Franklin County, IN tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Franklin County, seat of Brookville: 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 Franklin County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Franklin County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual tax sale each fall, most recently in late October. The 2025 notice is headed "NOTICE OF REAL PROPERTY TAX SALE Franklin County Indiana Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 28, 2025 2nd Floor Room 203" and states "Such sale will be held on 10/28/2025 at the 2nd Floor Room 203 and that sale will continue until all tracts and real property have been offered for sale." The Treasurer's archive shows prior sales on October 31, 2024, October 17, 2023, and October 20, 2022 (the 2022 notice adds "Sale starts @ 10am sharp"). The county also runs a Commissioner's Certificate Sale, last advertised for February 16, 2023 at 10:00am in the Commissioner's meeting room. As of this review the Treasurer page lists the 2026 sale date as not yet announced.
Registration and deposit
Bidders register online with SRI at sriservices.com. The 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." Bring the completed registration form and a W9 (both printable from the registration site) the morning of the sale, and arrive at least 30 minutes before the 10:00 AM start to be assured of a bid number. Bidders without internet access may register the morning of the sale. Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1 a business entity must provide the Franklin County Treasurer a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Secretary of State.
Franklin County holds its tax sale in person at the county government building in Brookville, 2nd Floor Room 203 (the Commissioners/Council meeting room), not on an online platform. The 2025 notice does leave room for a switch: "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." Treat the in-person courthouse sale as the default and confirm the format with the Treasurer before each sale. SRI Incorporated administers the sale and handles bidder registration; the notice says "A complete property list may be obtained at www.sriservices.com or in an alternative form upon request." The county Auditor and Treasurer jointly apply to the Franklin County Circuit Court for judgment before the sale (the 2025 application date was on or after 10/10/2025). Under a change in Indiana law the notice now runs only once in newspapers, with subsequent notices posted at www.franklincounty.in.gov. Minimum bid equals delinquent taxes and special assessments, current-year taxes and assessments, penalties, a $25 postage and publication charge plus other direct tax sale costs, and any unpaid costs from a prior sale. Redemption for certificates sold in the 2025 sale ran to Wednesday, October 28, 2026; certificates struck to the county could expire Wednesday, February 25, 2026. In-person live auction at the Franklin County government building, 2nd Floor Room 203, Brookville
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 Franklin County
- The Treasurer is Jolene Beneker. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 7:30am to 4:00pm, with lunch from 12:00pm to 1:00pm. The Treasurer's listed office duties include the "Yearly County Real-Estate Property Tax Sale" and the "Commissioner Sale."
- The Franklin County Auditor, Karla J. Bauman, is at 1010 Franklin Avenue, Room 103, Brookville, IN 47012, phone (765) 647-4631. The Auditor issues the tax deed and joins the Treasurer in the pre-sale application for judgment.
- Redemption amounts from the 2025 notice: 110% of the minimum bid if redeemed within six months of the sale, 115% if redeemed after six months, plus the amount by which the purchase price exceeded the minimum bid and 5% per annum interest on that overbid. Taxes and special assessments paid by the purchaser after the sale, plus 5% per annum on those amounts, are also owed on redemption. IC 6-1.1-25-2(e) allows attorney fees, notice costs under IC 6-1.1-25-4.5, and title search or abstract update costs to be added.
- Where a parcel sells above the minimum bid and is not redeemed, the owner of record divested at the time the tax deed issues may have a right to the tax sale surplus.
- Pursuant to IC 6-1.1-24-3(e), property descriptions may be omitted from the published list for parcels appearing on the certified list in consecutive years, so the newspaper advertisement can be thinner than the full certified list. Request the complete list from SRI or the Treasurer.
- The Auditor and Treasurer reserve the right to withhold any parcel listed in error or otherwise ineligible, either before or during the sale, and the county does not warrant street addresses or common descriptions.
- The county's property tax lookup runs on Low Tax Info at https://lowtaxinfo.com/franklincounty, and aerial mapping at http://franklin.in.wthgis.com/. Neither is a tax sale list.
- Delinquent real estate and personal property tax billing is processed in January. Property taxes for 2025 payable 2026 are due May 11, 2026 and November 10, 2026.
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 Franklin County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Franklin County follows Indiana's tax lien state system.
When is the Franklin County tax certificate sale?
- Annual tax sale each fall, most recently in late October. The 2025 notice is headed "NOTICE OF REAL PROPERTY TAX SALE Franklin County Indiana Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 28, 2025 2nd Floor Room 203" and states "Such sale will be held on 10/28/2025 at the 2nd Floor Room 203 and that sale will continue until all tracts and real property have been offered for sale." The Treasurer's archive shows prior sales on October 31, 2024, October 17, 2023, and October 20, 2022 (the 2022 notice adds "Sale starts @ 10am sharp"). The county also runs a Commissioner's Certificate Sale, last advertised for February 16, 2023 at 10:00am in the Commissioner's meeting room. As of this review the Treasurer page lists the 2026 sale date as not yet announced.. 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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