After you file a Georgia property tax appeal, the Board of Assessors has up to 90 days to review it. If unresolved, your case goes to a Board of Equalization hearing. Learn the full timeline, billing rules, and how the 3-year freeze works.
# What Happens After You File a Property Tax Appeal in Georgia? Timeline, Hearings, and the 3-Year Freeze
Filing a property tax appeal feels like a big moment—then nothing happens for a while. That silence is normal. In Georgia, your appeal moves through a defined sequence (and sometimes a backlog), and knowing the timeline helps you avoid missed deadlines, plan your evidence, and understand what a “3-year freeze” really does.
This guide walks you through what happens after you file: the Board of Assessors review, hearing paths (Board of Equalization, hearing officer, arbitration), temporary billing rules, and how the appeal “lock” can protect you from increases for the next two years in certain situations.
In Georgia, you generally have 45 days from the date on your annual notice to file your appeal with your county Board of Tax Assessors (BOA). Georgia’s Department of Revenue summarizes that deadline and provides the statewide PT-311A form here: PT-311A Appeal of Assessment Form (GA DOR).
When you file, you typically select the path your appeal will take (the notice and county instructions usually list options). Most homeowners end up on the County Board of Equalization (BOE) track, but Georgia also allows arbitration and, in specific cases, a county hearing officer track. A helpful overview of those paths is in this state-issued summary: Summary of Appeal Process (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311).
What you should do right away:
After you file, the BOA reviews your appeal. This is the “quiet period” where many homeowners assume something went wrong—usually it hasn’t.
In the state’s appeal-process summary, the BOA review window is described as up to 90 days before the file moves forward if no change is made. See: Summary of Appeal Process (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311).
Georgia law allows certain extensions when counties have unusually high appeal volume. For example, DeKalb County publicly states it received an additional 180 days to review and respond to 2025 appeals, starting December 1, 2025. (This is a county-specific notice, not a statewide rule.) See: DeKalb County Property Appraisal — Welcome.
If you receive a “changed” notice and still disagree, you generally get another short window to continue the appeal (often referenced as 30 days in the state summary). See: Summary of Appeal Process (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311).
If your appeal goes to the BOE track, the BOE (or appeal administrator) sets a hearing date and sends notice. In Athens-Clarke County’s plain-language explanation, the BOE typically sends notice within 15 days of receiving the appeal, and the hearing date is within 20–30 days after that notice is sent. See: Athens-Clarke County — Appeal Hearing.
Important: those numbers reflect one county’s description of how it works in practice. Some counties schedule much farther out due to volume.
Most property tax appeals are won on organization and credibility, not fancy arguments.
Georgia’s statewide appeal-process summary notes that the BOE notice can advise each party they may request a list of witnesses, documents, or other evidence to be presented at the hearing. See: Summary of Appeal Process (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311).
For hearing officer cases, that same summary also notes documents/written evidence must be provided to the other party not less than seven days before the hearing. See: Summary of Appeal Process (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311).
At the BOE hearing, both you and the county can present evidence. In Athens-Clarke County’s description, the BOE “hears evidence from both the taxpayer and the Tax Assessors Office” and then issues a decision. See: Athens-Clarke County — Board of Equalization.
Hearing officer appeals are not the typical homeowner path; they’re limited and depend on property type/value and county procedures. If you chose this track, follow your notice instructions closely because evidence exchange rules can be stricter (including that seven-day requirement noted above). See: Summary of Appeal Process (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311).
Arbitration is generally for value-only disputes and requires you to provide a certified appraisal. The state’s summary notes the county can require a certified appraisal within 45 days and that failing to timely provide it can terminate the appeal. See: Summary of Appeal Process (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311).
While your appeal is pending, you may see temporary billing rules apply.
For example, Fulton County’s assessor guidance explains that parcels in appeal can be billed at 85% and that this uses the lower of the current year or prior year assessed value. See: Fulton County Assessor — Property Appeals.
The practical takeaway: don’t ignore the bill just because you appealed. If your county sends a bill, pay attention to the due date and any instructions about paying under appeal. If you win later, the final calculation is typically reconciled based on the final value.
If you disagree with a BOE or hearing officer decision, the state’s appeal-process summary describes the ability to appeal to superior court within 30 days of the written decision. See: Summary of Appeal Process (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311).
This is where many homeowners stop—not because they’re always wrong, but because court-level appeals often require more time, expense, and risk than the potential tax savings justify.
Homeowners often hear: “If you appeal, your value is frozen for three years.” That’s close, but not always true—especially after recent law changes.
Georgia’s Appraisal Procedures Manual rules (published through the Secretary of State) explain how counties must treat recently appealed real property. Georgia’s rules treat the appeal year as the “established value” year, then apply protections for the next two tax years—so an appeal decided for 2025 generally affects how your 2026 and 2027 values can be changed, which is why people call it a “3-year freeze.” In the “Recently appealed real property” section, the rules describe that property is designated as recently appealed for the two tax years following the year of the appeal, and increases generally can’t be made just to undo the appeal result without a proper basis and an on-site inspection. See: GA Rules — Appraisal Procedures Manual (Rule 560-11-10).
A 2024 state policy brief on House Bill 581 explains that property values may only receive a three-year lock if the value is reduced upon appeal; it notes that previously the lock could apply when the value was reduced or remained the same. See: HB 581 Property Tax Reform policy brief (House Budget & Research Office).
If you’re appealing a value that you believe is too high, this matters: the “lock” benefit is strongest when your appeal results in an actual reduction (or a stipulated reduced value agreement).
The Appraisal Procedures Manual rules describe situations where a change may be allowed, such as:
and they discuss the need for an on-site inspection and written justification. See: GA Rules — Appraisal Procedures Manual (Rule 560-11-10, “Recently appealed real property”).
Some counties warn that filing another appeal during the lock period can affect the lock. For example, Chatham County’s BOA FAQ notes that filing an appeal each year during the “three-year freeze” can remove the freeze and expose you to increases. See: Chatham County BOA — Frequently Asked Questions (PDF).
After you file a Georgia property tax appeal, the process usually goes: BOA review (often months), then a hearing path (usually BOE), then a written decision—with a possible next step to superior court if you keep going. While the appeal is pending, temporary billing rules (like 85% billing in some counties) can apply, so you still need to pay attention to your tax bill.
The “3-year freeze” (appeal lock) is real, but it’s not magic: it depends on how the appeal is resolved, and recent changes narrowed when you qualify—especially if your value isn’t actually reduced. The practical next step is to keep your paperwork organized, track every notice date, and build an evidence packet that would make sense to a neutral decision-maker.