County-held certificates
Missouri publishes no standing over the counter certificate list, but it does have a continuing route to unsold parcels. If lands are not sold at the third offering, the collector must advertise or offer them for sale once every 30 days. Where the county commission has appointed a trustee to bid in unsold parcels and that trustee declines to take a parcel after the third offering, the collector may sell it at any time and for any amount. A purchaser at any of these post third offering sales takes an immediate collector's deed with no redemption period, and must pay all taxes that fell due after the taxes covered by the advertisement before the deed issues. That deed has priority over other liens and encumbrances except real property taxes. Ask the collector for the post third offering list and its terms, because the schedule and the format vary by county.
Lands available for taxes
Parcels the county's trustee has taken under section 140.260 are held for the benefit of the taxing funds and are sold on order of the county commission, with the trustee's compensation capped at 10 percent of the sale price. Counties and municipalities that have created a land bank agency, or a land trust under the Land Tax Collection Law, hold and resell tax foreclosed parcels through that agency instead. The inventories are separate from the collector's sale, so check both.
Either route skips the live auction, which means these are the parcels nobody bid on, so the due diligence matters even more. The national over-the-counter guide has the full cross-state playbook.
Verified Aug 18, 2026 against Missouri 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.