Clay County, AR tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Clay County, seat of Piggott: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Arkansas tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- Registration opens one hour before the auction at the sale site and costs nothing.
On this page
How Clay County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. Clay County holds no tax sale of its own; the county collector certifies unredeemed parcels to the Commissioner, who auctions them and conveys the deed.
- Frequency
- annual
- Registration
- Registration opens one hour before the auction at the sale site and costs nothing.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Registration opens one hour before the auction at the sale site and costs nothing. Fill out a numbered bidder registration card, hand the completed form to a Commissioner of State Lands employee and keep the opposite half as your bidder number. Parcels are called in sale number order as printed in the catalog, and the minimum bid is the taxes, interest, penalty and costs due as of the sale date; the purchase price is that minimum plus any competitive bidding. The winner pays in full immediately after the auction, in the exact amount owed, by personal or business check, cashier's check, money order, or credit or debit card with a 4 percent non-refundable processing fee. Cash is not accepted and no time is allowed to leave and fetch funds.
Sale format and venue
Clay County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Clay 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.
Get the advertised list
Use Clay parcel catalog for the September 15, 2026 auction (Commissioner of State Lands) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the county office before you go.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. Clay County holds no tax sale of its own; the county collector certifies unredeemed parcels to the Commissioner, who auctions them and conveys the deed. as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Clay County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Clay parcel catalog for the September 15, 2026 auction (Commissioner of State Lands). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Registration opens one hour before the auction at the sale site and costs nothing. Fill out a numbered bidder registration card, hand the completed form to a Commissioner of State Lands employee and keep the opposite half as your bidder number. Parcels are called in sale number order as printed in the catalog, and the minimum bid is the taxes, interest, penalty and costs due as of the sale date; the purchase price is that minimum plus any competitive bidding. The winner pays in full immediately after the auction, in the exact amount owed, by personal or business check, cashier's check, money order, or credit or debit card with a 4 percent non-refundable processing fee. Cash is not accepted and no time is allowed to leave and fetch funds.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Arkansas due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.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
unsold properties
Thirty calendar days after the live auction, every parcel that drew no qualifying bid moves to the Commissioner's online unsold-property auction and stays there until it sells, is redeemed, or is withdrawn. Nothing is priced over a counter: the first online bid starts a 30-calendar-day auction period that closes at 8:00 p.m. Central on the thirtieth day, other registered bidders may outbid during it, and the Commissioner mails the owner and interested parties notice when the first bid arrives. Within two years of the live auction the reserve stays at the taxes, penalty, interest, fees and costs; two years or more after it, the Commissioner may negotiate a price he determines is in the best interest of the state and the local taxing units. Online bidders must pass an identity check as a United States resident and keep a card on file; the winner's card is charged $100 in earnest money immediately and the balance is due in certified funds within 10 business days.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter purchases work.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax sale office
(870) 598-2266 Piggott office, (870) 857-3881 Corning office
151 S. 2nd Ave., Piggott, AR 72454
County notes
- Arkansas is state administered. The Clay County Collector bills the taxes and certifies unredeemed parcels to the Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands, and the Commissioner publishes the catalog, conducts the auction and issues the deed. Parcel level tax and redemption questions go to the collector; sale, bidding and deed questions go to the Commissioner at 501-324-9422 or [email protected].
- Clay County has two districts and two courthouses, Piggott in the east and Corning in the west, and the collector keeps an office in both. The tax sale is held in neither one. Clay County parcels are auctioned in Paragould, about 30 miles southwest of Piggott, alongside Lawrence, Randolph and Greene County parcels.
- The county publishes no tax sale calendar of its own, so the Commissioner of State Lands Public Auction Catalog is the only official list of Clay County parcels for sale. Owners can redeem right up to the day before the auction and redeemed entries stay in the catalog marked as cancelled, so pull the list again the morning you travel.
- Legal descriptions in the Clay County catalog carry real restrictions worth reading before you bid. One Rector commercial tract is subject to recorded state environmental conditions from a regulated storage tank case that limit the site to industrial or commercial use and grant regulators access.
Arkansas rules
- Redemption
- The clock is long even though the deadline is hard. The county collector holds the delinquent land for one year after the October 15 delinquency date, certification to the Commissioner of State Lands follows no later than July 1 of the next year, and the sale date must be no earlier than one year after certification, so an owner normally has more than two years from the missed payment. What the owner does not get is any post-sale window. The Commissioner's office states that, effective July 1, 2023, parcels sold through its office cannot be redeemed and all sales are final, at live auctions and through the online unsold-property auction alike. Payment has to be received by the 4:00 p.m. deadline; postmarks are not accepted. A quoted redemption figure holds for 30 days unless the parcel sells, the county amends its records, or further costs accrue.
- Deed deposit
- There is no statutory bidder deposit at the live auction and no registration fee. Registration opens one hour before the sale at the sale site against a photo ID and a driver's license number, and the successful bidder tenders the full purchase price at the time of the sale. The online unsold-property auction works differently: registration requires identity verification and a card on file, and the winning bidder's card is charged $100 in earnest money immediately on notification.
- Surplus proceeds
- Money above the taxes, fees, penalties, interest and costs due at the time of sale is excess proceeds. Within one year of receipt the Commissioner pays penalties, collection fees and sale costs to his own office and the delinquent taxes, interest and costs to the county. The remainder is held for one year from the date of the limited warranty deed, then applied on application to delinquent personal property taxes, state tax certificates of indebtedness and delinquent solid waste assessments. Of whatever is left, 10 percent up to a maximum of $500 goes to the Commissioner for administering the distribution and the rest is payable to the former owner on a complete claim packet. Excess proceeds are held two years and then escheat by operation of law to the county. A former owner, part owner or interested party who buys the parcel at the tax sale is not entitled to any distribution, and a third-party recovery agent's fee may not exceed 10 percent.
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 Clay County, Arkansas sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Clay County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Clay County tax sale list?
Verified Aug 22, 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.
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