County-held certificates
Kansas has no over-the-counter certificate list, because it issues no certificates. What it does have is an inventory of parcels the COUNTY bought in at its own sheriff's sale. The commissioners keep a public record of every parcel acquired under K.S.A. 79-2804, showing the case, the judgment lien, and the costs paid, and that record is open to inspection on request. Those parcels are sold by the board at private or public sale for cash in hand, and the price must be at least the original judgment lien plus interest, plus the costs set out in the order of sale, plus every subsequent tax and special assessment not included in the judgment. That price floor is what usually keeps county inventory from being cheap. If a parcel is still unsold six months after the sale to the county was confirmed, the board may cut the price and sell it by sealed bid after advertising once a week for three consecutive weeks, accepting the highest cash bid, and it may reject bids below current market value. From that same six-month point the board may instead sell at public auction for cash to the highest bidder after advertising at least three times in the official county paper. Conveyance is by a deed from the county clerk on a written order of the board. Two eligibility rules follow the parcel: K.S.A. 79-2812 bars any buyer who is the record owner of tax-delinquent real estate on the county treasurer's records, and K.S.A. 79-2804g bars a sale to anyone who had a right to redeem for less than the original judgment lien plus interest and costs, including sales by a county land bank.
Lands available for taxes
Kansas keeps no Lands Available for Taxes list of the Florida type and no struck-to-the-state inventory, because parcels are never struck to the state. The equivalent is the county commissioners' record of real estate acquired under K.S.A. 79-2804, which the statute makes open to inspection at all reasonable times, plus any county land bank inventory, since a county may transfer a parcel acquired at a tax foreclosure sale to its land bank. A separate track lets the board sell a bid-off parcel after the redemption period for affordable low-income housing or for community or economic development, outside the K.S.A. 79-2801 foreclosure process entirely, and abate the delinquent taxes on it.
Either route skips the live auction, which means these are the parcels nobody bid on, so the due diligence matters even more. The national over-the-counter guide has the full cross-state playbook.
Verified Aug 23, 2026 against Kansas sources.
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.