Board of Equalization
Board of Equalization (BOE)-Notice of Change
Instructions on how to Appeal the Assessor Decision to the County Board(PDF, 207KB)
Pursuant to A.R.S. §42-16102 (A), the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors, representing a county of less than 500,000 people, shall act as the County Board of Equalization. The purpose of the Board of Equalization is to hear all Petitions filed under A.R.S. §42-16105, an Appeal Valuation from the County Assessor and A.R.S. §42-15105, Supplemental Notice (or Notice of Change).
The County Board of Equalization’s purpose is to make sure that an appeal of the Assessor’s property assessment is made fairly and equitably. The Board of Equalization, through the hearing process, may change any valuation of property that is valued by the Assessor. However, the Board’s powers are limited to those specifically granted to the Board by law. The Board may not substitute its judgment for the judgment of the Hearing Officer with regard to the evidence. The decision must be based on the evidence presented by the parties attending the hearing.
Pursuant to A.R.S. §42-16102 (C) the Yavapai County Board contracts with the State Board of Equalization (SBOE) to provide Hearing Officer services for the appeals.
Appeals to the Board of Equalization must be filed with the Yavapai County Clerk of the Board within twenty-five (25) calendar days after the date that the Assessor’s decision was mailed to the Petitioner. The Board DOES NOT have the authority to waive the statutory time requirements set forth in filing either the Petition for Assessors Review or the Petition for Appeal to the County Board of Equalization*
The current 2024 Notice of Change of assessments were mailed on Thursday, September 28, 2023. The deadline to file your appeal is 25 days after your notice was mailed or Monday, October 23, 2023.
“Must be filed” is defined as hand-delivered or mailed to the Yavapai County Clerk of the Board at 1015 Fair St., room 310 Prescott, Arizona 86305 or 10 South 6th St, room 201, Cottonwood 86326. If mailed to either address, the envelope must be postmarked by the United States Postal Service prior to the due date. Yavapai County does not accept appeals electronically or by fax.
When filing an appeal, you must provide a petition for review(PDF, 907KB), any pertinent supplements and documentation that you would like the hearing officer to consider (the Board of Equalization does not cross reference documentation with the Assessor’s office).
If you are an agent filing for a petitioner, you must provide an agent authorization form(PDF, 688KB) along with the appeal.
Once your appeal has been properly received, the appeal will be transmitted to the SBOE who will calendar your appeal between the dates of November 6-8, 2023. A notification will be sent to you by the SBOE, notifying you of the date, time and location of the hearing. If you will be absent during any of the scheduled hearing dates (November 6-8, 2023), please indicate what days you will be available for your hearing within the above timeframe. Every effort will be made to accommodate your request for a specific date within the statutory time frame, but we cannot guarantee that a specific request will be granted. Once your hearing is scheduled, it cannot be changed.
If you cannot make the hearing as scheduled, the hearing will be heard “On the Record”, and the Hearing officer will make a decision based on the information provided in the file, therefor we recommend that any information you wish the Hearing Officer to review be submitted with the appeal.
All appeals will be heard at the 1015 Fair St Prescott location in the Board of Supervisors’ Hearing Room.
All agent appeals will be heard at the 1015 Fair St. location unless otherwise requested.
All appeals will be conducted in person.
At the hearing, the Officer will review the appeal and take testimony from the property owner and from the Assessor. The Hearing Officer then makes a recommendation to the Board of Equalization. Every effort is made to keep the hearing informal and non-intimidating to the property owner.
Pursuant to Yavapai County Resolution # 1748(PDF, 12KB), , the Board of Supervisors, as the Board of Equalization will ratify the Hearing Officers decision and “no decision of a Hearing Officer appointed to hear a BOE Property Appeal shall be reconsidered by the Board of Equalization whether such decision was rendered following a hearing with both parties present, on the record only on request of the parties or as a result of a failure of one or both parties to appear at the hearing.”
Once the Board of Supervisors has ratified the Hearing Officers decision, a notice of the final decision will be mailed to the petitioner from the Yavapai County Board of Equalization within 10 days of that date.
* A property owner who is dissatisfied with the valuation or classification of the property as fixed by the County Board, or a Petitioner whose Petition is denied, in whole or in part, may directly appeal the State Tax Court within sixty calendar days after the date of mailing of the decision, or by December 15, whichever is later.