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Tax Sale Atlas

San Juan County, CO tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the San Juan County, CO tax sale, one of 3,131 counties in 51 states. Colorado sells tax lien certificates paying up to 13%. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the county’s own official pages on Oct 12, 2026.

How tax lien and tax deed sales work in San Juan County, seat of Silverton: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how Colorado tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

Next tax deed sale
There is no fixed calendar.
Format
In person
Registration
What sells is a certificate of option for treasurer's deed, not the parcel outright.
County office
970-387-5488
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Oct 12, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page
Look up a sale detail

County Treasurer. on application

Record quality: high. Last verified: 2026-10-12.

C.R.S. 39-11.5-102 - Application for public auction (source accessed 2026-07-29)

Recorded reference information. Verify current sale conditions with the county. Read the full sale details.

Link to this detail

How San Juan County sells delinquent taxes

Tax certificate sale (lien)

In person
Run by
San Juan County Treasurer and Public Trustee
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Held annually in November at the County Courthouse.
Registration
Bidders register in person on sale day at the courthouse.
Next expected
by the second Monday in December, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
Tax Lien Sale notice and delinquent tax schedule
When it runs
Held annually in November at the County Courthouse. The county's public notice for the most recent sale reads: "Notice is hereby given that I will, according to law, offer at Public Sale at the County Courthouse building 1557 Greene Street, San Juan County and State of Colorado, on the 19th day of November A.D., 2025, commencing at the hour of 10:00 a.m. of said day." The courtroom doors open at 9:00 a.m. and, per the county, "the sale begins promptly at 10:00 a.m." The page currently carries the header "Public Notice - All Properties Sold on 11/19/2025," so the next year's date is not yet posted. Confirm the current date with the Treasurer's Office.
Registration and deposit

Bidders register in person on sale day at the courthouse. The county issues one investor number per account and hands each investor an updated list at registration. No deposit is required before the sale. Cash, cashier's checks and personal checks are accepted, and payment for all bids must reach the Treasurer's Office no later than 3:00 p.m. on the day of sale. A transaction is not complete until the bidder card is returned. Seating is capped at 100 participants with no reserved seats, first come first served. County officials, employees, immediate family members and their agents may not purchase a lien under C.R.S. 39-11-151.

Sale format and venue
San Juan County runs its tax lien sale as a live, in person auction in the County Courthouse courtroom at 1557 Greene Street, Silverton. There is no online bidding platform and no online registration portal, so treat any third party site that appears to offer online bidding for this county with caution and verify with the Treasurer's Office. Bidding is premium style: the county opens each parcel at the taxes due and states that "the highest bidder will get the lien," taking one property at a time in the published list sequence. The Treasurer's published notice set redemption interest for the 2025 sale at 14% per annum, and the county explains the annual rate is set by statute at nine points above the Federal Discount Rate as of September 1, with current rate information available from the office after September 1. Certificate holders may pay subsequent years' unpaid taxes at the same rate of return, with endorsement payments accepted annually after August 1 up to two business days before the annual sale. A certificate holder applying for a Treasurer's Deed pays a $75.00 application fee plus a $300.00 deposit for costs and fees, and the owner may redeem up to the date the deed issues. The county stresses that buying a lien conveys no right of possession, use, improvement or access, and that buyers must rely on their own inspection of the property records. Delinquent tax schedules are published in the Silverton Standard, posted on the county tax sale page, and posted in the County Courthouse building. In person, live oral auction in the courtroom at the San Juan County Courthouse
Source: San Juan County Treasurer and Public Trustee, Tax Lien Sale· Verified Oct 12, 2026

Tax deed sale

Run by
County Treasurer
Frequency
on application
Typical timing
There is no fixed calendar.
Registration
What sells is a certificate of option for treasurer's deed, not the parcel outright.
When it runs
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.

Sale format and venue
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.
Source: C.R.S. 39-11.5-102 - Application for public auctionC.R.S. 39-11.5-102· Verified Jul 29, 2026

San Juan County tax sale list and auction calendar

For San Juan 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. If the parcels on this list are vacant land rather than houses, what buying land at a tax sale hands you is the place to start.

  1. Confirm the advertised parcel list

    Use Tax Lien Sale notice and delinquent tax schedule as a starting reference. Check which sale or list it covers; a Lands Available or office information page is separate from an auction parcel list. Ask the sale office for the advertised parcels for the auction you plan to attend.

  2. Register to bid

    What sells is a certificate of option for treasurer's deed, not the parcel outright. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    There is no fixed calendar. The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the County Treasurer before you go.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use the County Treasurer as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in San Juan County

  1. Confirm the parcel list before pricing

    Open Tax Lien Sale notice and delinquent tax schedule. Confirm whether this reference contains the auction parcels or covers a different list. Get the advertised parcel list from the county before you price a bid, and recheck it before the sale.

