Wayne County, IN tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Wayne County, seat of Richmond: 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 Wayne County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Wayne County Auditor's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Once a year, in early October. The Auditor's tax sale page states "Real Property Tax Sale October 07, 2025 - Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time" and "Wayne County Tax Sales are held once a year." As of late July 2026 the county has not yet posted a fall 2026 date. The county also holds a separate Commissioners' Certificate Sale in the spring; the most recent notice reads "NOTICE OF REAL PROPERTY COMMISSIONERS' CERTIFICATE SALE ... Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, April 16, 2026, Admin Building Commissioners' Chambers."
Registration and deposit
Early registration is preferred. The Auditor's page directs bidders to register through the SRI Indiana tax sale registration site or in person at the Wayne County Auditor's Office, and warns that "No late registrations (after 9:50a.m.) the day of sale will be acknowledged." Prospective buyer information packets are available in the Auditor's Office. Bidders must attend in person: "You must be present to bid and all successful bids must be paid for by 3:00 p.m. on the day of the sale at which time you will receive a Tax Sale Certificate for your lien." Payment is by bank or business check, money order, certified funds, or cash; the county accepts no credit cards and no personal checks. Bidding opens at all back taxes, current year taxes and penalties, any sewer or weed liens, and tax sale costs. For the Commissioners' Certificate Sale, a business entity must give the county treasurer a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1.
Wayne County runs its annual real property tax lien sale IN PERSON as an oral-bid auction in the Commissioners' Chambers at 401 E. Main St., Richmond, so there is no online bidding platform for the real property lien sale; plan to attend or send a representative. The county's tax sale page is published by the Auditor's Office, which handles registration, buyer packets, and sale questions at (765) 973-9317, and Auditor Mark A. Hoelscher signs the sale notices. Treasurer Beth Fields, (765) 973-9238, collects the delinquent taxes and her page tells buyers that "For tax sale info, the most up-to-date tax sale list, registration, Form 137B, and the lien buyer handout, visit www.sriservices.com. You can pre-register online before the sale." SRI Services, Inc. is the vendor that administers Indiana county tax sales and operates the Zeus auction platform at zeusauction.com. Two cautions on platforms. First, the Commissioners' Certificate Sale notice reserves an online fallback only: "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," with location updates posted to SRI's site before the sale, so confirm the format with the Auditor's Office before travelling. Second, the Treasurer separately runs an online Mobile Home Personal Property Tax Sale on zeusauction.com; that is a personal property sale, not the real property lien sale, so do not confuse the two. The bidder registration link printed on the Auditor's page points at an SRI legacy address whose host no longer resolves, so register in person at the Auditor's Office or start from sriservices.com and verify by phone. The sale list is published in two local papers, the Palladium Item and the Western Wayne News, updated daily in the Auditor's Office and updated Fridays on the county website; a list by mail requires a self-addressed stamped envelope with extra postage. Properties that do not sell are held for a later public sale. The April 16, 2026 Commissioners' Certificate Sale notice, dated 02/23/2026, listed 31 properties with minimum bids of $100.00 to $500.00, set below the minimum from the preceding annual tax sale under IC 6-1.1-24-6.1(a)(3). Redemption after a certificate sale requires the prior annual-sale minimum bid, ten percent of the certificate price, notice attorney fees and costs under IC 6-1.1-25-4.5, title search costs, later taxes paid by the buyer plus ten percent per annum, and county sale and advertising costs. In person, oral bid at the Wayne County Commissioners' Chambers, Wayne County Administration Building, 401 E. Main St., Richmond, IN 47374
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 Wayne County
- The Auditor's Office is on the second floor of the Wayne County Annex Building at 401 East Main Street, Richmond, open Monday 8:30am to 5:00pm and Tuesday through Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm.
- The Auditor's page displays (765) 973-9318 as the Auditor's listed line, while the same page tells bidders to direct sale questions to (765) 973-9317. Call either and ask for the tax sale clerk.
- Auditor contact email is listed as [email protected] on the tax sale page and [email protected] on the Auditor's home page; the county is mid-migration between the co.wayne.in.us and waynecounty.in.gov domains.
- Treasurer's Office: Beth Fields, (765) 973-9238, 401 East Main Street, Richmond, IN 47374, second floor of the Wayne County Annex Building. Redemption questions after a sale go to the Auditor's Office.
- A Commissioners Deed Sale scheduled for April 17, 2025 was cancelled per a notice on the Auditor's tax sale page.
- Property research links used by the county: Beacon parcel data at beacon.schneidercorp.com for Wayne County, and tax balances at waynecounty.properlytaxes.com.
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 Wayne County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Wayne County follows Indiana's tax lien state system.
When is the Wayne County tax certificate sale?
- Once a year, in early October. The Auditor's tax sale page states "Real Property Tax Sale October 07, 2025 - Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time" and "Wayne County Tax Sales are held once a year." As of late July 2026 the county has not yet posted a fall 2026 date. The county also holds a separate Commissioners' Certificate Sale in the spring; the most recent notice reads "NOTICE OF REAL PROPERTY COMMISSIONERS' CERTIFICATE SALE ... Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, April 16, 2026, Admin Building Commissioners' Chambers.". 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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