Wells County, IN tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Wells County, seat of Bluffton: 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 Wells County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Wells County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Mid-October, annually. The Treasurer's office states: "The 2026 tax sale is set for October 15th at the Courthouse." The prior year's notice opened "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 10, 2025" at the Courthouse.
Registration and deposit
Register online with SRI at sriservices.com. Per the county notice: "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 W-9 to the sale, and arrive at least 30 minutes before the 10:00 a.m. start time to receive 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 Wells County Treasurer a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Secretary of State.
Wells County holds its annual tax lien sale live at the Wells County Courthouse in Bluffton, not on an online-only platform. SRI Incorporated administers registration and publishes the property list; the Treasurer and Auditor both direct tax sale questions to sriservices.com. The 2025 certified list carried 40 parcels. The notice reserves an option to move the sale online: "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 and 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." Confirm the format with the Treasurer's office before you travel. Property will not be sold for less than the delinquent taxes and special assessments, current-year taxes and assessments, penalties, the cost of the sale including a $25 postage and publication charge, and any unpaid costs from a prior tax sale. Minimum bid amounts are set by law and can change before the auction date. In person at the Wells County Courthouse, sale 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 Wells County
- The Wells County Auditor certifies the sale list and issues tax deeds. Reach that office at (260) 824-6470, 102 W Market Street, Suite 205, Bluffton, IN 46714.
- Before the sale the county applies for a court judgment: "The county auditor and county treasurer will apply on or after 09/23/2025 for a court judgment against the tracts or items of real property for an amount that is not less than the amount set out below and for an order to sell the tracts or items of real property at public auction to the highest bidder." The certified list is filed with the Wells County Circuit Court.
- Redemption windows from the 2025 notice: "The period of redemption shall expire on Tuesday, October 13, 2026" for certificates sold at the tax sale, while "For certificates struck to the county, the period of redemption may expire Monday, February 09, 2026."
- Under IC 6-1.1-24-3(e) the published notice may omit property descriptions for parcels that appear on the certified list in consecutive years, so the newspaper notice can be incomplete. The notice states a complete property list is available at sriservices.com or in an alternative form on request.
- The sale notice appears in newspapers only once; the county directs bidders to wellscounty.org for later notices. Watch the Treasurer's Tax Sale section for the current year's notice and any change of location.
- Surplus rights exist for the former owner: if 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 claim to the tax sale surplus.
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 Wells County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Wells County follows Indiana's tax lien state system.
When is the Wells County tax certificate sale?
- Mid-October, annually. The Treasurer's office states: "The 2026 tax sale is set for October 15th at the Courthouse." The prior year's notice opened "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 10, 2025" at the Courthouse.. 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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