Crittenden County, KY tax sales
How tax lien sales work in Crittenden County, seat of Marion: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Kentucky tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- One certificate of delinquency sale a year, held in mid to late July.
- Format
- In person
- County office
- 270-965-3403
On this page
How Crittenden County sells delinquent taxes
From lien to deed
Kentucky holds no county tax deed auction. Title moves only through a lawsuit. The owner of a certificate of delinquency may sue to collect the debt, to enforce the KRS 134.420 lien, or both, at any time after one year has passed from the date the taxes became delinquent, and the action must be brought within eleven years of that date. A third-party purchaser has extra duties first: a notice to the delinquent taxpayer within 50 days of receiving the certificate, that notice repeated every six months, and a further notice to the taxpayer and every mortgagee at least 45 days before filing suit.
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Crittenden County Clerk
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- One certificate of delinquency sale a year, held in mid to late July.
- Next expected
- between mid July and late August, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Register with the Kentucky Department of Revenue first if you plan to buy more than three certificates in one county, more than five statewide, or invest more than $10,000 in a calendar year, then hand the clerk your state Certificate of Registration before you may purchase. The DOR application carries a $250 state fee, and eligibility begins 60 days after the application is received. At the county level, the clerk accepts no registrations or payments before July 1 and closed the 2026 window at 4 p.m. on Monday, July 13. File the clerk's registration form with a notarized sworn statement that you are not bidding in concert with a related person or entity, and email two Excel lists to [email protected]: one of the priority (prior year) certificates you intend to buy, and one of the current-year certificates in the exact order you want them. Three separate payments are due at registration: full value of each priority certificate as of July 1 plus a $30 lien filing fee per certificate, a 25 percent deposit on the combined value of the current-year certificates, and a registration fee of $5 per priority certificate and $10 per current-year certificate, capped at $250 and not refundable. Cash, money order, certified or business check, or a card with a fee is accepted at registration; personal checks are not. Make funds payable to Crittenden County Clerk.
Sale format and venue
Crittenden County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Crittenden County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid.
Get the advertised list
Use Crittenden County Clerk delinquent property tax and sale registration page for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.Sale day
One certificate of delinquency sale a year, held in mid to late July. The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the county office before you go.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Crittenden County Clerk as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Crittenden County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Crittenden County Clerk delinquent property tax and sale registration page. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Register with the Kentucky Department of Revenue first if you plan to buy more than three certificates in one county, more than five statewide, or invest more than $10,000 in a calendar year, then hand the clerk your state Certificate of Registration before you may purchase. The DOR application carries a $250 state fee, and eligibility begins 60 days after the application is received. At the county level, the clerk accepts no registrations or payments before July 1 and closed the 2026 window at 4 p.m. on Monday, July 13. File the clerk's registration form with a notarized sworn statement that you are not bidding in concert with a related person or entity, and email two Excel lists to [email protected]: one of the priority (prior year) certificates you intend to buy, and one of the current-year certificates in the exact order you want them. Three separate payments are due at registration: full value of each priority certificate as of July 1 plus a $30 lien filing fee per certificate, a 25 percent deposit on the combined value of the current-year certificates, and a registration fee of $5 per priority certificate and $10 per current-year certificate, capped at $250 and not refundable. Cash, money order, certified or business check, or a card with a fee is accepted at registration; personal checks are not. Make funds payable to Crittenden County Clerk.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Kentucky due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.Set a walk-away number
Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
unsold certificates
A certificate that goes unpaid at the annual sale may be paid to the county clerk at any time afterward by any person, unless it is under a payment plan with the Department of Revenue or the county attorney or is known to be in litigation. You need a current Department of Revenue certificate of registration if you will hold more than three certificates in this county, more than five statewide, or invest more than 10,000 dollars statewide in the calendar year, and you register with the county clerk and pay the county fee if you have not already done so that year. Separately, 90 days after the sheriff files the tax claims, any person may pay a certificate the taxing jurisdictions still own. Certificates that arrive too late for one year's sale are held for the next one.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
County notes
- The Sheriff collects current-year property taxes. Unpaid bills transfer to the County Clerk after April 15 of the following year and become the certificates of delinquency sold at the clerk's annual sale.
- There is no online bidding. Plan to attend the clerk's office in Marion in person, or send a representative, who may act for more than one purchaser.
- Registration is a paperwork sprint with a hard cutoff: nothing is accepted before July 1, and the clerk closed the 2026 window at 4 p.m. on July 13, nine days before the sale.
- Your purchase list decides what you get. Current-year certificates must be listed in the exact order you want them, because selection runs in draft rounds after lots are drawn for order.
- The delinquent list is advertised in The Crittenden Press and posted on the clerk's website at least 30 days before the sale. Some bills on that list are withheld from sale.
- Personal and business checks are not accepted to satisfy a delinquency, and the county advises checking with the County Treasurer for unpaid 911 service fees on a parcel.
- Questions go to Recording Clerk Misti Autry or County Clerk Daryl Tabor at 270-965-3403, or by email to [email protected].
Kentucky rules
- Redemption
- Kentucky's redemption window is a property of where the parcel is in the process, not a single statewide clock, and it runs in four tracks. Track one, and by far the most common, is an outstanding certificate of delinquency: the delinquent taxpayer or anyone holding a legal or equitable estate in the property may pay the third-party purchaser the total amount due at any time, and the purchaser may accept payment from anyone at any time. No statute closes that window, so it stays open until a court forecloses. Track two is a foreclosure sale that brought less than two thirds of the property's appraised value, where the defendant and the defendant's representatives may redeem within six months of the day of sale. Track three is a foreclosure sale that brought two thirds or more of the appraised value, where no right of redemption exists at all; the purchaser takes the property outright. Track four is land the state, county, and taxing districts acquired through a KRS 134.546 action, which the taxpayer may redeem at any time before the commissioner delivers a deed to a purchaser. A third-party purchaser must also offer a monthly installment plan on written request for certificates bought after June 1, 2012, if the purchaser is one who has to register with the department.
- Surplus proceeds
- If nobody bids at the foreclosure sale, the master commissioner deeds the property to the person or persons the record shows own the certificate or certificates of delinquency, each taking a pro rata interest matching the size of their certificate. Where the state, county, or a taxing district ends up owning the land, the commissioner's designated agent may advertise and sell it at public sale after posting notice at the courthouse door for fifteen days and publishing under KRS Chapter 424, the department keeps an administration fee of 15 percent of the sale price, and the balance is paid to the county and taxing districts within thirty days.
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 Crittenden County, Kentucky sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Crittenden County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Crittenden County tax sale list?
Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state 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.
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