Assessor-Recorder Joaquín Torres Launches New Online Portal for Property Owners

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Assessor-Recorder Joaquín Torres announced today the completion of an office modernization project, the System for Managing Records, Assessments, and Transactions Project (SMART), which provides a new online portal for property owners. With this portal, Assessor Torres is continuing to deliver increased opportunities for San Franciscans to conduct business with the Assessor-Recorder online and from the convenience of their homes, one of the hallmarks of his first term in Office. 

"As a San Franciscan, I want and expect the option of doing business with our city online," said Assessor-Recorder Joaquín Torres. "Government should be welcoming, easy to understand, fast, and affordable. The launch of our new SMART community portal is a big step in that direction for the Office of the Assessor-Recorder. There's more to do, but I'm proud of the progress we're making and hope these changes make life a little easier for residents."

The SMART portal enables property owners to submit forms, request reviews, ask questions, and get information without ever setting foot in the office, waiting in lines, or navigating paper-based processes. This means fewer trips to City Hall and easier access to records that were previously unavailable online or scattered across multiple databases, including property characteristics, assessed value history, previous filings and questions submitted, active property tax exemptions, and more. 

"Our administration is making it easier for San Franciscans to work with city government," said Mayor Daniel Lurie. "Just as we’re taking steps through PermitSF to streamline the permitting process and cut red tape, the new SMART portal will make it easier for homeowners to access services online, saving valuable time. Thank you to Assessor-Recorder Torres for your work to make government work better for San Franciscans."  

The Office has completed several other modernization initiatives to create a more efficient taxpayer experience, making San Francisco one of the most digitally accessible Assessor-Recorders in California:  

• a first-in-the-state free records system allowing San Franciscans to view over 7 million historical public records for free,
• decreasing purchase fees for the majority of official copies of recorded documents,
• creating a new streamlined and accessible public website,
• building a new and improved supplemental tax calculator for people who have recently bought a new property, and
• creating an appointment system for 1-1 property tax exemption guidance.

"Assessor-Recorder Torres’ is working to modernize a very complicated office," said Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman. "I hear firsthand from residents about how confusing and time-consuming these processes can be given the laws on the books today, and this new level of digital service is a major step forward."

Every year, tens of thousands of homeowners, seniors, disabled veterans, families, small businesses, non-profits, educational institutions, religious organizations, hospitals, and affordable housing developers work with the Office of the Assessor-Recorder. They complete forms and submit documentation for property tax exemptions and exclusions, request disaster relief after an emergency, file for decline-in-value reviews if they believe their home has lost value, submit information related to building permits and new construction, update addresses, and seek answers about their property assessments. 

Before the launch of SMART, many of these interactions required in-person visits or mailed and emailed paperwork. For example, to file a simple Homeowners’ Exemption, constituents had to download or print a hard-copy form for manual fill-out and submission to our Office. Following SMART's soft launch in Fall 2025, virtually all of these services are now available online.
"I recently used the online portal to send a question about an assessment issue with my home and received a near-immediate response. I've worked with the Office a few times, and this new portal made for a better experience, especially in saving my time in submitting the problem. While these issues often require a few steps to resolve, I'm grateful that the Assessor-Recorder is paying attention to the taxpayer experience," said Cecilia, a San Francisco resident and homeowner.  

"Non-profit and community-based organizations spend years working towards buying the buildings that we use to provide a safe space to the youth, families, and seniors that we serve. Property tax exemptions play an essential role in allowing us to do that," said Sarah Wan, Community Youth Center Executive Director.  "The Assessor’s office makes sure that non-profits are educated on the opportunities available, including now with this new system that allows us to spend less time on paperwork and more time serving San Franciscans."
"The County Veterans Service Office (CVSO) helps Veterans with a wide range of issues, including filing for the Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption with the Office of the Assessor-Recorder. This new level of digital access is a game-changer and will enable more veterans and other adults with disabilities to access benefits," said Gerardo Carr, Acting Manager for the San Francisco CVSO. 

The Office previously launched a version of the online portal in 2021 for businesses to complete annual filings related to business personal property, such as equipment, machinery, technology, and fixtures. With features that allow business owners to autofill paperwork with information that oftentimes doesn’t change year-over-year and provide easy access to prior statements after submitting online for the first time, this service has made filing requirements easier. The launch of the new system for real property owners marks the conclusion of this project, expanding these same improvements to the majority of property owners in San Francisco. 

"Five years in, the SMART portal has saved small businesses a lot of time and hassle. No printing forms, no mailing documents, no waiting in line. You submit what you need online and get back to doing literally anything else," said Ben Bleiman, Founder of SF Bar Owner Alliance and owner of Harrington’s Bar & Grill.

"Projects like these help transform our work by creating more transparency, reliability, and speed of service," said City Administrator Carmen Chu, who served as Assessor-Recorder from 2013 to 2021. "Having worked to lay the foundation for SMART during my time as Assessor, I am both incredibly proud of the public servants who lifted this critical work and thankful to Assessor Torres for seeing this project through with such tenacity and vision."

Property assessment in California involves hundreds of separate forms, filings, rules, and deadlines guided by the Revenue & Taxation Code and the California Constitution, compounded here in San Francisco by the diversity of property types and ownership arrangements. Involving significant planning and implementation, including migrating decades of assessment data, this new cloud-based system was designed to handle this complexity while improving the taxpayer experience, increasing transparency, and supporting the fair and accurate assessment of the nearly 212,000 properties and 30,000 businesses that make up the assessment roll, valued at approximately $354 billion as of 2025.