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Tax Sale Atlas

Adams County, NE tax sales

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

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

Next sale
Nebraska holds no tax deed auction.
Format
In person
County office
402-461-7120
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 24, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Adams County sells delinquent taxes

From lien to deed

Nebraska holds no county tax deed auction. A certificate holder reaches title down one of two roads, and which road is available depends on how much equity is in the parcel. Three years after the date of the tax sale, and after serving the Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-1831 notice at least three months in advance, the holder may apply to the county treasurer for a tax deed. That road is open only where 110 percent of the parcel's assessed value at the time of the application, less the amount that would be needed to redeem it, is twenty five thousand dollars or less. Where the equity is larger the holder must instead foreclose the certificate in the district court of the county where the land lies, in the same manner as a real estate mortgage foreclosure. Either step has to be taken within nine months after the expiration of three years from the date of sale, or nine months after two years where the holder is a land bank and the parcel qualifies as vacant and abandoned. Missing the window voids the certificate.

Tax certificate sale (lien)

In person
Run by
Adams County Treasurer
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Adams County holds one annual tax sale, on the first Monday in March.
Next expected
on the first Monday in March, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
Treasurer tax sale certificate list (PDF, with an Excel version and the sale procedures on the Tax Sales page)
When it runs
Adams County holds one annual tax sale, on the first Monday in March. The Treasurer's procedures state "The 2026 Annual Tax Sale is Monday, March 2, 2026" at 10:00 a.m., held on the second floor of the Hastings Public Library at 314 N. Denver Ave., Hastings, NE 68901, which is across the street to the south of the courthouse. The library opens at 9:00 a.m. and its entrance is on the west side, with free city parking across the street to the west. Pre-registration closes Friday, February 20, 2026, and the Treasurer notifies each registered company of its bidder number no later than noon on Thursday, February 26, 2026. The published parcel list receives its final update on February 27, 2026.
Registration and deposit

Registration is handled directly by the Treasurer rather than through an online auction site. Companies must pre-register no later than Friday, February 20, 2026. Each registration must include a registration form (the county's Tax Sale Application or the buyer's own), an IRS Form W-9 for each company, and a $25.00 non-refundable registration fee for each company. The application also asks for a Federal Tax ID number, which the Treasurer lists as required for purchase. The office asks registrants to enclose additional blank check(s) to cover purchases, with checks payable to Virginia Long, Adams County Treasurer, 500 West 4th Street, Hastings NE 68901. Floor attendance is capped at one representative per 10 registered companies, so a buyer registering 15 companies sends two representatives and one registering 25 companies sends three. Once all registrations are in, the Treasurer assigns each registered company a bidder number by random drawing.

Sale format and venue
Adams County allocates certificates by rotation, not by competitive bidding. After bidder numbers are drawn at random, the Treasurer states the sale runs "by bidder number 1 choosing which property number they wish to purchase first, then bidder number 2 choosing which property number they wish to purchase first, and so forth until all lots are sold or not sold due to lack of bidders." No premium is bid and the rate is not bid down, so the price is the delinquent amount shown on the published list and every certificate carries the statutory Nebraska rate. The sale is worked in the same order the parcels are advertised: properties are numbered consecutively starting at 1, highest dollar amount to lowest, and a number is not reassigned when its parcel pays before the sale, so gaps in the sequence are normal. Certificate fees are $20.00 per certificate and are not refunded on redemption; assignment fees are $20.00 per assignment. Completed certificates are mailed to the company address given on the application, and a buyer who wants the Treasurer to hold the originals must submit that request in writing. The Treasurer's stated payment policy is credit or debit cards with a fee, no credit card checks and no out-of-state checks, which sits alongside the instruction to mail blank checks with registration, so an out-of-state buyer should confirm acceptable payment with the office before the sale. The office cautions that these rules and procedures may apply only to the 2026 sale, so read the current year's procedures each January. Sale questions go to 402-461-7256, 402-461-7130 or 402-461-7253.
Source: Adams County Treasurer, Tax Sales and Annual Tax Sale Procedures· Verified Aug 24, 2026

Adams County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Adams 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

    Use Treasurer tax sale certificate list (PDF, with an Excel version and the sale procedures on the Tax Sales page) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.

  3. Sale day

    Nebraska holds no tax 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 Treasurer for the administrative deed, or the sheriff under a district court decree as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Adams County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Treasurer tax sale certificate list (PDF, with an Excel version and the sale procedures on the Tax Sales page). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Registration is handled directly by the Treasurer rather than through an online auction site. Companies must pre-register no later than Friday, February 20, 2026. Each registration must include a registration form (the county's Tax Sale Application or the buyer's own), an IRS Form W-9 for each company, and a $25.00 non-refundable registration fee for each company. The application also asks for a Federal Tax ID number, which the Treasurer lists as required for purchase. The office asks registrants to enclose additional blank check(s) to cover purchases, with checks payable to Virginia Long, Adams County Treasurer, 500 West 4th Street, Hastings NE 68901. Floor attendance is capped at one representative per 10 registered companies, so a buyer registering 15 companies sends two representatives and one registering 25 companies sends three. Once all registrations are in, the Treasurer assigns each registered company a bidder number by random drawing.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Nebraska 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

Two routes reach parcels outside the March sale, and both run through the county treasurer. Any parcel that stayed unsold at the public sale for want of bidders must then be sold at private sale at the treasurer's office to any person who pays the taxes, penalty, and costs; the certificate issued that way is marked sold for taxes at private sale. Separately, where the county board bought a parcel in the county's name because it drew no bidder, the treasurer holds that certificate and may assign it at any time to anyone willing to pay the face amount plus 14 percent interest from the date of the certificate, with the county clerk endorsing the assignment and the twenty five dollar issuance fee due from the buyer. If the parcel lies inside a municipality that has created a land bank, the treasurer must give the land bank the first opportunity to acquire the county's certificate. Ask the county treasurer which parcels are open to private sale and which county held certificates are available for assignment.

