Adams County, IN tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Adams County, seat of Decatur: 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 Indiana tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How Adams County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Adams County Treasurer's Office, acting jointly with the Adams County Auditor's Office. SRI Services, Inc. administers the sale for the county.
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Late October, starting at 10:00 a.m. local time. The county's 2025 notice is headed "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 30, 2025" and the 2024 notice is headed "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 31, 2024". Each year's notice is signed by the Auditor in September (the 2025 notice is dated 09/10/2025 and the 2024 notice 09/09/2024), so confirm the current year's date with the Treasurer or Auditor before making plans.
Registration and deposit
Registration is handled by SRI Services, Inc. and covers every Indiana county SRI serves. The county notice states: "If you are interested in bidding on the tax sale for an Indiana county, you may register online at https://sriservices.com/. This registration is good for all counties that SRI services. You need to register only once for all counties." Bidders who do not pre-register can register the morning of the sale. Bring the completed registration form and a W-9 with you, and arrive at least 30 minutes before the 10:00 a.m. start to be sure of getting a bid number before bidding opens. Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1, a business entity bidding at the Adams County tax sale must provide the Adams County Treasurer with a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement issued under IC 5-23 by the Indiana Secretary of State.
Adams County holds its annual tax lien sale in person, not online. Both the 2024 and 2025 notices set the sale in the "Council / Commissioners' Room, Room 100 Adams County Service Complex, 313 W. Jefferson St., Decatur, In 46733," and state the sale "will continue until all tracts and real property have been offered for sale." The notices add one contingency: "At the discretion of local officials, the tax sale may switch to an online format. If those measures are taking place, the public auction will be conducted as an electronic sale under IC 6-1.1-24-2 (b) 10 at www.zeusauction.com commencing on the same date/time listed above. All location updates will be posted at www.sriservices.com prior to the tax sale." Zeus Auction is a real platform and it loads, but no county page confirms an online sale for Adams County, so plan on attending in person and check for a location update before the sale date. Sales here are small: the 2025 notice certified 25 properties. Property descriptions may be omitted for parcels that appear on the certified list in consecutive years, and the notice says "A complete property list may be obtained at www.sriservices.com or in an alternative form upon request." The 2025 notice sets the redemption deadline as October 30, 2026 for certificates sold at the tax sale, and February 27, 2026 for certificates struck to the county. Property will not be sold for less than the delinquent taxes and special assessments, plus current-year taxes, penalties, a $25 postage and publication cost, and other costs attributable to the sale. In-person live auction administered by SRI Services, Inc.
From lien to deed
Indiana holds no general public tax deed auction. Once the redemption period runs out, the certificate holder files a verified petition in the same court that entered the judgment of sale, and the court directs the county auditor to issue the deed. That petition must be filed no later than three months after the redemption period expires, or the purchaser's lien terminates. One narrow exception exists: real property a county, city, or town executive has certified as vacant or abandoned is auctioned separately, and there the county auditor deeds fee simple title straight to the highest bidder with no right of redemption.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
Parcels that draw no bid at the treasurer's tax sale pass to the county executive, which acquires a lien for the minimum sale price and receives a tax sale certificate. The county executive may then adopt a resolution and offer those certificates at a separate advertised public sale, often called the commissioners' certificate sale, priced below the minimum bid that failed at the tax sale. Notice runs once a week for three consecutive weeks with the final advertisement at least 30 days before the sale. This is a scheduled sale rather than a walk-in list, and redemption on a certificate bought this way is 120 days. Check the county auditor page for the next commissioners' certificate sale date.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for Adams County
- The Adams County Auditor's Office is the second office in the process and lists "Tax Sale" and "Tax Sale Appeals" among its duties. It is at 313 W Jefferson Street, Suite 233, Decatur, IN 46733, phone 260-724-5303, fax 260-724-5304, email [email protected], open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tony Mellencamp signs the county's tax sale and certificate sale notices as Auditor.
- Parcels that get no bid at the annual tax sale go to the Board of Commissioners, which resells the certificates at a Commissioners' Certificate Sale. Adams County's certificate sale notice is headed "Beginning 1:00 PM Local Time, January 30, 2024" at the "Council / Commissioners Room, Room 100 Adams County Service Complex, 313 W. Jefferson St., Decatur, In 46733," and offered 4 properties. That sale carries the same in-person format and the same www.zeusauction.com online contingency. Minimum prices at the certificate sale are set below the prior tax sale minimums because they exclude the taxes and costs attributable to the Commissioners' Certificate Sale.
- The county Treasurer's own web page does not post tax sale dates or lists. Notices and parcel lists are published in the county's online Document Center and in local newspapers, so check the Document Center or call the Treasurer or Auditor for the current cycle.
- The Adams County Circuit Court enters the judgment and order of sale. The 2025 notice says the Auditor and Treasurer apply for judgment on or after 10/14/2025, and defenses must be filed with the court and served on both offices before that date.
- The notices state the county does not warrant the accuracy of street addresses or common descriptions, and that a mistake in the key number or street address does not invalidate an otherwise valid sale. Minimum bid amounts are prescribed by statute and are subject to change before the auction date.
Indiana statewide rules
- Redemption
- The standard period is one year after the date of the treasurer's tax sale. Several tracks run 120 days instead: a certificate bought at the county executive's certificate sale, a lien the county executive holds that was never sold on, a sale to a purchasing agency qualified under IC 36-7-17 or IC 36-7-17.1, a certificate the county executive assigns to another political subdivision, and a parcel that was not offered at the tax sale at all. Property on the county auditor's vacant and abandoned list carries no right of redemption after its sale. A county treasurer may also extend redemption by agreement with the owner, in which case the extended period ends one year after the date of that agreement.
- Surplus proceeds
- The treasurer applies the payment first to the taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs in the minimum bid, then to other delinquent property taxes, then deposits the remainder in a tax sale surplus fund. The owner of record at the time the parcel was certified for sale, or the purchaser on a redemption, may file a verified claim against that fund. Unclaimed surplus transfers to the county general fund three years after it was received.
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 Adams County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Adams County follows Indiana's tax lien state system.
When is the Adams County tax certificate sale?
- Late October, starting at 10:00 a.m. local time. The county's 2025 notice is headed "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 30, 2025" and the 2024 notice is headed "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 31, 2024". Each year's notice is signed by the Auditor in September (the 2025 notice is dated 09/10/2025 and the 2024 notice 09/09/2024), so confirm the current year's date with the Treasurer or Auditor before making plans.. Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the Tax Collector before the sale.
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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