Morgan County, IN tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Morgan County, seat of Martinsville: 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 Morgan County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Morgan County Treasurer's Office (Treasurer Dan Bastin), with the Morgan County Auditor joining the application for the court judgment and order of sale. SRI Incorporated administers the auction for the county.
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual, in early October. SRI's Morgan County page lists the next sale as "Tax Sale, Wednesday, October 7, 2026," format "In-person," with "Sale Hours 10:00 AM" and "Sale Location Lucille Sadler Room "A"." The county's published notice for the prior year sale opened "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 1, 2024" at "180 S Main St, Martinsville, IN; Lucille Sadler Room "A"," and states the sale "will continue until all tracts and real property have been offered for sale."
Registration and deposit
Bidders can pre-register online through SRI, which covers every county SRI serves. The county notice says: "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 an IRS Form W-9 to the sale, and "arrive the morning of the tax sale at least 30 minutes before the beginning time to be assured you will receive your bid number before the start of the sale." Bidders without internet access may register the morning of the sale. Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1, a business entity must give the Morgan County Treasurer a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Indiana Secretary of State. SRI's page for the October 7, 2026 sale shows no registration period, so confirm cutoffs with the Treasurer's Office.
The sale is held in person, not online, so no online bidding platform is confirmed for this county. SRI lists the format as "In-person" at 10:00 AM in the Lucille Sadler Room "A" at 180 S Main St in Martinsville. The county's published notice does reserve a fallback: "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 Zeus Auction as a contingency and check SRI and the Treasurer's Office shortly before the sale date. The county tax sale page states the sale is buyer beware, that all properties and tax liens sell "AS IS," and that the only warranty under IC 6-1.1-24-10 is that the taxes and special assessments were delinquent and the property was eligible for sale. SRI's Morgan County page currently shows one scheduled tax sale and zero scheduled certificate sales, so no commissioners' certificate sale date is posted at the moment. The county's own document center carries one tax sale notice PDF, from the prior sale year, and the notice itself says subsequent notices are posted at morgancounty.in.gov rather than repeated in the newspaper. In person (administered 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 Morgan County
- Morgan County runs its tax sale in person at the county administration building at 180 S Main St in Martinsville, in the Lucille Sadler Room "A", starting at 10:00 AM. Pre-registering through SRI speeds up check in, but bidders can still register the morning of the sale.
- The Treasurer's Office collects the winning bid and handles redemptions; call (765) 342-1048 for redemption figures. The Morgan County Auditor issues the tax deed. SRI lists Auditor Linda Pruitt at 765-342-1001 and Treasurer Dan Bastin at 765-342-1048.
- SRI posts a preliminary parcel list before the auction. The county-hosted lien buyer handout warns that any list released before the auction is preliminary, is "subject to change without notice," and that minimum bids can change, so verify minimum bid amounts on sale day before bidding.
- Treasurer's Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., open through lunch and closed on major holidays. Mail goes to Morgan County Treasurer, 180 S. Main St., Ste 129, Martinsville, IN 46151.
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 Morgan County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Morgan County follows Indiana's tax lien state system.
When is the Morgan County tax certificate sale?
- Annual, in early October. SRI's Morgan County page lists the next sale as "Tax Sale, Wednesday, October 7, 2026," format "In-person," with "Sale Hours 10:00 AM" and "Sale Location Lucille Sadler Room "A"." The county's published notice for the prior year sale opened "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 1, 2024" at "180 S Main St, Martinsville, IN; Lucille Sadler Room "A"," and states the 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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