Rio Grande County, CO tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Rio Grande County, seat of Del Norte: 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 Rio Grande County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Rio Grande County Treasurer & Public Trustee
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual tax lien sale each November. The Treasurer's 2026 calendar lists "TAX SALE ... NOVEMBER 17, 2026", with advertising on "OCTOBER 14, 21, 28, 2026" and "LAST DAY TO PAY WITHOUT ADVERTISING ... SEPTEMBER 30, 2026". The county's tax lien page states the county "conducts an annual tax lien sale, usually held in November, and managed by the Rio Grande County Treasurer." The prior year's published notice set the sale for November 18, 2025 at 9:00 a.m.
- Next expected
- by the second Monday in December, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Bidding happens in person at the sale. The county publishes no online bidder registration form and no online bidding portal, so contact the Treasurer's office at 719-657-2747 to confirm bidder paperwork and funding requirements before the sale date. The published notice states the Treasurer offers a tax lien on each lot, tract or parcel to the person who pays the taxes, interest, advertising and other charges due, and delivers a Certificate of Purchase. Certificates carry a three-year redemption period, and holders receive an endorsement letter each year after August 1 so they can pay subsequent taxes on liens they hold.
Rio Grande County runs its tax lien sale in person rather than online. The published sale notice placed the most recent sale in the Community Meeting Room at the Rio Grande County Annex in Del Norte, starting at 9:00 a.m. and continuing on succeeding days. No online auction platform is confirmed for this county, so verify the format, location and start time with the Treasurer's office before traveling. The 2024 delinquent list ran 312 parcels across 8 published pages. The county's Public Auction Procedures page has no content published yet, so treasurer's deed public auction mechanics under Colorado House Bill 24-1056 should be confirmed by phone. The Treasurer's Deed application fee rose to $1,100 as of January 1, 2025, and all current taxes and junior tax liens must be endorsed with the application.
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)
Rio Grande County Treasurer & Public Trustee
925 6th Street, Room 103, Del Norte, CO 81132 (mailing address: P.O. Box 129, Del Norte, CO 81132)
Official websiteNotes for Rio Grande County
- Tax notices mail during the third week of January, and delinquent notices go out the first week of July.
- Taxes are payable in one lump sum due April 30 or in two equal installments due February 28 and June 15. Interest accrues at 1 percent per month once a deadline passes.
- Unpaid balances as of September 30 are advertised in the San Luis Valley Journal, and the advertising cost is added to the amount a bidder must pay at the sale.
- The Treasurer's 2026 calendar sets June 26, 2026 as the date delinquent notices mail and August 1, 2026 as the first day to endorse certificates.
- Certificate holders get an endorsement letter each year after August 1 listing the liens they hold. The Treasurer's office recommends paying subsequent taxes to protect the position.
- Redemption runs three years from the sale date before a certificate holder can apply for a treasurer's deed. The office states that lien assignments are final and are not refunded, and that Colorado is a buyer-beware state where bidders do their own due diligence.
- The Treasurer also serves as Public Trustee. Public trustee foreclosure sales are held Wednesday mornings and are a separate process from the tax lien sale.
- The 2026 calendar also lists a separate mobile home tax sale in early November alongside personal property distraint dates. Confirm the mobile home sale date with the office, because the published sequence of mobile home deadlines looks inconsistent.
- The office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., including the lunch hour, and closes for legal holidays set by the Board of County Commissioners.
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 Rio Grande County, Colorado sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Rio Grande County follows Colorado's tax lien state system.
When is the Rio Grande County tax certificate sale?
- Annual tax lien sale each November. The Treasurer's 2026 calendar lists "TAX SALE ... NOVEMBER 17, 2026", with advertising on "OCTOBER 14, 21, 28, 2026" and "LAST DAY TO PAY WITHOUT ADVERTISING ... SEPTEMBER 30, 2026". The county's tax lien page states the county "conducts an annual tax lien sale, usually held in November, and managed by the Rio Grande County Treasurer." The prior year's published notice set the sale for November 18, 2025 at 9:00 a.m.. 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 Rio Grande 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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