Kent County, DE tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Kent County, DE tax sale, one of 2,957 counties in 40 states. Delaware sells redeemable deeds carrying a 15% penalty in the first year. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the county’s own official pages on Sep 26, 2026.
How tax deed sales work in Kent County, seat of Dover: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Delaware tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Format
- In person
- County office
- 302-736-2161
On this page
How Kent County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Kent County Sheriff's Office, selling on monitions obtained by the Kent County Department of Finance (Receiver of Taxes)
- Frequency
- annual
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Register in person on the sale morning at the Sheriff's Office, 555 Bay Road, Dover: complete the Sheriff's registration form and show a valid driver's license or photo ID to receive a bidder number. The Sheriff's current rules call for a $4,000 nonrefundable deposit per property purchased, by cashier's check, certified check or money order payable to the Kent County Sheriff, and registration closes promptly at 9:45 a.m. For a monition sale, 100 percent of the winning bid less the deposit is due at the Sheriff's Office by 2:00 p.m. the same day; the balance may be paid by personal or business check. The Finance Department's page still quotes a $2,000 deposit, so confirm the amount with the Sheriff at 302-736-2161 before the sale.
Sale format and venue
Kent County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Kent 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.
Get the advertised list
Use Kent County Sheriff sales listing (CivilView) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.Sale day
The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the county office before you go.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Kent County Sheriff's Office, selling on monitions obtained by the Kent County Department of Finance (Receiver of Taxes) as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Kent County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Kent County Sheriff sales listing (CivilView). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Register in person on the sale morning at the Sheriff's Office, 555 Bay Road, Dover: complete the Sheriff's registration form and show a valid driver's license or photo ID to receive a bidder number. The Sheriff's current rules call for a $4,000 nonrefundable deposit per property purchased, by cashier's check, certified check or money order payable to the Kent County Sheriff, and registration closes promptly at 9:45 a.m. For a monition sale, 100 percent of the winning bid less the deposit is due at the Sheriff's Office by 2:00 p.m. the same day; the balance may be paid by personal or business check. The Finance Department's page still quotes a $2,000 deposit, so confirm the amount with the Sheriff at 302-736-2161 before the sale.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Delaware 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 Delaware before you price the title work.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.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax sale office
County notes
- Monition tax sales run quarterly, on the last Tuesday of January, April, July and October at 10:00 a.m., at the Kent County Administrative Complex, 555 Bay Road, Dover.
- The Sheriff requires a $4,000 nonrefundable deposit per property in certified funds, with the rest of a monition bid due by 2:00 p.m. on the sale day. The Finance Department's page quotes $2,000, so confirm with the Sheriff at 302-736-2161.
- The owner may redeem for 60 days from the Superior Court's confirmation of the sale, which the county schedules for the month after the auction, by repaying the bid plus 15 percent.
- For monition sale questions, call the Kent County Department of Finance at 302-744-2336.
Delaware rules
- Redemption
- The clock starts at court approval, not at the auction. 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.
- Deed deposit
- No statutory deposit. County rules require payment in full for tax sales. 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.
- Surplus proceeds
- Subchapter II (the monition method) contains no surplus section of its own. 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.
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 Kent County, Delaware sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Kent County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Kent County tax sale list?
Verified Sep 26, 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 county office before you bid.
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