# Title 57 — Taxation

## Chapter 57-14 — Correction of Assessments of Property

### § 57-14-01. Duty of county auditor upon discovery of clerical error, omission, or false

statement in assessment.
Whenever the county auditor discovers that:
1. Taxable real property has been omitted in whole or in part in the assessment of any
year or years;
2. Any building or structure has been listed and assessed against a lot or tract of land
other than the true site or actual location of such building;
3. The assessor has not returned the full amount of all property required to be listed in
the district or has omitted property subject to taxation; or
4. The assessor has made a clerical error in valuing real property, provided the assessor
furnishes the county auditor with a written statement describing the nature of the error,
which statement the county auditor shall keep on file,
the county auditor shall proceed to correct the assessment books and tax lists in accordance
with the facts in the case and shall correct such error or omission in assessment, and shall add
such omitted property and assess it at its true and full value, and if a building or other structure,
assessed as real estate in the assessment thereof, is described as though situated upon a lot or
tract of land other than that upon which it in fact is situated, the county auditor shall correct the
description and add the assessment thereof to the assessment of the lot upon which it actually
is located, if the rights of a purchaser for value without actual or constructive notice of such error
or omission are not prejudiced by such correction, addition, or assessment.
### § 57-14-02. Notice to be given.

The county auditor shall give notice by mail to the person who owns or is in possession of
any omitted property, or to that person's agent, of the county auditor's action in adding property
upon the assessment books and shall describe the property and notify such person to appear
before the county auditor at the county auditor's office at a specified time within fifteen days
after the date of mailing such notice, to show cause, if any, why such property should not be
added to the assessment rolls or such other correction made.
### § 57-14-03. County auditor to act as assessor.

If the party notified as provided in section 57-14-02 does not appear, or if the party appears
and fails to give a good and sufficient reason why the assessment should not be made, the
same must be made, and the county auditor may exercise all the powers of an assessor in
discharging the duties assigned to the county auditor by this chapter.
### § 57-14-04. Board of county commissioners to hear complaints and equalize.

The board of county commissioners, at its regular meeting next after the assessment of any
omitted property, shall hear all grievances and complaints thereon, and then shall proceed to
review and equalize any such assessment so as to harmonize it with the equalized assessed
value of other like property.
### § 57-14-05. Auditor to enter property on tax lists - Correcting errors.

The county auditor shall enter the valuation of property as equalized by the board of county
commissioners and shall extend the taxes thereon, and, upon completing such assessment and
extending the taxes thereon, shall correct the current year's tax list in accordance with such
assessment, if the current year's tax list has not been certified to the treasurer for collection. In
case the current year's tax list has been certified to the treasurer for collection, the county
auditor shall certify to the county treasurer a tax list covering omitted property which has been
added to the tax list for the current year. The county treasurer shall correct the current year's tax
list accordingly without obliterating any name, description, or figure in the original tax list as
delivered. The county auditor always has the power to correct clerical errors occurring in making
up tax lists so as to make them conform to the assessment books. If the tax list has been

delivered to the county treasurer, the county auditor shall certify such corrections to the
treasurer, and the treasurer shall make the indicated corrections in the tax lists.
### § 57-14-06. Auditor to keep roll of omitted property.

The county auditor of each county shall keep a book to be called "Assessment Roll of
Property Which has Escaped Taxation", in which the county auditor shall enter from time to time
all real property, which has been omitted in the assessment of any previous year or years, or the
assessment of which has been set aside by the judgment of any court, such property thereby
having escaped taxation. If omitted property is assessed for a prior year or years, the county
auditor shall enter the assessment of such property in the assessment roll of property which has
escaped taxation at the rate and in the amount for which such omitted property should have
been assessed in said year or years. Omitted property must be assessed for each year during
which it escaped assessment and taxation.
### § 57-14-07. Entry on delinquent lists.

After review by the board of county commissioners, the taxes against escaped property for
prior years must be entered upon the tax list. In the case of personal property, such taxes must
be entered upon the most recent delinquent personal property tax list. If such list, at the time, is
in the hands of the treasurer, the auditor shall certify such taxes to the treasurer, and the
treasurer shall enter them upon such delinquent tax list. If the most recent delinquent personal
property tax list, at the time, is in the hands of the sheriff, the auditor shall certify such taxes to
the sheriff, and the sheriff shall enter them upon such tax list. In the case of escaped real
property, such taxes, if entered between the first day of July and the first day of November, must
be entered upon the most recent delinquent real property tax list. If entered between November
first and July first following, such taxes must be entered upon the current real property tax list. In
either case, such real property taxes must be certified to the treasurer by the auditor and
entered in the tax list by the treasurer. Taxes upon escaped property for prior years, whether
upon real or personal property, are subject to the same penalties as other taxes, and such taxes
must be enforced and apportioned as other taxes upon the lists upon which they are entered
are enforced and apportioned.
### § 57-14-08. New assessment of property - Allowance.

