How to Appeal Your Property Tax in Oregon: Step-by-Step Guide
In Oregon, a value appeal on most property starts with a petition to your county’s property value appeals board, the body called the board of property tax appeals (BOPTA) before July 1, 2024. File it with the county clerk after tax statements go out and no later than December 31 (ORS 309.100(2)).
Oregon’s appeal calendar, step by step
| Step | Body | Deadline rule | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petition to reduce value | County property value appeals board (PVAB), filed with the county clerk | From the date tax statements are mailed or delivered through December 31 | ORS 309.100(2) |
| Hearing and order | PVAB | Board convenes on or after the first Monday in February and adjourns no later than April 15 | ORS 309.026(1), (5) |
| Appeal of the PVAB order | Magistrate Division, Oregon Tax Court | Within 30 days after the order is mailed, notice of it is published or mailed, or it is personally delivered, whichever applies | ORS 305.280(4) |
| Appeal of the magistrate’s decision | Regular Division, Oregon Tax Court | Within 60 days after the written decision is entered | ORS 305.501(5)(a) |
The window opens on the date tax statements are mailed, and ORS 311.250(1) requires the tax collector to deliver or mail them on or before October 25. Mail counts on the postmark: under ORS 305.820(1)(a), a petition sent by U.S. mail or private express carrier “shall be deemed filed or received on the date shown by the cancellation mark.” If December 31 lands on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, section 305.820(2) moves the deadline to the next business day.
The board’s new name and who sits on it
House Bill 2031 (Oregon Laws 2023, chapter 29) renamed every county board of property tax appeals the “property value appeals board.” The rename became operative July 1, 2024. County pages and older forms can still say BOPTA, but it is the same board, and the current Department of Revenue forms use PVAB.
Each board has three members, chosen by the county clerk from pools that the county governing body appoints. Normally one member comes from the pool of governing-body members or their designees, and two come from the pool of county residents who do not work for the county or any taxing district (ORS 309.020(1)(a), 309.067(1)). The governing body may instead put a county resident from the second pool in the first seat (ORS 309.020(5)(a)). Two members make a quorum.
Filing the petition: form OR-B-RPP
For land, buildings and manufactured structures, use the Department of Revenue’s Oregon Property Value Appeals Board Real Property Petition, form OR-B-RPP (150-310-063). Business personal property has its own petition. The petition form (revised July 22, 2026) says: “File your petition in the office of the county clerk. No other county office can accept petitions.”
Section 309.100(3) lists what the petition must do. It must be in writing, state the facts and grounds, be “signed and verified by the oath” of an owner or an authorized representative, give an address for the board’s notice, and say if you want a hearing. You must include the assessor’s account number or a copy of your tax statement. According to the instructions, an incomplete petition is returned, and it is dismissed if not corrected by the date on the “Defective Petition Notice.”
Owners and anyone whose contract or lease obligates them to pay the taxes can petition (ORS 309.100(1)). Section 309.100(4) names who else can sign for you, including a relative, an Oregon lawyer or accountant, a licensed real estate broker, and a certified, licensed or registered appraiser. Most of them also need your written authorization; an attorney-in-fact attaches a copy of the general power of attorney instead (ORS 309.100(4)(d)).
Does a lower real market value lower the bill?
Not always. Your tax is figured on assessed value (AV), and AV is the lesser of real market value (RMV) and maximum assessed value (MAV). The Department of Revenue defines MAV as “the greater of 103 percent of the prior year’s assessed value or 100 percent of the prior year’s MAV,” with exceptions for new construction and some other changes. The petition instructions state the consequence: “If PVAB reduces RMV but it remains higher than MAV, AV won’t change.” They add that the board cannot reduce the 3 percent increase from the prior year’s AV, though it may reduce the value of an exception, such as a new addition. The Oregon property tax and Measure 50 guide explains how MAV is built. The property tax calculator shows the dollar effect of a change in AV.
