Polk County, MN tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Minnesota sells no tax lien certificates. A delinquent Polk County parcel goes to judgment, then through the statutory redemption period, and if nobody redeems, absolute title forfeits to the State of Minnesota. What an investor buys is state-forfeited land the county is disposing of, not a lien and not a Florida-style tax deed.
• •The Auditor & Treasurer runs forfeited property for Polk County and keeps two pages current: Forfeited Property Auctions for scheduled sales, and Forfeited Property Currently for Sale for parcels available between auctions.
• •Polk County does maintain an over-the-counter list. Parcels that go unsold at auction stay purchasable from the Auditor & Treasurer through the Forfeited Property Currently for Sale page, which reads "None available at this time" when the inventory is empty.
• •Payment is cash only. The receipt issued at the sale is the buyer's proof of ownership until the Minnesota Department of Revenue issues the state deed after payment clears.
• •The county states plainly that tax forfeiture can create a break in the chain of title and that the services of an attorney may be necessary to make the title marketable. Budget for a quiet title action on anything you intend to resell or finance.
• •Special assessments are not automatically wiped out. Any balance above the sale price may be reassessed by the municipality or agency, so contact the city or township before you bid.
• •A former owner bidding at the sale must pay the sale price or the amount of the delinquency, whichever is greater.
• •A completed sale can still be undone. Under Minn. Stat. 282.241, Repurchase After Forfeiture, the former owner, heirs or a party holding repurchase rights may apply to buy the parcel back, and the county board may approve it by resolution on undue-hardship or public-interest grounds. Non-homestead parcels carry a six-month repurchase window running from the date of forfeiture, and the repurchaser also owes maintenance costs the county auditor incurred while the property was forfeited.
• •Before any parcel reaches a sale, the county board classifies it conservation or nonconservation under Minn. Stat. 282.01, after published notice and a public meeting. Conservation land cannot be sold unless it is reclassified, and the board may attach conditions to a nonconservation sale covering public improvements and reserved mineral rights. A parcel inside a town or municipality also needs that local board's approval before classification and sale.
• •The Auditor & Treasurer office is in Room 225 at 612 N Broadway in Crookston, open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

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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