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Tax Sale Atlas

Garfield County, MT tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Garfield County, MT tax sale, one of 2,862 counties in 36 states. Montana sells tax lien certificates paying up to 10%. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from state rules plus what the county publishes on Sep 11, 2026.

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

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

Next sale
No tax deed auction is held at any time of year.
Format
In person
Registration
No registration exists, because there is no deed auction.
County office
(406) 557-2233
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Sep 11, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page
Look up a sale detail

Garfield County Treasurer's Office. In person at the county treasurer's office during regular office hours. Mont. Code Ann. 15-18-220(6) permits a county to conduct the auction electronically but does not require it, and there is no statewide platform.. annual

Record quality: medium. Last verified: 2026-09-11.

Mont. Code Ann. 15-17-323, Assignment of Rights (source accessed 2026-09-11)

Recorded reference information. Verify current sale conditions with the county. Read the full sale details.

Link to this detail

How Garfield County sells delinquent taxes

Tax certificate sale (lien)

In person at the county treasurer's counter, or by mail or email where the county allows it. Montana holds no tax lien auction, so there is no online bidding platform, no registration portal and no vendor to sign up with.
Run by
Garfield County Treasurer's Office
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Montana runs no tax lien auction, so there is no sale date.
Registration
There is no bidder registration and no bidding, because the county runs no auction.
When it runs
Montana runs no tax lien auction, so there is no sale date. The Treasurer publishes the notice of pending attachment of the tax lien on or before the last Monday in June under Mont. Code Ann. 15-17-122, and assignment purchases open in mid-August: the certified-mail notice an investor must send the owner of record cannot go out earlier than August 15, must be mailed at least 2 weeks before payment, and no more than 60 days before the assignment is purchased.
Registration and deposit

There is no bidder registration and no bidding, because the county runs no auction. To acquire a lien, mail the statutory Notice of Pending Assignment by certified mail to the person the property was assessed to, wait the required two weeks, then pay the Treasurer the full delinquent taxes plus penalties, interest and costs and receive an assignment certificate. Bring proof of the certified mailing. Call the Treasurer at (406) 557-2233 first for the current assignment paperwork and any office charge, and to confirm which parcels are still unassigned.

Sale format and venue
Garfield County does not hold a tax lien auction, so there is no platform, no bidding and no sale date. The tax lien attaches to the county automatically, and a private buyer acquires it only by assignment from the Treasurer under Mont. Code Ann. 15-17-323. When more than one person seeks the same lien, that statute directs the treasurer to follow a written assignment policy developed with the clerk and recorder and the county attorney. Garfield County does not post its policy, so ask the Treasurer whether assignments here are filled first come, from a priority list, or by another method. No parcel list is published online: the list of every delinquent property is kept on file in the Treasurer's office and open to inspection, and the June notice runs in a qualifying county newspaper or, if none qualifies, is posted in three public places designated by the county commissioners.
Source: Mont. Code Ann. 15-17-323, Assignment of Rights· Verified Sep 11, 2026

Tax deed sale

In person at the county treasurer's office during regular office hours. Mont. Code Ann. 15-18-220(6) permits a county to conduct the auction electronically but does not require it, and there is no statewide platform.
Run by
Garfield County Treasurer's Office
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
No tax deed auction is held at any time of year.
Registration
No registration exists, because there is no deed auction.
When it runs
No tax deed auction is held at any time of year. A deed becomes available to the lien holder only after the statutory redemption period runs and the required notices are given.
Registration and deposit

No registration exists, because there is no deed auction. Only the holder of an assigned tax lien can apply for a deed.

Sale format and venue
Montana issues no tax deed at auction. The investor who holds the assigned tax lien applies for the deed after redemption expires, so there is no public tax deed sale to attend in Garfield County. The assignment certificate itself states that the assignee takes the county's rights to proceed to obtain a tax deed or to receive payment if the owner redeems. Confirm the deed application steps and the current redemption status with the Treasurer before counting on a deed.
Source: Mont. Code Ann. 15-17-323, Assignment of Rights· Verified Sep 11, 2026

Garfield County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Garfield 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. If the parcels on this list are vacant land rather than houses, what buying land at a tax sale hands you is the place to start.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Garfield County publishes no tax sale list online. The Garfield County Treasurer's Office advertises the parcels ahead of the sale rather than posting them, so the list reaches bidders through the county legal newspaper and the office itself. Call (406) 557-2233 to ask for the current advertisement.

  2. Register to bid

    No registration exists, because there is no deed auction. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    No tax deed auction is held at any time of year. 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 Garfield County Treasurer's Office as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Garfield County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    There is no online list to price against. Garfield County advertises the parcels before the sale rather than posting them, so get the advertisement from the office on (406) 557-2233 and price from the parcel numbers it carries.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    No registration exists, because there is no deed auction. Only the holder of an assigned tax lien can apply for a deed.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Montana due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth. Which liens survive is state law, so read what survives a tax deed in Montana before you price the title work.

