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Tax Sale Atlas

Foster County, ND tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Foster 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 Foster County, seat of Carrington: 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.

Next sale
Third Tuesday of November at 10:00 a.m., the statewide sale date fixed by N.D.
Format
In person
Registration
There is no online registration and no published deposit requirement.
County office
(701) 652-2441
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Sep 4, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Foster 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
Foster County Auditor's Office
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Third Tuesday of November at 10:00 a.m., the statewide sale date fixed by N.D.
Registration
There is no online registration and no published deposit requirement.
Sale list
Minimum Sale Notice with per parcel minimum bids
When it runs
Third Tuesday of November at 10:00 a.m., the statewide sale date fixed by N.D. Cent. Code 57-28-13. The county's Minimum Sale Notice set the last sale for "November 18th, 2025 @ 10:00 AM" at the Auditor's Office.
Registration and deposit

There is no online registration and no published deposit requirement. Bidding is done in person at the Auditor's Office, 1000 5th Street North in Carrington, so plan to be in the room before the 10:00 a.m. start. Confirm accepted payment methods and any bidder paperwork with the Auditor/Treasurer at (701) 652-2441 ahead of sale day.

Sale format and venue
Foster County sells tax deeds at a live, in person auction held inside the Auditor's Office at 1000 5th Street North in Carrington. There is no online bidding. A listing for this sale appears on Bid4Assets, but that site states it is publishing the notice as a courtesy and is not conducting the auction, so bids must be placed in the room. Before each sale the Auditor publishes a Minimum Sale Notice giving every parcel its legal description, three years of delinquent taxes, estimated current year taxes, special assessments, city liens and a minimum sale price, and no parcel may sell below that minimum. Inventory is very small: the last published notice offered three platted city lots in Carrington and McHenry with minimum bids of $100, $105 and $1,710. Buyers pay cash or put one quarter down and pay the balance over up to ten years under N.D. Cent. Code 57-28-15. Parcels that draw no bidder may be bought from the county at private sale before the next November auction.
Source: Minimum Sale Notice for Delinquent Tax Properties, Foster County Auditor· Verified Sep 4, 2026

Foster County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Foster 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 Minimum Sale Notice with per parcel minimum bids for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    There is no online registration and no published deposit requirement. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    Third Tuesday of November at 10:00 a.m., the statewide sale date fixed by N.D. 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 Foster County Auditor's Office as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Foster County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Minimum Sale Notice with per parcel minimum bids. 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 registration and no published deposit requirement. Bidding is done in person at the Auditor's Office, 1000 5th Street North in Carrington, so plan to be in the room before the 10:00 a.m. start. Confirm accepted payment methods and any bidder paperwork with the Auditor/Treasurer at (701) 652-2441 ahead of sale day.

  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.

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County offices

Tax sale office

Foster County Auditor's Office

(701) 652-2441

1000 5th St N, Carrington, ND 58421. Mailing: PO Box 104, Carrington, ND 58421

Official website

County notes

  • The Auditor and Treasurer are one combined office in Foster County, held by Auditor/Treasurer Ellen Roundy, so (701) 652-2441 reaches both the tax records and the official who runs the sale.
  • Foster County covers 644 square miles and is the smallest of North Dakota's 53 counties. Its four cities are Carrington, Glenfield, McHenry and Grace City, so expect a short list of platted city lots rather than farmland.
  • The sale list is posted at the Auditor's Office at least fifteen days before the sale and published once in the official county newspaper not less than ten days before it, which puts the current year's parcels in front of buyers in the first week of November.
  • Courthouse hours are Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Friday 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Call ahead if you want to inspect county records before bidding.

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 Foster 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 Foster County hold tax deed sales?

Foster County holds its tax deed sale once a year. Third Tuesday of November at 10:00 a.m., the statewide sale date fixed by N.D. 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 Foster 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 Foster County tax sale list?

Foster County posts its tax sale list at fostercounty.com. 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 Foster County Auditor's Office