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Tax Sale Atlas

Shelby County, AL tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Shelby County, AL tax sale, one of 3,131 counties in 51 states. Alabama sells tax lien certificates paying up to 12%. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the county’s own official pages on Oct 12, 2026.

How tax lien sales work in Shelby County, seat of Columbiana: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how Alabama tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

Next tax deed sale
Not scheduled.
Format
GovEase
Registration
Online registration will begin on March 2, 2027.
County office
(205) 670-6900
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Oct 12, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page
Look up a sale detail

Shelby County Property Tax Commissioner (Jacob Tidmore), Columbiana. GovEase. annual

Record quality: high. Last verified: 2026-10-12.

Shelby County Tax Lien Information - Important Dates to Remember and FAQ (source accessed 2026-10-12)

Recorded reference information. Verify current sale conditions with the county. Read the full sale details.

Link to this detail

How Shelby County sells delinquent taxes

From lien to deed

Alabama holds no routine county tax deed auction under the tax lien regime. A holder of all the sold, unexpired, outstanding tax lien certificates on a parcel may file an action in circuit court to foreclose the right to redeem and quiet title, but only once four years have passed since the tax lien auction and no later than ten years after it. The holder must mail a notice of intent at least 30 days and no more than 180 days before filing, to the owner of record, every recorded lienholder, the tax collecting official, and anyone else who may reasonably be believed to hold an interest.

Tax certificate sale (lien)

GovEase
Run by
Shelby County Property Tax Commissioner (Jacob Tidmore), Columbiana
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Tax Lien Auction is April 6, 2027 beginning at 8:30am CST.
Registration
Online registration will begin on March 2, 2027.
Next expected
between March 1 and June 15, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
Delinquent property search (Property Tax Commissioner portal)
When it runs
Annual online tax lien auction in early April. The county calendar states "Tax Lien Auction is April 6, 2027 beginning at 8:30am CST" and the Real Property section says the auction "is held annually (usually the first week of April) for all unpaid property taxes."
Registration and deposit

Register online at GovEase. The county states "Our tax lien auction is online, you may register as a bidder by going to www.govease.com." For the 2027 auction the county FAQ says "Online registration will begin on March 2, 2027" and "Bidder registration cutoff is March 31, 2027 at 4 p.m." Bidders who plan to pre-bid must be registered and approved before any bidding. GovEase requires an account plus completed online registration documents before a bidder is approved, and posts bidder training at govease.com/bidderhelp. A W-9 is required before a certificate is processed.

Sale format and venue
Alabama tax lien auction under Title 40, Chapter 10, Article 7. Bidding is bid-down interest: the county states "Bids are awarded on the lowest interest rate bid. 1. The maximum bid is 12% simple interest per annum prorated monthly. The lowest acceptable bid is 0% per annum." Bids move down in 1% increments. The winning bidder buys a lien, not the property, and pays the full amount of taxes, interest, fees, penalties and costs as of auction day, with guaranteed funds due no later than one hour before the property tax office closes on auction day. Accepted payment is cashier's check, money order, cash or a direct wire arranged before auction day, and no deposit is required. All sales are final. Bidders receive a Bid Report after the auction, and the Certificate of Purchase is mailed within 30 business days. The certificate carries a first right of refusal on the following year's lien at the same rate. Interest accrues from the first day after the auction and stops on the day of redemption. A certificate expires and the lien is void if no foreclosure action is commenced within ten years of purchase (Act 2018-577). There is a $5.00 endorsement fee per certificate. Auction notice is mailed, advertised or posted about 30 days ahead, by March 1. Liens not sold at the auction stay with the county and can be bought over the counter at any time after the auction, but not before it. Older parcels already sold to the state are a separate inventory, sold by the Alabama Department of Revenue by price quote.
Register on GovEase
Source: Shelby County Tax Lien Information - Important Dates to Remember and FAQ· Verified Oct 12, 2026

Shelby County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Shelby County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid.

  1. Confirm the advertised parcel list

    Use Delinquent property search (Property Tax Commissioner portal) as a starting reference. Check which sale or list it covers; a Lands Available or office information page is separate from an auction parcel list. Ask the sale office for the advertised parcels for the auction you plan to attend.

