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Tax Sale Atlas

Douglas County, MO tax sales

How tax lien and tax deed sales work in Douglas County, seat of Ava: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how Missouri tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

Next sale
There is no separate deed auction.
Format
In person
Registration
Bidding is live and the purchaser must be present to bid.
County office
(417) 683-4314
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 22, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Douglas County sells delinquent taxes

Tax certificate sale (lien)

In person
Run by
Douglas County Collector
Frequency
annual
Registration
Bidding is live and the purchaser must be present to bid.
When it runs
The Collector states that "The tax sale is held annually on the fourth Monday in August commencing at 10:00 AM at the North Door of the Douglas County Courthouse, Ava, Missouri." That puts the 2026 sale on August 24 and the 2027 sale on August 23. Delinquent taxes with penalty, interest and costs may be paid to the Collector at any time before 10:00 a.m. on the sale date to keep a parcel out of the sale.
Registration and deposit

Bidding is live and the purchaser must be present to bid. Every bidder signs a notarized affidavit stating they are not currently delinquent on any tax payments on any property, and the affidavit must include a valid driver's license or other government issued ID. Affidavits are available at the Collector's office before the sale, so allow a visit or a call ahead of sale day. A bidder who is not a Missouri resident must execute a Designation of Resident Agent form, and the resident agent must execute an Agent Appointment Acceptance form, before the sale. The total purchase price is due at the Collector's office no later than 3:00 p.m. on the day of the sale, in cashier's check, personal check, cash or money order. Failure to pay the amount bid brings a 25 percent penalty on the bid plus a Prosecuting Attorney fee under Section 140.280 RSMo. The office publishes no separate registration deadline, so confirm bidder paperwork with the Collector before the fourth Monday in August.

Sale format and venue
The sale runs under Chapter 140 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri and is conducted by the Collector. A parcel must be delinquent three years in Douglas County before it is offered, which keeps the annual list short. On first, second and third offerings bidding opens at the taxes, penalties and cost of sale, and parcels inside city limits may carry city taxes and fees on top. Parcels reaching a subsequent to third offering are sold under Section 140.260.8 RSMo. The Collector issues, records and mails the Certificate of Purchase, which the buyer must keep and surrender either on redemption or when a Collector's Deed is issued. After the redemption period runs, a certificate holder may request a Collector's Deed once the Chapter 140 requirements are met and an executed affidavit is filed. Liens against a parcel are not extinguished at the sale or during redemption. The list of properties subject to sale is published in the newspaper for three consecutive weeks before the sale and is also available at the Collector's office during regular office hours. Bidding is at the North Door of the Douglas County Courthouse in Ava, with no online platform named.
Source: Delinquent Tax Certificate Sale General Information, Douglas County Collector· Verified Aug 22, 2026

Tax deed sale

Run by
County Collector
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
There is no separate deed auction.
When it runs
There is no separate deed auction. Deeds come out of the same August sale once a parcel has cycled past the third offering, and unsold post third offering parcels are re-offered at least once every 30 days. A purchaser at a post third offering sale takes an immediate collector's deed with no redemption period.
Sale format and venue
A first or second offering buyer holds a certificate and must wait out the one year redemption period, obtain a title search, serve the 90 day notice of the right to redeem on the owner and every recorded claimant by both first class and certified mail, file the affidavit with the collector, pay all subsequent taxes and the recording fee, and get the deed executed and recorded within 18 months of the sale. Miss the 18 months and the amount due the purchaser stops being a lien. A third offering buyer follows a shorter version, with a 90 day redemption period and notice to recorded claimants within 45 days of the sale. Counties that have elected the Land Tax Collection Law in Chapter 141 pull those parcels out of the collector's offering lists entirely and foreclose in court, and the sheriff sells them there, so confirm which chapter this county runs.
Source: Missouri Revised Statutes 140.405 - Purchaser of property at delinquent land tax auction, deed issued to, when, notice of right of redemptionMo. Rev. Stat. 140.405· Verified Aug 18, 2026

Douglas County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Douglas 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.

  1. Get the advertised list

    A county sale-list URL is still being verified. Use the office and platform details on this page before relying on a copied list.

