How to Complete and File Michigan Form 618: Board of Review Petition

To challenge your property assessment in Michigan, complete Form 618 (L-4035), the petition to the Board of Review, and get it to your local township or city assessor before the Board convenes on the second Monday in March.¹² Filing this petition is more than a formality. For most residential property, the Michigan Tax Tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear a later appeal unless you went through the Board of Review first.

Where to Get the Form

Form 618 (L-4035) is a two-page PDF on the Michigan Department of Treasury’s Board of Review forms page at michigan.gov/taxes/property/forms/instructions/board-of-review. Most local assessor offices also keep printed copies. The first page is identification and protest type; the second is where you make your case with numbers and facts.

Pick the Right Reason for Your Protest

The form asks you to check the type of dispute. Choose carefully, because the evidence you need depends on it.

Valuation. You believe the assessed value is too high. By law, assessed value equals 50 percent of estimated market value. Taxable value, the figure your bill is actually calculated from, rises each year by the lesser of 5 percent or the inflation rate until ownership transfers; for 2026 that inflation cap is 2.7 percent.³
Classification. Your property is in the wrong category under MCL 211.34c, which changes which millage rates apply.⁴
Exemption. You qualify for an exemption that was denied or missed, such as a poverty exemption or the disabled veterans exemption under MCL 211.7b.
Equity. Your assessment is out of line compared to similar neighboring properties, even if the number might be defensible on its own.

One issue the March Board cannot handle is the Principal Residence Exemption. To correct your PRE status, file Form 2368 with the assessing department instead of using Form 618.⁵

Filling Out Form 618

Start at the top with property identification. You need the parcel number, which appears on your assessment notice and tax bill. In Michigan this is a multi-segment code that identifies the county, township or city, section or plat, and individual parcel.⁶ Copy it exactly as printed. One transposed digit can stall the whole petition.

Enter the property address and the owner’s full name and mailing address. If someone else is filing on your behalf, a spouse, attorney, or tax consultant, their information goes in the agent section and a signed letter of authorization must come with the petition. For an LLC or corporation, the authorization needs to name the specific person empowered to act for the entity.⁷

Check the box for your protest type. Then fill in the assessor’s current figures for assessed value and taxable value (both are on your notice) alongside your own estimates of what the numbers should be. Your estimates need to be grounded in evidence. A feeling that taxes are too high will not move the board. Build your figures from recent comparable sales, a professional appraisal, or documentation of conditions the assessor missed.

The bottom section is for your explanation. Be specific. If you had an appraisal, state the value and the date. If you are using comparable sales, list the addresses and sale prices. If the property has physical problems, foundation damage, outdated systems, environmental issues, say so and reference the documents you are attaching.

Evidence That Actually Persuades the Board

The strength of your petition depends almost entirely on what you attach. Board members weigh your evidence against the assessor’s data, and vague complaints about the market do not carry weight.

Comparable sales. Recent sales of similar properties nearby are the single most persuasive evidence. Match for square footage, lot size, age, and condition, and stay within the past year. Your assessor’s office or county equalization department can often provide sales data.
Professional appraisal. A written appraisal from a licensed appraiser who inspected the property and followed standard methodology carries real weight.
Photographs. Pictures of damage, deferred maintenance, or conditions the assessor’s records do not reflect, like a crumbling driveway or an unfinished basement listed as finished.
Repair estimates. Written quotes from contractors put a dollar figure on problems that reduce value.
Assessment records. A printout of the assessor’s property record card showing wrong square footage, a bathroom that does not exist, or a garage listed as attached when it is detached gives the board a concrete error to fix.

Label every document and reference it in the explanation section. Keep a complete copy of everything you submit.

When and How to File

The March Board of Review convenes on the second Monday in March. A local government can shift the start to the Tuesday or Wednesday of that same week by ordinance or resolution, but the meeting always falls in that window.² Your petition must be in the hands of the assessor or Board of Review before that first session opens.

Check your township or city website for the exact meeting schedule and any local cutoff; some offices stop accepting paperwork a day or two before the first hearing to process filings. Submission methods vary. Common options are hand delivery, certified mail, email, and in some places online filing. Detroit, for example, accepts petitions online, by email, by mail, or through a drop box at the municipal center.⁷

If you mail it, use certified mail or a service with tracking. A receipt showing on-time delivery protects you if timeliness is ever questioned. If you file in person, ask for a date-stamped copy as your receipt.

Non-Residents Can File by Letter

If you own Michigan property but live out of state, you do not need to show up. MCL 211.30 allows non-resident taxpayers to file their appearance, protest, and supporting papers entirely by letter.² Send the completed Form 618 with your supporting documents by mail or whatever remote method the local assessor accepts, and the board will decide without you present.

What Happens at the Hearing

After you file, the board sends a notice with your hearing date and time. Hearings are informal. You present your evidence and explain why the assessment is wrong. Board members may ask questions, and the assessor may respond with their own figures. Stay focused on numbers and evidence. Personal financial hardship, while real, is not a legal basis for reducing an assessment; poverty exemptions are a separate process. Walk the board through your comparable sales. Highlight the key conclusions of your appraisal.

The board deliberates after hearing both sides. It can adjust the assessed value, the taxable value, the classification, or leave things as they stand, and it must document a detailed reason for its determination.⁸

When You Get the Decision

The board does not always announce its final decision at the hearing. Under MCL 211.30, every person who filed a protest must receive written notification of the board’s action no later than the first Monday in June.² The notice will include the final state equalized value, the taxable value, and information about your right to appeal to the Michigan Tax Tribunal.

If the numbers match what you asked for, your summer and winter tax bills will reflect the corrected figures. If the petition was denied or only partly granted, the notice itself tells you how to take the next step.

If You Miss March: July and December Boards

Boards of Review also meet in July and December, but with a narrower job. They can only correct “qualified errors” as defined by MCL 211.53b. They cannot revisit a standard valuation dispute you missed in March.⁹

Qualified errors include:

Clerical errors in assessment figures, tax rates, or math.
Mutual mistakes of fact, where both you and the assessor relied on wrong information, such as records showing a 2,400-square-foot home when it actually measures 1,900.
Measurement or dimension errors in lot size, building footprint, or room count.
Omission or inclusion errors, where part of the property was left off or a neighbor’s land was included.
Taxable status errors in which the exempt or taxable designation was recorded incorrectly.
Certain processing mistakes on a timely filed disabled veterans exemption affidavit, or a delay in the VA’s disability determination.⁹

The July and December boards can correct qualified errors for the current year and one prior year. File the same Form 618, select the qualified-error category, and document the specific mistake.

If the Board Denies You: The Michigan Tax Tribunal

If the Board of Review turns you down or you are unsatisfied with the adjustment, the next step is the Michigan Tax Tribunal. Filing the Board of Review petition first is a legal prerequisite; without it, the Tribunal rejects the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The only exception is property classified as commercial real, industrial real, or developmental real, which can go directly to the Tribunal.¹ For residential property, the Tribunal appeal deadline is July 31 of the tax year in question.

1
Michigan Department of Treasury. Petition to Board of Review
2
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 211.30 – Board of Review Meetings
3
Delhi Charter Township. Frequently Asked Questions – Assessing Assessed/Taxable Values
4
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 211.34c – Classification of Assessable Property
5
City of Southfield. Board of Review Appeal Process
6
Berrien County, MI. How to Read a Property Number
7
City of Detroit. Property Assessment Board of Review
8
State of Michigan. State Tax Commission Bulletin 15 of 2024 – 2025 Boards of Review
9
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 211.53b – Qualified Errors