Erie County, OH tax sales
Erie County, Ohio sells both tax lien certificates and tax deeds. The County Treasurer runs the certificate sale (18% maximum, bid down), and the County Sheriff holds the tax deed sale online via RealAuction on parcels whose certificates go unredeemed, from the county seat in Sandusky, under R.C. Chapter 5721.
New to tax sales? Read how Ohio tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- Monthly, on a Tuesday at 10:00 AM.
- Format
- RealAuction
- Registration
- Prior registration on the Realauction site is required before you can bid.
- County office
- (419) 627-7701
On this page
How Erie County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Erie County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No tax lien certificate sale is scheduled or advertised.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Sale format and venue
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Erie County Sheriff's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Monthly, on a Tuesday at 10:00 AM.
- Registration
- Prior registration on the Realauction site is required before you can bid.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Prior registration on the Realauction site is required before you can bid. A deposit must be posted with the auction site to bid, submitted either by bank wire transfer completed 2 business days before the sale date or by ACH completed 5 business days before. No cash deposits are accepted, and losing bidders have deposits refunded by the auction site. No sealed bids are taken, and the Sheriff accepts no remote bids even from judgment creditors. Realauction runs internet training classes of roughly 90 minutes by registration only; its customer service center is 877-361-7325. The winning bidder owes a specified deposit at the time of sale, with the balance due 8 days after the Sheriff's Office notifies the buyer that the court confirmed the sale. Payment beyond that 8 day window draws 8 percent annual interest, and the balance must be paid in full within 30 days. Money must be a cashier's check or bank money order payable to The Erie County Sheriff's Office; personal, company, home equity loan checks and cash are refused.
Sale format and venue
Erie County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Erie 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.
Get the advertised list
Use Erie County Sheriff Sales listings and past sale results for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Monthly, on a Tuesday at 10:00 AM. Bidding runs on RealAuction; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Erie County Sheriff's Office as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Erie County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Erie County Sheriff Sales listings and past sale results. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Prior registration on the Realauction site is required before you can bid. A deposit must be posted with the auction site to bid, submitted either by bank wire transfer completed 2 business days before the sale date or by ACH completed 5 business days before. No cash deposits are accepted, and losing bidders have deposits refunded by the auction site. No sealed bids are taken, and the Sheriff accepts no remote bids even from judgment creditors. Realauction runs internet training classes of roughly 90 minutes by registration only; its customer service center is 877-361-7325. The winning bidder owes a specified deposit at the time of sale, with the balance due 8 days after the Sheriff's Office notifies the buyer that the court confirmed the sale. Payment beyond that 8 day window draws 8 percent annual interest, and the balance must be paid in full within 30 days. Money must be a cashier's check or bank money order payable to The Erie County Sheriff's Office; personal, company, home equity loan checks and cash are refused.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Ohio due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.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
unsold liens and deeds
Ohio has no over-the-counter tax certificate channel. The equivalent inventory is the county auditor's forfeited land list, made up of parcels that drew no qualifying bid at two foreclosure sales. The auditor offers that list at public auction at least annually, and a tract that still receives no bid meeting the statutory minimum may then be sold for the best price obtainable.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
County notes
- Erie County runs only the deed side of Ohio's hybrid system. The Treasurer states that delinquent real property is sold at sheriff's sale only, and the county advertises no tax lien certificate sale.
- The Erie County Sheriff's Office moved to online only sales on October 12, 2021 and sells through Realauction's RealForeclose site at erie.sheriffsaleauction.ohio.gov. There is no live courthouse auction.
- Sales run monthly on a Tuesday at 10:00 AM, and every 2026 date the office posted landed on the second Tuesday of the month.
- Bidders must fund a deposit with Realauction before bidding, and the funding lead time is the practical deadline: 2 business days for a bank wire, 5 business days for ACH.
- The Sheriff's Office and the Treasurer are separate offices at separate addresses. The Sheriff's Office is at 2800 Columbus Ave., Sandusky, OH 44870, main line (419) 625-7951, Civil Division (419) 627-7566. The Treasurer is downtown at 247 Columbus Avenue, Suite 115.
- The Treasurer's delinquent list is a browsable roll by township and municipality rather than a sale list, so it shows where delinquency is concentrated but does not indicate which parcels are headed to auction.
Ohio rules
- Redemption
- Ohio has no post-sale redemption window. On the certificate track the owner or any other person entitled to redeem may pay the county treasurer at any time before the certificate holder pays to start foreclosure, and after that up until the entry of confirmation of sale, the expiration of the 28-day alternative redemption period, or the decree that conveys title to the certificate holder. On the direct foreclosure track, delinquent land may be redeemed before proceedings begin, and afterwards up to the entry of confirmation of sale or the end of the alternative redemption period. The alternative redemption period is 28 days after an adjudication of foreclosure is journalized, and when it expires the right and equity of redemption terminate without any further order. Once title vests, a decree conveying the parcel to a certificate holder is a permanent bar to redemption.
- Deed deposit
- For residential property the deposit is fixed by statute: $2,000 if the appraised value is $10,000 or less, $5,000 if it is above $10,000 and up to $200,000, and $10,000 if it is above $200,000. A judgment creditor buying at its own sale posts no deposit. For commercial property the deposit follows whatever requirements the sale sets. Deposit timing is set by the court or the officer conducting the sale and printed in the sale advertisement, and an online sale may take the deposit by card or other financial transaction device.
- Surplus proceeds
- Sale proceeds pay costs first, then the certificate holder or the taxing districts, and any residue goes to the clerk of the court within 45 days after confirmation. The clerk notifies the former owner. Residue left unclaimed 90 days after that final notice is paid into the county treasury and held for the owner, who may demand it within three years. After three years it is forfeited to the county's delinquent tax and assessment collection fund, or to the county land reutilization corporation fund where one exists.
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.
Frequently asked questions
Does Erie County, Ohio sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Erie County tax certificate sale?
How often does Erie County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Erie County tax sale list?
Verified Aug 7, 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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