Delaware Redeemable Tax Deed Sales
Delaware sells redeemable deeds carrying a 15% penalty in the first year under 9 Del. C. Chapter 87. Tax Sale Atlas holds the sale calendar, auction platform and list locations for all 3 Delaware counties, each read from the county’s own official pages and checked against the statute on Sep 25, 2026.
Delaware sells redeemable deeds through a court-supervised sheriff sale, not tax lien certificates. Read more…
The county tax collecting authority files a praecipe with the Prothonotary of the Superior Court, the delinquent taxes are entered as a judgment against the parcel, and the sheriff posts a monition on the property warning that it will be sold unless the judgment is paid within 20 days. After that the Prothonotary issues a writ of venditioni exponas and the county sheriff sells the parcel at public auction to the highest bidder. The Superior Court then approves or sets aside the sale, and the owner has 60 days from that approval to redeem by paying the purchaser the purchase price plus 15 percent and all costs. If nobody redeems, the purchaser petitions the Superior Court for an order directing the sheriff to deliver a deed, which vests the owner's title freed and discharged from liens and encumbrances.
Rules verified Sep 25, 2026 against Delaware Statutes.
- Sale type
- Redeemable deed
- Maximum rate
- 15%
- Redemption
- 60 days after approval
- Auction method
- premium bid
On this page
Tax deed sales
The deed process can lead to property ownership. Confirm the steps below, the interest conveyed, and the title and possession requirements for the parcel. If the parcels you are bidding on are vacant land rather than houses, see what buying land at a tax sale hands you.
Runs afterThe tax collecting authority files a praecipe in the Prothonotary's office naming the assessed owner, the tax bills and the property. More…
The Prothonotary enters the amount as a judgment on a special judgment docket, then on a further praecipe issues a monition to the sheriff. The sheriff posts the monition on a prominent part of the property and returns it within 10 days; the posting is notice to the owner and everyone with an interest. If the judgment and costs are not paid within 20 days after the sheriff's return, the Prothonotary issues a writ of venditioni exponas commanding the sheriff to expose the property to public sale. For parcels with an unknown owner for more than 5 continuous years the county may proceed without the owner-notice steps it cannot perform.
Run byThe county sheriff (New Castle, Kent or Sussex) conducts the sale under a writ of venditioni exponas issued by the Prothonotary of the Superior Court, on the application of the county tax collecting authority: the Chief Financial Officer (Office of Finance) in New Castle County, the Receiver of Taxes and County Treasurer in Kent County, and the Director of Finance in Sussex County. More…
There is no shared outside law firm or auction contractor, and no online bidding platform.
DepositNo statutory deposit. County rules require payment in full for tax sales. More…
New Castle County: $10,000 in certified funds at registration to get a bidder card, and for a Vend Exp Monition (tax) sale 100 percent of the bid or $10,000, whichever is greater, due at the time of sale; cash is not accepted. Sussex County: a $4,000 deposit in cash or certified funds to register, and 100 percent of the monition purchase price due by 3:00 p.m. on the day of sale. Kent County: $2,000 in certified funds per property at the time of bidding, with the balance due to the Sheriff's Office by 2:00 p.m. that day.
Balance dueSame day. New Castle County and Sussex County collect 100 percent on the day of a tax sale, and Kent County collects the balance by 2:00 p.m. on the sale day. More…
New Castle County charges a $500 late fee against the deposit where final payment is late and may suspend the bidder.
Surplus proceedsSubchapter II (the monition method) contains no surplus section of its own. More…
In the other two routes the statute is explicit: after an attachment sale in New Castle County the sheriff pays the judgment, interest and costs, then lienholders who were served with notice in priority order, then the former owner (9 Del. C. 8757); after a Kent or Sussex Subchapter IV sale the remainder is paid at once to the owner or banked to the owner's credit (9 Del. C. 8779). For monition sales the sheriff distributes proceeds under Superior Court supervision: New Castle County tells lienholders and owners to contact the Sheriff's Office about excess proceeds and sends proceeds unclaimed after 90 days to the Prothonotary, and the Superior Court publishes unclaimed sheriff's sale excess proceeds lists for each county. Verify the claim procedure with the county sheriff.
Confirm marketability and insurance requirements with a title professional. Budget any title-clearing work and delays before relying on a resale. See the due diligence guide, or check what survives a tax deed in Delaware.
Redemption, delinquency, and over-the-counter at a glance
Redemption
How longThe clock starts at court approval, not at the auction. More…
After the sheriff returns the writ, the Superior Court inquires into the regularity of the proceedings and approves the sale or sets it aside. County offices schedule that confirmation about a month after the sale (New Castle and Sussex: the first Friday after the third Monday of the month following the sale), so the owner's window in practice closes about three months after the auction. Sussex County tells buyers that access to a monition property is not granted until the 60 days after confirmation have run. If the purchaser refuses payment or cannot be found in the county, the owner may pay the amount into the Court. After redeeming, the owner may petition to have the redemption noted on the judgment record and then holds the parcel subject to the same liens as before the sale, except as the sale proceeds reduced them.
Delinquency
How it startsCounty real estate taxes are due July 1 in New Castle and Sussex Counties and June 1 in Kent County. More…
New Castle County adds a 6 percent penalty after September 1 plus 1 percent a month on the unpaid principal, and must send at least one written demand by December 15 warning that legal proceedings follow if the taxes are not paid in December; proceedings may start on or after January 1. Kent and Sussex add 1.5 percent a month after September 30. Taxes are a lien on the real estate for 10 years from July 1 of the levy year, and for as long as the assessed owner still holds the parcel; in Kent and Sussex the lien has priority over all other liens, and priority in every county is otherwise as given in Title 25. A monition may be filed only while the tax is still a lien on the property.
Over-the-counter
How to buyDelaware has no over-the-counter sale of tax-sale property and no county-held certificate list. More…
Chapter 87 provides none. What it provides instead is re-sale: if the county does not approve the final bid at a monition sale it may expose the property to as many further sales as it chooses (9 Del. C. 8726), and if the Superior Court sets a sale aside another sale may follow. In New Castle County, County Council may authorize an agent to bid in for the County at no more than the amounts owed to it, and title then goes to New Castle County (9 Del. C. 8753); any later disposal of that property is a County matter outside Chapter 87.
Governing statutes
All 3 Delaware counties
Sales are organized by county. Search your city or county and compare the available sale details. Where deed-sale formats are listed, filter for online or in-person sales. Certificate platforms appear where that sale type is available.
Frequently asked questions
Does Delaware sell tax liens or tax deeds?
What does a Delaware tax sale buyer earn if the owner redeems?
How long is the redemption period in Delaware?
Learn before you bid
How Delaware tax sales work
The statute, the sale, and the deadlines, for Delaware specifically.
How to buy tax sales in Delaware
The step-by-step process for this state, from registration to redemption.
Redemption periods explained
How long owners have to buy back, and what it means for your yield.
Due diligence before a tax sale
Value a parcel before you bid so you never buy a landlocked write-off.
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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