Nebraska Form 422 is a one-page document. It is also the document that produces a surprising share of protest rejections — almost always for the same handful of avoidable mistakes. This post walks through the form field by field for a residential protest in Douglas County.
Top of the form: parcel and owner
The header asks for parcel number, property address, owner name, and owner mailing address. Use the parcel number exactly as it appears on the assessor’s record. A transposed digit will route the protest to the wrong file or kick it back for correction, and depending on the date you re-file, you may be outside the window. Copy and paste from the online lookup; don’t type it.
If the property is owned by multiple people or by an entity, the named protester must be an owner of record or an authorized representative. Co-owners can list one name; the form does not require both.
Assessor’s value and your requested value
The form has two value fields. The first is the assessor’s current value — pull it directly from the property record. The second is the value you are requesting.
Always state a specific number.“Lower” or “market value” or a blank field invites the Board to ignore the protest or to set the new value at the assessor’s discretion. The requested number should be defensible by your evidence — typically the median of your comparable-sales analysis, or the value that brings your sales-assessment ratio in line with the neighborhood median for an unequal-appraisal claim.
Ground for the protest
The form provides a small space for the ground. Use it deliberately. One of the following short statements covers most residential filings:
- “Overvaluation. Comparable sales in the prior twelve months support a value of $X.”
- “Unequal appraisal under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-1502. Subject property is assessed at a higher ratio of market value than comparable properties in the same neighborhood.”
- “Condition. Documented physical condition supports a value of $X. See attached photographs and repair estimates.”
The detail goes in the attached protest letter, not in this box. Keep the form clean.
Attachments
The form has a checkbox for attachments. Check it and include:
- A one-page protest letter restating the ground and the requested value, with one paragraph of supporting narrative.
- A comparable-sales table with five to seven entries showing address, sale date, sale price, square footage, year built, and the adjustment you applied.
- Photographs of any condition issues (date-stamped helps).
- Any third-party documents — a recent appraisal, an MLS sheet for the subject property, or a contractor’s repair estimate.
Signature and submission
Sign and date. Unsigned forms are returned. Douglas County accepts:
- E-filingthrough the County Clerk’s online portal. Confirmation is immediate; keep the email.
- In-person deliveryto the County Clerk’s office. Ask for a date-stamped receipt copy.
- Mail postmarked on or before June 30. Use certified mail with return receipt.
The mistakes that get filings rejected
- Wrong parcel number.The single most common cause of processing delays. Copy from the assessor’s record.
- No requested value. A protest without a number is a complaint, not a protest.
- Missing signature. Returned without action.
- Filing after June 30. The statutory deadline is not extended for any reason short of a county-declared emergency.
- Combining parcels. File one form per parcel.
If you e-file before June 25, you have time to correct a clerical error. If you wait until June 29, you don’t. File early.