Frequently Asked Questions

If you are a resident of Lincoln County, you may pick up KI tablets from the Florence S. Shanklin Library in Denver, or from Lincoln County Health Department. For more information, click here. 

Residents of other counties, please contact your local health department for information regarding pick-up locations

The Health Department does not have a primary care clinic to treat illnesses or manage chronic disease. The Health Department offers treatment for specific illness such as sexually transmitted infections. Please see a full list of the clinical services we offer at https://lincolncountync.gov/178/Clinical-Services

You can now book park shelter reservations through our online platform by visiting, https://secure.rec1.com/NC/lincoln-county-nc/catalog
Once there, you will create a user account, select your park, check availability, book your shelter and pay online.

You can also contact our office for any reservation assistance by calling 704-748-1518.

Please note that the shelter at Beattys Ford Park is not availalbe for rentals or group events at this time.

Yes, please submit an abandoned structure petition form here. 

1. After your final has been approved and a sticker has been placed on the meter-box
2. After you have paid a deposit for temporary electrical (which is 2.5 times the building permit fee, for residential) and the inspection has been approved and a sticker has been places on the meter

We understand that rehoming your pet is a difficult decision, and we are here to support you through the process. As you can imagine, there is an overwhelming demand for animals that need our help, and we are limited in the number of animals we can accept. Our goal is to provide the resources that you need to keep your pet (low cost spay/neuter and vaccinations, pet food, doghouse etc.), as well as guidance for self-rehoming. Please view our Owner Resource and Rehoming Guide for helpful information. We also encourage you to utilize our Lincoln County NC Pet Rehoming Facebook Page. If surrendering your pet to the shelter is still necessary, you can complete a Owner Surrender Request Form. Please note that this is a request and does not guarantee our ability in intake your pet.

If you find a stray animal, the first thing you should do is check nearby homes to attempt to locate the owner. You can have the animal scanned for a microchip at any veterinary hospital or at the shelter anytime during normal business hours. Please complete a Found Animal Report on our website as soon as possible and we will contact you to initiate the intake process. We will post the animal as found on our Facebook page, and we also encourage you to post the animal on the Lost and Found pets in Lincoln County NC and surrounding areas Facebook Page. We can provide you with pet food and/or other supplies needed while you wait on an intake appointment.

You may request a welfare check by calling the Animal Services Dispatch line at (704) 736 - 4125, option 1.

Lincoln County Animal Services does not enforce barking dogs.

Lincoln County Services provides all of the available cats at Purrfect Pour Cat Café and Lincolnton PetSmart. All cats must go through our standard intake process, and we cannot guarantee which location they will be placed at for adoption.

You may report an animal bite by completing an Animal Services Bite Report Form or by calling the Animal Services dispatch line at (704) 736 - 4125, Option 1.

You may report a sick, injured or aggressive wild animal by calling the Animal Services dispatch line at (704) 736 - 4125, option 1. You may visit the NC Wildlife website for more information.

A Rabies Vaccination is required for all dogs, cats and ferrets over 4 months of age according to North Carolina state law. Lincoln County Animal Services offers Rabies Vaccinations for dogs and cats for only $7. You may call (704) 736 – 4125 or click here to schedule an appointment. Helping Animals to Survive also hosts routine Rabies and Microchip clinics.

Pet licensing is not required in Lincoln County.

Animal Services does not pick up deceased animals. You may contact Lincoln County Department of Transportation at (704) 666 - 6340 regarding deceased animals located on public roads.

The adoption fee for dogs is $80 which includes spay/neuter, heartworm test and microchip, as well as age-appropriate vaccinations and preventatives.

The adoption fee for cats is $20 which includes spay/neuter and microchip, as well as age-appropriate vaccinations and preventatives.

If you unintentionally catch a wild animal in a trap, then you must release the animal where it was trapped. Animal Services will not intake the animal, but you may contact a wildlife removal service. It is illegal to trap wildlife in North Carolina without a license. You may visit the NC Wildlife website for more information.

Lincoln County’s most recent reappraisal was effective January 1, 2023. Lincoln County is on a 4-year cycle, so the next reappraisal is scheduled to take effect January 1, 2027.

Reappraisals are required by North Carolina General Statue.  NCGS § 105-283 states that property should be “valued at its true value in money”, or “market value”.  Therefore, using the methodology of mass appraisal, the County conducts a systematic review of all real property sales that took place since the last reappraisal.  Qualified sales must be “arm’s length” transactions, so sales between family members, related corporations, foreclosures, gifts, etc. do not always reflect market value.  This in-depth analysis and statistical testing provide the data to establish the Schedule of Values (SOV) for the upcoming reappraisal.  The SOV is then approved by the County Commissioners.  Reappraisals are conducted by Lincoln County’s full-time appraisal staff who are certified by the NC Department of Revenue.

For both Reappraisal years and Non-Reappraisal years, the informal appeal process begins at the date the new value notices are mailed, which is typically in February, and is open for up to 30 days.  To schedule an informal appeal with the Appraisal Office, you can choose from several options: 1) send an email to revaluation@lincolncountync.gov, 2) fill out the online form, 3) call (704) 736-8670, or 4) write to the Lincoln County Tax Department Appraisal Division, 100 East Main Street, Third Floor, Lincolnton, NC 28092.   Following the informal appeal process, if needed, formal appeals can be submitted to The Board of Equalization and Review which begins hearing formal appeals in April.  Please note that an appeal may result in the appraised value being 1) left unchanged, 2) reduced, or 3) increased.  