  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

Every Montana tax lien is effectively over the counter, because assignment is the only way one is ever acquired. The county holds each lien from the day it attaches, and the treasurer must assign it to any person who mails the assessed owner the statutory notice and pays the delinquent taxes, penalties, interest and costs plus the county's assignment fee. After the late August allocation step, whatever is left sits with the treasurer and can be assigned on demand for the rest of the year, subject to the same notice rules: not earlier than August 15, mailed at least 2 weeks before payment and no more than 60 days before it. Older tax years are assignable the same way. Separately, land the county itself took by tax deed is sold at a public auction the county commissioners must order within 6 months of acquiring title, at a price the board fixes in advance, with the list of lands and the time and place published by the county clerk. That county land auction is not a tax lien or tax deed sale and the delinquent taxpayer may repurchase up to 24 hours before the first offering.

New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Montana calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)

Garfield County Treasurer's Office

(406) 557-2233

Garfield County Courthouse, 352 Leavitt Ave, P.O. Box 8, Jordan, MT 59337

Official website

County notes

  • Garfield County publishes no tax lien or assignment list online. The county website carries a per-parcel property tax search and an online payment option, neither of which shows which liens the county holds. Get the delinquent roll by asking the Treasurer's office in Jordan.
  • Jordan is the county seat and the Treasurer's office sits in the Garfield County Courthouse at 352 Leavitt Ave. Mail goes to P.O. Box 8, Jordan, MT 59337. The office is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and closes from noon to 1.
  • The county Department Contacts page lists Jennifer Crawford as both Treasurer and Clerk of District Court on separate lines, so use (406) 557-2233 for tax lien and assignment questions. Terrie Robertson is the Deputy Treasurer. The Treasurer's fax is (406) 557-2323.
  • Charlie Saylor is the Clerk and Recorder, reachable at (406) 557-2760, P.O. Box 7, Jordan, MT 59337. Mont. Code Ann. 15-17-323 has the Treasurer file a copy of each later assignment statement with that office, so the recorded chain of an existing lien is searchable there.
  • Treat third-party tax sale listing sites with care for Montana counties. They often show an auction, a bidding method and a sale date that Garfield County does not hold.

Montana rules

Max interest rate
10% per year, fixed by statute (nothing is bid)
Minimum return
No statutory floor; every certificate earns the same statutory rate
Redemption
The clock runs from attachment of the tax lien, which happens no later than the first working day in August, and it ends on the first working day in August of the third year after that. Redemption stays open for the whole period and the assignee cannot shorten it. On the residential auction track the right to redeem runs further still: the statutory notice tells the parties that a tax deed will be auctioned unless the lien is redeemed before the date of the auction, and 15-18-112(4) lets a particular tax year be redeemed until a deed has issued under 15-18-211 or 15-18-220. Interest and costs keep accruing until the day of redemption, and the county treasurer, not the assignee, calculates the payoff as of the date of payment. A redemption before the lien is assigned goes to the county; after assignment the treasurer pays the assignee.
Deed deposit
The high bidder posts a nonrefundable deposit with the county treasurer at the time of sale of 5 percent of the bid or 200 dollars, whichever is greater, and the deposit is applied to the sale price on full payment. Notice of the deposit requirement must be posted at the auction site, and the treasurer may require bidders to show they can post it. The treasurer may refuse to recognize a bid from someone who previously bid and then refused to honor the bid.
Surplus proceeds
Montana pays the owner's equity out rather than letting it be forfeited. The portion of the opening bid equal to half the most recent assessed value of the land and of the dwelling is treated as surplus funds, and so is anything a winning bid adds above the opening bid. Where the deed is bought by someone other than the assignee, the treasurer first repays the assignee the amount paid for the assignment, including delinquent taxes, penalties, interest and costs, plus everything paid on the tax deed application under 15-18-219(2). The treasurer then distributes the surplus to the legal titleholder of record within 30 days of receiving payment from the purchaser, whether or not the titleholder lives in Montana. On the ordinary non-auction track there is no sale, no bidding and no surplus: the assignee receives the deed itself.
Governing statute
Mont. Code Ann. Title 15, ch. 17

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 Montanarules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Garfield County, Montana sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Garfield County follows Montana's tax lien state system.

When is the Garfield County tax certificate sale?

Montana runs no tax lien auction, so there is no sale date. The Treasurer publishes the notice of pending attachment of the tax lien on or before the last Monday in June under Mont. Code Ann. 15-17-122, and assignment purchases open in mid-August: the certified-mail notice an investor must send the owner of record cannot go out earlier than August 15, must be mailed at least 2 weeks before payment, and no more than 60 days before the assignment is purchased. The sale is held in person. Always confirm the exact date with the County Treasurer before the sale.

How often does Garfield County hold tax deed sales?

Garfield County holds its tax deed sale once a year. No tax deed auction is held at any time of year. 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. Montana's redemption rule: 3 years from attachment of the tax lien, ending on the first working day in August; 2 years for a subdivided residential or commercial lot with delinquent improvement district assessments and no habitable dwelling or commercial structure. Call the Garfield County Treasurer's Office 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 Sep 11, 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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