Wayne County, KY tax sales
How tax lien sales work in Wayne County, seat of Monticello: 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 22, 2026.Tuesday · 2026
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- Two registrations are required and they run on different clocks.
- County office
- 606-348-5721
On this page
How Wayne 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
- Wayne County Clerk
- Frequency
- annual
- Registration
- Two registrations are required and they run on different clocks.
- Next expected
- between mid July and late August, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Two registrations are required and they run on different clocks. 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 certificates in a calendar year. That application is Form 62A370A, carries a $250 fee payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer, and the Department states you become eligible to purchase "60 days from the date your application is received by the Department of Revenue". For Wayne's September 22 sale that means an application received by late July. Then register separately with the Wayne County Clerk, since the Department requires "a separate registration process at each county clerk's office" with its own deadlines and fees, and the county has no purchase threshold, so even a bidder taking a single certificate must register. The county packet is due no later than 15 days before the sale, which falls in the first week of September for the 2026 sale, your marked list of current certificates no later than 10 days before, and the deposit no later than 5 days before. The packet takes your name, address and phone, a copy of the state certificate of registration, a marked list of the priority certificates you intend to claim, a separate marked list of current certificates, the sworn statement that you are not participating with any related person or entity, and registration fees of $5 for each priority certificate and $10 for each current certificate. The deposit is set by the Clerk and any balance is due no later than 10 business days after the sale. Call the Clerk at (606) 348-5721 for the county form, the deposit amount and the accepted forms of payment.
Sale format and venue
Wayne County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Wayne 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
A county sale-list URL is still being verified. Use the office and platform details on this page before relying on a copied list.Register to bid
Sale day
Tax sale scheduled for September 22, 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 Wayne County Clerk as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Wayne County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
The county sale-list URL is still being verified. Use the county office contacts below and confirm the advertised parcels directly before you price a bid.Confirm registration and deposit
Two registrations are required and they run on different clocks. 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 certificates in a calendar year. That application is Form 62A370A, carries a $250 fee payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer, and the Department states you become eligible to purchase "60 days from the date your application is received by the Department of Revenue". For Wayne's September 22 sale that means an application received by late July. Then register separately with the Wayne County Clerk, since the Department requires "a separate registration process at each county clerk's office" with its own deadlines and fees, and the county has no purchase threshold, so even a bidder taking a single certificate must register. The county packet is due no later than 15 days before the sale, which falls in the first week of September for the 2026 sale, your marked list of current certificates no later than 10 days before, and the deposit no later than 5 days before. The packet takes your name, address and phone, a copy of the state certificate of registration, a marked list of the priority certificates you intend to claim, a separate marked list of current certificates, the sworn statement that you are not participating with any related person or entity, and registration fees of $5 for each priority certificate and $10 for each current certificate. The deposit is set by the Clerk and any balance is due no later than 10 business days after the sale. Call the Clerk at (606) 348-5721 for the county form, the deposit amount and the accepted forms of payment.
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 Wayne County Clerk is Heather Piercy. The office is at 55 N. Main Street, Suite 106, Monticello, KY 42633, and the phone number is (606) 348-5721.
- Clerk's office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., plus the third Saturday of each month, 8:00 a.m. to noon.
- Wayne County posts no online delinquent tax list and runs no separate Clerk website. The Department of Revenue's directory of the sites clerks use to advertise certificates of delinquency names the Wayne County Clerk's page on the county government site rather than a bill portal, so the certificate roster for this county is the advertisement Kentucky requires the Clerk to run in the local newspaper at least 30 days before the sale. Ask the Clerk's office for the current list.
- Wayne's September 22 date sits late in the Kentucky calendar, behind the mid-July through August cluster where most counties sell. That is useful timing for a new purchaser, because a Department of Revenue application received by late July still clears the 60 day eligibility wait before this sale opens.
- The Sheriff collects current year property taxes; the Clerk holds the certificates of delinquency, runs the annual sale, quotes payoff amounts and records the assignments. Direct every sale question to the Clerk.
- Kentucky has no county tax deed auction. Buying a Wayne County certificate buys the lien and the right to be paid, and title is reached only through a separate circuit court foreclosure action.
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 Wayne County, Kentucky sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Wayne County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
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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