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Tax Sale Atlas

Williams County, ND tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Williams 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 Williams County, seat of Williston: 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
Registration takes place at the sale itself, so there is no advance sign-up window.
County office
(701) 577-4500
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Sep 4, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Williams 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
Williams County Auditor's Office
Frequency
annual
Registration
Registration takes place at the sale itself, so there is no advance sign-up window.
Sale list
Williams County Tax Foreclosure Properties list
When it runs
The annual tax foreclosure sale is held each year on the third Tuesday in November at 10 am, in the 3rd Floor Training Room of the Williams County Administration Building at 206 E Broadway in Williston. In 2026 that falls on November 17.
Registration and deposit

Registration takes place at the sale itself, so there is no advance sign-up window. A bidder must attend in person or send a representative, and must have all North Dakota property taxes paid in full to be eligible to buy. The winning bidder must pay for the property by 5 pm on the day of the sale.

Sale format and venue
North Dakota sells no tax lien certificates. Williams County forecloses the delinquent tax lien itself, takes the tax deed, and then resells the property it owns at this annual auction under N.D. Cent. Code ch. 57-28. Parcels reach the sale once taxes and related charges are two or more years past due, which the county describes as delinquent in the third year. Bidding is live and in the room, with no online auction platform. Each parcel carries a minimum bid set by the Williams County Board of County Commissioners in early October, and bidding opens there. Property is conveyed as is, with no warranty, and all sales are final, so inspect before bidding. In person at the Williams County Administration Building
Source: Tax Foreclosure Properties, Williams County Auditor· Verified Sep 4, 2026

Williams County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Williams 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 Williams County Tax Foreclosure Properties list for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Registration takes place at the sale itself, so there is no advance sign-up window. 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 Williams County Auditor's Office as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Williams County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Williams County Tax Foreclosure Properties list. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Registration takes place at the sale itself, so there is no advance sign-up window. A bidder must attend in person or send a representative, and must have all North Dakota property taxes paid in full to be eligible to buy. The winning bidder must pay for the property by 5 pm on the day of the sale.

  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

Williams County Auditor's Office

(701) 577-4500

Williams County Administration Building, 206 E Broadway, Suite 118, Williston, ND 58801. Mailing address: P.O. Box 2047, Williston, ND 58802-2047

Official website

County notes

  • The Auditor publishes the sale list on the county's Tax Foreclosure Properties page, giving each parcel number, legal description, street address and minimum bid price. The list for a given year goes up after the county commissioners set minimum bids in early October.
  • Expect the list to shrink before sale day. An owner whose property was taken in October can redeem it right up to the sale date, so parcels drop off late and the roster in the room is the one that counts.
  • Where the IRS holds a lien, it may redeem the property from the buyer for up to 120 days after the sale, which is worth pricing into any bid on an affected parcel.
  • The county leaves prior year results on the same page, showing the minimum bid beside the price each parcel actually fetched. Recent sales cleared their minimums by a wide margin, with a Williston lot opening at $6,489.36 and selling for $45,000, so treat the minimum bid as a floor rather than a guide to value.
  • Volume is small. The sale is measured in a handful of parcels a year across the whole county, including outlying towns such as Tioga and Appam, not just Williston.

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 Williams 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 Williams County hold tax deed sales?

Williams 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 Williams 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 Williams County tax sale list?

Williams County posts its tax sale list at williamsnd.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 Williams County Auditor's Office