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Tax Sale Atlas

Pierce County, ND tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Pierce 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 Pierce County, seat of Rugby: 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. in the County Auditor's office in Rugby.
Format
In person
Registration
The county's notice sets no advance registration or deposit requirement.
County office
701-776-5225
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Sep 4, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Pierce 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
Pierce County Auditor-Treasurer
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Third Tuesday of November at 10:00 a.m. in the County Auditor's office in Rugby.
Registration
The county's notice sets no advance registration or deposit requirement.
Sale list
Notice of sale of real estate forfeited for delinquent taxes (2023 sale)
When it runs
Third Tuesday of November at 10:00 a.m. in the County Auditor's office in Rugby. The county's sale notice states the auction "will continue from day to day until completed."
Registration and deposit

The county's notice sets no advance registration or deposit requirement. Bidders attend in person at the County Auditor's office, 240 2nd St SE, Suite 6, Rugby, and bid as each parcel is called. Payment is cash, so arrange funds before the auction and confirm terms with the Auditor-Treasurer at 701-776-5225.

Sale format and venue
The Pierce County Auditor-Treasurer conducts the sale in person at the courthouse in Rugby, and the county uses no online bidding platform. Each parcel is offered separately and sold to the highest bidder, and the notice states parcels are sold "not for a sum less than the minimum sale price listed below." Payment must be made in cash. The parcel list appears in the sale notice published each fall in the county's official newspaper rather than on a standing web page, so call the Auditor-Treasurer at 701-776-5225 in October for the current list and minimum prices. In person at the Pierce County Auditor's office
Source: Notice of Sale of Real Estate Forfeited for Delinquent Taxes, Pierce County Auditor-Treasurer· Verified Sep 4, 2026

Pierce County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Pierce 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 for delinquent taxes (2023 sale) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    The county's notice sets no advance registration or deposit requirement. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    Third Tuesday of November at 10:00 a.m. in the County Auditor's office in Rugby. 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 Pierce County Auditor-Treasurer as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Pierce County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Notice of sale of real estate forfeited for delinquent taxes (2023 sale). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    The county's notice sets no advance registration or deposit requirement. Bidders attend in person at the County Auditor's office, 240 2nd St SE, Suite 6, Rugby, and bid as each parcel is called. Payment is cash, so arrange funds before the auction and confirm terms with the Auditor-Treasurer at 701-776-5225.

  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

Pierce County Auditor/Treasurer

701-776-5225

240 2nd St SE, Suite 6, Rugby, ND 58368-1897

Official website

County notes

  • North Dakota counties issue no tax lien certificates. Pierce County forecloses the delinquent tax lien, takes the tax deed itself, and then resells the land it owns at the annual November auction.
  • The auction is held in person in the County Auditor's office at 240 2nd St SE in Rugby. Pierce County uses no online bidding platform.
  • Every parcel carries a minimum sale price printed in the sale notice, and bidding opens at that figure. Parcels are offered one at a time and go to the highest bidder.
  • Volume is small in this rural county. The 2023 sale notice listed a single parcel, two lots in the village of Balta, at a minimum sale price of $2,543.60.

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 Pierce 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 Pierce County hold tax deed sales?

Pierce County holds its tax deed sale once a year. Third Tuesday of November at 10:00 a.m. in the County Auditor's office in Rugby. 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 Pierce County Auditor-Treasurer 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 Pierce County tax sale list?

Pierce County posts its tax sale list at piercecountynd.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 Pierce County Auditor/Treasurer