For purposes of this section, a "new assessment" means an assessment ordered by a
board of county commissioners, or as authorized under section 57-01-02 or 57-13-04, of any
class of property, or of all property, located within any political subdivision of the county if
taxable property located within a subdivision has escaped assessment in whole or in part, has
been assessed unfairly, or has not been assessed according to law. A new assessment may be
made as follows:
1. Upon the filing of a petition signed by not less than ten freeholders in a political
subdivision, or by the governing body of that subdivision, requesting a new
assessment of property in the subdivision or upon investigation by the board of county
commissioners, the board of county commissioners, before October first, may order a
new assessment of any class of property, or of all property, located within the
subdivision or within any subdivision. The state board of equalization or the tax
commissioner may order a new assessment of any class of property or all property
located in any political subdivision. The new assessment and equalization must be
conducted under the terms and conditions as set forth in the state board of
equalization or tax commissioner's order. The local governing body responsible for
performing the new assessment may petition the state board of equalization or tax
commissioner for a modification of any or all of the order's terms and conditions. The
state board of equalization or tax commissioner may for good cause shown grant all or
part of the modification request.
2. The board of county commissioners then may appoint a competent citizen of this state
as a special assessor who shall make a new assessment of the property specified by
the board and who shall proceed in accordance with the provisions of law governing

assessors. The special assessor may be selected by competitive bidding or a process
determined by the board of county commissioners. The special assessor is entitled to
reasonable compensation by the board of county commissioners for the special
assessor's services, together with meals and lodging as allowed by law, and mileage
expense at the rate allowed by law for each mile [1.61 kilometers] actually and
necessarily traveled in the performance of that person's duties, which must be audited
and allowed by the board of county commissioners and paid out of the county treasury
upon warrant of the county auditor. If the new assessment was ordered by the state
board of equalization or tax commissioner, the state board of equalization or tax
commissioner shall appoint a competent citizen of this state as a special assessor who
shall make a new assessment of the property specified by the state board of
equalization or tax commissioner to be completed under the terms and conditions set
forth in the order; the special assessor shall proceed in accordance with the provisions
of the law governing assessors; the special assessor is entitled to reasonable
compensation by the state board of equalization or tax commissioner for that person's
services plus meals, lodging, and mileage expense at the rates provided by law, and
the state board of equalization or tax commissioner shall audit and allow the bill, and
the same must be paid out of the county treasury. In either case, the compensation
must be charged to the political subdivision in which the new assessment was made
and must be deducted by the county treasurer from funds coming into the treasurer's
hands apportionable to the subdivision. The board of county commissioners, state
board of equalization, or tax commissioner who appoints a special assessor may
authorize such assistants as may be necessary to aid the special assessor and shall
allow reasonable compensation for each of the assistants plus meals, lodging, and
mileage expense at the rates provided by law, which amounts must be audited,
allowed, and paid and must be charged to the political subdivision in which the new
assessment occurred in the manner provided for the special assessor.
3. Upon completion of the terms and conditions of the new assessment order, the
assessor shall certify the result to the county auditor, who forthwith shall give notice by
mail to the state tax commissioner and the board of county commissioners and the
governing boards of each township, city, and school district which is wholly or partially
within the newly assessed district, that a new assessment has been completed in the
named assessment district as provided under this section and that a meeting for the
purpose of equalizing the assessment will be held in the county courthouse on the day
and at the time specified for the meeting of the county board of equalization. Each
board shall appoint one of its members to attend the equalization meeting and the tax
commissioner shall attend or appoint a representative from the commissioner's office
to attend the meeting. A notice that the new assessment provided for under this
section will be considered during the meeting of the county board of equalization must
be published at least once in the official newspaper of the county in which the new
assessment was made not less than one week prior to the meeting. The claims for
mileage expense and necessary expenses for meals and lodging of the tax
commissioner or the commissioner's appointee in attending the special equalization
meeting must be audited, allowed, and paid as are other similar claims made by them.
4. When any special assessor has increased the true and full valuation of any lot or tract
of land including any improvements to that lot or tract of land by three thousand dollars
or more and by ten percent or more of the last assessment as a result of the new
assessment provided for under this section, written notice of the amount of increase
over the last assessment and the amount of the last assessment must be delivered in
writing by the special assessor to the property owner, mailed in writing to the property
owner at the property owner's last-known address, or provided to the property owner
by electronic mail directed with verification of receipt to an electronic mail address at
which the property owner has consented to receive notice. The tax commissioner shall
prescribe suitable forms for this notice and the notice must also show the true and full
value as defined by law of the property, including improvements, that the special
assessor used in making the new assessment and must also show the date prescribed

by law for the meeting of the county board of equalization of the county in which the
property is located. Delivery of notice to the property owner under this section must be
completed at least fifteen days in advance of the meeting date of the county board of
equalization and at the expense of the assessment district for which the special
assessor is employed.
5. At the meeting, the county board of equalization shall hear all grievances and
complaints in regard to the new assessment provided for under this section and shall
proceed to equalize the same. All tax lists must be corrected to comply with the action.
6. Any property owner aggrieved by a decision of the county board of equalization with
regard to the new assessment provided for under this section may appeal that
decision to the state board of equalization at its August meeting. The board does not
have authority to reduce a new assessment until the owner of property has established
to the satisfaction of the board that the owner of the property had first appealed the
new assessment to the county board of equalization of the county in which the
property was assessed.
