Spencer County, IN tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Spencer County, seat of Rockport: 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 Spencer County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Spencer County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual sale each September. SRI's Spencer County sale page lists the current tax sale as "Tuesday, September 29, 2026" with sale hours of "10:00 AM".
Registration and deposit
SRI's Spencer County tax sale detail page gives the sale date, the 10:00 AM start and the Commissioners' Room location but publishes no registration window for the September 29, 2026 sale, and the sale is held in person rather than online. Confirm registration, deposit and bidder certification requirements with the Spencer County Treasurer at (812) 649-4556 or with SRI Incorporated at (800) 800-9588 before the sale date.
Spencer County holds its Indiana tax sale in person at the courthouse Commissioners' Room in Rockport, so no online bidding platform applies to the September 29, 2026 sale. The Spencer County Auditor's page directs bidders to SRI Incorporated's site and says to select Spencer County from the dropdown to view upcoming sale listings; SRI's Spencer County page carries the sale date, hours and location, and lists the Treasurer (Elaine Jones, 812-649-4556) and the Auditor (Gina Mullen, 812-649-6004) as the county contacts. SRI also runs the Zeus Auction online platform used by some Indiana counties, and sale format can change from year to year, so verify the format for each sale year with the Treasurer's office. The SRI property list for this sale was still empty when checked, which is normal before the statutory advertisement runs. No commissioners' certificate sale of unsold parcels is currently scheduled for the county on SRI's page. Caution on third-party listings: Bid4Assets publishes a page titled "NOTICE OF SALE: Spencer County, Indiana - Live Tax Lien Sale" that can read like an online auction, but its own text states it is providing the notice strictly as a courtesy, that it is not conducting the auction and is not affiliated with the sale, and that bidders should contact the county office that conducts it. In person at the Spencer County Commissioners' Room in Rockport, administered 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 Spencer County
- Treasurer's office hours are 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday, in Room 7 on the second floor of the courthouse at 200 Main Street, Rockport. Additional office numbers are (812) 649-6007 and (812) 649-6008, with a toll free line at (800) 975-8813 and email [email protected]. Source: county-treasurer.
- Property taxes are billed by April 15 each year, with spring installments due May 10 and fall installments due November 10, which sets the delinquency clock that feeds the September sale. Source: county-treasurer.
- The Spencer County Auditor is at 200 Main Street, Room 6, Rockport, IN 47635, phone (812) 649-6004, email [email protected]. The Auditor's page states the office manages county tax sales and points buyers to SRI Incorporated's site for upcoming sale listings. Source: county-auditor.
- SRI's Spencer County page names Auditor Gina Mullen at 812-649-6004 and Treasurer Elaine Jones at 812-649-4556, and gives SRI support as (800) 800-9588 and [email protected]. Source: sri-county-page.
- The sale detail page for September 29, 2026 lists sale hours of 10:00 AM and the sale location as the Commissioners' Room, with no cause number and no registration window posted yet. Source: sri-county-page.
- SRI's county page showed one scheduled tax sale and zero scheduled certificate sales and zero deed sales for Spencer County when checked, alongside a separate sheriff foreclosure auction set for September 15, 2026 at the Spencer County Sheriff's Office, 120 North 2nd Street, Rockport. The foreclosure auction is a mortgage foreclosure sale, not the tax sale. Source: sri-county-page.
- The county's own website carries no dedicated tax sale page; sale specifics come from SRI Incorporated, the vendor the county's Auditor page designates for tax sale listings. Sources: county-auditor, sri-county-page.
- The county Treasurer also runs a separate legacy parcel and tax lookup at treasurer.spencercounty74.us, which serves an HTTPS certificate for datapitstop.us and so fails secure fetches; it carries property tax records and a judgments list, not the tax sale list.
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 Spencer County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Spencer County follows Indiana's tax lien state system.
When is the Spencer County tax certificate sale?
- Annual sale each September. SRI's Spencer County sale page lists the current tax sale as "Tuesday, September 29, 2026" with sale hours of "10:00 AM".. 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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