Clearwater County, MN tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Clearwater County splits the two halves of tax forfeiture between two offices. The Auditor/Treasurer at 218.694.6520 handles delinquent property taxes and publishes the delinquent tax list in the county's official newspaper after the start of each year. The Land and Forestry Department at 218.694.6227 classifies, appraises and auctions the land once absolute title has forfeited to the State of Minnesota.
• •Auctions here are infrequent, and the county says land sales are not on an annual basis with two or three years possible between sales. An investor tracking Clearwater County should get on the land sale mailing list rather than watch for a fixed annual date.
• •Every tract is appraised at fair market value and must be approved for sale by the State of Minnesota, and no parcel sells below the appraised price. Expect to pay at or above the published minimum bid, which on the 2026 list ranges from $4,600 for a city parcel to $251,600 for a 160 acre quarter section in Dudley Township.
• •The county holds back land it intends to keep. County lands in forest management status and lands that provide primary access are not offered for sale, so the auction list skews toward small city lots and isolated rural tracts.
• •Parcels that do not sell at auction can be picked up from the county's over-the-counter tax-forfeited land list on the same page. Special assessments are not always cleared by forfeiture, and the county flags city parcels for an assessment check with the municipality before purchase.
• •A former owner may repurchase forfeited land under Minn. Stat. 282.241, which can undo a sale. Confirm the standing of a specific tract with the Land Commissioner, and ask about any conservation or wetland restrictions the county board has attached, before committing funds.
• •The published sale notice carries legal descriptions, acreage and minimum bids but not the payment terms. Request the terms of sale from the Land Commissioner at 218.694.6227 or [email protected] ahead of the auction date.

Minnesota rules

Redemption

Redemption in Minnesota runs BEFORE forfeiture and there is no redemption after a tax-forfeited land sale. The clock starts on the second Monday in May, when the county auditor bids the parcel in for the state, and it runs three years for most property. Once the parcel is unredeemed 120 days before that period ends, the county auditor gives notice of expiration of redemption, which is posted in the auditor's office, published for two successive weeks in the official county newspaper, mailed by certified mail to taxpayers, fee owners, and anyone who filed an address under Minn. Stat. 276.041, and personally served on anyone in possession of an occupied parcel. Redemption ends on the later of the end of the statutory period and 60 days after that notice is given and proof of it is filed with the auditor, and the Department of Revenue's manual states the exact forfeiture date the same way. On that date absolute title vests in the state of Minnesota. A district court can cut the period to five weeks on a city or county petition for abandoned or certain vacant property, so a parcel can reach forfeiture far sooner than three years. Forfeiture extinguishes redemption rights along with almost everything else, with one carve-out that Minn. Stat. 282.005, subd. 10 preserves in terms: rights of redemption provided under federal law, which is where an unreleased federal tax lien can still reach a parcel after the sale. The right to REPURCHASE after forfeiture, under Minn. Stat. 282.241, is a separate remedy and not a redemption right.Minnesota Statutes 281.17 - the three-year redemption period and the one-year exceptions for targeted-community and qualified solid waste facility landMinn. Stat. 281.17Verified Aug 24, 2026

Deed deposit

Minnesota fixes no statutory bidder deposit and no statutory registration deadline. Terms are set locally, and the Department of Revenue's manual treats a cash-only initial sale as best practice because everything above the minimum bid has to stay available for surplus claims. On a Chapter 282.01 sale, parcels are sold for cash only unless the county board has adopted a resolution allowing terms. Where terms are allowed, at least 10 percent of the purchase price is due at the time of purchase and the balance runs in no more than ten equal annual installments, or under a county board policy of no more than 12 installments a year over a term of no more than ten years. Confirm the county's published terms before registering.Minnesota Statutes 282.005 - the required initial public auction of tax-forfeited land, the estimated-market-value initial price, the minimum bid, the six-month deadline, surplus claims, and what forfeiture extinguishesMinn. Stat. 282.005Verified Aug 24, 2026

Surplus proceeds

Minnesota built a surplus claim process in response to Tyler v. Hennepin County, and the Revisor's note under Minn. Stat. 282.08 records that decision. It applies to forfeitures occurring after December 31, 2023. The minimum bid goes into the county's forfeited tax sale fund and everything above it is available to interested parties, meaning any party with an interest in the real estate, including the owner, a lienholder, and anyone who filed their name under Minn. Stat. 276.041. Within 60 days of the sale the county auditor must send notice and a claim form by certified mail to every interested party of record, mail a second notice by first class mail between 90 and 120 days if no claim has been filed, mail notice to the occupants unless the land is vacant, and publish a list of sales with unexpired claim periods on the county website. A claim must be filed within six months of the date the first notice is mailed. Multiple claims are divided in proportion to each claimant's interest, and a disputed claim can be deposited with the district court. Unclaimed surplus returns to the county's forfeited tax sale fund. A separate claim process covers iron-bearing stockpiles, minerals, and mineral interests, which are sold to the state for $50 at forfeiture and valued by the commissioner of natural resources if a claim is filed.Minnesota Statutes 282.005 - the required initial public auction of tax-forfeited land, the estimated-market-value initial price, the minimum bid, the six-month deadline, surplus claims, and what forfeiture extinguishesMinn. Stat. 282.005Verified Aug 24, 2026

Governing statute

Minn. Stat. Chapter 279Minnesota Statutes 279.05 - the county auditor files the delinquent list with the district court by February 15 and the filing acts as a complaint against each parcelMinn. Stat. 279.05Verified 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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