New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.

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County offices

Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)

Adams County Treasurer

402-461-7120

500 West 4th Street, Suite 106, Hastings, NE 68901

Official website

County notes

  • The sale is conducted in person at the Hastings Public Library, not at the courthouse and not on an online auction platform, so a bidder or a designated representative has to be in the room on sale day.
  • Certificates are handed out by rotation rather than bid. Bidder numbers are drawn at random after registration closes, then bidder 1 picks a parcel, bidder 2 picks, and the rotation continues down the numbered list. Because there is no bidding, the way to compete in Adams County is to register early and correctly and to arrive with a ranked shortlist.
  • The list of available properties is published in the Hastings Tribune in three weekly notices in February, on the 11th, 18th and 25th, and is posted on the county website in both Excel and PDF format. Both versions link through to the Assessor's page for each parcel.
  • The website list is refreshed weekly and parcels that are no longer available are shaded gray. The final update lands on February 27, and parcels can still redeem between that update and the sale, so bring alternates.
  • Under Nebraska law a tax sale certificate does not convey title. The holder serves the statutory notice on the owner and other interested parties and then applies to the Treasurer for a treasurer's tax deed, or instead brings a foreclosure action in district court. Adams County District Court and the Register of Deeds, which records the resulting deed, are both in the courthouse at 500 West 4th Street in Hastings.
  • Adams County bills real estate taxes on December 1 and they are due December 31. First-half taxes become delinquent on May 1 of the following year and second-half taxes on September 1.
  • The Treasurer's office is in Suite 106 on the first floor of the courthouse and is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The general line is 402-461-7120 and the real estate and tax sale line is 402-461-7256.

Nebraska rules

Max interest rate
14% per year, fixed by statute (nothing is bid)
Minimum return
No statutory floor; every certificate earns the same statutory rate
Redemption
Nebraska does not run a redemption clock that simply expires. The right to redeem stays open until the certificate holder files the application for a tax deed with the county treasurer, and the treasurer may not accept a redemption after the close of business on the day that application arrives. Because the holder cannot apply until three years after the sale, and must first serve a notice at least three months before applying that says in sixteen point type UNLESS YOU ACT YOU WILL LOSE THIS PROPERTY, the ordinary parcel carries a redemption window of about three years and three months and the owner gets a written warning inside it. Several conditions of the parcel or of its owner change that window, and they are recorded as tracks below. On the foreclosure road the window is different again: redemption stays open until the district court confirms the sheriff's sale.
Surplus proceeds
Nebraska returns the owner's equity on both roads. On the administrative road, within thirty days after the deed is recorded the grantee must pay the surplus to the previous owner. The surplus is the resale price if the grantee has already sold the parcel, or the assessed value shown in the county assessor's records at the time of the deed application if the grantee has not, less the amount that would have been needed to redeem the parcel, less the amount needed to pay all encumbrances on it, and less an administrative fee of five hundred dollars, or reasonable attorney fees in the case of a judicial foreclosure, which the grantee may keep to offset the cost of getting the deed. On the foreclosure road, any surplus remaining after all costs and taxes on a parcel are satisfied is applied the way surplus is applied in a mortgage foreclosure, and proceeds from one parcel may not be applied to the taxes on another except as the decree directs.
Governing statute
Neb. Rev. Stat. Chapter 77, Article 18 (77-1801 et seq.)

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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Frequently asked questions

Does Adams County, Nebraska sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax lien certificates. In Nebraska investors buy the lien, not the property; the County Treasurer runs the sale.

When is the Adams County tax certificate sale?

Adams County holds one annual tax sale, on the first Monday in March. The Treasurer's procedures state "The 2026 Annual Tax Sale is Monday, March 2, 2026" at 10:00 a.m., held on the second floor of the Hastings Public Library at 314 N. Denver Ave., Hastings, NE 68901, which is across the street to the south of the courthouse. The library opens at 9:00 a.m. and its entrance is on the west side, with free city parking across the street to the west. Pre-registration closes Friday, February 20, 2026, and the Treasurer notifies each registered company of its bidder number no later than noon on Thursday, February 26, 2026. The published parcel list receives its final update on February 27, 2026. The sale is held in person. Always confirm the exact date with the County Treasurer before the sale.

How often does Adams County hold tax deed sales?

Adams County holds its tax deed sale none. Nebraska holds no tax 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. Nebraska's redemption rule: 3 years from the tax sale before the holder may apply for a treasurer's tax deed, and the owner may redeem right up to the day that application is filed. Call the County Treasurer for the administrative deed, or the sheriff under a district court decree 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.

Where can I find the Adams County tax sale list?

Adams County posts its tax sale list at adamscountyne.gov. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.

Verified Aug 24, 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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