DeKalb County, IN tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in DeKalb County, seat of Auburn: 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 DeKalb County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- DeKalb County Treasurer's Office, acting jointly with the DeKalb County Auditor's Office. The county contracts SRI Incorporated to conduct the sale, and both the Treasurer and the Auditor direct bidders to SRI.
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- An annual tax sale held in the fall, entirely online. The county's most recent published notice reads "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 07, 2025 / Online - www.zeusauction.com" and states that "The public auction will begin on 10/07/2025 at 10:00 AM local time. The properties in the online auction will commence closing at 02:00 PM local time on 10/07/2025 at www.zeusauction.com. Each property will have its specific closing time posted on the auction web site." The prior year followed the same pattern, opening 10:00 AM local time on October 1, 2024. DeKalb County also runs a separate commissioners' certificate sale in the spring for parcels struck to the county; the most recent notice sets it "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, March 11, 2025" on the same platform. No 2026 sale date is posted on the county site yet, so confirm the current date with the Treasurer or SRI before planning.
Registration and deposit
Registration is handled on the auction platform, not at the courthouse. The county notice states: "If you are interested in participating in this public auction, registration information and the procedures you must follow to bid are available online at https://www.zeusauction.com. In order to participate, you must become a member of the auction web site (www.zeusauction.com). You must read, understand and agree to the rules of sale and payment terms. Once you become a member of the auction web site, you must register for the Dekalb County auction, specifically." Bidders must also "complete IRS Form W-9 and agree to the registration statement described at IC 6-1.1-24-5.3(c) electronically, through the auction web site." Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1, a business entity registering to bid must provide a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement under IC 5-23 from the Secretary of State to the DeKalb County Treasurer. The registration window closes before the sale: for the October 7, 2025 sale it "begins at 8:00 AM local time on August 28, 2025 and closes at 9:00 AM local time on October 07, 2025," and the notice warns that an incomplete registration means no approval to bid.
Winning bidders buy a certificate of lien, not a deed. The Treasurer's page explains that "A winning bidder at tax sale is actually buying a certificate of lien on the parcel, which entitles the buyer to request the court to issue a tax deed to the property after a redemption period has expired," and that during redemption the lien buyer has no right to enter the property or alter it. The minimum bid is "the total of all of the delinquencies, the tax sale fee and the current year taxes," and the statutory floor adds $75 for postage and publication plus other county costs directly attributable to the sale. The county calls this "a buyer beware sale" and recommends title company or attorney research before bidding. The eligible-parcel list is published once in local newspapers and posted at www.co.dekalb.in.us, and the notice adds that "A complete property list may be obtained at www.sriservices.com or in an alternative form upon request." The Auditor and Treasurer reserve the right to pull any parcel before or during the sale. Payments on parcels already certified for tax sale cannot be made online and must be certified funds (cash, cashier's check or money order). To pull a parcel before the 2025 sale, payment had to reach the Treasurer at 100 South Main Street, Auburn, IN 46706 by 12:00 PM local time the prior day. One navigation caution: the SRISERVICES.COM link on the Treasurer's TAX SALE page points to a properties.sriservices.com address that no longer resolves; the Auditor's Tax Sale Information page links to https://sriservices.com/properties, which loads. SRI also lists a phone line of 800-800-9588 on the Treasurer's page for tax sale questions.
Register on SRI / ZEUSFrom 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 DeKalb County
- The sale is conducted entirely as an electronic sale under IC 6-1.1-24-2(b)10 at www.zeusauction.com. There is no in-person courthouse bidding.
- The Treasurer is Joni Humbarger; office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- The Auditor's Office (Susan Sleeper, (260) 925-2362, same courthouse address) maintains a Tax Sale Information page that links directly to SRI.
- Redemption pricing from the county notice: 110% of the minimum bid if redeemed within six months of the sale, or 115% if redeemed later, plus the amount the purchase price exceeded the minimum bid with 5% per annum interest on that overbid, plus subsequent taxes paid by the purchaser with 5% per annum interest. The notice sets the redemption deadline for certificates sold at the October 7, 2025 sale as October 7, 2026.
- Certificates struck to the county move to a commissioners' certificate sale with much lower minimums. The March 11, 2025 commissioners' notice lists minimum bids of $25.00 per parcel, with redemption at the last tax sale minimum bid plus 10% of the certificate price plus costs and 10% per annum on subsequent taxes.
- Indiana law bars anyone owing delinquent taxes, special assessments, penalties, interest or costs from a prior tax sale in the county from purchasing at the sale.
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 DeKalb County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- DeKalb County follows Indiana's tax lien state system.
When is the DeKalb County tax certificate sale?
- An annual tax sale held in the fall, entirely online. The county's most recent published notice reads "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 07, 2025 / Online - www.zeusauction.com" and states that "The public auction will begin on 10/07/2025 at 10:00 AM local time. The properties in the online auction will commence closing at 02:00 PM local time on 10/07/2025 at www.zeusauction.com. Each property will have its specific closing time posted on the auction web site." The prior year followed the same pattern, opening 10:00 AM local time on October 1, 2024. DeKalb County also runs a separate commissioners' certificate sale in the spring for parcels struck to the county; the most recent notice sets it "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, March 11, 2025" on the same platform. No 2026 sale date is posted on the county site yet, so confirm the current date with the Treasurer or SRI before planning.. 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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