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Tax Sale Atlas

Barnes County, ND tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Barnes County, ND tax sale, one of 2,606 counties in 31 states. North Dakota sells the deed itself, so no statutory investor interest rate applies. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the county’s own official pages on Sep 4, 2026.

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

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

Format
In person
Registration
There is no online bidder portal.
County office
(701) 845-8500
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Sep 4, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Barnes County sells delinquent taxes

No tax lien certificate sale

North Dakota sells no tax lien certificate to investors. Under N.D.C.C. 57-28-09 the county auditor issues the tax deed to the county itself once the lien is foreclosed, so the county is the only party ever holding the delinquency.

Tax deed sale

In person
Run by
Barnes County Auditor's Office
Frequency
annual
Registration
There is no online bidder portal.
Sale list
Auditor tax sale page with the sale notice, terms and bidder oath
When it runs
The annual sale of land taken by tax deed is held on the third Tuesday of November at 8:00 a.m. The 2025 sale was set for November 18 at 8:00 A.M. in the Barnes County Auditor's Office Commission Room, and the notice states that sales continue from day to day until completed.
Registration and deposit

There is no online bidder portal. Contact the Auditor's Office before 5 p.m. the day before the sale to review the Terms of Sale and complete the Delinquent Tax Bidder's Oath, which must be signed before a notary public. The oath certifies the bidder owes no delinquent property taxes in Barnes County or any other North Dakota county, and owing delinquent taxes anywhere in the state disqualifies a bidder from being the successful purchaser under N.D.C.C. 57-28-15(7).

Sale format and venue
Barnes County holds a live in-person auction in the Auditor's Office Commission Room. Each parcel is offered separately and sold to the highest bidder for not less than the posted minimum sale price, with a $50 minimum starting bid and bidding in $50 increments. Terms are cash or check deposited immediately with the Barnes County Treasurer's Office. The minimum bid covers all taxes, penalties, interest and certified annual special assessment installments through the 2024 tax year plus estimated 2025 taxes and specials, and the parcel becomes taxable to the buyer for the 2026 tax year once the deed is delivered. The county conveys only its own interest by County Deed with no warranty as to title, location or condition, so budget for perfecting title and check for assessments levied by agencies other than the county, which can remain outstanding after the sale. Where the IRS holds a recorded lien, the United States keeps a 120-day right of redemption after the sale at the price paid plus 6 percent per year and qualifying sale expenses.
Source: Terms of Annual Sale, Barnes County Auditor· Verified Sep 4, 2026

Barnes County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Barnes 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

    Use Auditor tax sale page with the sale notice, terms and bidder oath for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    There is no online bidder portal. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. 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.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Barnes County Auditor's Office as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Barnes County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Auditor tax sale page with the sale notice, terms and bidder oath. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    There is no online bidder portal. Contact the Auditor's Office before 5 p.m. the day before the sale to review the Terms of Sale and complete the Delinquent Tax Bidder's Oath, which must be signed before a notary public. The oath certifies the bidder owes no delinquent property taxes in Barnes County or any other North Dakota county, and owing delinquent taxes anywhere in the state disqualifies a bidder from being the successful purchaser under N.D.C.C. 57-28-15(7).

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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

Any parcel that does not sell at the November auction may be bought from the county auditor at private sale before the next annual sale, for not less than its minimum sale price. Some boards also list unsold parcels through licensed real estate brokers.

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

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax sale office

Barnes County Auditor's Office

(701) 845-8500

230 4th St NW, Valley City, ND 58072

Official website

County notes

  • The former owner may redeem a listed parcel right up until the time of sale by paying the full taxes, specials, penalty and interest, and previous title owners may repurchase while tax title remains with the county, so call the Auditor's Office at 701-845-8500 before the sale to confirm a parcel is still being offered.
  • The sale notice posted for 2025 listed no parcels available, so inventory in this county is thin and the new notice is worth checking on the Auditor's tax sale page each November.
  • A bid is an irrevocable offer to purchase. The successful bidder must state in writing the name and address in which the County Deed is issued, and the deed goes in the bidder's own name unless the bidder holds written, signed permission from another party.
  • The deed is mailed to the purchaser after the Chairman of the Barnes County Commission signs it, and the County Recorder sends the original to the owner once recording is complete. Any survey of a purchased parcel is at the buyer's own initiative and expense.

North Dakota rules

Redemption
There are two distinct windows and neither is a redemption against a private buyer. Up to October 1, paying the amount in the foreclosure notice stops the process. After the tax deed vests in the county, the former owner, the former owner's executor or administrator, or a parent, spouse or child of the former owner may repurchase the property so long as the county still holds tax title, for cash or on a contract for deed. A city holding a delinquent special assessment has a prior right to buy at the appraised value, exercisable within 30 days of the auditor's notice. Once the county sells at the annual auction, the purchaser's deed is not subject to any of this.
Deed deposit
None. Chapter 57-28 sets no bidder deposit and no registration fee. Each parcel is sold at auction to the highest qualified bidder for no less than the minimum sale price, and the terms are settled at the sale: the full amount in cash paid promptly to the county treasurer, or one quarter of the purchase price in cash with the balance in equal annual installments over not more than ten years under a contract for deed. A bidder who owes delinquent property taxes in any North Dakota county is disqualified from purchasing.
Governing statute
N.D.C.C. ch. 57-28

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 North Dakotarules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Barnes County, North Dakota sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax deeds. North Dakota sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the County Auditor sells the property itself at a public tax sale.

How often does Barnes County hold tax deed sales?

Barnes 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 Dakota's redemption rule: None after the county's annual sale. Before that, the owner may satisfy the tax lien up to the October 1 foreclosure date, and after the county takes the deed a statutory right of repurchase runs for as long as the tax title remains in the county. Call the Barnes County Auditor'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.

Where can I find the Barnes County tax sale list?

Barnes County posts its tax sale list at barnescounty.us. 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 Sep 4, 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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Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

North Dakota tax salesDue diligence guide
Call Barnes County Auditor's Office