Preparing Exhibits & Witnesses

What are Exhibits?

Exhibits are documents (evidence) supporting your position. To prepare for your hearing you may gather evidence. Your evidence should be relevant and reliable. It should relate to the value of the property as of January 1 of the assessment year on appeal.

PAAB bases its decision upon the evidence it receives from you and the local board of review. PAAB cannot independently investigate claims or seek out evidence related to the appeal. 

Examples of Exhibits

These are examples of exhibits/evidence that you may use in a PAAB appeal based on the Appeal Grounds at issue. This is not a complete list and relevant evidence may vary based on each appeal.

• Description of the property, maps and/or photographs.
• The assessor's property record card and/or cost report for your property and any comparable properties. Contact your Assessor's Office if you have questions about obtaining the property record cards and cost reports.
• Recent appraisal of the property or in-person testimony of an appraiser. An appraisal is most accurate if it reflects the January 1 assessment date of the year of the appeal.
• Recent sales of comparable properties. Where differences exist between properties, adjustments may be needed.
  • Sales searches can often be done from the assessor's website. For jurisdictions using the Beacon service, this Beacon sales search video demonstrates how to search sales. 
• Rental income or lease contracts.
• Recent purchase price or bill of sale.
• Affidavit of value or sale.
• Written offers or listing for sale.
• Witnesses that testify to the value of the property. Examples may include realtors, appraisers, or others with knowledge of the property.

PAAB does not have any of the information you gave the local board of review. 

• If you want PAAB to have information or evidence you gave to the local board of review, you must file it as an exhibit to PAAB. 

How to Label Exhibits

Complete the Exhibit and Witness List form and file it along with your exhibits. 

Label your exhibits in the upper left hand corner. You can write the label, stamp it, or add it electronically. To electronically add a label use the commenting or stamping tools available in Adobe Reader.  

• Appellants (Taxpayer) label exhibits with numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.).
• Appellees (Boards of Review) label exhibits with letters (A, B, C, etc.). 

Filing Exhibits

• eFilers: Exhibits must be PDFs. Each exhibit should be a separate PDF. Multiple exhibits should not be saved and uploaded as a single PDF. Follow the instructions for filing to an existing appeal to correctly file your exhibits. 
• Paper Filers: If you do not participate in eFile, file your exhibits with PAAB by mail or in-person delivery to PAAB's office. Paper-filed exhibits will be scanned and filed in to PAAB's eFile system. Paper filed-exhibits should be on standard-size paper (8.5 x 11) and individually labeled. You may use paper clips , but PAAB prefers that exhibits aren't stapled. 

Exhibit Deadlines

You must follow exhibit deadlines. You must make sure to give your exhibits/evidence to the other party, and to PAAB, by the required deadlines. Late-filed exhibits are subject to objection and may not be admitted.

General Deadline: 21 calendar days before your hearing or written consideration

• For most appeals, the deadline to serve and file exhibits is 21-calendar days before your hearing or written consideration. 
• Read your Notice of Hearing or Written Consideration to make sure this deadline applies to you.
• Hearing Scheduling and Discovery Plan (HSDP): If your case has an HSDP, the deadlines in the HSDP should be followed.

Rebuttal Evidence

You do not have to give rebuttal evidence to the opposing party before to the hearing.

• Rebuttal evidence is offered to disprove or contradict the evidence presented by an opposing party. 
• Rebuttal evidence doesn't give a party an opportunity to tell their story twice.
• Rebuttal evidence isn't evidence that should have been presented at the outset.

What happens if I don't exchange my evidence on time?

If you fail to give exhibits to the other party on time, your exhibits may be excluded from consideration in your appeal. 

Witnesses

You may call witnesses to offer sworn testimony at your hearing.

You can identify your witnesses using the Exhibit and Witness List form. 

General Deadline: 21 calendar days before your hearing

• For most appeals, the deadline to identify witnesses to testify at the hearing is 21-calendar days before the hearing. 
• Read your Notice of Hearing to make sure this deadline applies to you.
• Hearing Scheduling and Discovery Plan (HSDP): If your case has an HSDP, the deadlines in the HSDP should be followed.

Witness Participation

Witnesses can testify in person, by telephone, or by video/online. If you need to change how you and any witnesses plan to appear at the PAAB hearing use the Motion to Participate in Hearing In Person, By Telephone, or By Video form.