About Us

What Is a Central Appraisal District?

A Central Appraisal District is a Texas governmental entity, created and operating under the Texas Property Tax Code (Title 1, Subtitle E of the Texas Tax Code), that is responsible for appraising — that is, determining the market value, appraised value, and taxable value of — all property in a Texas county for property-tax purposes. There is one CAD per Texas county. The CAD performs this work for every taxing unit operating in the county: school districts, cities, the county itself, special districts, emergency services districts (ESDs), hospital districts, and municipal utility districts (MUDs).

This is unusual. Most U.S. states leave property appraisal to individual taxing units (each city or school district doing its own valuation). Texas consolidated the function. The result is a single appraisal roll per county, prepared by the CAD, used by every taxing unit in the county. The taxing units set their own rates; the CAD sets the values.

How a Texas CAD Is Structured

How Texas CADs Are Supervised

CADs do not operate without oversight. The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Property Tax Assistance Division (PTAD) supervises Texas property assessment under Tex. Tax Code §5 and §6. PTAD publishes the authoritative ARB Manual, conducts the biennial Property Value Study (PVS) under §5.10 which assesses whether each school district’s appraisal roll meets state standards for equalisation, conducts Methods and Assistance Program (MAP) reviews of each CAD’s practices on a rolling cycle, and publishes the Manual on Property Value Studies (MOPVS), the Texas Property Tax Code Reference, and the periodic Property Tax Today newsletter.

Above PTAD is the Texas Legislature, which enacts and amends the Texas Property Tax Code biennially in regular session (with occasional special sessions on tax matters). Statutory changes — for example, the 2023 changes that raised the school district residence homestead exemption to $100,000 — flow from the Legislature to PTAD to the CADs.

Property tax consultants who represent property owners in ARB protests are licensed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) under Tex. Occ. Code Ch. 1152. Real estate appraisers (separate role) are licensed by the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board (TALCB) under the federal Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) framework of FIRREA Title XI.

What Sets county-appraisal-district.org/ Apart — The Manual-Verification Standard

Texas property tax has unforgiving deadlines. Miss the ARB protest window (May 15 or 30 days after your Notice of Appraised Value, whichever is later, under Tex. Tax Code §41.44) and you lose the right to contest your assessed value for the year. Apply for the wrong exemption category and you may forfeit thousands of dollars in savings. Pull from a stale portal URL and you may end up on a third-party site that charges for what HCAD, DCAD, TAD, BCAD, TCAD, or your county’s CAD provides free.

Every Texas CAD guide on county-appraisal-district.org/ is verified by a human editor against the CAD's own published page and cross-checked against Texas Comptroller PTAD reference materials. We do not auto-scrape. We do not pull from third-party data brokers. Every CAD URL is human-clicked before publication. Every property-search walkthrough is performed on the live CAD portal by an editor.

What This Site Is For

county-appraisal-district.org/ is the plain-English, structurally complete reference for understanding and using Texas Central Appraisal Districts. We explain what a CAD is, who runs it, how it works, and how to get the right answer from it — without making you wade through statute language or jargon. Every CAD guide on the site lists the official appraisal district name, board of directors structure, chief appraiser, verified property-search portal URL, three search-method walkthroughs (by address, by owner, by property ID), exemption application procedures (with deadlines), ARB protest procedures (with the §41.44 deadline calendar), the GIS / parcel-map portal where available, and the CAD's office address, hours, phone, and main email.

We are completely independent. We are not affiliated with any Texas Central Appraisal District, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts (TAAD), the Texas Association of Assessing Officers (TAAO), the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO), the Appraisal Foundation, or any commercial property-records aggregator, title company, or real estate platform. We do not sell property records. We do not file ARB protests. We do not provide tenant-screening, background-check, or any FCRA-regulated services. Every property record is held by the CAD — the official path is always the CAD’s own portal.

