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Tax Sale Atlas

Yavapai County, AZ tax sales

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

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

Next sale
Held online each February.
Format
RealAuction
Registration
You must be a registered bidder to buy liens.
County office
(928) 771-3233
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Jul 13, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Yavapai County sells delinquent taxes

From lien to deed

Arizona does not hold county tax deed auctions. Instead, a certificate of purchase holder whose lien has not been redeemed may file a judicial action to foreclose the owner's right to redeem, but only after three years have passed since the tax lien sale.

Tax certificate sale (lien)

RealAuction
Run by
Yavapai County Treasurer
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Held online each February.
Registration
You must be a registered bidder to buy liens.
Next expected
in February, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
List of available liens (RealAuction)
When it runs
Held online each February. The Treasurer's Tax Lien Sale page shows the 2026 auction closing February 10, 2026 and the next auction set for February 9, 2027, which falls on the second Tuesday of February.
Registration and deposit

You must be a registered bidder to buy liens. Create an account and bid online through RealAuction at yavapai.arizonataxsale.com. Bidders place a proxy bid on the interest rate, which starts at 16% and is bid down in 1% increments, with the certificate going to the lowest accepted rate. A non-refundable $10.00 processing fee applies per certificate, and deposits and purchases are made with the ACH Payment Wizard on the auction site.

Sale format and venue
Arizona is a tax-lien state, so the Yavapai County Treasurer sells certificates of purchase rather than deeds. Only parcels at least two years delinquent are offered. Liens that go unsold at the annual auction move into a year-round County-Held Tax Certificate Sale, available at 16% through the same RealAuction site. A certificate holder may pay later years' taxes to add them to the lien, and judicial foreclosure becomes available three years after the sale date. Governing statute is A.R.S. Title 42, Chapter 18, Articles 3, 4, and 5. Auction dates are from the Treasurer's Tax Lien Sale page; registration, bidding, list, and fee details are from the Treasurer's Investor Information sheet; the second-Tuesday timing pattern is from The Daily Courier.
Register on RealAuction
Source: Yavapai County Treasurer - Treasurer's Tax Lien Sale· Verified Jul 13, 2026

Yavapai County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Yavapai 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. Get the advertised list

    Use List of available liens (RealAuction) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    You must be a registered bidder to buy liens. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    Held online each February. Bidding runs on RealAuction; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Yavapai County Treasurer as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Yavapai County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from List of available liens (RealAuction). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    You must be a registered bidder to buy liens. Create an account and bid online through RealAuction at yavapai.arizonataxsale.com. Bidders place a proxy bid on the interest rate, which starts at 16% and is bid down in 1% increments, with the certificate going to the lowest accepted rate. A non-refundable $10.00 processing fee applies per certificate, and deposits and purchases are made with the ACH Payment Wizard on the auction site.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Arizona 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 receive no bid are struck to the state. Any person may later buy a state-held certificate over the counter by assignment from the county treasurer, paying the amount due plus subsequent taxes and a small assignment fee. Assigned state certificates earn the full 16 percent.

New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Arizona calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)

Yavapai County Treasurer's Office

(928) 771-3233

1015 Fair Street, 2nd Floor, Prescott, AZ 86305

Official website

County notes

  • Arizona has no county tax-deed auction. The Yavapai County Treasurer sells tax-lien certificates only. Parcels struck to the state for back taxes are handled separately through the Board of Supervisors' Tax Deed Sales page.
  • Unsold liens are available year-round via the County-Held Tax Certificate Sale at 16% on the same RealAuction site (per the Treasurer's Investor Information sheet).
  • Certificate holders may pay subsequent years' taxes to add them to the lien; there is a $5.00 per-parcel fee, payable after June 1 and due by December 31. Bidder and sub-tax amounts are at taxinquiry.yavapaiaz.gov (per the Investor Information sheet).
  • The Treasurer also lists a Cottonwood office at 10 S 6th Street, Cottonwood, AZ 86326, (928) 639-8123; email [email protected].

Arizona rules

Max interest rate
16% per year, bid down at auction
Minimum return
No statutory minimum; interest accrues at your bid rate
Redemption
The owner or any interested party can redeem the lien at any time until the right to redeem is foreclosed by the court. A certificate of purchase holder cannot begin a foreclosure action until three years after the sale, and the lien becomes void if no foreclosure is commenced within ten years after the month the certificate was acquired.
Surplus proceeds
If the court forecloses the right to redeem, the county treasurer issues a treasurer's deed conveying the parcel to the certificate holder. Because the property is conveyed by deed rather than sold at auction, there is no auction surplus to distribute.
Governing statute
A.R.S. Title 42, Chapter 18

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 Arizonarules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Yavapai County, Arizona sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax lien certificates. In Arizona investors buy the lien, not the property; the County Treasurer runs the sale.

When is the Yavapai County tax certificate sale?

Held online each February. The Treasurer's Tax Lien Sale page shows the 2026 auction closing February 10, 2026 and the next auction set for February 9, 2027, which falls on the second Tuesday of February. Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the County Treasurer before the sale.

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

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Arizona's redemption rule: 3 years from the tax lien sale before the holder can foreclose. Call the Yavapai County Treasurer 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 Yavapai County tax sale list?

Yavapai County posts its tax sale list at yavapai.arizonataxsale.com. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.

Verified Jul 13, 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 county office before you bid.

More Arizona counties

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Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

Arizona tax salesDue diligence guide
Call Yavapai County Treasurer's OfficeOpen auction