DeKalb County, AL tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in DeKalb County, seat of Fort Payne: 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 DeKalb County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- DeKalb County Revenue Commissioner's Office (Tax Collection Department), Revenue Commissioner Tyler Wilks
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- April or May each year. The Revenue Commission's Taxes page states: "Taxes are due every year October 1. Taxes can be paid between October 1 and December 31 without penalty. Taxes become delinquent after December 31. Any unpaid taxes are assessed fees and 1% interest per month beginning in January of each calendar year. All unpaid property is sold at auction in April or May to the highest bidder." An archived county home page from May 1, 2020 listed "May 13th 2020 - Property Tax Lien Sale" and "April 8th 2020 - Business Personal Property Tax Sale." Confirm the current year's date with the office before you plan around it.
- Next expected
- between March 1 and June 15, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Bidders register with GovEase before the sale. The county's own instruction, captured on its home page in May 2020, read: "To register to be a bidder for our online tax sale please follow the link below. https://liveauctions.govease.com/Account/Login", with links to GovEase webinar sign-up and training articles. The county's current site does not restate the registration steps, deposit, or cutoff date, so call the Revenue Commissioner's Office at (256) 845-8515 to confirm the platform, the registration deadline, and any deposit before the auction opens.
DeKalb County moved off the Article 1 property tax sale and onto the Article 7 tax lien auction. Its Taxes page states: "Beginning 2019 for delinquent 2018 taxes, per AL Code S40-10-180 (1975); DeKalb County will change method of collecting delinquent taxes with a TAX LIEN auction." The sale is run online, not at the courthouse: the county directed bidders to register at GovEase for "our online tax sale." That GovEase reference was verified on an archived (May 2020) capture of the county's own home page, and the GovEase login page loads today, but the county's current site no longer names the platform, so treat the platform as likely rather than certain and confirm with the office. Liens the county still holds are published as a "County Inventory" PDF linked from the site's top navigation. The office replaces that file periodically, so pull the current link from the navigation rather than bookmarking the PDF. The county also posts a "Tax Lien Notice" reproducing Ala. Code Section 40-10-191, which gives an existing certificate holder the first right to buy the next year's lien on the same parcel between 5 and 30 days before the auction date, at the same interest rate shown on the earlier certificate.
Register on GovEaseFrom 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
Notes for DeKalb County
- The Revenue Commission's main office and mailing address is 206 Grand Ave. SW, Fort Payne, AL 35967, phone (256) 845-8515, fax (256) 845-8517. A second counter operates at the Rainsville Annex, 98 McCurdy Ave. S., Rainsville, AL 35986, phone (256) 638-9404, fax (256) 638-9406. Office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- The Taxes page still carries older wording that unpaid property "is sold at auction in April or May to the highest bidder" with a "three year Right of Redemption." That language predates the county's 2019 switch to the tax lien auction, which awards liens on a bid-down interest basis under Article 7 rather than to a high bidder for the land. Read the timing from that sentence, and read the method from the county's own Section 40-10-180 notice at the top of the same page.
- The county's Tax Lien Notice PDF is a reprint of Ala. Code Section 40-10-191 as amended by Act 2024-324, effective June 1, 2024. It matters to repeat bidders: a certificate holder must exercise the first right to buy the next delinquency between 5 and 30 days before the auction date, or the prior certificate is transferred to whoever buys the new lien.
- No county-run tax deed auction exists here. Under the Article 7 method a certificate holder takes title only through a circuit court action to foreclose the right to redeem and quiet title.
- Certificate buyers should confirm the current auction platform, registration window, deposit, and list before each sale. The county's live site publishes the County Inventory and the statutory notice, but it does not currently publish auction date, registration, or platform details.
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 DeKalb County, Alabama sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- DeKalb County follows Alabama's tax lien state system.
When is the DeKalb County tax certificate sale?
- April or May each year. The Revenue Commission's Taxes page states: "Taxes are due every year October 1. Taxes can be paid between October 1 and December 31 without penalty. Taxes become delinquent after December 31. Any unpaid taxes are assessed fees and 1% interest per month beginning in January of each calendar year. All unpaid property is sold at auction in April or May to the highest bidder." An archived county home page from May 1, 2020 listed "May 13th 2020 - Property Tax Lien Sale" and "April 8th 2020 - Business Personal Property Tax Sale." Confirm the current year's date with the office before you plan around it.. 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 DeKalb 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.
Explore all 67 Alabama counties
Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.