Woodford County, KY tax sales
How tax lien sales work in Woodford County, seat of Versailles: 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 24, 2026.Monday · 2026
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- Registration happens in two places and both have to be finished before the sale.
- County office
- (859) 873-3421
On this page
How Woodford 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
- Woodford County Clerk
- Frequency
- annual
- Registration
- Registration happens in two places and both have to be finished before the sale.
- Next expected
- between mid July and late August, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Registration happens in two places and both have to be finished before the sale. First, file an application with the Kentucky Department of Revenue at least 60 days before you buy if you will hold more than three certificates in one county, more than five statewide, or invest more than $10,000 statewide in a calendar year. The Department's cutoff for the 2026 sales was May 15, 2026. Second, register with the Woodford County Clerk on the clerk's own form, 62A374, which asks for your name, street and mailing address, telephone number, email address, a contact person if you are an entity, and a copy of your state Certificate of Registration where one applies. The clerk's deadlines all fall 10 days before the sale, which for the August 24, 2026 sale was close of business on August 14, 2026, and that single deadline covers the registration form and fee, the priority certificate list with payment in full, the list of current certificates you want, and the deposit. Registration fees are $5 for each certificate on your priority list and $10 for each certificate on your current list, capped at $250. The deposit is 100 percent of the value of each priority certificate plus the clerk's fees on it, and 25 percent of the value of each current certificate. A $30 lien assignment and recording fee applies to every certificate, due with the priority list or on sale day for current certificates. Lists must be ordered by tax bill number, lowest to highest. Pay by cash, cashier's check, certified check, money order, company check, or debit or credit card, with American Express excluded. The clerk takes paperwork by mail or in person only and will not accept any of the required documents by fax or email. Any unused deposit is refunded within 10 business days after the sale.
Sale format and venue
Woodford County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Woodford 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 Woodford County delinquent tax bill list for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Tax sale scheduled for August 24, 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 Woodford County Clerk as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Woodford County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Woodford County delinquent tax bill list. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Registration happens in two places and both have to be finished before the sale. First, file an application with the Kentucky Department of Revenue at least 60 days before you buy if you will hold more than three certificates in one county, more than five statewide, or invest more than $10,000 statewide in a calendar year. The Department's cutoff for the 2026 sales was May 15, 2026. Second, register with the Woodford County Clerk on the clerk's own form, 62A374, which asks for your name, street and mailing address, telephone number, email address, a contact person if you are an entity, and a copy of your state Certificate of Registration where one applies. The clerk's deadlines all fall 10 days before the sale, which for the August 24, 2026 sale was close of business on August 14, 2026, and that single deadline covers the registration form and fee, the priority certificate list with payment in full, the list of current certificates you want, and the deposit. Registration fees are $5 for each certificate on your priority list and $10 for each certificate on your current list, capped at $250. The deposit is 100 percent of the value of each priority certificate plus the clerk's fees on it, and 25 percent of the value of each current certificate. A $30 lien assignment and recording fee applies to every certificate, due with the priority list or on sale day for current certificates. Lists must be ordered by tax bill number, lowest to highest. Pay by cash, cashier's check, certified check, money order, company check, or debit or credit card, with American Express excluded. The clerk takes paperwork by mail or in person only and will not accept any of the required documents by fax or email. Any unused deposit is refunded within 10 business days after the 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)
County notes
- The Woodford County Sheriff collects current year property taxes and answers questions about bills that are not yet delinquent at (859) 873-3119. Bills still unpaid at the close of business on April 15 transfer to the Woodford County Clerk and become certificates of delinquency, each a lien against the property. Direct every question about the sale to the clerk.
- Questions about the annual sale process go to Lisa Kral or Sandra Jones at the clerk's office, (859) 873-3421. The office is at 103 South Main Street, Suite 120 in Versailles and is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM, and registration paperwork has to reach the counter within those hours.
- The clerk's office cannot take partial payments on a delinquent bill. Owners arrange installment plans through the Woodford County Attorney at (859) 873-5001, and a bill under a plan in good standing is pulled from the sale. The county attorney also files the list of protected certificates with the clerk, which for the 2026 sale was due August 14, so the pool shrinks in the days before sale day and a bill you targeted may not be offered.
- The sale is advertised in The Woodford Sun. For the 2026 cycle the notice that certificates would be advertised ran July 9, the full advertisement of the certificates ran July 16, and the same list went online at kydtax.smllc.us on July 16. Expect that rhythm each year, roughly 30 to 45 days ahead of the sale.
- The advertised list carries 69 bills from the 2025 tax year, 63 real property and 6 tangible personal property, totaling roughly $337,000. Amounts run from under $40 on small rural tracts to more than $140,000, with the largest balances on distillery and investment company holdings around Versailles and a long tail of sub $200 bills on mobile home lots and residual parcels.
- A certificate tied to a bankruptcy is barred from sale under KRS 134.128, but the clerk is not notified of filings, so the advertised list can still include one. Check filings yourself through PACER before committing to a bill.
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 Woodford County, Kentucky sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Woodford County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Woodford 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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