  2. Register to bid

    Online registration will begin on March 2, 2027. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    Not scheduled. Bidding runs on GovEase; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use the Circuit court of the county as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Shelby County

  1. Confirm the parcel list before pricing

    Open Delinquent property search (Property Tax Commissioner portal). Confirm whether this reference contains the auction parcels or covers a different list. Get the advertised parcel list from the county before you price a bid, and recheck it before the sale.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Register online at GovEase. The county states "Our tax lien auction is online, you may register as a bidder by going to www.govease.com." For the 2027 auction the county FAQ says "Online registration will begin on March 2, 2027" and "Bidder registration cutoff is March 31, 2027 at 4 p.m." Bidders who plan to pre-bid must be registered and approved before any bidding. GovEase requires an account plus completed online registration documents before a bidder is approved, and posts bidder training at govease.com/bidderhelp. A W-9 is required before a certificate is processed.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Alabama due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.

  4. Set a walk-away number

    Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.

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. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Alabama calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)

Shelby County Property Tax Commissioner

(205) 670-6900

102 Depot Street, Columbiana, AL 35051 (mailing: PO Box 1298, Columbiana, AL 35051)

Official website

County notes

  • Shelby County runs its own dedicated tax lien auction site at taxlienauction.shelbyal.com, separate from the main property tax portal at ptc.shelbyal.com.
  • The county FAQ says "The tax lien auction will be held online at www.govease.com" and that bidders who plan to pre-bid "must be registered and approved prior to any bidding."
  • Bidding is a bid-down-interest format capped at 12% simple interest per annum prorated monthly, with 0% the lowest acceptable bid.
  • Auction-day payment must be guaranteed funds delivered no later than one hour before the property tax office closes on the day of the auction. All sales are final.
  • Property taxes are due October 1 and delinquent January 1, when a $5.00 fee plus 1% per month interest is added; delinquent tax notices are prepared for mailing by January 6.
  • The county calendar also lists a first-right window: "First right will be paid in our office and will open on March 2, 2027 at 10am and close on March 30, 2027 at 4pm." This covers existing certificate holders buying the subsequent year's lien, not new bidders.
  • Final settlement is listed as May 30.
  • Research tools on the Property Tax Commissioner portal include Delinquent Search, Redemption Search and Insolvent Search; the county states "All research must be done by you. Property information may be found at https://ptc.shelbyal.com".
  • Bidder support for the platform is GovEase (support@govease.com, (769) 208-5050 per the county flyer); investor portal support is E-Ring, Inc. at auctionsupport@ering-cad.com.
  • Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm. Auction questions go to (205) 670-6900, menu option 1.

Alabama rules

Max interest rate
12% per year, bid down at auction
Minimum return
No statutory minimum; interest accrues at your bid rate
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.
Governing statute
Ala. Code § 40-10-184

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.

See the full Alabama rules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Shelby County, Alabama sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax lien certificates. In Alabama investors buy the lien, not the property; the County tax collecting official runs the sale.

When is the Shelby County tax certificate sale?

Annual online tax lien auction in early April. The county calendar states "Tax Lien Auction is April 6, 2027 beginning at 8:30am CST" and the Real Property section says the auction "is held annually (usually the first week of April) for all unpaid property taxes." Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the County tax collecting official before the sale.

How often does Shelby County hold tax deed sales?

Shelby County tax deed sale schedule: none (court action, not a scheduled auction). Not scheduled. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Alabama's redemption rule: Redeemable until the circuit court enters judgment; the holder cannot file to foreclose until 4 years after the tax lien auction, and the certificate expires 10 years after it. Call the Circuit court of the county as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Where can I find the Shelby County tax sale list?

The recorded official list reference is at ptc.shelbyal.com. Check whether it covers auction parcels, office information or Lands Available, then obtain the advertised parcel list for the sale you plan to bid on. Confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement.

Verified Oct 12, 2026 against official county and state sources.

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 office that runs the sale before you bid.

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