Screven County, GA tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Screven County, seat of Sylvania: 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 Screven County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Screven County Tax Commissioner (Andrea Waits, Tax Commissioner)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Not published by the county. The Tax Commissioner's Tax Sales page carried no sale date and no property list when checked on 2026-07-26. The office site describes only the run-up: the General Information page states that in the "four weeks prior to the sale your property will be advertised" in the legal organ newspaper. Georgia's statutory first-Tuesday courthouse sale window applies by default. Confirm the next sale date directly with the office at (912) 564-2206.
Registration and deposit
Not published. The Tax Commissioner's site gives no bidder registration, deposit, or payment terms for tax sales. Contact the office at (912) 564-2206 before a sale date.
The Screven County Tax Commissioner levies and sells. The FAQ states: "If the property taxes remain unpaid, the Tax Commissioner has the right and responsibility to levy on the property for non-payment. Of course we consider this a last resort for tax collection and prefer to use other collection methods." No online auction platform is named anywhere on the county's official pages, and no Screven County listing was found on any online tax-sale platform, so treat this as an in-person courthouse sale unless the office says otherwise. The county's Tax Sales page loads but its content area is empty (the vendor's tax-sale feed returns nothing), so there is currently no published sale list or calendar. Escalation path per the General Information page: interest is added on the 16th of each month at prime plus 3% divided by 12; a fi. fa. is filed with the Clerk of Superior Court 30 days from the date on the delinquent notice; a 5% penalty is added after 120 days and every 120 days thereafter to a 20% maximum; unpaid accounts are "turned over to DTSi and admin/levy fees up to $215.00 plus will be added," covering certified notices and a title search, and the property is "posted and photographed at some point before the sale." Caution: the same page names the "Sylvester Local" newspaper, which serves Worth County, not Screven, so the advertising outlet on that page is vendor boilerplate and should be verified with the office. The site is also internally inconsistent on the bill due date (General Information says December 20, the FAQ says November 15).
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for Screven County
- Tax Commissioner: Andrea Waits. Confirmed on the county's official staff directory ([email protected]) and on the Tax Commissioner's own site.
- Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:45 pm. Fax (912) 564-7621.
- The Georgia Department of Revenue's county page lists www.screvencountyboc.com as the Tax Commissioner's website, but the county government site has no Tax Commissioner page; the live office site is tax.screvencountypay.com (a Government Window property).
- Property records and parcel data are on qPublic for the Screven County Tax Assessor; the Assessor's office phone is (912) 564-7918 per the Tax Commissioner FAQ.
- Tax payments and searches route to the Government Window portal linked from the Tax Commissioner's Quick Links page.
- A tax fi. fa. (lien) is recorded in the Office of the Clerk of Superior Court when taxes stay unpaid more than 30 days past due, per the FAQ.
- No Screven County tax sale notice was found in the Georgia Press Association public notice database for the two months ending 2026-07-26, which is consistent with a small county that holds sales only occasionally.
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 Screven County, Georgia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Screven County follows Georgia's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Screven 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.
Explore all 159 Georgia counties
Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.