Rock Island County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Rock Island County, seat of Rock Island: 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 Rock Island County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Rock Island County Treasurer's Office (Nick Camlin, County Treasurer, serving as ex officio County Collector). The office lists "Conducting annual sale of tax liens to seek payment of delinquent taxes" among its duties, and the County Clerk's Delinquent Tax Division handles post-sale redemption.
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual, held in late December. The Treasurer's current bidder registration form is headed "Tax Sale Commences December 30, 2025 at 9:30 A.M." The Treasurer's tax sale page still carries the prior year's notice, "The annual tax sale will take place on Tuesday, December 31, 2024 in the County Board room on the Third Floor of the Rock Island County Office Building which is located at 1504 Third Avenue in Rock Island, Illinois. The sale will begin at approximately 9 am." Because the page has not been refreshed for the current cycle, confirm this year's date with the Treasurer before registering. The statute page adds that sales run "between 9 am and 4 pm, or later at the collector's discretion," continuing day to day until every delinquent property has been offered.
Registration and deposit
Register with the Treasurer's Office. The county FAQ says registration opens about 90 days before the sale and closes 10 business days before the sale date, matching the statutory cutoff for counties under 3,000,000 people. The 2025 form set the deadline at December 12, 2025 and warns "All registrations received after this time will be returned (no exceptions)." A $500 deposit is due with the form, $400 credited toward parcels purchased and $100 covering the cost of the tax sale list. Applicants supply name, mailing and physical address, phone, Social Security number or FEIN, a signed W-9 and contact form, and must disclose any affiliated bidder. The Treasurer allows no more than three related entities and they cannot bid simultaneously. Mail the form and deposit to the Rock Island County Treasurer, Attention: Tax Sale Registration, PO Box 3277, Rock Island, Illinois (confirm the ZIP with the office, since the form prints two different ZIP+4 codes for the box). Full payment is due the day of the sale, and the form states "No admittance to Tax Sale without submission of a signed, blank check." International checks are not accepted. A registrant who skips the sale forfeits the whole deposit to the Tax Sale Automation Fund under 35 ILCS 200/21-245; one who attends but buys nothing gets the deposit back less the cost of the list.
The sale is conducted in person, in the County Board room on the third floor of the Rock Island County Office Building at 1504 Third Avenue. R.A.M.S. 2 does not put the auction online. The vendor states "All bidders are required to personally attend the sale" under 35 ILCS 200/21-205, and that on sale day each registered buyer brings a USB drive holding one bid file with a percentage bid for every parcel, filename tagged with the buyer number. Each parcel goes to the lowest bid, and where several buyers tie at the low bid the winner is drawn at random. Bidding is a bid down on the penalty percentage; the county FAQ describes a 0 to 9 percent range per period, and the statute page caps the penalty at 18 percent. The winner pays the full delinquent amount regardless of the rate bid, plus publication ($10), clerk fee ($4), automation fund ($10), collector's tax fee ($60), and indemnity fund ($20). Parcels drawing no bid are forfeited to the state and can be reoffered after notice. After the sale the County Clerk's Delinquent Tax Division receives redemption payments, and that office states owners have "from two and one-half (2 1/2) to three years" to redeem, with the length set by the tax buyer; reach it at 309-558-3562. The delinquent list is published in a newspaper before the sale, is open for inspection at the Treasurer's Office, and is sold for $100; the Treasurer also archives the published lists year by year and runs an online delinquent tax search at rockislandil.devnetwedge.com. A separate channel exists: Joseph E. Meyer and Associates lists a Rock Island County "Real Estate / Mobile Home - Sealed Bid" sale of tax deed foreclosed property on ILTaxSale.com, next scheduled for October 23, 2026 with an $833 minimum bid and a catalog posted roughly 30 days ahead, plus a $25 list of assignable tax lien certificates. That October sealed bid sale is not the December annual tax sale, so do not confuse the two calendars. R.A.M.S. 2 (Randomized Auction Management System) sale software, used at an in-person courthouse sale. The Treasurer's bidder registration form carries the R.A.M.S. 2 mark and the Treasurer's page links to RAMS Auctions. There is no online bidding.
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 Rock Island County
- Treasurer is Nick Camlin; Sue Alberts is chief deputy. Office fax is 309-558-3511 and email is [email protected]. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm.
- Redemption is handled by the County Clerk's Delinquent Tax Division at 1504 Third Avenue, Rock Island, IL 61201, phone 309-558-3562, not by the Treasurer.
- The annual sale covers delinquent real estate taxes and mobile home taxes; the 2025 form covered 2024 real estate taxes, 2025 mobile home taxes, and prior years.
- The Treasurer's tax sale page carries a stale sale date from the 2024 cycle while the bidder registration form (revised September 16, 2025) carries the December 30, 2025 date. Phone the office for the current year's date.
- ILTaxSale.com (Joseph E. Meyer and Associates) is the county trustee channel for sealed bid tax deed property and assignable certificates, held each October. It is a distinct sale from the Treasurer's December annual tax sale.
- RAMS Auctions' own client list on its home page does not name Rock Island County, but the county's Treasurer page links to RAMS Auctions and its registration form carries the R.A.M.S. 2 mark.
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 Rock Island County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Rock Island County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Rock Island County tax certificate sale?
- Annual, held in late December. The Treasurer's current bidder registration form is headed "Tax Sale Commences December 30, 2025 at 9:30 A.M." The Treasurer's tax sale page still carries the prior year's notice, "The annual tax sale will take place on Tuesday, December 31, 2024 in the County Board room on the Third Floor of the Rock Island County Office Building which is located at 1504 Third Avenue in Rock Island, Illinois. The sale will begin at approximately 9 am." Because the page has not been refreshed for the current cycle, confirm this year's date with the Treasurer before registering. The statute page adds that sales run "between 9 am and 4 pm, or later at the collector's discretion," continuing day to day until every delinquent property has been offered.. 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 Rock Island 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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