Clarke County, GA tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Clarke County, seat of Athens: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
Verified Jul 27, 2026 against official county and state sources.
New here? Read how Georgia tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How Clarke County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Clarke County Tax Commissioner's Office (Athens-Clarke County Unified Government). The tax commissioner is designated ex officio sheriff and conducts the tax sales.
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Quoting the county: "Tax sales begin at 10:00 a.m. on the first Tuesday of the month, and ordinarily in front of the courthouse." Bidding continues until 4:00 p.m. and, if the sale is not completed, "the sale will resume at 10:00 a.m. the following day." Clarke County does not hold a sale every month. The notice currently posted from the county's tax sale page states: "There will be no tax sale held by the Clarke County Tax Commissioner's Office on July 7, 2026." Check the Tax Sales page before each first Tuesday.
Registration and deposit
No pre-registration, bidder deposit, or online bidder account is published by the county. Bidders attend in person and bid by public outcry, with parcels "typically sold in the order of the legal advertisements." The opening bid equals the taxes due plus costs and the property goes to the highest bidder. Payment of the full bid is due at the time of sale, and the county states it "should be by cashier's or certified check issued or certified by a financial institution insured with the FDIC or FSLIC." The purchaser must give the tax commissioner a current mailing address when tendering payment.
This is an in-person courthouse-steps sale, not an online auction, so there is no bidding platform to register with. Upcoming parcels are advertised for four consecutive weeks in the legal section of the county newspaper, and the county links to the Athens Banner-Herald public notices. The county's own "Online Tax Sale List" link currently resolves to a one-page notice stating no tax sale will be held on July 7, 2026, so treat the sale calendar as event-driven rather than monthly. The buyer takes a redeemable tax deed: the county states the defendant in fi. fa., record owner, mortgagee, security deed holder, or other party with a legal interest has "12 months from the date of sale to redeem the property by paying the tax sale purchaser the price paid at the sale plus interest and other costs as provided by law," and that the purchaser "has the responsibility to foreclose on the redemption rights one year after sale by notice given as provided by law." Excess proceeds are released only to a claimant or a claimant's Georgia-licensed attorney; the office does not accept applications from asset recovery firms. In person, public outcry auction in front of the Athens-Clarke County Courthouse. No online auction platform.
County offices
Notes for Clarke County
- Sales are cried in person on the courthouse steps at 10:00 a.m. on the first Tuesday of the month; there is no GovEase, RealAuction, or Bid4Assets platform for Clarke County.
- A first Tuesday does not guarantee a sale. The county's currently posted advertisement states no tax sale will be held on July 7, 2026.
- Winning bidders pay in full the day of the sale by cashier's or certified check drawn on an FDIC or FSLIC insured institution.
- Parcels are advertised four consecutive weeks in the legal section of the county newspaper (Athens Banner-Herald public notices).
- The deed conveyed is redeemable. The county confirms a 12 month right of redemption and puts the burden on the purchaser to bar redemption by statutory notice after one year.
- Delinquent tax staff listed by the office: Emily Linares, Delinquent Tax Officer; JP Lemay, Tax Commissioner.
- Excess funds claims go through the Tax Commissioner's office and are paid only to a claimant or a Georgia-licensed attorney; unclaimed funds escheat to the state after five years.
Georgia statewide rules
- Redemption
- The right to redeem runs for 12 months from the date of the sale and does not end there. It continues after the year until the tax deed purchaser forecloses it by serving and publishing the statutory barment notice, which cannot be started until 12 months have passed. The purchaser delivers the notice to the sheriff at least 45 days before the redemption deadline named in it, and publishes it once a week for four consecutive weeks in the six months immediately before that deadline. Redemption puts title back in the defendant in fi. fa. subject to the liens that existed at the sale, and the purchaser must execute and record a quitclaim deed. Title under a tax deed recorded on or after July 1, 1996 ripens by prescription four years after recording. Judicial in rem foreclosures under Article 5 run on a different clock: the owner has 60 days after the sale to redeem by paying the minimum bid price into the superior court.
- Deed deposit
- Georgia sets no statewide percentage deposit. A purchaser at a judicial sale may tender cash or a cashier's or certified check drawn for the purchase price and issued or certified by a federally insured financial institution. Counties publish their own payment terms, and many require payment in full at the close of the sale, so confirm the terms with the tax commissioner before bidding.
- Surplus proceeds
- Excess funds left after taxes, costs, and the expenses of the sale belong to the former owner and to recorded lienholders in order of priority. The officer who sold the property must mail notice of the excess funds by first-class mail within 30 days to the record owner at the time of the sale, to the holder of each security deed, and to every other party with a recorded equity interest or claim, and may file an interpleader action in superior court. Funds still unclaimed five years after the sale are paid over to the Georgia Department of Revenue, after which only a court order from an interpleader action releases them.
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 Clarke County, Georgia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Clarke County follows Georgia's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Clarke County hold tax deed sales?
- annual. 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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