At the PVAB hearing
If you ask for a hearing, the board has to give you at least five days’ written notice of the time and place (ORS 309.100(5)). The instructions say hearings are scheduled “between the first Monday in February and April 15” and that “Some counties have established time limits for you and the assessor to present evidence.” You don’t have to attend. If you check “no,” the board decides “based on the written evidence you submit.”
The board can hear only values added to the roll before December 1 of the tax year (ORS 309.026(3)). Every decision is recorded in a formal order, and a copy is mailed to the address on your petition (ORS 309.110(1)).
On evidence, the Department’s circular How to Appeal Your Property Value (150-303-668, rev. July 15, 2024) says you “will need to present evidence about the market value of your property as it existed on the assessment date.” It lists “an appraisal report of your property done by an independent appraiser or a comparison of your property with similar properties that have sold in your area close to January 1 of the assessment year.” It also warns that comparing your roll value or tax bill to a neighbor’s “is generally not considered satisfactory evidence.” The petition instructions add that photos and appraisals you submit are kept, not returned.
After the board: the Oregon Tax Court
You can appeal a PVAB order to the Magistrate Division of the Oregon Tax Court within 30 days (ORS 305.280(4)). The Department’s circular underlines “30 days (not one month).” The filing fee for a magistrate complaint is $50 (ORS 305.490(1)(a)), and you can ask at filing for the fee to be waived or deferred (ORS 305.490(2)). Where the county made the appraisal, the complaint names the county assessor as defendant, and a copy of the board’s order is attached (ORS 305.560(1)(c)).
Magistrate proceedings are de novo, meaning new and independent, and are tried without a jury (ORS 305.425(1)). A magistrate “is not bound by common law or statutory rules of evidence” and may hold the hearing in person or by telephone (ORS 305.501(4)(a)). The burden rule is in ORS 305.427: “a preponderance of the evidence shall suffice to sustain the burden of proof. The burden of proof shall fall upon the party seeking affirmative relief.” A party who disagrees with the magistrate has 60 days to file in the Regular Division (ORS 305.501(5)(a)). After that, the magistrate’s decision becomes final.
Oregon homeowners’ appeal questions
Can I skip the county board and file with the Tax Court?
Not for an ordinary home. Under ORS 305.275(3), “If a taxpayer may appeal to the property value appeals board under ORS 309.100, then no appeal may be allowed under this section.” The exception in ORS 305.403 covers state-appraised industrial property, which goes to the Tax Court by the same December 31 date.
I missed December 31. Is there anything left?
Two narrow routes remain in ORS 305.288, both handled by the Tax Court. Route one: if the property is used primarily as a dwelling (or is vacant) and is a single-family home, a multifamily dwelling of four units or fewer, a condo unit, a manufactured structure or a floating home, the court shall correct the current year or either of the two prior years when the roll’s RMV is off from the actual RMV by 20 percent or more. Route two applies when no appeal right remains: you must show “good and sufficient cause,” and the statute excludes “inadvertence, oversight, lack of knowledge, hardship” from that term. The Department also accepts requests for supervisory review in limited cases; see its publication 150-303-688.
If I win, how long does the lower value last?
Under ORS 309.115(1), an unappealed order correcting RMV, whether from the board, the Department or a court, carries onto the rolls “for the five assessment years next following the year for which the order is entered.” Section 309.115(2) still allows several changes during that period. These include countywide trending, remodeling or additions, damage, and “Changes indicated by a subsequent sale of the property.”
Who can argue my case at the board if I can’t go?
The people listed in ORS 309.100(4). They include a relative as defined by Department rule, an Oregon lawyer or accountant, a licensed broker, a certified, licensed or registered appraiser, a lessee, a legal guardian or conservator, or an attorney-in-fact under a general power of attorney. Anyone other than a lawyer, guardian, conservator or attorney-in-fact must attach your signed authorization. An attorney-in-fact must instead attach a copy of the general power of attorney (ORS 309.100(4)(d)).
Can the assessor appeal a board decision that lowered my value?
Yes. ORS 305.275(4) lets a county assessor “aggrieved by an order of the county property value appeals board” appeal to the Tax Court on the same 30-day clock.