Issue & Purpose:

In order to establish uniform practices for the filing of appeals and to clarify those methods to the public, the Board of Assessors has established this policy.

Whereas the Official Code of Georgia (O.C.G.A.) affords property owners the right to appeal their Annual Notice of Assessment; and

Whereas O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311 specifies that “an appeal shall be effected by emailing, if the county board of tax assessors has adopted a written policy consenting to electronic service, by mailing to, or by filing with the county board of tax assessors a notice of appeal within 45 days from the date of mailing the notice pursuant to Code Section 48-5-306”; and

Whereas it is beneficial to clarify to the public the approved methods for filing and the separation between “emailing” as referenced in statute and other forms of “electronic service”.

The following policy is in place.

Policy:

Appeals may be filed before midnight of the 45th day from the date when their Notice of Assessment was mailed. Appeals submitted or completed at midnight or later following the 45th day will not be accepted. Appeals are accepted by the following methods:

Appeals Submitted Manually (by mail or in-person):

The Gwinnett County Assessors’ Office does not accept appeals submitted by email or fax. Appeals shall be submitted via the Assessors’ Office online portal, by mail, or in person.

An appeal can be filed by completing a PT311A form or any letter of disagreement that identifies the property (by parcel number or address) and is received or postmarked within a 45-day period as a formal appeal. The appeal must be mailed or hand-delivered to:

ATT: Appeals – Gwinnett County Assessors’ Office,

75 Langley Drive, Lawrenceville, GA 30046.

Taxpayers are encouraged to use a trackable method to confirm delivery.

Appeals Submitted via Fax or Email:

The Gwinnett County Board of Assessors does not accept appeals submitted by email or fax. Appeals shall be submitted via the Assessors’ Office online portal, by mail, or in person.

Effective Enforcement:

Appeals can only be filed in response to an Annual Notice Assessment. In accordance with O.C.G.A. § 48-5-306, an appeal must be filed no later than 45 days after the date of the Annual Notice of Assessment. The last date to file an appeal is indicated on the notice. The property owner or agent has until 11:59 p.m. EST on the date indicated on the Annual Notice of Assessment to complete an appeal. If an appeal is not filed by this date, the right to file an appeal will be lost. There are no provisions for extensions, continuances, or special circumstances for late filing.

The Gwinnett County Assessors’ Office accepts appeals by the Assessors’ Office online portal, mail, or hand delivery. The means by which any petitioner chooses to file the appeal is at the individual’s discretion.

Board Approval of Policy:

This policy was approved by the Board of Assessors on October 1, 2025, and is recorded in the meeting minutes.

Issue & Purpose:

To maintain clear and consistent practices for Board of Assessors’ meeting agendas, and to provide the public with a transparent and orderly means by which the business of the Gwinnett County Board of Assessors is conducted, this policy establishes uniform meeting standards.

Whereas the Georgia Open Meetings Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1) requires that meetings of public bodies be open to the public and that agendas be made available in advance, except as otherwise provided by law; and

Whereas the Board of Assessors conducts agenda-driven meetings and desires to ensure fairness, transparency, and effective management of the Board of Assessors' business; and

Whereas members of the public periodically seek to bring matters before the Board of Assessors or to speak at meetings, and

Whereas it is beneficial to establish a uniform process for orderly business, public comment, and public requests,

The following policy is adopted.

Policy:

Agenda Preparation and Posting

The Executive Secretary of the Board of Assessors is responsible for directing the creation of the proposed meeting agenda in a manner that maintains orderly and effective business.

The proposed agenda will be made available to the public by posting it at a publicly accessible location at the meeting site as far in advance as reasonably possible, consistent with O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1(e)(1).

The Board of Assessors has discretion to consider items not previously included in the proposed and posted agenda to be added to the meeting. The Board may consider and act on an item by amending the agenda, as permitted by O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1(e)(1). The Board’s practice is to keep late additions to a minimum to preserve order.

Public Requests to Place a Matter Before the Board or to Appear Before the Board

Anyone asking the Board to address a specific matter as part of their agenda must submit a written request to the Board of Assessors. The request must identify the property or topic, explain the business matter, and specify the action the individual is requesting the Board of Assessors to take. To ensure orderly business, the Executive Secretary will be responsible for ensuring these standards are met before placing the matter on an agenda for consideration.

Anyone requesting to appear before the Board of Assessors to present a matter will need to make the request to appear in advance. The written request must identify the property or topic, explain the business matter, specify the action the individual is requesting the Board of Assessors to take, and state that they wish to appear before the Board of Assessors. To ensure orderly business, the Executive Secretary will be responsible for ensuring these standards are met before placing the request to appear before the Board of Assessors on an agenda. The Board of Assessors has the discretion to schedule the appearance for a future meeting, to delay action until a later meeting, to vote that the request warrants no action, or to direct the Executive Secretary to respond to the request by any means outside of public appearance that upholds orderly business.

