Martin County, IN tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Martin County, seat of Shoals: 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 Martin County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Martin County Treasurer and Martin County Auditor, with the sale administered by SRI Incorporated
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annually in September at 10:00 AM local time. SRI's Indiana auction list records Martin County tax sales on 09/04/2024, 09/10/2025 and 09/16/2026, each at 10:00 AM in the Commissioners' Meeting Room. The county's certified 2025 notice opens: "NOTICE OF REAL PROPERTY TAX SALE Martin County Indiana Beginning 10:00 A.M. Local Time, September 10, 2025 Commissioners' Meeting Room", and adds that "such sale will be held on 09/10/2025 at the Commissioners' Meeting Room and that sale will continue until all tracts and real property have been offered for sale."
Registration and deposit
Register once with SRI at https://sriservices.com/, which covers every county SRI serves. Print the registration form and W-9 from the SRI site and bring both to the sale. Bidders without internet access may register the morning of the sale, and the county notice asks bidders to arrive at least 30 minutes before the 10:00 AM start to receive a bid number. Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1 a business entity must provide the Martin County Treasurer a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Indiana Secretary of State in order to register.
Martin County holds a live, in-person tax lien certificate sale in the Commissioners' Meeting Room at the courthouse, 129 Main St, Shoals. The 2024, 2025 and 2026 sales are all recorded as in-person, and no online bidding platform is confirmed for this county, so verify the format with the Treasurer before travelling. The county's published notice does reserve an online fallback: at the discretion of local officials the public auction may instead be conducted as an electronic sale under IC 6-1.1-24-2(b)(10) at www.zeusauction.com starting on the same date and time, with any location change posted at sriservices.com. Sale volume is small, with 51 parcels certified for the 2025 sale, concentrated in Shoals and Loogootee. Redemption on a purchased certificate is 110% of the minimum bid if redeemed within six months of the sale and 115% if redeemed later, plus the amount the purchase price exceeded the minimum bid with 5% per annum interest on that surplus and on any later taxes and assessments the buyer pays. The certified property list for each sale is published at sriservices.com, and the Auditor's office processes tax sales and issues the tax deed. Live in-person auction in the Martin County Commissioners' Meeting Room at the courthouse in Shoals, run for the county by SRI Incorporated
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 Martin County
- The Treasurer's official page routes all tax sale questions to SRI Incorporated, listing "Tax sale information" as a link to sriservices.com. Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8 am to 4 pm.
- Payment terms and any deposit are not stated in the county's published notice. Confirm accepted funds and settlement timing with the Treasurer before bidding.
- For the 2025 sale the Auditor and Treasurer applied for the judgment and order of sale on or after 08/22/2025, and any defense had to be filed with the Martin County Circuit Court and served on both offices before that date.
- Redemption on certificates sold at the 2025 sale runs to Thursday, September 10, 2026. Certificates struck to the county could expire as early as Thursday, January 08, 2026.
- The minimum bid includes delinquent taxes and special assessments, taxes and assessments due and payable in the year of the sale, all penalties, $25 for postage and publication, other county costs attributable to the sale, and unpaid costs from a prior sale under IC 6-1.1-24-2(c).
- Martin County Auditor Michelle Norris, (812) 247-3731, 129 Main St, Shoals, IN 47581, certifies the delinquent list and her office handles tax sale processing and deeds.
- The Treasurer's online tax list carries a county disclaimer that it is not for official use, so confirm parcel status with the office before bidding.
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 Martin County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Martin County follows Indiana's tax lien state system.
When is the Martin County tax certificate sale?
- Annually in September at 10:00 AM local time. SRI's Indiana auction list records Martin County tax sales on 09/04/2024, 09/10/2025 and 09/16/2026, each at 10:00 AM in the Commissioners' Meeting Room. The county's certified 2025 notice opens: "NOTICE OF REAL PROPERTY TAX SALE Martin County Indiana Beginning 10:00 A.M. Local Time, September 10, 2025 Commissioners' Meeting Room", and adds that "such sale will be held on 09/10/2025 at the Commissioners' Meeting Room and that sale will continue until all tracts and real property have been offered for sale.". 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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