The Eight Categories of Texas CAD Information We Cover

What You’ll Find on Each Texas CAD Page

• CAD official name and URL — verified live, updated quarterly
• CAD board of directors composition where publicly listed
• Chief appraiser by name where publicly listed
• Property-search portal URL — manually clicked before publication
• Three search-method walkthroughs — by address, by owner, by property ID
• GIS / parcel-map URL — where the CAD provides one
• NOAV mailing schedule — typical April delivery for Texas CADs
• Exemption procedures — residence homestead, over-65, disabled, veteran, ag-use, timber, wildlife — with deadlines
• ARB structure and protest procedure — §41.44 deadline, written protest forms, informal review, formal ARB hearing
• CAD office address & in-person hours
• CAD phone contact — main number, dial-tested quarterly
• Cross-reference to the County Tax Assessor-Collector — separate office for billing
• Texas Comptroller PTAD link — state oversight reference
• Common protest evidence types accepted in the county
• FAQ — questions specific to that CAD’s procedures

How We Find and Verify — The Eight-Step Process

1. Identify the right authoritative source. The county’s official CAD, plus Texas Comptroller PTAD reference materials, plus the Texas Property Tax Code as codified.
2. Verify the CAD URL is live. A human editor clicks every link before publication.
3. Walk through all three property-search methods. An editor performs real searches on the CAD’s portal — by address, by owner, by property ID — to confirm each walkthrough step matches the current interface.
4. Cross-check exemption procedures and deadlines. Against the CAD’s published exemption forms and Texas Comptroller PTAD reference.
5. Cross-check the ARB protest procedure. Against the CAD’s protest forms, the Texas Property Tax Code §41 framework, and current PTAD ARB Manual.
6. Verify the GIS / parcel-map URL where one exists.
7. Dial-test the CAD’s main phone number. Quarterly cycle.
8. Editor sign-off. A second editor reviews end-to-end, including a fresh check on the FCRA non-CRA notice and the “verify with CAD before relying” caveat.

Texas CADs We Cover — Major County Examples

Texas Oversight & Professional Standards

• Texas Comptroller PTAD — supervises Texas property assessment under Tex. Tax Code §5; publishes the ARB Manual, MAP reviews, biennial Property Value Study (PVS)
• Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) — licenses Property Tax Consultants under Tex. Occ. Code Ch. 1152
• Texas Association of Appraisal Districts (TAAD) — professional association of Texas CADs
• Texas Association of Assessing Officers (TAAO) — Texas property tax professional association
• International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) — professional standards including Standard on Mass Appraisal of Real Property
• Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) — administered by the Appraisal Foundation
• Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board (TALCB) — licenses Texas real estate appraisers

Who This Site Is For

• Texas homeowners trying to understand the CAD that values their property, check NOAV, apply for residence homestead, or file an ARB protest
• New Texans who need to understand the Texas property-tax system from scratch
• Buyers researching a Texas property before making an offer
• Sellers verifying their CAD record before listing
• Texas real estate agents pulling assessment data and comparables for client research
• Investors doing due diligence on Texas residential or commercial property
• Senior Texans claiming the over-65 exemption and the §33.06 deferral option
• Texas veterans claiming the 100% disabled veteran exemption (§11.131) or partial veteran exemptions
• Texas ranchers and farmers applying for 1-d-1 open-space (§23.51), 1-d agricultural-use, timber, or wildlife management valuation
• Property tax consultants (TDLR-licensed) preparing ARB protests for clients
• Texas attorneys handling property-tax appeals at the district court level under §42
• Genealogy researchers tracing historical Texas ownership through CAD records

What We Don’t Do

• We do not sell property records or operate any kind of subscription database
• We do not file ARB protests on your behalf — a TDLR-licensed property tax consultant or attorney can do that
• We do not provide title searches or title-insurance data
• We do not provide tenant screening, background checks, or any FCRA-regulated consumer reports
• We do not provide credit reports, employment screening, insurance underwriting data, or any FCRA-permissible-purpose product
• We do not provide legal or financial advice — consult a TDLR-licensed property tax consultant, CPA, or attorney
• We do not represent any CAD, the Texas Comptroller, TDLR, or any other Texas authority
• We do not accept “preferred listing” placement from any CAD, tax consultant, or third-party service
• We do not sell your data — see Privacy Policy

How We Pay for the Site

county-appraisal-district.org/ is funded by display advertising. Editorial content — CAD directories, search-method walkthroughs, exemption summaries, and ARB protest procedures — is never altered to favour any advertiser. The official CAD link always comes first on every page. We do not accept advertising from third-party "property record" operations that misrepresent themselves as official CAD sources or charge for what the CAD provides free. Full position on our Editorial Policy and Disclaimer.

Corrections and Feedback

CAD portals change — they get redesigned, exemption forms are revised after Texas legislative sessions, ARB calendars shift, board of directors changes happen, and chief appraiser changes happen after retirements or board decisions. If you spot something on the site that doesn’t match the live CAD page, please email us. Reader-reported corrections are our priority queue and get a response within seven business days, with a 48-hour expedited path for actively-broken CAD portal URLs.