Definition of Central Appraisal District (CAD)

a government organization that appraises the value of property for tax assessment purposes. Its costs and results of its appraisal and collection efforts are shared by other government entities to avoid inconsistencies and duplication of effort.

Example: The city, county, and school district are all allowed to tax the same property. Instead of having all three of these perform an appraisal function, the Central Appraisal District appraises the property uniformly, collects the entire tax, and allocates the tax to each government entity in accordance with that entity's rate.