Sumter County, AL tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Sumter County, seat of Livingston: 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 Sumter County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Sumter County Tax Collector (Annie Ruth Wilson). Sumter keeps separate elected Tax Assessor and Tax Collector offices rather than a consolidated Revenue Commissioner, and the Tax Collector is the tax collecting official who handles delinquent collections.
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Not published by the county. The Tax Collector page carries only the officeholder, address, phone, email and hours: "Annie Ruth Wilson, Sumter County Tax Collector", "Sumter County Courthouse, 115 Franklin Street - Post Office Drawer DD, Livingston, AL 35470", "M-F (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)". It states nothing about a sale. Searching the county website for "tax sale" and for "tax lien" both return "Sorry, but nothing matched your search criteria. Please try again with some different keywords." Call the Tax Collector at 205-652-2251 to confirm the collection method the county elected and the current year's sale date.
- Next expected
- between March 1 and June 15, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Not published online. Sumter County posts no bidder registration form, deposit amount, bid procedure, or sale notice on any page of its official website, and its Public Notices page listed only an alcohol license notice when checked. Contact the Tax Collector at 205-652-2251 or [email protected] for registration terms and the advertised sale notice. The state-held channel is separate and requires no bidding: the Alabama Department of Revenue takes an electronic application for a price quote, emails the quote, and then "You are given 10 calendar days from the date on the price quote to remit your payment. Your remittance must be postmarked no later than the 10th calendar day."
Sumter County publishes no tax lien or certificate sale page. No auction platform was verified, so none is claimed here: the county website names no platform, Sumter does not appear among the 39 Alabama counties on GovEase's Alabama county contact list, and GovEase's live and upcoming auction page showed no listings when checked. Whether Sumter sells in person at the courthouse or online is unconfirmed, so do not plan a trip or an online bid without calling the Tax Collector first. The only Sumter-specific inventory verified is the state-held list. The Alabama Department of Revenue publishes a per-county "Transcript of Tax Delinquent Land Available for Sale" that is "updated weekly" and does not contain the physical address of the property. The Sumter transcript (county code 60) with report date 07/20/2026 carried a single parcel: owner GOLDOME CREDIT CORP, amount bid at tax sale $263.57, year 96, certificate number 60960001, class 2, code 05, parcel ID 6014093000040010000000, with a metes and bounds description in the west half of the northwest quarter of Section 30, T20, R1W. Recheck the transcript, since it refreshes weekly. On the state-held route the Department of Revenue states: "If the state has held a tax sale certificate less than three years, the purchaser will be issued an assignment of the certificate. If the state has held the tax sale certificate over three years, a tax deed will be issued to the purchaser", and warns that "neither an assignment nor a tax deed gives the holder clear title to the parcel", advising buyers to consult a competent attorney.
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)
Sumter County Tax Collector (Annie Ruth Wilson)
205-652-2251 (fax 205-652-9436 per the Alabama Department of Revenue county offices directory)
Sumter County Courthouse, 115 Franklin Street, Livingston, AL 35470. Mailing address: Post Office Drawer DD, Livingston, AL 35470
Official websiteNotes for Sumter County
- Sumter County has separate elected Tax Assessor and Tax Collector offices, not a consolidated Revenue Commissioner. The Alabama Department of Revenue county directory lists Juliet Parker as Tax Assessor and Annie Wilson as Tax Collector; the county website spells them Juliette Parker and Annie Ruth Wilson.
- Tax Collector: Sumter County Courthouse, 115 Franklin Street, Livingston, AL 35470, mail to Post Office Drawer DD, phone 205-652-2251, email [email protected], hours Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Tax Assessor: same courthouse at 115 Franklin Street, mail to Post Office Box 277, Livingston, AL 35470, phone 205-652-2424, fax 205-652-9456, appraisal line 205-652-2707, email [email protected]. Parcel research runs through the county public GIS site at sumter.alabamagis.com/sumter and the Citizen Access Portal linked from the state directory.
- No sale calendar, bidder registration packet, deposit rule, or auction platform appears anywhere on sumtercountyal.com. The site's Public Notices menu item resolves to sumtercountyal.com/photos/, which listed only an alcohol license notice. Both the county GIS site and the Tax Assessor page are silent on tax sales and carry no delinquent parcel layer.
- No evidence was found that Sumter County uses GovEase. Sumter is absent from GovEase's own Alabama county contact list, which named 39 other counties. Treat the venue and platform as unconfirmed until the Tax Collector says otherwise.
- Parcels struck off to the state appear on the Alabama Department of Revenue's Sumter County transcript (county 60), updated weekly. That inventory is bought by price quote application rather than at a county auction, and the 07/20/2026 report listed one parcel.
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 Sumter County, Alabama sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Sumter County follows Alabama's tax lien state system.
When is the Sumter County tax certificate sale?
- Not published by the county. The Tax Collector page carries only the officeholder, address, phone, email and hours: "Annie Ruth Wilson, Sumter County Tax Collector", "Sumter County Courthouse, 115 Franklin Street - Post Office Drawer DD, Livingston, AL 35470", "M-F (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)". It states nothing about a sale. Searching the county website for "tax sale" and for "tax lien" both return "Sorry, but nothing matched your search criteria. Please try again with some different keywords." Call the Tax Collector at 205-652-2251 to confirm the collection method the county elected and the current year's sale date.. 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 Sumter 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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