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Tax Sale Atlas

Woodruff County, AR tax sales

How tax deed sales work in Woodruff County, seat of Augusta: 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.

Next sale
Once a year in early September, at 10:00 a.m. Central.
Format
In person
County office
(870) 347-5152
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 22, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
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How Woodruff County sells delinquent taxes

No tax lien certificate sale

Arkansas sells no tax lien certificates to investors, and Ark. Code Ann. 26-37-101(a)(2) states that tax-delinquent lands shall not be sold at the county level.

Tax deed sale

In person
Run by
Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. Woodruff County holds no tax sale of its own: the County Collector bills the taxes, advertises the delinquent list and certifies unredeemed parcels to the Commissioner, who catalogs them, auctions them in a regional session and issues the deed.
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Once a year in early September, at 10:00 a.m. Central.
Sale list
Public Auction Catalog, Woodruff County parcel list and sale date
When it runs
Once a year in early September, at 10:00 a.m. Central. The Commissioner of State Lands Public Auction Catalog lists Woodruff County for "9/3/2026 10:00:00 AM" at the Downtown Church of Christ auditorium, 900 N Main Street, Searcy, with Independence, Jackson and White county parcels called in the same session. Arkansas sets no statutory sale month and the Commissioner works through the state in regional blocks across July, August and September, so confirm the following year's date and host city in the catalog before planning travel.
Registration and deposit

Registration opens one hour before the 10:00 a.m. start, 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. The minimum bid is the taxes, interest, penalty and costs due as of the sale date, shown beside each parcel, and the purchase price is that minimum plus any competitive bidding. The winner pays in full immediately after the auction, in the exact amount, by personal or business check, cashier's check, money order, or credit or debit card, with a 4 percent non-refundable processing fee on card payments. Cash is not accepted and nobody is given extra time to reach a bank, so arrive with payment ready. Bidding in the online post-auction sale instead calls for an account at auction.cosl.org, a United States address and identification verified by a third-party vendor, and a card on file that is charged only if you win.

Sale format and venue
The Woodruff County catalog for the September 3, 2026 sale carries 30 parcels, with four further entries cancelled before the sale. Minimum bids run from $189.01 to $3,068.72, and most of the list is small town lots in Cotton Plant, Augusta and Patterson, plus a few acreage tracts including one lying east of the White River. Each entry shows the owner, legal description, parcel number, recorded interested parties and the tax amount that sets the minimum bid, and the interested parties on this list include a federal small business agency, the state workforce agency and a consumer lender, so read that column before bidding. The live session has no online bidding component, so a buyer or an agent has to be in the room in Searcy. Redemption stays open until 4:00 p.m. Central the last business day before the sale, and sales are final once the auction begins. The winner receives a limited warranty deed conveying only the interest the state held, with no guarantee of usability, accessibility, existence or clear title, and city liens, improvement district taxes and property owner association fees generally survive the sale. A 90-day litigation period follows the deed, so hold off on major improvements until it closes. Parcels that draw no qualifying bid move to the Commissioner's online post-auction sale 30 days after the live auction at auction.cosl.org, where the first $100 per parcel is charged to a card at purchase and the balance is due within 10 business days. Questions about the auction go to the Commissioner's real estate office at 501-324-9422.

Woodruff County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Woodruff 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 Public Auction Catalog, Woodruff County parcel list and sale date for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.
  2. Register to bid

    Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.
  3. Sale day

    Once a year in early September, at 10:00 a.m. Central. 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.
  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. Woodruff County holds no tax sale of its own: the County Collector bills the taxes, advertises the delinquent list and certifies unredeemed parcels to the Commissioner, who catalogs them, auctions them in a regional session and issues the deed. as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Woodruff County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Public Auction Catalog, Woodruff County parcel list and sale date. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.
  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Registration opens one hour before the 10:00 a.m. start, 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. The minimum bid is the taxes, interest, penalty and costs due as of the sale date, shown beside each parcel, and the purchase price is that minimum plus any competitive bidding. The winner pays in full immediately after the auction, in the exact amount, by personal or business check, cashier's check, money order, or credit or debit card, with a 4 percent non-refundable processing fee on card payments. Cash is not accepted and nobody is given extra time to reach a bank, so arrive with payment ready. Bidding in the online post-auction sale instead calls for an account at auction.cosl.org, a United States address and identification verified by a third-party vendor, and a card on file that is charged only if you win.

  3. 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.
  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

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.

Commissioner of State Lands post-auction sales (search by county)

New to this path? Read how over-the-counter purchases work.

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County offices

Tax sale office

Woodruff County Collector

(870) 347-5152

500 North 3rd Street, Augusta, AR 72006

Official website

County notes

  • Arkansas runs tax sales at the state level. The Woodruff County Collector bills and advertises delinquent taxes, then certifies unredeemed parcels to the Commissioner of State Lands, who sets the auction date, publishes the parcel list, conducts the sale and issues the deed.
  • Woodruff County parcels are auctioned in Searcy rather than in Augusta, alongside Independence, Jackson and White county parcels in one 10:00 a.m. session, so a bidder chasing a single Woodruff lot should plan for a long call list before it comes up.
  • The county keeps no tax sale calendar of its own. Work from the Public Auction Catalog at cosl.org for the live sale, watch auction.cosl.org for parcels that go unsold, search the county's legal notices at arkansaspublicnotices.com, and call the Woodruff County Collector at (870) 347-5152 for what a specific parcel currently owes.

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.
Governing statute
Ark. Code Ann. Title 26, Chapter 37

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 Arkansasrules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Woodruff County, Arkansas sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax deeds. Arkansas sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the Commissioner of State Lands sells the property itself at a public tax sale.

How often does Woodruff County hold tax deed sales?

Woodruff County holds its tax deed sale once a year. Once a year in early September, at 10:00 a.m. Central. 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. Arkansas's redemption rule: Until 4:00 p.m. Central time on the last business day before the sale date. There is no redemption after the sale. Call the Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. Woodruff County holds no tax sale of its own: the County Collector bills the taxes, advertises the delinquent list and certifies unredeemed parcels to the Commissioner, who catalogs them, auctions them in a regional session and issues the deed. 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 Woodruff County tax sale list?

Woodruff County posts its tax sale list at cosl.org. 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 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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