Judicial review is an important process to review tax decisions of the Board of Review. A court can look at the facts or conclusions from a final decision to check if it follows the law.  

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If you miss the deadline, the decision becomes final. This means you may lose your right to judicial review.

  1. The Board of Review files the record with the Clerk of Superior Court within 30 days of your appeal notice.  
  2. The record is filed in the county where you live or do business. If you don’t live in North Carolina, it will go to Wake County or the county where the issue started. 

You can ask the court to add you as a party by filing a motion under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1A-1, Rule 24.

You can represent yourself in court, but you may want to talk to an attorney for advice. Corporations must be represented in court by a licensed attorney.  

NOTE: Court representation must follow North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 84 and the North Carolina State Bar Rules.

You have a chance to attend a hearing before a superior court judge.  If you do not file and serve the exceptions and notice of hearing properly, DES will ask the court to dismiss your petition.   If you meet all legal requirements, the judge will review the evidence that the Board of Review used to makes its decision.

  • First, the judge may look over the evidence to decide whether there was competent evidence in the record to support the Board of Review’s findings of fact.
  • Next, the judge will decide whether the findings of fact support the Board of Review’s conclusions of law and decision.  
  • If your appeal was dismissed by the Board of Review, the judge checks to see if the Board of Review abused its discretion or made a mistake in dismissing your appeal. 

If the superior court judge rules against you, you can file an appeal as provided in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-27 and the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure.

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