  2. Confirm 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.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Colorado due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth. Which liens survive is state law, so read what survives a tax deed in Colorado before you price the title work.

  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

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. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Colorado calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)

San Juan County Treasurer and Public Trustee

970-387-5488

County Courthouse, 1557 Greene St, Silverton, CO 81433. Mailing: PO Box 368, Silverton, CO 81433

Official website

County notes

  • San Juan County is Colorado's smallest county by population and its tax lien sale is a small, in person event; the courtroom seats 100 participants and no seats are reserved.
  • The Treasurer and Public Trustee is a combined office. The same office handles Public Trustee foreclosure sales, which are held at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays on the east steps of the County Courthouse, so do not confuse those with the annual tax lien sale.
  • Email for the office is treasurer@sanjuancolorado.us; the fax number listed on the Treasurer page is 970-387-8046.
  • The Treasurer's page links investor education on the Colorado Treasurer's Deed process, including a slide deck titled "Treasurers Deed Process: What Investors Need to Know" and a video on the new Treasurer's Deed process for tax lien investors.
  • Property tax payments run through a separate billing portal at billpay.forte.net/sanjuancocotax, which is for paying taxes, not for bidding at the lien sale.

Colorado rules

Max interest rate
13% per year, set by statute (bidding is on price)
Minimum return
No statutory minimum return; what you earn is set by the price at the sale
Redemption
Redemption may be made at any time before a treasurer's deed is executed, so the practical window runs past the three-year mark and into the Article 11.5 process. Once a deed application is pending, the owner must file an intent to redeem with the treasurer no later than seven calendar days before the scheduled public auction, then pay the amount on the redemption statement while it is in effect, and must redeem the entire property. The auction itself is set 30 to 60 calendar days after the treasurer mails the notice of public auction. A separate rule lets an owner who was under a legal disability when a tax deed was executed under Article 11 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 deposit up to one thousand dollars plus statutory fees when the application is accepted, applied against the treasurer's fees and costs, and all Article 11.5 fees and costs are chargeable as additional amounts owing under the certificate of purchase. A third-party winner may be charged up to three hundred dollars for processing. The statute sets no bidder deposit percentage, so payment terms come from the treasurer's written auction policies.
Surplus proceeds
Junior lienors whose liens were recorded before the application for treasurer's deed may file a claim for overbid money within eight business days after the auction. Between the ninth and fifteenth business day the overbid is paid to them in order of recording priority, each up to the unpaid lien plus fees and costs, and whatever remains goes to the property owner. The treasurer mails the owner a notice within thirty days after the claim period ends. Unclaimed overbid stays in escrow for two years without interest to the claimant. Amounts under twenty-five dollars left unclaimed for six months go to the county general fund, and larger amounts left unclaimed for two years go to the state treasurer as unclaimed property. An agreement to pay someone to recover an unclaimed overbid is enforceable only if the fee is capped at ten percent and the agreement is made at least two years after the transfer.
Governing statute
C.R.S. Title 39, Article 11

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 Colorado rules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does San Juan County, Colorado sell tax liens or tax deeds?

San Juan County follows Colorado's tax lien state system.

When is the San Juan County tax certificate sale?

Held annually in November at the County Courthouse. The county's public notice for the most recent sale reads: "Notice is hereby given that I will, according to law, offer at Public Sale at the County Courthouse building 1557 Greene Street, San Juan County and State of Colorado, on the 19th day of November A.D., 2025, commencing at the hour of 10:00 a.m. of said day." The courtroom doors open at 9:00 a.m. and, per the county, "the sale begins promptly at 10:00 a.m." The page currently carries the header "Public Notice - All Properties Sold on 11/19/2025," so the next year's date is not yet posted. Confirm the current date with the Treasurer's Office. The sale is held in person. Always confirm the exact date with the County Treasurer before the sale.

How often does San Juan County hold tax deed sales?

San Juan County tax deed sale schedule: on application. There is no fixed calendar. 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. Colorado's redemption rule: About 3 years: the certificate holder cannot apply for the treasurer's deed until after August 1 of the third calendar year following the tax lien sale. Call the County Treasurer 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 San Juan County tax sale list?

The recorded official list reference is at sanjuancounty.colorado.gov. Check whether it covers auction parcels, office information or Lands Available, then obtain the advertised parcel list for the sale you plan to bid on. Confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement.

Verified Oct 12, 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 office that runs the sale before you bid.

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Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

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Call San Juan County Treasurer and Public Trustee