More information can be found by visiting the Appeal Procedures document provided on the Appraisal page.

As real property changes over time with new construction, renovations, removal of improvements, damage to property, etc., it is advised to keep the Appraisal staff informed of these changes, so the data is accurately reflected on your Property Record Card to ensure a correct tax value.  To report changes or correct information, you can choose from several options: 1) use the Feedback link at the bottom of the Tax Dept / Appraisal page on the County website, 2) call (704) 736-8670, or 3) write to the Lincoln County Tax Department Appraisal Division, 100 East Main Street, Third Floor, Lincolnton, NC 28092.  

The Lincoln County Schedule of Values is a comprehensive manual developed by the County Assessor to determine the market value of all real property for taxation purposes. It establishes the standards, methods, and procedures used to conduct mass appraisals during a countywide reappraisal. The schedule includes valuation tables for land, construction cost guidelines for various property types, and adjustment factors to account for market conditions. These tools ensure that every property is assessed fairly and equitably.  Once approved by the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners, the Schedule of Values serves as the official framework for property valuation until the next scheduled revaluation.

The Board of Equalization and Review (BOER) is the first step in the formal appeals process. If a taxpayer is not satisfied with the results of the informal review or if the deadline for an informal appeal has passed, an appeal may be filed with the BOER for a formal appeal hearing. The BOER is authorized to hear appeals of personal and real property values in Lincoln County. The BOER is composed of five members and three alternate members appointed to by the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners.

The assessed value is not comparable to market value as of the last reappraisal date. The assessment is not equitable to comparable properties as of the last reappraisal date. 

1. Taxes are too high. 
2. Inability to pay. 
3. Lack of county services. 
4. Amount or percentage increase. 

1. Property has been appraised at a figure more than its true value in money or 2. Property has been appraised at a greater percentage of its true value in money than other similar property in the county.

The PUV program was created under the NC General Statues to give tax relief to specific qualifying landowners for property under sound management and engaged in the production of an agricultural, horticultural, or forest products. There are four types of requirements that must be met to qualify for the program. 

1. Ownership: It is the owner’s place of residence or It has been owned by the current owner or relative as defined in statute 105-277.2 (5A) for the four years preceding January 1of the year for which application is being made or At the time of transfer the property was assessed at its present use value or was eligible for present use value assessment
2. Land: There must be at least one tract that meets the qualifying tract requirements of five acres for horticultural applications, ten acres for agricultural applications and twenty acres for forest applications.
3. Income: Property must produce an average of $1,000 gross income for the previous three years (only required for agricultural and horticultural land).
4. Sound Management: A program of production designed to obtain the greatest net return from the land consistent with its conservation and long-term improvement.

We accept cash, check, money order or electronically by debit/credit card or e-check at www.lincolncountytax.com. A convenience fee will apply to all card and e-check transactions.

Partial payments are accepted for payment of property taxes. Once current year taxes are paid in full, a taxpayer may choose to take advantage of the option to begin making prepayments towards the upcoming year’s taxes.

Annual tax notices for real and personal property are mailed each year in early July to the owner of record as of January 1^st of that year.

The tax rate is set by the Board of Commissioners by the end of June.

Annual tax notices are not mailed to mortgage companies for escrow purposes. Most lenders electronically request billing information and/or access to retrieve tax data directly from our system. If your taxes are paid through escrow, you are still mailed the annual tax notice to keep for your records.

Should ownership of  real property transfer during the year, the taxes are ordinarily pro-rated at the time of closing by the closing attorney. To determine if your taxes were pro-rated at the time of transfer, please contact your realtor or closing attorney.

Lincoln County offers a 2% discount on all tax payments from July 1st through August 31^st.

Taxes are due on September 1^st and considered delinquent after January 5^th of the following year. Should January 5^th fall on a Saturday or Sunday, the deadline to pay is extended to the next business day.

Taxes not paid in full by the January 5^th deadline are subject to a penalty of 2% effective January 6^th and ¾ % of interest will be added on the first day of each month thereafter until paid in full. Past due taxes are immediately subject to enforced collection remedies as provided by the laws of the State of North Carolina.

To request data or information on properties or data represented on the website please submit a data request through the Lincoln County Public Record Request.

Come by the office and pick up an application, call the office for one to be mailed to you. File the application by June 1^st.

Listing is done each January. Only personal property is listed. Registered regularly tagged vehicles do not need to be listed. Permanently tagged or IRP plated vehicles do need to be listed. Businesses need to list their business personal property.

Online located on the Listing Forms page or in the office.

Online located on the Listing Forms page, in the office, or one will be mailed to you if you had personal property listed the previous year in January.

No, Lincoln County does not have a surveyor.  Surveyors are hired by property owners.

We do not recommend attorneys since we work with a lot of different attorneys, and we don't want our office to appear biased.

Instructions on how to update an address can be found on the Lincoln County website.  Address change options can be found under the Tax Department.

No, a GIS map is not a survey and it should not be used to determine where your property lines and property corners are located.  Land Records only has access to the surveys that are recorded in the Register of Deeds Office.  

You will need to consult with an attorney to determine whether or not you have an easement.

Lincoln County doesn't address vacant parcels until a permit is issued.  An address will be assigned to the parcel after the Addressing Department receives the permit from the Planning and Inspections Department.