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Tax Sale Atlas

McLean County, ND tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the McLean 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 McLean County, seat of Washburn: 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
Annual, on the third Tuesday of November.
Format
In person
Registration
The sale notice sets no advance bidder registration and no deposit.
County office
(701) 462-8801
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Sep 4, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How McLean 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
McLean County Auditor's Office
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Annual, on the third Tuesday of November.
Registration
The sale notice sets no advance bidder registration and no deposit.
Sale list
Notice of Sale of Real Estate Forfeited to the County, with parcel list and minimum sale prices
When it runs
Annual, on the third Tuesday of November. The county's own notice sets the sale "beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, in the county commission chambers of the McLean County Courthouse." Minimum sale prices go to a public commission hearing in October and can still be amended at the first commission meeting in November.
Registration and deposit

The sale notice sets no advance bidder registration and no deposit. Attend in the Commission Chambers, bid on each parcel as the Auditor offers it, and pay in cash if you win: the notice states "Payment must be made in cash." Call the Auditor's Office at (701) 462-8801 before the sale to confirm accepted payment forms and whether the parcel you want is still on the list.

Sale format and venue
Parcels are offered one at a time and sold to the highest bidder at no less than a minimum sale price the county commission approves in advance, and the sale continues until every forfeited parcel has been offered. McLean County requires cash payment rather than the installment terms North Dakota law otherwise allows. Volume is small and the inventory is mostly platted town lots: the 2025 sale carried seven parcels in Butte, Garrison, Mercer and Turtle Lake, with minimum prices between roughly $1,300 and $8,100. Owners redeem right up to the auction, so the published list shrinks before sale day. The Auditor publishes the notice, the parcel list and the minimum prices in the county commission minutes each October.
Source: Notice of Sale of Real Estate Forfeited to the County, McLean County Commission minutes· Verified Sep 4, 2026

McLean County tax sale list and auction calendar

For McLean 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 Notice of Sale of Real Estate Forfeited to the County, with parcel list and minimum sale prices for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    The sale notice sets no advance bidder registration and no deposit. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    Annual, on the third Tuesday of November. 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 McLean County Auditor's Office as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in McLean County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Notice of Sale of Real Estate Forfeited to the County, with parcel list and minimum sale prices. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    The sale notice sets no advance bidder registration and no deposit. Attend in the Commission Chambers, bid on each parcel as the Auditor offers it, and pay in cash if you win: the notice states "Payment must be made in cash." Call the Auditor's Office at (701) 462-8801 before the sale to confirm accepted payment forms and whether the parcel you want is still on the list.

  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

McLean County Auditor's Office

(701) 462-8801

712 5th Avenue, PO Box 1108, Washburn, ND 58577

Official website

County notes

  • North Dakota sells no tax lien certificates. McLean County forecloses the delinquent tax lien, takes the tax deed itself, and then auctions the deed to land it already owns.
  • The auction is held in person in the Commission Chambers of the McLean County Courthouse at 712 5th Avenue in Washburn. There is no online bidding and no third-party auction platform.
  • Minimum sale prices are set at a public commission hearing in October and can be amended at the first November meeting, so the figures in the first published notice are not always the ones you bid against.
  • Cities may contest the minimum price on parcels inside their limits ahead of the October hearing.
  • Land the county has already held for at least sixty days can be sold by direct purchase with commission approval instead of waiting for the November auction, so ask the Auditor's Office what county-owned parcels are available between sales.

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 McLean 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 McLean County hold tax deed sales?

McLean County holds its tax deed sale once a year. Annual, on the third Tuesday of November. 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 McLean 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 McLean County tax sale list?

McLean County posts its tax sale list at mcleancountynd.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 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 McLean County Auditor's Office