Nassau County, N.Y.Good GrievesSources reviewed September 20, 2026
Your ARC decision: what it means and what to do next
A grievance is filed in a few minutes and decided more than a year later. When the answer arrives, it can ask something of you, and the time to respond can be short. Here is how to read it.
Final determinations are issued by March 31 of the year after you file. If you want to go on to Small Claims Assessment Review, the deadline is the last business day in April, or 30 days from ARC’s decision if it comes later. Confirm both on the County’s SCAR page.
When you will hear
The Assessment Review Commission is an independent County agency that reviews appeals year-round. Nassau County’s FAQ says a review can take up to 15 months and that final determinations are issued by March 31 of the following year. The result then appears on the final assessment roll, published on the first business day of April.
If you filed online, you received an email confirming that ARC got your application. Keep it with the rest of your file. If you used a representative, ARC’s correspondence may go to them; ask them to forward anything they receive.
If ARC offers a reduction
ARC may send a proposed reduction before its final determination. The County’s FAQ states that you do not have to accept it, and that ARC “may ask you to sign a stipulation accepting it within a specified time.” ARC’s rules describe proposed reductions as made in writing and subject to the Commission’s final approval.
Accepting has a consequence worth reading twice. The County states that judicial review, including SCAR, “is available only if you applied to the Assessment Review Commission and did not stipulate to a reduction.” An accepted offer settles that year’s assessment. If you believe the evidence supports a lower figure than the one offered, declining keeps SCAR open, but there is no guarantee a referee will go further than ARC did.
If you accept online, the County says you will get an email confirmation and a PDF in AROW, ARC’s online system; if you accept on paper in person, customer service gives you a receipt. After April 1, check the final roll on the Department of Assessment’s site to confirm the reduction was applied.
If your assessment was reduced
A reduction lowers your assessed value for that assessment year. It shows up in the bills calculated from that roll: the County’s FAQ says a final roll is used for school tax bills that October and general tax bills the following January. Our guide to how grievance savings are paid follows one reduction through the calendar.
A reduction is not permanent. The Department of Assessment revalues every property each year, and the County notes that an assessment can go back up after an ARC reduction. For Class 1 homes, an accepted reduction becomes the base for the 6% limit on increases the following year.
If ARC left your assessment unchanged
ARC will never increase an assessment, according to the County’s appeal instructions, so a no-change result costs you nothing but time. You have three choices:
- File for Small Claims Assessment Review, if you own and live in a one, two, or three-family house or a condominium unit in a development of three stories or less. The fee is $30. See our SCAR guide.
- Bring a judicial proceeding in New York State Supreme Court, which the County’s FAQ describes as a way to appeal ARC’s final determination. It is a more formal court proceeding than SCAR; consider legal advice before starting one.
- Wait for next year’s assessment and appeal it if it is still too high.
Common questions
When does Nassau County ARC issue decisions?
Nassau County states that ARC’s final determinations are issued by March 31 of the year after you file, and that a review can take up to 15 months. The final determination appears on the final assessment roll, which is published on the first business day of April.
Both statements are on the County’s assessment FAQ. For an appeal filed in the January 4–March 1, 2027 window, that points to a decision by March 31, 2028. ARC may send a proposed reduction before then.
Should I accept ARC’s offer of reduction?
You are not required to. Nassau County states that ARC may ask you to sign a stipulation accepting a proposed reduction within a specified time. It also states that judicial review, including Small Claims Assessment Review, is available only if you applied to ARC and did not stipulate to a reduction. Accepting settles the assessment; declining keeps further review open but guarantees nothing.
Weigh the offer against the evidence you have, and respond within the time the offer gives. If you have a representative, the decision is still yours; ask how they would support a lower figure before declining. The County’s FAQ covers acceptance and review.
What can I do if ARC does not reduce my assessment?
If you own and live in a one, two, or three-family house or a qualifying condominium unit, you may be able to file a Small Claims Assessment Review petition, which has a $30 fee and a short deadline. The County also describes appealing ARC’s final determination in New York State Supreme Court. You can also appeal next year’s assessment in the next filing window.
Eligibility, the fee, and the deadline are on the County’s SCAR page, and our SCAR guide explains the process. ARC will never increase an assessment, according to the County’s appeal instructions, so a no-change result leaves you where you started.
Will my reduced assessment stay the same next year?
Not necessarily. Nassau County states that the Department of Assessment reviews assessed values every year and must make an independent determination as part of its annual revaluation. If you accept an ARC reduction, the reduced assessment becomes the base for the 6% limit on Class 1 increases in the following year.
Read each new tentative assessment when it is published and appeal it on its own schedule if you disagree. The County advises filing on the new assessment even if a determination on last year’s appeal is still pending.
Watch the SCAR clock
The County states that once the assessment roll is published, usually April 1, a SCAR petition must be started by the last business day in April. If ARC decides later than that, the County describes a window of 30 days from ARC’s decision. Under ARC’s rules, a notice starts that 30-day period only if it states that it is a final notice, so read each notice for those words and note the date it arrived. These windows are short and easy to miss; confirm them on the County’s SCAR page the day your decision arrives.
A village or city assessment is separate
ARC reviews the County assessment only. The County’s FAQ states that filing with ARC does not preserve your rights to review of a village or city assessment, and that those filing dates and procedures are different. If you live in a village that assesses, or in Glen Cove or Long Beach, check that separate track with the local assessor.
Keep the file, and plan for next year
Keep the decision, any stipulation you signed, your confirmation emails, and the evidence you filed. Next year’s tentative assessment is a new figure with its own filing window, and the County advises filing on it even if last year’s appeal is still pending. Check your property when the new assessment is published, and see the filing deadlines for the dates.
Remind me before the filing window opens.
The published ARC filing window is January 4–March 1, 2027. Leave your email and we’ll send one reminder before it opens.
We’ll only use your details to send that reminder. No newsletter, no sharing, and nothing is filed with the County.This page is general information, not legal advice. Good Grieves does not file SCAR petitions or court proceedings through this website, and savings are never guaranteed.
Keep reading
Small Claims Assessment Review (SCAR)
Who is eligible, the $30 filing fee, and the short deadline that runs from the roll or from ARC’s decision.
How grievance savings and refunds are paid
Why an ARC reduction usually shows up as a lower bill a year or more later, when a refund is paid instead, how SCAR refunds work, and what escrow changes.
See how it applies to your home
Review your available County record alongside what you’ve learned.
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