Adams County, CO tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Adams County, seat of Brighton: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
Verified Jul 30, 2026 against official county and state sources.
New here? Read how Colorado tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How Adams County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Adams County Treasurer & Public Trustee
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Late October, held online over roughly two weeks. The county Tax Lien Sale page states: "The Adams County Tax Lien Sale is an internet tax sale. The 2025 Live Tax Lien Sale will be held October 20 to 31, 2025. This is for 2024 taxes payable in 2025." The published sale notice set registration for October 13 through October 24, 2025, with bidding open October 20 through October 31, 2025. As of late July 2026 the county had not yet posted dates for the next sale; the page says information for the current year's sale becomes available in mid-October.
- Next expected
- by the second Monday in December, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Register online at adams.coloradotaxsale.com. The county notice states registration and the placing of the deposit are done online at the tax lien sale website, and that for the 2025 sale registration opened October 13 and had to be completed by October 24, 2025. Each buyer completes an online form with name, address, telephone number and Social Security number, which is used for certificates and for refund and redemption ACH payments. An auction participation fee of $12.00 per lien applies and is nonrefundable. Bidding and modification of bids stay open until the closing hour on the final day of the sale.
Bidding is by premium (the county calls them bonus bids). Premiums paid on liens are nonrefundable and do not accrue interest. Each parcel is offered under Title 39, Article 11 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, and the published sequence is followed as closely as practical. Redemption interest on 2025 certificates was set at 14% per annum under C.R.S. 39-12-103, with partial months counted as a full month; the separate 8% rate cited in the notice applies only to wrongfully sold liens under C.R.S. 39-12-111. Three years after the certificate date, an unredeemed certificate holder may apply to the Treasurer for a Treasurer's Deed; the application takes a $1,250.00 certified check as a deposit against costs, applications may be filed three calendar months before the third anniversary, and processing normally runs five to seven months. Subsequent-year taxes are endorsed (sub-taxed), which the county notes normally happens after August 1 because redemption interest accrues from that date. County officials and employees, their immediate family, and their agents may not buy at the sale. The Treasurer also publishes an unredeemed tax lien list and a county-held lien list, and runs a separate mobile home tax sale with its own notice and listing files. The list URL above is the year-specific advertised list; check the Tax Lien Sale page for the current year's replacement.
Register on RealAuctionTax deed sale
- Run by
- County Treasurer
- Frequency
- on application
- Typical timing
- There is no fixed calendar. A public auction is scheduled only when a certificate holder applies for one, at least three years after the tax lien sale, and the treasurer must hold it between 110 and 125 calendar days after the known interested party notice is first published or mailed.
Registration and deposit
What sells is a certificate of option for treasurer's deed, not the parcel outright. The treasurer may only accept bids above the combined amount owed to the lawful holder plus the treasurer's fees and costs. County officials, county employees acting in their individual capacity, and their immediate family members may not bid. Payment is by cash, cashier's check, bank check, or electronic funds transfer subject to the treasurer's bidding rules. Any overbid goes to junior lienors who filed a notice of intent to redeem and then to the property owner. Confirm the notice, the bidding rules, and the auction venue with the county treasurer.
This Article 11.5 process replaced direct deed issuance on July 1, 2024. Colorado does not hold a routine calendar tax deed sale, so treat this as an occasional, application-driven auction rather than a recurring event.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
Liens that draw no bid are struck off to the county and the treasurer issues the county a certificate of purchase. The county may then assign, sell, or transfer those certificates in the manner, at the times, and on the terms set by resolution of the board of county commissioners, which is how county-held liens are sold between annual auctions. A certificate on property owing more than ten thousand dollars in taxes needs the property tax administrator's approval after published notice. Whether a county maintains a published county-held list, and on what terms, varies. Contact the county treasurer.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Adams County Treasurer & Public Trustee
720.523.6160 (tax lien sales); 303.659.2120 (Treasurer main)
4430 South Adams County Parkway, Brighton, Colorado 80601
Official websiteNotes for Adams County
- Adams County runs its lien sale entirely online through Realauction's RealTaxLien platform at adams.coloradotaxsale.com; the site's own page title and footer identify Realauction.com as the operator.
- The Treasurer's sale notice is signed by Alexander Villagran, Adams County Treasurer & Public Trustee, and is published in the Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel (three insertions in September and early October for the 2025 sale).
- The Treasurer's separate tax lien sales phone line is 720.523.6160; the general Treasurer & Public Trustee number is 303.659.2120 (toll free 800.824.7842).
- The auction site requires a login for bidding rules and preview documents, so registration and rule detail come from the county's published notice.
Colorado statewide rules
- Redemption
- Redemption may be made at any time before a treasurer's deed is executed, so the practical window runs well past the three-year mark and through the Article 11.5 auction process. The treasurer must hold that public auction between 110 and 125 calendar days after the known interested party notice is first published or mailed, which gives owners and junior lienors a further defined period to pay. A separate rule lets an owner who was under a legal disability when the deed was executed redeem within nine years of the deed being recorded, at 15 percent per year plus the present value of any improvements.
- Deed deposit
- The treasurer may require the applying lawful holder to post a deposit covering the recording fee plus the actual and reasonable cost of administering the auction, and all Article 11.5 fees and costs are chargeable as additional amounts owing under the tax lien. For bidders, the treasurer accepts cash, cashier's check, bank check, or electronic funds transfer subject to the treasurer's bidding rules. The statute sets no fixed bidder deposit percentage, so the deposit terms come from county bidding rules.
- Surplus proceeds
- Any overbid goes first to junior lienors in order of recording priority, measured as of the recording date of the application for public auction, who filed a notice of intent to redeem and whose liens are unredeemed, up to each lien's unpaid amount plus fees and costs. Whatever remains is paid to the property owner. The treasurer must post a public notice about these funds and mail the owner a notice within thirty calendar days of the auction. Unclaimed remaining overbids sit in escrow for six months without interest, then transfer to the state administrator under the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. An agreement to pay someone to recover an owner's overbid is unenforceable, and inducing one is a class 2 misdemeanor.
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 Adams County, Colorado sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Adams County follows Colorado's tax lien state system.
When is the Adams County tax certificate sale?
- Late October, held online over roughly two weeks. The county Tax Lien Sale page states: "The Adams County Tax Lien Sale is an internet tax sale. The 2025 Live Tax Lien Sale will be held October 20 to 31, 2025. This is for 2024 taxes payable in 2025." The published sale notice set registration for October 13 through October 24, 2025, with bidding open October 20 through October 31, 2025. As of late July 2026 the county had not yet posted dates for the next sale; the page says information for the current year's sale becomes available in mid-October.. 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 Adams County hold tax deed sales?
- on application. 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.
Explore all 64 Colorado counties
Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.