The Real Property Section appraises and assesses all real property in the county at its fair market value as of the effective date of the most recent reappraisal.

The Personal Property Section is responsible for the listing and auditing of personal property as well as sending out the annual tax bills and the monthly vehicle bills.

The Tax Collector's Section, as mandated by the North Carolina General Statutes, is responsible for collecting annual property tax bills on real estate, mobile homes, boats, business personal property, aircraft and other properties, in addition to any other fees or assessments as charged by the governing body. These bills are mailed in July with a discount of 1 1/2% available for those paying prior to September 1. The deadline for paying these taxes is January 5th of the next year. Beginning January 6th, these taxes are considered delinquent and accrue interest at a rate of 2% for the month of January, plus ¾ % each month thereafter.

Registered motor vehicles are billed 3 to 4 months after purchasing the annual license tag or sticker. These bills are delinquent after 30 days and subject to 5% interest the first month and ¾ % interest per month thereafter. Collection action may be initiated immediately upon delinquency. If the tax bill remains unpaid 120 days after billing date, the Department of Motor Vehicles is notified to place a TAX BLOCK on the registration of that vehicle and the license tag cannot be renewed until the taxes are paid.

Delinquent taxes are subject to collection action as authorized by the North Carolina General Statutes. These actions may include garnishment of wages, attachment of bank accounts, Debt Setoff of delinquent tax bills from individual North Carolina tax returns and lottery winnings, levy (seizure) of personal property, and foreclosure of real estate.

The Mapping/Land Records Section is responsible for maintaining accurate, up-to-date mapping of all properties and providing this information to citizens as well as other agencies, departments and branches of government. It continually updates the county's property base map and real property ownership data. The property base maps are maintained using 2010 color digital orthophotos. Ownership information includes property boundaries, road names, right-of-ways, acreages, lot dimensions, district boundaries and is all based on deeds and plats recorded with the Register of Deeds Office. The Surry County Geographic Information System (GIS) houses all other support information for the county’s Planning, Inspections and Revaluation departments. The identification of property and other related information can be accessed online.

There are two ways of researching real estate information:

* Online by using the GIS link

* Our departmental public access terminals