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Tax Sale Atlas

Warren County, KY tax sales

How tax lien sales work in Warren County, seat of Bowling Green: 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 August 26, 2026.Wednesday · 2026
Format
In person
County office
(270) 842-9416
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Warren 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)

In person
Run by
Warren County Clerk
Frequency
annual
Next sale
Tax sale scheduled for August 26, 2026.
Next expected
between mid July and late August, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
Current-year delinquent tax bill list
When it runs
The Clerk's sale page states "Sale Date: August 26, 2026 9am (CST)", and the Department of Revenue's 2026 schedule lists Warren County on 8/26/26. Warren sits in the late-August group, inside the mid-July through August window that carries most Kentucky county sales.
Registration and deposit

Register with the Warren County Clerk on Department of Revenue form 62A374 by August 17, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. Central. Every form, purchase list, registration fee and deposit has to be complete and in the office by that time. Anyone planning more than three certificates in the county, more than five statewide, or more than $10,000 in certificates must also hold a Department of Revenue registration certificate and include a copy with the county paperwork. The county registration fee is $5 per priority certificate plus $10 per current certificate, capped at $250 and nonrefundable. The deposit is the full amount due on each priority certificate plus a $30 recording fee per priority certificate, plus 25 percent of the amount due on the current certificates. Use separate checks for the fee and the deposit, in cash, cashier's check or certified funds payable to Warren County Clerk.

Sale format and venue
Warren County holds the sale in person at the Clerk's office at 429 East 10th Street, Suite 100 in Bowling Green, and does not use an online auction platform. Submit a current-year list and, if you already hold prior-year certificates on the same parcels, a separate priority list. Both go in alphabetical order with the purchaser's name at the top of every page, and each line needs the bill number, taxpayer name, property address or map code, and amount due, with a total for the list. Priority entries also need the prior certificate's bill number, tax year, and the book and page where it was recorded. Owners can pay a bill at any time up to the sale, so the available list shrinks as the date approaches. In person at the Warren County Clerk's office, Bowling Green
Source: Delinquent Tax Sale, Warren County Clerk· Verified Aug 23, 2026

Warren County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Warren 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.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Use Current-year delinquent tax bill list for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.
  2. Register to bid

    Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.
  3. Sale day

    Tax sale scheduled for August 26, 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.
  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Warren County Clerk as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Warren County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Current-year delinquent tax bill list. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.
  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Register with the Warren County Clerk on Department of Revenue form 62A374 by August 17, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. Central. Every form, purchase list, registration fee and deposit has to be complete and in the office by that time. Anyone planning more than three certificates in the county, more than five statewide, or more than $10,000 in certificates must also hold a Department of Revenue registration certificate and include a copy with the county paperwork. The county registration fee is $5 per priority certificate plus $10 per current certificate, capped at $250 and nonrefundable. The deposit is the full amount due on each priority certificate plus a $30 recording fee per priority certificate, plus 25 percent of the amount due on the current certificates. Use separate checks for the fee and the deposit, in cash, cashier's check or certified funds payable to Warren County Clerk.

  3. 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.
  4. 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

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)

Warren County Clerk

(270) 842-9416

429 East 10th Street, Suite 100, Bowling Green, KY 42101; mailing P.O. Box 478, Bowling Green, KY 42102

Official website

County notes

  • The Sheriff collects current-year property taxes and turns the unpaid bills over to the County Clerk at the close of business on April 15, when they become certificates of delinquency. The Clerk keeps taking payments right up to the sale date.
  • The Clerk began posting the 2025 delinquent bill list on July 17, 2026 and republishes it as owners pay. Each line carries the bill number, taxpayer name, property address, map ID and the amount due as of the sale date, so pull a fresh copy before you finalize a purchase list.
  • A separate oil and gas delinquency list is published for Warren County alongside the real property list.
  • The office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central, at 429 East 10th Street, Suite 100 in Bowling Green.
  • The Department of Revenue asked third-party purchasers to file their state applications by May 15, 2026 to be cleared for every county sale, since eligibility starts 60 days after the application is received.

Kentucky rules

Max interest rate
12% per year, fixed by statute (nothing is bid)
Minimum return
No statutory floor; every certificate earns the same statutory rate
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.
Governing statute
KRS Chapter 134

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.

See the full Kentuckyrules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Warren County, Kentucky sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax lien certificates. In Kentucky investors buy the lien, not the property; the County Clerk runs the sale.

When is the Warren County tax certificate sale?

The Clerk's sale page states "Sale Date: August 26, 2026 9am (CST)", and the Department of Revenue's 2026 schedule lists Warren County on 8/26/26. Warren sits in the late-August group, inside the mid-July through August window that carries most Kentucky county sales. The sale is held in person. Always confirm the exact date with the County Clerk before the sale.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Kentucky's redemption rule: No fixed deadline while the certificate is outstanding. Six months after a judicial sale that brings less than two thirds of the appraised value, and none at all when it brings two thirds or more. Call the Warren County Clerk as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Where can I find the Warren County tax sale list?

Warren County posts its tax sale list at warrencountyclerk.ky.gov. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.

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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