Decatur County, GA tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Decatur County, seat of Bainbridge: 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 Decatur County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Decatur County Tax Commissioner (Mark Harrell), acting as ex-officio sheriff
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The Tax Commissioner's Tax Sales page states: "Our real property tax sale will be October 6th, 2026 at 10am." October 6, 2026 is the first Tuesday of October. The county's own sale advertisement uses the standard Georgia formula: "There will be sold for cash or certified funds at public outcry, before the Courthouse steps in Bainbridge, Decatur County, Georgia, on the first Tuesday in October 2025, the same being October 7, 2025" and "The following property will be sold between the legal hours of sale, 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM." Sales are not held every month; recent excess-funds records show sale dates of 10/6/2020, 6/1/2021 and 11/2/2021, all first Tuesdays.
Registration and deposit
No online bidder registration or pre-registration deposit is published on the Tax Commissioner's site. Bidders attend in person and bid by public outcry. The sale advertisement states property is "sold for cash or certified funds at public outcry" and that "At the discretion of the Tax Commissioner's office, payment will be required within two (2) hours after the completion of the tax sale. In the event a bid is not properly paid, the property shall be re-offered at 2:00 PM on the day of the sale, or the following day." The winning bidder also pays for title, all transfer cost, all taxes, advertising cost and recording fees.
Decatur County runs an in-person sale on the courthouse steps in Bainbridge. There is no online auction platform. The advertisement is headed "SHERIFF'S SALE, MARK HARRELL, EX-OFFICIO SHERIFF, STATE OF GEORGIA, COUNTY OF DECATUR" and the levies run "Under and by virtue of certain tax Fi.Fa.'s issued by the Tax Commissioner of Decatur County, Georgia." Real property is sold as a redeemable deed: "Properties are sold under the power of a tax sale deed with specific rights of redemption." The county's Rights of Redemption notice sets the payoff at "the amount paid for the property at tax sale, plus 20% premium for the first year or fraction of a year, plus any taxes paid on the property by the purchaser after the sale, plus any special assessment on the property, and a 10% premium of the amount for each year or fraction of a year, which has elapsed since the date of sale plus costs," redeemable "at any time during the twelve (12) months following the tax sale," citing O.C.G.A. 48-4-42. The notice adds that the deed purchaser "cannot take actual possession of the property during this time" and may not collect rents or make improvements. Sales are buyer beware: "This is a buyer beware sale and all property will be sold as is. The Tax Commissioner makes no warranty, neither expressed nor implied, as to title, and all properties are subject to all recorded covenants, easements, and right of ways." The county runs a separate personal property (mobile home) tax sale, most recently advertised for the first Tuesday in June 2026 (June 2, 2026), and that sale is different: "Personal Property is sold with no right of redemption." An excess funds list and a Petition for Excess Funds form are posted on the same Tax Sales page; the county states petition claim forms are not accepted from third parties except an attorney legally representing the claimant, and it does not recognize asset recovery firms or holders of Power of Attorney. In person, public outcry on the Decatur County Courthouse steps in Bainbridge
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Decatur County Tax Commissioner
112 West Water St., 1st floor of County Courthouse, Bainbridge, GA 39817 (mailing: P.O. Box 246, Bainbridge, GA 39817)
Official websiteNotes for Decatur County
- County seat is Bainbridge. The Tax Commissioner's office is on the 1st floor of the county courthouse at 112 West Water St., which is also where the courthouse-steps sale is cried.
- The Tax Commissioner's website is hosted by Government Window; the Tax Sales page loads its content dynamically, so sale notices may not appear in a plain page fetch.
- Real property and mobile home (personal property) sales are advertised separately and carry different rules. Only the real property sale produces a redeemable tax deed; mobile home sales carry no right of redemption per the county's own advertisement.
- Property taxes are due December 20 and mobile home taxes April 1. Unpaid amounts become a Fi.Fa. recorded on the General Execution Docket with the Clerk of Superior Court before levy and sale.
- Office fax is 229-248-2110 and office hours are 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday. The Board of Commissioners main line is 1-229-248-3030 (P.O. Box 726, Bainbridge, GA 39818), a separate office from the Tax Commissioner.
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 Decatur County, Georgia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Decatur County follows Georgia's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Decatur 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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