TIF Codes for County Auditors

When a county auditor certifies a new TIF district and sets it up within the county's systems, there are codes that must be assigned for purposes of sharing and reporting data with the Department of Revenue and the Office of the State Auditor. These are often referred to as the DOR codes.

The "Location" code is a three-digit code for the jurisdiction in which the TIF district is located. The Department of Revenue assigns these codes and they do not change. (For example, the City of Forest Lake is 792.) New jurisdictions using TIF for the first time should contact the Department of Revenue for a code. Existing codes can be found on the "TIF Location" tab of the PRISM Code Tables on the Department of Revenue's website (at https://www.revenue.state.mn.us/prism-property-record-information-system-minnesota under "Instructions and Documentation").

The "District" code is a three-digit identifier for the TIF district. This code is assigned by the county auditor. It is very important to assign a code that, when combined with the location code, will uniquely identify a single district. Do not reuse codes previously assigned to a since-decertified district. Most counties assign District codes sequentially, either county-wide or by location code. For example, if the first district is 001, the twenty-fifth district would be 025, and so forth.

The "HSS" code is a two-digit code, with "01" generally signifying the district is a hazardous substance subdistrict record, and "00" being used for any district or record that is not a hazardous substance subdistrict.

These codes are not to be confused with any other county TIF codes assigned by counties to TIF districts for their own internal records. They should also not be confused with the numbers that may be in a TIF district's name. For example, Forest Lake's TIF 1 has a DOR District code of "005," but Washington County also has an internal coding system that uses "83" to identify this district.

For more information about certifying districts, see the TIF County Guide.

Last referenced September 25, 2020 in the State Auditor's E-Update.