Peoria County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Peoria County, seat of Peoria: 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 Peoria County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Peoria County Treasurer, serving as ex officio Peoria County Collector
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Early to mid November. The Treasurer's tax sale page states the sale is held "November 9, 2026, in the Peoria County Courthouse in the County Boardroom on the 4th floor starting at 9 a.m." The prior year followed the same pattern: "The tax sale will be held on November 10, 2025 at 9 a.m." The Collector's payment portal lists the "Last Payment Date to Avoid Sale" as November 6, 2026.
Registration and deposit
Register with the Treasurer's office at least 10 business days before the sale. The Treasurer states tax buyers "must register 10 business days prior to the tax sale" and gives the 2026 cutoff as "5:00 p.m. on October 26, 2026." Required paperwork is the tax buyer registration form and the Single Bidder Rule affidavit, plus a W-9 requested by the County Clerk's office, and a "$500 deposit per buyer to be submitted at the time of registration." Only one registration is allowed per EIN or SSN. Bidders must attend in person: "All bidders are required to personally attend the sale per 35 ILCS 200/21-205." The forms page warns that "All registration applications received after this time will be returned, no exceptions."
This is a live, in person sale, not an online auction. Registered buyers attend at the courthouse and load their bids from a USB drive into the R.A.M.S. 2 sealed-bid system, and the Treasurer notes that "Tax buyers will be free to leave after their bids have been submitted." No online bidding platform is confirmed for Peoria County, so verify the format with the Treasurer's office before planning a remote bid. Buyers bid down the penalty percentage, which the county caps at 9%, and "Each parcel will be awarded to the lowest bid for a particular parcel." The sale list is not posted as a free download. The Treasurer states that "For a fee of $350.00, the tax sale list will be available via email starting in late October and will be updated two times," so budget for that fee and request it from the office. The county's delinquent tax agent is listed as Joseph E. Meyer and Associates, 141 St. Andrews, P.O. Box 96, Edwardsville, IL 62025, 618-656-5744 or 800-248-2850. Redemption is handled by the Peoria County Clerk, not the Treasurer, at 324 Main St, Room 101, Peoria, IL 61602, 309-672-6059, and the Clerk states "The default redemption period is two years from the tax sale date. However, the tax buyer can extend the final deadline up to a maximum of three years from the tax sale date." In person at the Peoria County Courthouse, County Boardroom, 4th floor. Bids are submitted on a USB drive using the R.A.M.S. 2 (Randomized Auction Management System) sealed-bid software administered by the county's delinquent tax agent.
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 Peoria County
- Peoria County holds a single annual tax sale in November at the courthouse. Bidders must be registered and physically present; there is no verified online auction platform for this county.
- Bidding is a penalty bid-down capped at 9%, awarded to the lowest bid per parcel, run through R.A.M.S. 2 sealed-bid software with bids loaded from a USB drive.
- Registration closes 10 business days before the sale and carries a $500 deposit per buyer, with one registration allowed per EIN or SSN under the Single Bidder Rule.
- The delinquent sale list is sold by the Treasurer for $350 by email starting in late October and updated twice; it is not published as a free download.
- Payments to stop a parcel from going to sale go to the Peoria County Collector, PO Box 1925, Peoria, IL 61656-1925, per the county's property tax portal.
- Redemption is processed by the Peoria County Clerk, not the Treasurer. Default redemption is two years from the sale date, extendable by the tax buyer to a maximum of three years, with penalties scheduled to increase every six months.
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 Peoria County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Peoria County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Peoria County tax certificate sale?
- Early to mid November. The Treasurer's tax sale page states the sale is held "November 9, 2026, in the Peoria County Courthouse in the County Boardroom on the 4th floor starting at 9 a.m." The prior year followed the same pattern: "The tax sale will be held on November 10, 2025 at 9 a.m." The Collector's payment portal lists the "Last Payment Date to Avoid Sale" as November 6, 2026.. 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 Peoria 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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