Lake County, CO tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Lake County, seat of Leadville: 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 Lake County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Lake County Treasurer's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The county's Important Dates page states "The annual tax lien sale is held in End of October / Early November". Unpaid real property taxes are advertised in a local newspaper for three consecutive weeks starting in mid-September, and delinquent notices go out in July. For the most recent posted cycle the Treasurer opened bidder registration on October 9, 2025 and opened pre-bidding on November 5, 2025 at 8:00 AM Mountain Time.
- Next expected
- by the second Monday in December, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
- Sale list
- Tax lien sale advertising list (PDF)
Registration and deposit
Registration and bidding are handled online through GovEase. Create a bidder account at govease.com and sign in at liveauctions.govease.com/Account/Login. The county notes bidders can use any device and can enter maximum bids ahead of the sale. GovEase bidder support is at [email protected] or (769) 208-5050 ext. 2, with training material at govease.com/bidderhelp. The Treasurer's page does not publish a deposit amount or W-9 requirement, so confirm those with the office or on the GovEase registration form.
Lake County sells its tax lien certificates online through GovEase, not at the courthouse. The advertising list is a 26 page PDF of parcels with account number, owner, legal description and total due; the same list is published in the Leadville Herald Democrat. Separately, under Colorado HB24-1056 the county now auctions treasurer's deeds rather than issuing them automatically, and the county states that live deed auction takes place at the Lake County Treasurer's Office at 505 Harrison Avenue, Leadville. Treat those as two different events: the certificate sale is online, the treasurer's deed auction is in person. A certificate holder may apply for a treasurer's deed three years after the sale date if the lien has not been redeemed, and the county requires a $1,000 application deposit. Liens that draw no bidder are struck off to the county and can be bought over the counter from the Treasurer; the county describes these as mostly unbuildable strips or low value parcels and calls it a buyer beware purchase. One caution on timing: the county's Delinquent Tax Lien Sale page still carries an older tentative October 24, 2024 online sale date, while the registration page carries the newer GovEase schedule, so verify the current year's exact sale date and pre-bidding window with the Treasurer before committing funds.
Register on GovEaseTax 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)
Notes for Lake County
- Padraic Smith is the Lake County Treasurer. The office also serves as Public Trustee. Office hours are listed as Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, closed major holidays. Direct line 719-486-4104, fax 719-486-8189. The Treasurer page lists a P.O. Box 276 mailing address while the county-held certificate page lists P.O. Box 964, so confirm the correct mailing box before sending payment.
- Delinquent tax notices are mailed in July, unpaid real property taxes are advertised for three consecutive weeks beginning mid-September, and the sale follows at the end of October or early November.
- County-held certificates are available over the counter. The Treasurer publishes a county-held certificate report and asks buyers for the exact name for the certificate, a Social Security number, and a correct mailing address.
- The county publishes an interactive tax lien map through its GIS viewer alongside the sale list.
- Estimated total cost of taking a treasurer's deed through to completion is roughly $1,000 once the ownership and encumbrance search, publication, recording, processing and posting fees are combined.
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 Lake County, Colorado sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Lake County follows Colorado's tax lien state system.
When is the Lake County tax certificate sale?
- The county's Important Dates page states "The annual tax lien sale is held in End of October / Early November". Unpaid real property taxes are advertised in a local newspaper for three consecutive weeks starting in mid-September, and delinquent notices go out in July. For the most recent posted cycle the Treasurer opened bidder registration on October 9, 2025 and opened pre-bidding on November 5, 2025 at 8:00 AM Mountain Time.. 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 Lake 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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