Shelby County, KY tax sales
How tax lien sales work in Shelby County, seat of Shelbyville: 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
- Tax sale scheduled for September 2, 2026.Wednesday · 2026
- Format
- In person
- County office
- (502) 633-4410
On this page
How Shelby 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
- Shelby County Clerk's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- 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 Clerk by end of business on August 20, 2026. Everything except the check goes by email to [email protected]: the Clerk's Delinquent Tax Sale Registration form, your Kentucky Department of Revenue registration certificate, and a Purchase Intent List built on the Clerk's spreadsheet template in 2025 preferential bill number order. Certified check payment ships separately by USPS, UPS or FedEx and must arrive by 4:00 p.m. Registration fees are tiered at $10.00 per certificate for buyers without a prior year claim and $5.00 per certificate for priority buyers, capped at $250.00 either way, and the Clerk notes the cap limits the fee, not the number of bills you may buy. Buyers without a prior year claim also submit 25 percent of list value as a deposit, with the balance due at completion of the sale, plus a $30.00 filing fee for each certificate purchased; one certified check may cover the deposit and filing fees together, while the registration fee may be a separate business check. Prior year certificate holders instead file a Priority List in 2025 tax bill number order with a copy of the most recent prior year certificate and full payment by certified check when the list is submitted. Registering with the Kentucky Department of Revenue is a separate step and must be done before the county sale.
Sale format and venue
Shelby County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Shelby 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 Shelby County Delinquent Tax Sale List (PDF) 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
Tax sale scheduled for September 2, 2026. 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 Shelby County Clerk's Office as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Shelby County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Shelby County Delinquent Tax Sale List (PDF). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Register with the Clerk by end of business on August 20, 2026. Everything except the check goes by email to [email protected]: the Clerk's Delinquent Tax Sale Registration form, your Kentucky Department of Revenue registration certificate, and a Purchase Intent List built on the Clerk's spreadsheet template in 2025 preferential bill number order. Certified check payment ships separately by USPS, UPS or FedEx and must arrive by 4:00 p.m. Registration fees are tiered at $10.00 per certificate for buyers without a prior year claim and $5.00 per certificate for priority buyers, capped at $250.00 either way, and the Clerk notes the cap limits the fee, not the number of bills you may buy. Buyers without a prior year claim also submit 25 percent of list value as a deposit, with the balance due at completion of the sale, plus a $30.00 filing fee for each certificate purchased; one certified check may cover the deposit and filing fees together, while the registration fee may be a separate business check. Prior year certificate holders instead file a Priority List in 2025 tax bill number order with a copy of the most recent prior year certificate and full payment by certified check when the list is submitted. Registering with the Kentucky Department of Revenue is a separate step and must be done before the county sale.
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)
501 Washington Street, Shelbyville, KY 40065; mailing address P.O. Box 819, Shelbyville, KY 40066-0819
Official websiteCounty notes
- Shelby County Clerk is Tony Harover. The office sits in the courthouse annex at 501 Washington Street, Shelbyville, with mail going to P.O. Box 819, Shelbyville, KY 40066-0819. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Phone (502) 633-4410, fax (502) 633-7887.
- Registration closes roughly two weeks before the sale, at end of business on August 20, 2026, and certified funds must arrive by 4:00 p.m. There is no walk in registration on sale day.
- The delinquent bill list is published as a PDF through the kydtax listing service that Kentucky county clerks use to advertise certificates of delinquency, and it carries bill number, tax year, owner name, property address, map ID and amount due.
- The Clerk's published sale procedures carry two stray references to Bullitt County in the paragraphs on purchaser research and pending litigation. The sale being described is Shelby County's; direct research and litigation questions to the Shelby County Clerk and the Shelby County Attorney.
- Kentucky Department of Revenue registration is separate from and in addition to registering with the Clerk. DOR applications for the 2026 season were due May 15, 2026 to participate in all county sales beginning mid July, and an applicant becomes eligible 60 days after the application is received.
- Certificates are sold by the County Clerk, not the Sheriff. The Sheriff collects current year bills and turns the uncollected ones over to the Clerk, after which they become certificates of delinquency.
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 Shelby County, Kentucky sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Shelby County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Shelby 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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