DuPage County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in DuPage County, seat of Wheaton: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
Verified Jul 30, 2026 against official county and state sources.
New here? Read how Illinois tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How DuPage County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- DuPage County Treasurer, serving as ex officio DuPage County Collector
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Once a year in November. The Treasurer's tax sale instructions state: "The 2025 annual real estate Tax Sale will begin on Thursday, November 19, 2026. It will continue until all delinquent parcels are sold." Registered tax buyer check-in begins at 8 a.m. and the sale starts promptly at 9 a.m.
- Sale list
- Delinquent tax publications
Registration and deposit
Per the Treasurer: "Registration opens October 1, 2026. Registration closes October 30, 2026." Buyers file a Tax Buyer Registration Form, a Representations and Warranties Form, and an IRS Form W-9 with the DuPage County Collector's Office, and post a $500 deposit that is forfeited if the registered bidder does not attend. A buyer must attend in person to bid, and any substitute bidder must be named at least 5 business days before the sale. Purchases are paid by cash or cashier's check made payable to the DuPage County Collector; personal, business and third party checks are not accepted.
This is a lien only sale held in person at 421 N. County Farm Road, Wheaton. The Treasurer states "A tax buyer must attend the Tax Sale in order to bid," so there is no online bidding platform. RAMS is bid collection software, not an internet auction site: each attending buyer brings a USB drive holding a file of percentage bids for each parcel, the county imports the files, and every parcel is awarded to the lowest bid, with ties broken by random selection. Parcels are offered in numeric order by township. Bidding begins at 9% and the lien goes to the lowest bidder; the county reports recent average winning bids in the 0% to 4% range. Buyers pay the delinquent tax, interest, and $104 per parcel in statutory fees ($10 costs, $4 sales certificate, $20 indemnity fund, $10 automation fund, $60 sale in error interest fund). The delinquent list runs in local newspapers the week of October 12, 2026 for parcels unpaid as of early October; there is no free parcel list posted online. The full electronic sale list, with parcel number, assessee name, delinquent amount, equalized value, and bid columns, is sold to registered buyers for $250 and was scheduled to be released November 12, 2026; buying it is optional. Unsold parcels do not go to forfeiture because DuPage County, as trustee for all taxing bodies, bids 9% and takes the certificate, so there is no over the counter list; county trustee certificates are bought through the DuPage County Clerk. The Clerk issues each sale certificate several weeks after the sale, quotes redemption amounts, and handles the 2 to 2.5 year redemption period. Caution: the Treasurer's tax sale page carries leftover text from the prior cycle, including a November 20, 2025 sale date, and the Recent Tax Sales page still lists an 18% county trustee rate against 9% in the current instructions, so confirm the date and rate with the office before registering. In person at the DuPage County Administration Building auditorium, bids processed through the Randomized Auction Management System (RAMS)
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Sheriff or a court-appointed private selling officer, under an order of the circuit court. A county acting as trustee runs its own tax deed auctions.
- Frequency
- as ordered by the circuit court
- Typical timing
- Within 120 days after the court order authorizing the auction. Public Act 104-0553 created this route for tax certificates issued on or after July 10, 2026, so the earliest Illinois judicial tax deed auctions fall in 2027, after the 1 year short redemption track runs.
Registration and deposit
Terms of a judicial tax deed auction, including whether it runs online, in person, or both, and what deposit is required, are set in the court's order and published in the notice of tax deed auction. That notice runs once a week for 3 consecutive weeks, starting no more than 45 days and ending no less than 7 days before the auction. Read the notice for each parcel; there is no statewide platform or standing bidder registration.
Bidding opens at the tax deed judgment amount plus 0.75 percent per month since judgment, plus publication and selling officer costs. The petitioning certificate holder is entered as a credit bidder at that minimum. Surplus above the minimum goes to the county treasurer for the former owner to claim.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
Certificates nobody bids on at the annual sale are forfeited to the county as trustee for the taxing districts. The county may then assign a forfeited certificate to any party or sell property it has acquired, which many counties handle through a delinquent tax agent rather than a public counter. Counties may also offer county-held certificates at a scavenger sale with a minimum bid of $250, or half the tax when total liability is under $500. Ask the county collector and the county clerk which program the county runs and who may buy.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for DuPage County
- Sale is in person at the DuPage County Administration Building auditorium, 421 N. County Farm Road, Wheaton. Attendance is required to bid and there is no online auction platform.
- RAMS (Randomized Auction Management System) is the county's automated bid processing system, not an internet bidding site. Bids arrive on a USB drive on sale day.
- Bid down interest starting at 9%, lowest bid wins, ties resolved by random selection among the tied low bids.
- No over the counter or forfeiture list. DuPage County as trustee takes any parcel that draws no bid at 9%, and those certificates are purchased through the DuPage County Clerk at 630-407-6500.
- Certificates and redemption figures come from the DuPage County Clerk, not the Treasurer. Redemption runs 2 to 2.5 years depending on property classification.
- The Treasurer's tax sale page mixes current and prior cycle dates, so the sale date should be reconfirmed by phone each year.
Illinois statewide rules
- Redemption
- Property sold at an Illinois tax sale may be redeemed at any time before the redemption period expires. Public Act 104-0553 set the standard period at 3 years from the date of sale for tax certificates issued on or after July 10, 2026. Certificates issued between January 1, 2024 and July 9, 2026 run on the earlier 2.5 year (30 month) track, and on that track the certificate holder could file a written notice with the county clerk extending redemption to a date no later than 3 years from the sale. A short 1 year period applies when the parcel was, on the date of sale, vacant non-farm property, commercial or industrial property, or improved with a structure holding 7 or more residential units. Certificates the county holds or assigns as trustee run on their own schedule under Section 21-385, and an assignee must file notice within 60 days of assignment setting a redemption deadline no later than 3 years from the assignment.
- Deed deposit
- Illinois does not fix a statutory deposit percentage. Deposit and payment terms are set in the court's order authorizing the auction and by the selling officer, so read the notice of tax deed auction for each sale. A purchaser who fails to complete the sale forfeits any deposit already made to the county surplus equity fund, and the court orders a new auction of the property.
- Surplus proceeds
- Any amount by which the winning bid exceeds the minimum bid is surplus. Within 30 days after the court confirms the sale the selling officer deposits the surplus with the county treasurer, who notifies everyone who received the Section 22-10 take notice that the owner at the time of the sale may file a claim for it. A county running its own tax deed auction deposits surplus with the treasurer within 30 days of the sale and notifies interested parties within 60 days. Separately, a previous owner who lost equity through a tax deed can claim an award from the county surplus equity fund, capped at the value of the property when the deed issued less mortgages, liens, and the taxes the purchaser paid.
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 DuPage County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- DuPage County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the DuPage County tax certificate sale?
- Once a year in November. The Treasurer's tax sale instructions state: "The 2025 annual real estate Tax Sale will begin on Thursday, November 19, 2026. It will continue until all delinquent parcels are sold." Registered tax buyer check-in begins at 8 a.m. and the sale starts promptly at 9 a.m.. Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the Tax Collector before the sale.
How often does DuPage County hold tax deed sales?
- as ordered by the circuit court. 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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