Per Runnels CAD policies and procedures, all requests to change the mailing address on a property account must be submitted in writing. You may email, mail, fax, hand deliver, or carrier pigeon your written request – manner of delivery doesn’t really matter – so long as we have a written request that can be placed in the file. We typically require any changes to an account to have a paper record of some sort for the file in case another property owner or interested party decides to object to the changes or the file is inspected as part of an audit. It’s for our protection and yours.
What information do we need in an address change request?
You can visit our Forms page for an official address change request form (in the Most Request Forms section), but in a nutshell we just need to know:
- Who is making the request (including identification such as a copy of your driver’s license if possible) *
- Which property or properties are involved (can be identified by owner name, physical address, property id, etc.)
- The new mailing address
* If the person requesting the address change is not the same person as the property owner of record, we may need to have proof of your authorization to manage the property account (e.g., power of attorney, written authorization from the owner, letters testamentary, etc.).
Please remember, if you own property in Runnels County and your mailing address changes, it is your responsibility to update any relevant parties (e.g., Texas DPS for their driver’s license, their bank, utility companies, etc.) with your new mailing address so any important communications we send can be successfully delivered to you. Runnels CAD staff do our best to track down a property owner’s current mailing address when mail is returned as undeliverable by the post office, but we have precious few resources for this. Ultimately, by Texas Property Tax Code Section 1.07, a required notice is considered delivered if we dropped it in the mail to the last known/verified mailing address. You can’t really successfully protest your property account on the basis of ‘failure to deliver’ if you changed your mailing address and neglected to notify our office.
If you have a homestead exemption and your mailing address changes to something other than your physical address, we recommend shooting us a quick email or letter letting us know whether this is a temporary absence from your home or not. With no communication from the owner, we have to assume you may have moved and might not qualify for your exemption. A letter with a homestead exemption application will be mailed to your new address for verification and, if no response is received after a couple attempts, your exemption may be canceled.
Visit our Contact page for contact information and don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions.
