Pope County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Pope County, seat of Golconda: 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 Pope County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Pope County Treasurer's Office, the Treasurer serving as ex officio Pope County Collector
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Pope County does not publish an annual tax sale date on an official county page. The collector's annual tax sale in Illinois follows the circuit court's judgment and order of sale after the second installment due date, so the date moves each year and must be confirmed with the Treasurer's office at (618) 683-5501. Separately, the county's delinquent tax agent lists a Pope County sealed bid real estate auction dated "11/13/2026" at the "Pope County Courthouse, 310 E. Main Street, Golconda, IL 62938", after prior auctions on October 27, 2023, November 1, 2024, and October 31, 2025.
Registration and deposit
No online bidder registration was found for Pope County's annual tax sale. Request registration forms, deposit terms, and the sale date directly from the Treasurer's office, which acts as County Collector. For the delinquent tax agent's trustee auctions the listings are held at the Pope County Courthouse in sealed bid format, and the agent's site advertises a paid list of assignable tax lien certificates.
Pope County is a small southern Illinois county with no county-run website located during this research. The Treasurer's published web presence is the DEVNET wEdge tax inquiry portal at popeil.devnetwedge.com, which searches parcels and mobile homes and links out to a third-party payment portal, and it carries no sale notices. No online auction platform is confirmed for Pope County's annual tax sale, so verify the format with the office before planning to bid. Joseph E. Meyer & Associates, which describes itself as the Delinquent Tax Agent for 94 of 102 Illinois counties, takes tax deeds on behalf of the taxing districts and sells that trustee-held property at public auction, verbally or by sealed bid. The Pope County listings on its site (iltaxsale.com) are those trustee tax deed auctions held at the courthouse, not the collector's annual certificate sale. Several commercial sites publish Pope County sale dates and lists; none of those figures could be confirmed on an official county page, so treat them as unverified. No online platform confirmed. The delinquent tax agent's Pope County auctions are held in person at the Pope County Courthouse in sealed bid format.
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 Pope County
- The Treasurer, currently Shelley Friend, doubles as County Collector and is the only office with the annual tax sale details, since the county has no sale page online.
- The November sealed bid auctions listed for Pope County by Joseph E. Meyer & Associates are trustee sales of tax deed property the county's taxing districts took after prior unsold tax sales, a separate track from buying certificates at the collector's annual sale.
- Pope County property tax records are searchable through the DEVNET wEdge portal, which is useful for checking a parcel's tax status before a sale but does not list delinquencies for sale.
- Fax and phone share the same number at this office, so call to confirm receipt of anything faxed.
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 Pope County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Pope County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Pope County tax certificate sale?
- Pope County does not publish an annual tax sale date on an official county page. The collector's annual tax sale in Illinois follows the circuit court's judgment and order of sale after the second installment due date, so the date moves each year and must be confirmed with the Treasurer's office at (618) 683-5501. Separately, the county's delinquent tax agent lists a Pope County sealed bid real estate auction dated "11/13/2026" at the "Pope County Courthouse, 310 E. Main Street, Golconda, IL 62938", after prior auctions on October 27, 2023, November 1, 2024, and October 31, 2025.. 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 Pope 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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