Crenshaw County, AL tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Crenshaw County, seat of Luverne: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
Verified Jul 27, 2026 against official county and state sources.
New here? Read how Alabama tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How Crenshaw County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Crenshaw County Revenue Commissioner's Office (Michele Boswell, Revenue Commissioner)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The Revenue Commissioner's Important Dates list gives the recurring window as "Month of May, date to be announced each year ....Tax Sale", preceded by "3 consecutive weeks in April ...Delinquent Property newspaper advertisement published". For the 2025 tax year the published legal notice set a later date: "I WILL PROCEED TO SELL FOR CASH IN FRONT OF THE COURTHOUSE OF CRENSHAW, IN THE CITY OF LUVERNE ON JUNE 2ND, 2026 DURING THE LEGAL HOURS OF SALE". The notice footer shows publication in The Luverne Journal on "4/23, 4/30, & 5/7 2026". Confirm the current year's date with the office, since the advertised date has moved past the May window.
- Next expected
- between March 1 and June 15, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
No online bidder registration or auction portal is published by the county. The legal notice states the Revenue Commissioner will "SELL FOR CASH IN FRONT OF THE COURTHOUSE OF CRENSHAW, IN THE CITY OF LUVERNE" during the legal hours of sale, so bidders attend in person and settle in cash. Contact the Revenue Commissioner's Office at (334) 335-6568 for bidder instructions before the sale date.
Crenshaw County runs its tax sale IN PERSON at the courthouse, not on an online auction platform. No platform URL is listed because the county publishes none. The 2025 tax year notice is headed "CRENSHAW COUNTY - LUVERNE ALABAMA - DELINQUENT TAX SALE NOTICE" and recites that the sale proceeds "BY VIRTUE OF THE DECREE RENDERED BY THE PROBATE COURT OF CRENSHAW COUNTY ALABAMA", which is the traditional Alabama tax sale track under Title 40, Chapter 10, Article 1 rather than the online tax lien auction some Alabama counties have elected under Section 40-10-180. The published list is a scanned newspaper legal notice giving account number, parcel number, owner, legal description and total due for each parcel; it carries no separate bid deposit or premium schedule. Parcels that draw no bidder pass to the state, and that state-held inventory is handled by the Alabama Department of Revenue Property Tax Division by electronic price quote application, with a 10 calendar day payment window from the quote date, certificate assignments for parcels held under three years and tax deeds for parcels held over three years. Neither an assignment nor a tax deed conveys clear title. In person at the Crenshaw County Courthouse, Luverne
From lien to deed
- Run by
- Circuit court of the county; the circuit clerk executes the deed
- Frequency
- none (court action, not a scheduled auction)
- Typical timing
- Not scheduled. A certificate holder may file no earlier than four years after the tax lien auction and no later than ten years after it
Alabama counties on the tax lien auction method hold no separate tax deed auction. Title passes only through a circuit court action to foreclose the right to redeem and quiet title, which ends in a circuit clerk's deed. A person entitled to redeem can answer that action by demanding a public auction instead, in which case the court sets a minimum bid equal to the redemption amount plus back taxes and allowed costs, and any surplus goes to the owner. A county that instead elects the Article 1 property tax sale sells the land itself at the courthouse and the judge of probate issues a deed after three years. Confirm which method your county uses.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
Liens that draw no bid at the auction stay with the county. At any time after the auction date the tax collecting official may sell an unsold lien at private sale for no less than all taxes, interest, penalties, costs and fees due, plus any amount owed to a prior certificate holder. The rate is agreed with the tax collecting official and cannot exceed 12 percent, so over-the-counter liens often carry the full rate. Ask the county for its list of unsold liens.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Crenshaw County Revenue Commissioner's Office
Crenshaw County Courthouse, 29 South Glenwood Avenue, Luverne, AL 36049. Mailing: P.O. Box 208, Luverne, AL 36049.
Official websiteNotes for Crenshaw County
- IN PERSON sale. The county publishes no online auction platform and no bidder portal; the legal notice directs bidders to the courthouse steps in Luverne and calls for cash settlement.
- Timing conflict to watch: the Revenue Commissioner's Important Dates page says the tax sale is held in the "Month of May, date to be announced each year", but the advertised 2025 tax year sale was set for June 2, 2026. Treat the published legal notice as controlling for a given year.
- The sale is the traditional Article 1 tax sale ordered by the Probate Court of Crenshaw County, not an online tax lien auction under Section 40-10-180. Counties in Alabama elect between the two regimes, and Crenshaw has stayed on the tax sale track as of the 2026 notice.
- The delinquent list is published as a scanned newspaper legal notice PDF linked from the county home page, not as a searchable data file. It ran in The Luverne Journal on 4/23, 4/30 and 5/7 2026.
- Revenue Commissioner's Important Dates: real property taxes due October 1; delinquent January 1 with a $5 delinquent fee per parcel plus 12 percent annual interest; court notices mailed in March.
- Parcels not sold at the county sale become state held. Investors buy that inventory through the Alabama Department of Revenue Property Tax Division price quote process, not from the county.
- Mailing address discrepancy: the county Contact Us page and the Alabama Department of Revenue county office listing both give P.O. Box 208, Luverne, AL 36049. The signature block on the scanned 2026 sale notice appears to read P.O. Box 308. The two agreeing official listings (P.O. Box 208) are used here.
- Parcel and tax record lookup for due diligence is at the county public GIS site, crenshaw.alabamagis.com/crenshaw, which is branded to Michele Boswell, Revenue Commissioner.
Alabama statewide rules
- Redemption
- A tax lien can be redeemed at any time before the circuit court enters judgment in a foreclosure action, and the holder cannot file that action until four years after the auction or the tax official's private sale. If the holder does not commence a foreclosure action within ten years of the auction or sale, the certificate expires and the lien becomes void. A certificate holder has no right to enter or possess the property, make repairs, or charge rents before it receives the circuit clerk's deed. In a county that uses the Article 1 property tax sale instead, land sold to a purchaser other than the state may be redeemed within three years from the date of sale, and land bid in for the state may be redeemed at any time before title passes out of the state.
- Surplus proceeds
- In a court-ordered auction the proceeds pay the cost of the auction first, then the certificate holder up to the redemption amount plus taxes it paid before filing and the court-allowed costs and fees. Any surplus goes to the owner or the owner's heirs or successors as the court determines, and Alabama's unclaimed property law applies to whatever is left. In a county that instead uses the Article 1 property tax sale, the excess over the decree is held in a separate county account for three years for a party who redeems, and Section 40-10-28 opens later windows in which the owner or a redeeming party can claim it.
A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does Crenshaw County, Alabama sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Crenshaw County follows Alabama's tax lien state system.
When is the Crenshaw County tax certificate sale?
- The Revenue Commissioner's Important Dates list gives the recurring window as "Month of May, date to be announced each year ....Tax Sale", preceded by "3 consecutive weeks in April ...Delinquent Property newspaper advertisement published". For the 2025 tax year the published legal notice set a later date: "I WILL PROCEED TO SELL FOR CASH IN FRONT OF THE COURTHOUSE OF CRENSHAW, IN THE CITY OF LUVERNE ON JUNE 2ND, 2026 DURING THE LEGAL HOURS OF SALE". The notice footer shows publication in The Luverne Journal on "4/23, 4/30, & 5/7 2026". Confirm the current year's date with the office, since the advertised date has moved past the May window.. Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the Tax Collector before the sale.
How often does Crenshaw County hold tax deed sales?
- none (court action, not a scheduled auction). Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.
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