Crawford County, MO tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Crawford County runs one live, in-person certificate sale a year at the Collector's Office in Steelville. There is no online auction portal and no remote bidding: the office states that buyers must be present to bid.
• •Registration closes well before the gavel. For 2026 the window runs from 8:00 a.m. on August 3 to noon on August 21, ahead of the August 24 sale, and the office will not accept a late registrant.
• •The county shortened its own delinquency trigger. Beginning with the 2016 sale the County Commission voted to move from a two-year to a one-year delinquency and to keep it there each year after, so parcels reach the list sooner than the three-year collection window in RSMo 140.160 suggests.
• •Certificate holders get no possession during redemption and should stay off the property until a Collector's Deed is issued and recorded with the Crawford County Recorder of Deeds. Improvements made before a redemption are not reimbursed.
• •Redemption on first and second offerings runs to one year and one day from purchase, priced at the bid plus 10 percent per annum on the taxes due, subsequent taxes paid plus 8 percent per annum, recording fees, mailing costs and reasonable title-search costs. No interest accrues on fees and costs, and attorney fees cannot be charged to the redeeming owner. Owners are asked to notify the office three business days before redeeming.
• •Third offerings carry only a 90-day redemption after notice of the right to redeem is mailed. Parcels sold subsequent to a third offering, including over-the-counter purchases, carry no right of redemption and no title-search or notice requirement, and the deed can issue as soon as taxes, costs, penalties and interest are paid.
• •Deed paperwork is where buyers lose money here. First and second offering purchasers must order a title search after March 1 of the year following purchase and mail owners and recorded lienholders their notice of right to redeem at least 90 days before the one-year anniversary, by both first class and certified mail, then file an affidavit with supporting documents. Third offering purchasers must send those notices within 45 days of the sale. The Collector's page cites Harpagon MO, LLC v. Bosch and warns that late notice risks a voided deed, that the county will not issue a Collector's Deed if the statutory steps are missed, and that money already paid is not refunded.
• •The office is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Reach the Collector at 573-775-2845, by fax at 573-775-4295, or by email at [email protected]. The elected County Collector is Pat Schwent.

Missouri rules

Max interest rate

10% per year, set by statute (bidding is on price)Missouri Revised Statutes 140.290 - Certificate of purchase, contents, fee, nonresidentsMo. Rev. Stat. 140.290Verified Aug 18, 2026

Minimum return

No statutory minimum return; what you earn is set by the price at the saleMissouri Revised Statutes 140.340 - Redemption, when, mannerMo. Rev. Stat. 140.340Verified Aug 18, 2026

Redemption

After a first or second offering sale, the owner and other interested parties hold an absolute right to redeem for one year, then a defeasible right that lasts until the purchaser actually acquires the deed. A purchaser must serve the 90 day notice of the right to redeem before the date on which the deed can be acquired, so the practical window usually runs past the one year mark. After a third offering sale, redemption runs 90 days, and the purchaser must give notice to recorded claimants within 45 days of the sale. After a post third offering sale, there is no redemption period and the deed issues immediately. Minors and incapacitated or disabled persons have a longer right, running five years from the last payment of taxes by that person or a predecessor. The right also ends if the certificate lapses because the purchaser failed to record the deed within 18 months.Missouri Revised Statutes 140.340 - Redemption, when, mannerMo. Rev. Stat. 140.340Verified Aug 18, 2026

Deed deposit

The winning bidder must pay the full amount of the bid to the collector immediately at the sale. Chapter 140 sets no advance bidder deposit and no balance due window. A bidder who fails to pay forfeits a penalty of 25 percent of the bid to the county school fund and the parcel is offered again at once as though no sale had been made. Counties running an online or registered sale may impose their own deposit and registration terms on top of the statute, so confirm them with the collector.Missouri Revised Statutes 140.250 - Third offering of delinquent lands and lots, redemption, subsequent sale, collector's deedMo. Rev. Stat. 140.250Verified Aug 18, 2026

Surplus proceeds

Any amount above the taxes and costs is surplus. The collector pays it into the county treasury, where the treasurer holds it in trust for the lesser of three years or 90 days after the redemption period expires. It is distributed first to the former lienholders of record in the priority their liens held on the date of the sale, then to the former owner. No distribution other than through the redemption process may occur until 90 days after the redemption period ends, and a claimant must file a written claim with the county commission within those 90 days, referencing the recorded lien it rests on. The county pays no interest on the fund. Anything still unclaimed at three years becomes the permanent school fund of the county.Missouri Revised Statutes 140.230 - Foreclosure sale surplus, deposited in treasury, escheats, proof of claimsMo. Rev. Stat. 140.230Verified Aug 18, 2026

Governing statute

Mo. Rev. Stat. Chapter 140Missouri Revised Statutes 140.150 - Lands, lots, mineral rights, and royalty interests subject to sale, whenMo. Rev. Stat. 140.150Verified Aug 18, 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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