say why proximity matters more. If they adjust your comps downward, ask what the adjustments were based on. Write your answers before the hearing, because composing under questioning is harder than it sounds.

Our Evidence PDF and the agent's Hearing Prep packet are built around exactly this structure: talking points with data references, anticipated rebuttals, and an ordered exhibit list.

What the board can and cannot consider

The board decides on market evidence. Sales documents, appraisals, photographs paired with repair estimates, and per-square-foot comparisons all qualify. Your personal financial situation, your opinion of the tax rate, and stories about the neighborhood's decline do not. Neither does emotion, however sincere.

If you are arguing unequal appraisal, the evidence bar is specific: per-square-foot comparisons against genuinely similar homes, selected and adjusted using recognized appraisal methods. Bring the grid, not just the conclusion.

One hearing-specific note: if you cannot attend, some counties allow evidence to be submitted by affidavit using the Comptroller's form. Check your county's procedures, because practices differ.

After the order

The ARB issues a written order determining the value. From there you can accept it, or pursue district court, binding arbitration, or (for some properties) review through the State Office of Administrative Hearings. Each route has its own deadlines and requirements, and remember the ground-lock rule: the ground you protested at the ARB bounds what the next level can decide.

More often than not, a well-evidenced hearing ends the matter. The full protest process, start to finish, is here if you want the long view.

Not legal advice. Estimate only. Based on public county appraisal data.