Custer County, CO tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Custer County, seat of Westcliffe: 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 Custer County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Custer County Treasurer / Public Trustee
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The Treasurer's page announces "November 18, 2026 Tax Lien Sale at 8:30 AM". The office lists "Holding annual tax lien sales to gather outstanding tax monies which are due" among its duties, so plan on a November sale date each year and confirm the exact date with the office.
- Next expected
- by the second Monday in December, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
The county posts no bidder registration form or instructions online. Contact the Treasurer's office at 719-783-2341 or [email protected] ahead of the sale to register and to confirm what identification, taxpayer paperwork, and funds are required. Note the office is open Monday through Thursday only.
The Custer County Treasurer / Public Trustee sells tax lien certificates on delinquent property taxes. The office announces a single sale date and a morning start time on its own page but names no online auction platform, so no platform is confirmed for this county and the format should be verified directly with the office. The county publishes no delinquent or sale list on its website; the site index and site search return no tax lien sale, delinquent tax, or auction page beyond the Treasurer's own page, so request the sale list from the Treasurer. Third party auction websites carry "notice of sale" listings describing a live Custer County tax lien sale. Those listings advertise the county sale rather than conduct it, so register and bid through the Treasurer's office, not through a third party site. Keep the Treasurer's tax lien sale separate from the Public Trustee foreclosure auctions run by the same combined office; the county lists the next Public Trustee auction date as not yet set.
Tax 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)
Custer County Treasurer / Public Trustee
Custer County Courthouse, 205 S 6th Street, PO Box 209, Westcliffe, CO 81252
Official websiteNotes for Custer County
- Treasurer is Virginia Trujillo. Fax is 719-783-0163, marked attention Treasurer. Email is [email protected].
- Office hours are Monday through Thursday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The four day week matters if you need bidder paperwork or a payoff figure before the sale.
- Mail goes to PO Box 209, Westcliffe, CO 81252. The counter is at the Custer County Courthouse, 205 S 6th Street, Westcliffe.
- Property tax deadlines posted by the county: first half due the last day of February (extended to March 9 for 2026), full payment due the last day of April if paying in one installment, second half due June 15. The county asks that you call the Treasurer before paying property taxes after September 1.
- Tax statements and payment history are available through the county's CTAS Web Portal at https://co1467.cichosting.com/CTASWebPortal/. Online tax payments run through https://payments.municipay.com/co_custer/search.
- The Treasurer's page also carries individual treasurer's deed notices to interested parties for specific certificates, which is where a certificate holder's deed application surfaces publicly.
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 Custer County, Colorado sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Custer County follows Colorado's tax lien state system.
When is the Custer County tax certificate sale?
- The Treasurer's page announces "November 18, 2026 Tax Lien Sale at 8:30 AM". The office lists "Holding annual tax lien sales to gather outstanding tax monies which are due" among its duties, so plan on a November sale date each year and confirm the exact date with the office.. 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 Custer 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.
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