Cape May County, NJ tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Cape May County, NJ tax sale, one of 3,131 counties in 51 states. New Jersey sells tax lien certificates paying up to 18%. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from state rules plus city and town notices on Oct 6, 2026.
How tax lien sales work in Cape May County, seat of Cape May Court House: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how New Jersey tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- Set by each city or town
- County seat collector
- 609-465-1030
On this page
How Cape May County sells delinquent taxes
From lien to deed
New Jersey holds no tax deed auction. A certificate holder who is not redeemed files an action in the Superior Court to foreclose the right of redemption: a private purchaser at any time after two years from the sale, the municipality (or anyone who takes the certificate from it by assignment or transfer) after six months, and any holder at any time if the property meets the statutory definition of abandoned property. Judgment bars redemption and vests title in the holder. Since P.L.2024, c.39 the owner or the owner's heirs may, before final judgment, demand that the foreclosure proceed by a sheriff's sale or a sheriff's Internet auction to preserve equity; that sale is run by the county sheriff and is a foreclosure sale of one parcel, not a tax sale, so a sheriff's sale listing is never the date of a municipality's certificate sale. Separately, a municipality holding its own certificates may foreclose by an in rem action once more than six months have passed since the sale and 21 months of taxes are unpaid.
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Each municipal tax collector (16 municipalities in Cape May County); the county does not hold a tax sale
- Frequency
- annual
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Dennis Township sells online: register on dennis.newjerseytaxsale.com, post a 10 percent deposit of intended purchases (at least $1,000) by ACH before the deadline, and pay by wire on sale day. In-person towns set their own bidder rules; Middle Township, for example, requires pre-registration with a signed W-9.
Sale format and venue
Cape May County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Cape May County tax sale 2026 searches, use the city and town sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the collector of the city or town holding the sale before you bid.
Confirm the advertised parcel list
Each city or town sells separately and posts its own list. The municipal notes on this page say where each one appears.Register to bid
Ask the collector of the city or town holding the sale how and when to register; many close registration days or weeks before the sale.Sale day
Each city or town picks its own platform or in-person venue. Confirm the date and registration window with that town’s collector before you bid.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, treat the collector of the city or town holding the sale as the source for which parcels are actually offered. Do not rely on a third-party list for final parcel status.
Before you bid in Cape May County
4 checks
Confirm the parcel list before pricing
There is no county list: each town posts its own. Get the list from the town whose sale you plan to attend and confirm the advertised parcels with its collector before you price a bid.Confirm registration and deposit
Dennis Township sells online: register on dennis.newjerseytaxsale.com, post a 10 percent deposit of intended purchases (at least $1,000) by ACH before the deadline, and pay by wire on sale day. In-person towns set their own bidder rules; Middle Township, for example, requires pre-registration with a signed W-9.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the New Jersey due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.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
unsold certificates
Certificates on parcels that drew no bid are struck off to the municipality at 18 percent. A municipality's governing body may later sell a certificate it holds by assignment or at a separate public sale, at its discretion. Ask the tax collector of the specific municipality.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what New Jersey calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
Local offices
County notes
- Dennis Township: the 2026 tax lien sale ran online at dennis.newjerseytaxsale.com on June 2, 2026, with registration and deposits opening by May 1. Bidders post a 10 percent deposit ($1,000 minimum) by ACH and make final payment by wire. The sale list appears under Preview Items on the auction site once posted. Tax Collector: 609-861-9700 x239.
- Woodbine: the borough sells online at woodbine.newjerseytaxsale.com. Its most recent sale was held March 23, 2026, with deposits due March 16 on the same 10 percent, $1,000 minimum terms. The sale list appears under Preview Items on the auction site once posted.
- Avalon: the next Avalon tax sale is set for November 12, 2026. The sale list is posted on the Tax & Utility Collector's page. Office: 3100 Dune Drive, Avalon, NJ 08202, (609) 967-4045.
- Upper Township: the 2025 sale was held December 2, 2025 at 10:00 am with spoken bids before the tax collector. Bidders must complete the township's bidder packet and pay by cash, certified check, money order or wire before the sale closes. Recent sale lists are posted on the township's Tax Sales page. Office: 2100 Tuckahoe Road, Petersburg, NJ 08270, (609) 628-2804.
- Middle Township (Cape May Court House): the 2026 sale is held in person in the Municipal Court Room starting at 9:00 am and covers current-year taxes and charges unpaid on November 11, 2026; the Tax Collector has not yet announced the date. Bidders must pre-register and file a W-9, both with original signatures, with the Tax Collector's Office. The list is advertised in the Cape May County Herald for two weeks before the sale week and posted on the Tax Collector's page. Office: 33 Mechanic Street, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210, (609) 465-8724.
- Lower Township: the 2026 sale was held in person on June 9, 2026 at 10 am in the Municipal Building, 2600 Bayshore Road, Villas, NJ 08251, for 2025 and prior charges. Payment is due before the sale closes by cash, certified check or wire, and premiums are bid in $100 increments. Tax Collector: (609) 886-2005 ext. 118.
- Wildwood: the city holds an accelerated tax sale in mid December for charges still unpaid on November 11. The list is advertised in the local newspaper in the two weeks before the sale. Office: 4400 New Jersey Ave, Wildwood, NJ 08260.
- North Wildwood: the city holds an accelerated tax sale in the last week of December for current-year taxes and sewer charges still unpaid on November 11. Office: 901 Atlantic Avenue, North Wildwood, NJ 08260, (609) 522-2030.
- Wildwood Crest: the sale list is published in the local newspaper about five weeks before the sale, and the 2025 list is posted on the Tax Collector's page. Borough Hall: 6101 Pacific Avenue, Wildwood Crest, NJ, (609) 522-5176.
- Cape May, Cape May Point, Ocean City, Sea Isle City, Stone Harbor, West Cape May and West Wildwood publish their sale notices and lists in the local newspaper and at the tax collector's office. Contact each collector for the date, format and bidder rules.
New Jersey rules
- Minimum return
- One-time penalty at redemption by certificate amount (2% over $200, 4% over $5,000, 6% over $10,000), added to the interest
- Redemption
- The right to redeem lasts until it is cut off by a foreclosure judgment, not for a fixed term. What varies by parcel is how soon the holder may start that action: two years after the sale for a private purchaser, six months for the municipality or its assignee, and any time for abandoned property. Once a foreclosure complaint is filed and notice of it is filed with the tax collector, redemption is made in that court action and carries the court-fixed attorney's fees and costs. All other redemptions must go through the municipal tax collector's office; a lienholder who knowingly takes a redemption outside that office forfeits the certificate.
- Surplus proceeds
- Surplus arises only from a sheriff's sale or Internet auction demanded by the owner under N.J.S.A. 54:5-87(b). The sheriff deducts the cost of the sale and deposits the surplus with the Clerk of the Superior Court, and the owner or heirs claim it by motion under N.J.S.2A:50-37 and the Rules of Court; that is the exclusive route. If the owner does not demand a sale, the holder may foreclose without one and the owner has no claim against the holder for any equity. In an abandoned-property foreclosure the court may bar claims to surplus equity and no sheriff's sale is required.
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.
Frequently asked questions
Does Cape May County, New Jersey sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Cape May County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Verified Oct 6, 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 office that runs the sale before you bid.
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