St. Landry County, LA tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The St. Landry Parish Sheriff is the ex-officio tax collector under Article V, Section 27 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, so the annual lien auction, payoffs and redemption figures all run through the sheriff's tax office rather than a treasurer or the assessor.
• •Two addresses matter and they are not the same building. Property tax payments, payoffs and license work are handled at the Tax and Civil Annex, 1618 E Prudhomme Street in Opelousas, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The auction itself is called at the sheriff's tax office inside the parish courthouse at 118 S Court St, Suite 132.
• •The sale does not have to finish in one session. The notice runs it 'continuing on each succeeding legal day, until said sales are completed,' so budget for more than a single morning when the roll is long.
• •Parcels span all six wards, from Opelousas city lots to acreage in the outlying wards, and advertised balances ranged from about six dollars to roughly sixteen thousand nine hundred on the 2025 roll, so small-balance liens make up most of the offering.
• •The advertised legal descriptions are abbreviated. Hundreds of entries carry a pointer that the complete description is on file at the courthouse, so pull the full description and run title before bidding rather than relying on the advertisement text.
• •Interest runs from January 1 following the tax year. The notice charges interest on the 2025 roll from January 1, 2026 at a rate not to exceed one percent per month on a noncompounding basis until paid, together with all costs.

Louisiana rules

Max interest rate

12% per year, bid down in 1.2% steps to an 8.4% floorLouisiana Revised Statutes 47:2154 - Tax lien auctions; time of auction; priceLa. R.S. 47:2154Verified Aug 24, 2026

Minimum return

5% floor at redemptionLouisiana Revised Statutes 47:2127 - Time for payment; interest and penalty; notificationLa. R.S. 47:2127Verified Aug 24, 2026

Redemption

Louisiana replaced redemption with extinguishment of the lien, and the shape is different from a redemption clock. There is no date on which the owner's right lapses by itself. Any person may pay the termination price to the tax collector at any time. The holder cannot even start the enforcement suit until the later of three years from recordation of the certificate or six months after the R.S. 47:2156 notices went out, and once suit is filed the right to pay survives until the close of business on the thirtieth day after the last party was served. After that the tax collector stops accepting payment, and the lien can be extinguished only by the holder's own act or by court order: a party holding an interest may still file a contradictory motion before the judicial sale and ask the court to set the termination price, which the court fixes within 30 days and which must then be paid within 30 days more. The pressure on the holder comes from the other end. R.S. 47:2155(C) makes the right to sue peremptive at seven years from recordation, suspended while a political subdivision holds the certificate or a recorded bankruptcy stay is pending, after which the lien is extinguished and the inscription cancelled. Redemption periods that the constitution used to provide remain peremptive under R.S. 47:2241, but the amended constitution no longer provides any.Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:2266.1 - Procedure to recognize amounts due under tax lien certificateLa. R.S. 47:2266.1Verified Aug 24, 2026

Surplus proceeds

R.S. 47:2267(B)(1) ranks the proceeds. The sheriff deducts the costs of the sale and any commission, then pays the plaintiff certificate holder the judgment plus judicial interest through the date of sale and reasonable costs and attorney fees, then any other tax lien certificate holders whose rights have not perempted, then holders of recorded mortgages, liens and privileges, and finally each owner according to their interest. The certificate holder is paid immediately even if the remaining parties are still arguing, and a dispute over the surplus cannot delay the sheriff's deed. Proceeds that cannot be delivered go into the registry of the court, and surplus left unclaimed for one year falls under the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act of 1997, R.S. 9:151 and following. The constitution now requires this: La. Const. art. VII, sec. 25(A)(1)(d) makes a procedure for claiming excess proceeds a minimum feature of the scheme.Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:2267 - Procedure to enforce tax lien; proceeds of judicial saleLa. R.S. 47:2267Verified Aug 24, 2026

Governing statute

La. Const. art. VII, sec. 25Louisiana Constitution article VII, section 25 - Tax Administration (as amended by Acts 2024, No. 409, effective January 1, 2026)La. Const. art. VII, sec. 25Verified Aug 24, 2026

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.

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