If you believe your Minnesota property tax valuation is too high, you have the right to appeal it. The appeal process is governed by state law and follows the same general structure across all counties, including the Twin Cities 13-county metro.

What varies is where you start and which meetings your city holds.

How Minnesota’s Appeal System Works

Minnesota uses a hybrid county + city/township system.

• The valuation is set by the County Assessor

• The first formal appeal step may happen at the city or township level

• Final authority sits with the County Board and Minnesota Tax Court

The appeal is about market value or classification, not the dollar amount of your tax bill.

The Good News

• The appeal structure is defined by state law

• The same multi-step system applies statewide

• Appeal timelines are regulated and predictable

• You can skip local boards and go directly to Tax Court if you choose

How Cities/Townships Handle Appeals

Not all cities and townships handle the first appeal step the same way.

1. Your Valuation Notice Tells You What Applies

Every valuation notice must include:

• The date, time, and location of your city’s Open Book meeting or Local Board of Appeal & Equalization (LBAE).

• The date, time, and location for the County Board of Appeal & Equalization if relevant.

  
  This is a legal requirement.

Open Book Meetings

What it is:
Open Book meetings are a less formal chance to review your valuation with the assessor. Think of this as an assessor-led discussion, not a hearing.

What happens at Open Book:

• You sit down with assessor staff

• You point out issues in your valuation

• You may bring photos, comparables, or facts that explain errors

• The assessor can adjust your value on the spot if the documentation justifies it

Does Open Book satisfy the local appeal requirement?
If your city lists only Open Book on the valuation notice, then that’s your first formal step. If you can’t resolve the issue here, you are allowed to go to the County Board of Appeal & Equalization afterward.

Local Boards of Appeal & Equalization (LBAE)

What it is:
The LBAE is a formal review board made up of appointed board members (often city council members or others trained in appeal procedures). They hear valuation disputes in a structured setting.

How it works:

• You can appear in person and present evidence

• You can sometimes submit evidence in writing if you cannot attend

• The Board reviews assessor data and your arguments

• They must record decisions and submit changes to the Department of Revenue shortly after the meeting.

Training requirement:
Local board members must include at least one person trained in appeal procedures each year. If your city fails to meet that requirement, its board powers may be transferred to the county for that assessment cycle, and the county then handles local appeals instead.

If your valuation notice lists a Local Board:

• You must appear at that Local Board before you ask the County Board to hear your appeal.

• This is a legal step.

If your city only lists an Open Book:

• You may start at Open Book.

• If unresolved, you can proceed to the County Board.

If your city has no Open Book or Local Board:

• By statute, the county must still provide some review option (often an Open Book or review meeting).

• The county will notify you of the alternative procedure.

What You Should Do at Your City’s First Step

Here’s how to approach each type of meeting:

At Open Book:

1. Call the assessor and ask for a time slot. Many counties require you to schedule a brief appointment to discuss your concern.

2. Bring objective evidence: current sales data, photos, records of condition issues, or measurement errors.

3. Ask specific questions: what sales and valuation methods were used? Check facts before arguing opinion.

The assessor may revise your value right then if the evidence clearly shows an error.

At a Local Board (LBAE)

1. Confirm your date/time/location on the valuation notice.

2. Prepare a short statement that explains why the assessor’s value is too high.

3. Bring documentation: comps, appraisal, pictures, mistakes in public records, incorrect attributes.

4. Be brief and fact-focused: boards listen to evidence, not opinions.

5. Expect outcomes in writing: you will get a mailed decision after the board adjourns.

What Happens After Those Meetings

If your issue isn’t resolved at Open Book or Local Board:

• County Board of Appeal & Equalization is next (meetings usually in June)

• If you want to bypass these boards entirely, you can file a Minnesota Tax Court petition before the deadline.

The Bottom Line

Open Book

• Less formal, face-to-face with assessor

• Often first step if that’s what your city lists

• County Board may still be next

Local Board of Appeal & Equalization

• More formal hearing

• You generally must attend before county board if your city holds one

If a city does neither or transfers powers

• The county provides an alternative review (ask your assessor or county contact)

All of these steps are defined in Minnesota’s property tax appeal rules and must be listed on your valuation notice.

Where a Real Estate Agent Can Help

Appealing a property valuation is ultimately about evidence, not opinions. This is where a knowledgeable local real estate agent can be especially useful.

What an Agent Actually Does (and Does Not Do)

A real estate agent does not:

• File the appeal for you

• Speak on your behalf at board hearings

• Guarantee a lower valuation

Those steps are handled by the property owner.

What an agent can do is help you understand whether the valuation is realistic and provide credible market context.

How an Agent Helps You Build Strong Evidence

1. Determining Whether the Value Is Reasonable

Before you appeal, you need to know whether the assessor’s value is actually out of line with the market.

A real estate agent can:

• Review recent comparable sales from the correct assessment period

• Adjust for condition, size, location, and updates

• Explain how buyers are actually reacting to similar homes

This prevents homeowners from appealing values that are already supported by the market, which saves time and frustration.