The Washington Change-of-Value Notice Explained

Washington assesses every parcel at 100% of market value each January 1, but owners do not get a value notice every year — only when the value changes. Then the county assessor mails a change-of-value notice, and that notice is what opens the 30-day alternative to the July 1 appeal deadline.

When one arrives — and when it does not

• A value change triggers it: a reassessment on the county’s rotating cycle, new construction, a removed exemption, or a correction all produce a change — and a notice.
• No change, no notice: if your assessed value is unchanged from last year, you generally receive no separate value notice. This is why Washington’s appeal deadline has the “whichever is later” structure — it has to work for owners who never see a notice at all.
• The notice is not a bill. Taxes are billed later, by the county treasurer, after the levies are set. The notice states the new value; what it will do to your bill depends on the levy limit arithmetic that year.

The deadline it creates

A petition to the county Board of Equalization must be filed or postmarked by July 1 of the assessment year OR within 30 days of the date the change-of-value notice was mailed — whichever is LATER. The Department’s own petition form (REV 64-0075) states the rule on its face. County legislative authorities may extend the 30-day window (up to 60 days), and King County uses a different schedule.

What this tells you: the two-part deadline protects two different situations. If your notice arrived in February, July 1 is probably later — you have months. If it arrived in June, the 30-day window runs into July and is the one that counts. Owners who assume a single fixed date miss appeals in both directions.

What it does not tell you: the mailing date ofyour notice controls the 30-day count — check the date on the notice itself, not the postmark on the envelope, and confirm any county extension with your county’s BOE clerk before counting on it.

Worked example (illustrative)

Illustrative dates — your own deadline runs from your notice.

1. Inputs: the assessor mails a change-of-value notice on June 5, 2026, showing the assessment rising from $520,000 to $610,000 after a revaluation.
2. Step — the two dates: July 1, 2026 is 26 days after the notice; the 30-day window runs to July 5, 2026.
3. Step — the later one: July 5 controls. An owner who filed by July 1 made it; an owner who assumed July 1 was the last day and filed July 3 also made it — but one who assumed the 30-day window from a February notice and filed July 3 against a notice mailed in February did not.

What to do after reading it

• Questions about the value: contact the county assessor first — the notice lists the contact, and a conversation resolves many disputes without a petition.
• If the value is wrong and time remains: file the petition with the BOE — see the appeal process.