  2. Register to bid

    Bidding is live and the purchaser must be present to bid. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    There is no separate deed auction. 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.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use County Collector as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Douglas County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    The county sale-list URL is still being verified. Use the county office contacts below and confirm the advertised parcels directly before you price a bid.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Bidding is live and the purchaser must be present to bid. Every bidder signs a notarized affidavit stating they are not currently delinquent on any tax payments on any property, and the affidavit must include a valid driver's license or other government issued ID. Affidavits are available at the Collector's office before the sale, so allow a visit or a call ahead of sale day. A bidder who is not a Missouri resident must execute a Designation of Resident Agent form, and the resident agent must execute an Agent Appointment Acceptance form, before the sale. The total purchase price is due at the Collector's office no later than 3:00 p.m. on the day of the sale, in cashier's check, personal check, cash or money order. Failure to pay the amount bid brings a 25 percent penalty on the bid plus a Prosecuting Attorney fee under Section 140.280 RSMo. The office publishes no separate registration deadline, so confirm bidder paperwork with the Collector before the fourth Monday in August.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Missouri due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.

  4. 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

Missouri publishes no standing over the counter certificate list. The equivalent route is the post third offering sale. Parcels that draw no buyer at a third offering must be advertised or offered again once every 30 days, and where the county's appointed trustee declines to take a parcel the collector may sell it at any time and for any amount. A buyer at any of these sales gets an immediate collector's deed, no redemption period, and must first pay every tax that fell due after the taxes named in the advertisement. Parcels the trustee did take are held for the taxing funds and sold on order of the county commission. Ask the collector for the current post third offering list and its bidding terms, because the format varies by county.

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)

Douglas County Collector

(417) 683-4314

Douglas County Courthouse, 203 East Lincoln Ave., Ava, MO 65608. Mailing address: PO Box 1330, Ava, MO 65608.

Official website

County notes

  • Douglas County runs the Chapter 140 Jones-Munger certificate sale through the County Collector, so the Chapter 141 Land Tax Collection Law process used in St. Louis city and Jackson County does not apply here.
  • The auction is live at the North Door of the Douglas County Courthouse, 203 East Lincoln Ave. in Ava. The Collector names no online auction platform and states that the purchaser must be present to bid, so remote bidding is not an option.
  • No parcel list is posted online. The list runs in the newspaper for three consecutive weeks before the sale and can be read at the Collector's office during office hours, so call the office at (417) 683-4314 or stop in to get the current parcels.
  • A parcel has to be delinquent three years before Douglas County offers it, a longer wait than the two year trigger some Missouri counties use, so expect a small annual offering.
  • Money is due fast. The winning bid must be at the Collector's office by 3:00 p.m. on sale day in cashier's check, personal check, cash or money order, and a bidder who does not pay owes 25 percent of the bid plus a Prosecuting Attorney fee.
  • Laura Stillings is the Douglas County Collector. The office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, stays open through the noon hour, and observes state holidays.

Missouri rules

Max interest rate
10% per year, set by statute (bidding is on price)
Minimum return
No statutory minimum return; what you earn is set by the price at the sale
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.
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.
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.
Governing statute
Mo. Rev. Stat. Chapter 140

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.

See the full Missourirules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Douglas County, Missouri sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Douglas County follows Missouri's tax lien state system.

When is the Douglas County tax certificate sale?

The Collector states that "The tax sale is held annually on the fourth Monday in August commencing at 10:00 AM at the North Door of the Douglas County Courthouse, Ava, Missouri." That puts the 2026 sale on August 24 and the 2027 sale on August 23. Delinquent taxes with penalty, interest and costs may be paid to the Collector at any time before 10:00 a.m. on the sale date to keep a parcel out of the sale. The sale is held in person. Always confirm the exact date with the County Collector before the sale.

How often does Douglas County hold tax deed sales?

Douglas County holds its tax deed sale once a year. There is no separate deed auction. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Missouri's redemption rule: 1 year from a first or second offering sale, 90 days from a third offering sale, and none after a post third offering sale. Call the County Collector as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Verified Aug 22, 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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Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

Missouri tax salesDue diligence guide
Call Douglas County Collector