The Executive Secretary will be responsible for ensuring the individual who made the request is informed of the Board’s actions in response to the request and scheduling any approved appearance in a future meeting.

Public Comments

Board of Assessors meetings are open meetings in accordance with the Georgia Open Meetings Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1).

Public access to these meetings is available by attending in person or by attending remotely. Information on how to attend in person or remotely will be published with the notice of the public meeting in advance of each meeting.

When public attendees are present in person, the agenda will include a Public Comment period at the end of the meeting. During the Public Comment period, attendees may share comments with the Board of Assessors. Those addressing the Board will provide their name and address prior to giving comments. The Public Comment period is an opportunity to address the Board of Assessors; however, it is not a time when the Board of Assessors will respond directly to comments or take action on them.

Attendees who choose to attend remotely have view-only access. There is no ability to share video or audio with the Board of Assessors when attending remotely. Anyone wishing to make a public comment will need to attend in person.

Board Approval of Policy:

This policy was approved by the Board of Assessors on October 15th, 2025 and is recorded in the meeting minutes.

Issue and Purpose

In order to establish uniform practices and treatment of individuals filing appeals under O.C.G.A. 48-5-311, the Board of Assessors has established this policy. The intent is to ensure statutory deadlines for filing appeal are applied consistently, regardless of the petitioner’s delivery method.

Whereas there is a uniform deadline for appeals to be filed within 45 days of the annual notice of assessment date; and Whereas the Gwinnett County Board of Assessors accepts appeals by mail, hand delivery, or online filing through an online portal; and Whereas, the means by which any petitioner chooses to file the appeal is at the individual’s discretion; and Whereas, O.C.G.A 48-5-311 provides no provision extending the 45-day appeal window on the basis that a petitioner started, but did not complete an appeal filing by the deadline; The following policy is in place.

Policy

Any appeal that was initiated online prior to the appeal filing deadline but was not completed by the appeal deadline will not be considered as filed timely.

Board Approval of Policy

This policy was approved by the Board of Assessors on July 2, 2025, and is recorded in the meeting minutes.

To maintain accurate property assessments, the Board of Assessors and their delegated agents and representatives must conduct routine on-site reviews. All owners and occupants are hereby notified that all property in Gwinnett is subject to routine reviews, as permitted by law (see O.C.G.A. § 48-5-264.1 a).

The property review is conducted at the property location by a Gwinnett County representative. The county representative will have a Gwinnett County issued photo identification badge and will be driving an appropriately marked vehicle. The purpose of the property review is to confirm that information about your property is accurate in our records. The accuracy of the data for your property, including land, structures, and the surrounding neighborhood, directly impacts how the value that is used for tax assessment purposes, is calculated.

Reviews of Residential Living Units and Dwellings

All building reviews are conducted from outside and do not require that the county representative enter any structures. The representative will approach buildings as needed to verify measurements, quality, condition, and other data that affects the value of the property. The representative may also take exterior photographs that represent the current condition of the property. At the beginning of the review, the county representative will ring or knock on the door to notify someone that they have arrived and will begin the review. The county representative may ask certain questions about the property if the owner or a knowledgeable adult is present and available. If nobody answers the door, we will conduct our property review and information will be left to advise you of our visit.

Reviews of Other Property Types

There are many types of property other than residential living units and dwellings, and the Gwinnett County Assessors’ Office is required to routinely review each of them. The way these properties are reviewed, the time required to review, and any questions the representative may ask, can all vary. In all cases, please notify occupants of the upcoming site review.

*THIS NOTICE IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH IN GEORGIA CODE 48-5-264.1(a)
Right of chief appraiser and others to inspect property, supplying identification to occupant of property
(a)  The chief appraiser, other members of the county property appraisal staff, authorized agents of the county board of tax assessors, and members of the county board of tax assessors who are conducting official business of the chief appraiser, the county appraisal staff, or the county board of tax assessors may go upon property outside of buildings, posted or otherwise, in order to carry out the duty of making appraisals of the fair market value of taxable property in the county, other than property returned directly to the commissioner; provided, however, such person representing such chief appraiser, appraisal staff, or county board of tax assessors shall carry identification which is sufficiently prominent to permit the occupant to readily ascertain that such person is such representative. Such representative shall not enter upon the property unless reasonable notice has been provided to the owner and to the occupant of the property regarding the purpose for which such person is entering upon such property.