Durham County, NC tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Durham County, seat of Durham: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how North Carolina tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- No registration is required, but the county states you must be present at the sale to bid.
- County office
- 919-560-0300
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 18, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page
How Durham County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Durham County Tax Administration (the Tax Collector directs foreclosure proceedings; private attorneys file the actions and a court-appointed commissioner, typically R. Douglas Davis, conducts the sale)
- Frequency
- annual
- Registration
- No registration is required, but the county states you must be present at the sale to bid.
When it runs
Monthly. The county page states: "Sales are held on the second Tuesday of every month at 12:00pm" in the lobby of the Durham County Judicial Building, 510 Dillard Street (New Courthouse), Durham.
Registration and deposit
Sale format and venue
Sales are live courthouse auctions with no online bidding; no platform is confirmed for this county beyond the in-person sale, verify current listings with the office. Each sale then stands open for 10 calendar days for upset bids, filed with the Clerk of Court at a minimum raise of 5% or $750, whichever is greater. The county's Foreclosures for Auction table listed no parcels when accessed in August 2026, and the posted next-sale date on the page read February 10, 2026, so check the page or call 919-560-0300 for the current docket. The county also publishes a delinquent taxpayer list on its Spatialest tax portal. In person, Durham County Judicial Building lobby, 510 Dillard Street, Durham
Source: Durham County Tax Administration, Foreclosure page· Verified Aug 18, 2026
Durham County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Durham 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.
Get the advertised list
Use Foreclosures for Auction (county foreclosure page) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
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.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Durham County Tax Administration (the Tax Collector directs foreclosure proceedings; private attorneys file the actions and a court-appointed commissioner, typically R. Douglas Davis, conducts the sale) as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Durham County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Foreclosures for Auction (county foreclosure page). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the North Carolina 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.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax sale office
Durham County Tax Administration
201 East Main Street, 3rd Floor, Administration Bldg. II, Durham, NC 27701 (mailing: 200 E Main Street, Durham, NC 27701)
Official websiteCounty notes
- Durham County forecloses delinquent parcels through court-appointed commissioner sales held in person in the Durham County Judicial Building lobby at 510 Dillard Street; the county states sales fall on the second Tuesday of every month at 12:00pm.
- No bidder registration is required, but bidders must attend in person, and the high bidder pays a 10% deposit in cash or certified funds to the attorney at the sale.
- Every sale stays open for 10 calendar days for upset bids filed with the Clerk of Court, raised by at least 5% of the bid or $750, whichever is greater, so a winning courthouse bid is not final until the upset window closes.
- The county publishes its delinquent taxpayer list through its Spatialest tax portal at property.spatialest.com/nc/durham-tax, and current foreclosure parcels appear in the Foreclosures for Auction table on the county foreclosure page.
North Carolina rules
- Redemption
- North Carolina has no fixed redemption period of the certificate-state type and no post-sale redemption right. In a G.S. 105-374 foreclosure, redemption is allowed before confirmation of the foreclosure sale: paying the taxes, penalties, interest, and costs discontinues the action, and the clerk may confirm the sale once 10 days pass after the report of sale with no upset bid or exception. In an in rem foreclosure, payment in full of the docketed judgment with interest and costs requires the tax collector to certify the payment and cancel the judgment. Because every sale also sits through the 10-day upset bid window, an owner in either path retains a last window to pay after the auction itself but before the sale is final.
- Deed deposit
- At a G.S. 105-374 sale the commissioner may require the successful bidder to make a deposit of up to 20 percent of the bid; no deposit may be required of a taxing unit. An upset bidder always files a deposit of 5 percent of the upset bid, minimum $750, with the clerk.
- Surplus proceeds
- Sale proceeds are applied first to the costs of the action, including the commissioner's and attorneys' fees, then to the taxes, penalties, and interest of the foreclosing unit, then to special assessments and the taxes of other taxing units. Any surplus is paid as the court directs or held by the clerk of superior court, where the former owner, junior lienholders, and other claimants can file a special proceeding under G.S. 1-339.71 to establish ownership of the funds.
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 Durham County, North Carolina sell tax liens or tax deeds?
Tax deeds. North Carolina sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the Court-appointed commissioner sells the property itself at a public tax sale.
How often does Durham County hold tax deed sales?
Durham County holds its tax deed sale once a 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. North Carolina's redemption rule: Until the foreclosure sale becomes final; no redemption after confirmation. Call the Durham County Tax Administration (the Tax Collector directs foreclosure proceedings; private attorneys file the actions and a court-appointed commissioner, typically R. Douglas Davis, conducts the sale) 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 Durham County tax sale list?
Durham County posts its tax sale list at dconc.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 18, 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.
More North Carolina counties
Browse all 100 North Carolina counties
Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.