Franklin County, OH tax sales
Franklin 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 Columbus, under R.C. Chapter 5721.
New to tax sales? Read how Ohio tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Format
- RealAuction
- County office
- 614-525-3438
On this page
How Franklin County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Franklin County Treasurer's Office, Delinquent Tax Department
- Frequency
- annual
- Sale list
- Final Tax Lien List 2025 (CSV)
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Call the Delinquent Tax Department at 614-525-3438 and request a Tax Certificate Sale Registration Form. Bidders submit IRS Form W-9 with a refundable $500 deposit by cashier's check, money order or certified check made payable to Franklin County Treasurer, plus a purchaser contact information form and a letter from a financial institution stating the bidder has funds sufficient to pay the portfolio price, with written authorization for the Treasurer's Office to verify it. A prospective bidder whose verification is missing or unreturned is not permitted to bid. Registration for the 2025 sale was due October 10, 2025. An additional 10 percent purchase price deposit is due before the sale, at least 10 percent of the portfolio value must be paid no later than the day prior to the sale by wire or cashier or certified check, and the balance must be wired to the Treasurer's account by noon Eastern three business days after the sale date.
Sale format and venue
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Franklin County Sheriff's Office, Real Estate Sales Unit
- Frequency
- annual
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Every person who wants to bid must register with Realauction and complete the Purchaser Information Form. Properties open for bidding at least seven days before the sale date, generally as a proxy bid, and each Friday at 9:00 a.m. Eastern the auction runs one property at a time. Minimum deposits are set by law at $2,000, $5,000 or $10,000; wire deposits must be received by Realauction by 5 p.m. Eastern two business days before the Friday auction and ACH debit deposits by 4 p.m. Eastern seven days before. Plaintiffs and judgment creditors named in the court order are not required to meet the advertised deposit. All bids begin at two thirds of the appraised value unless the court directs otherwise, and the balance is due thirty days after confirmation of sale. Realauction runs bidder webinar training and its customer service line is 1-877-361-7325.
Sale format and venue
Franklin County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Franklin 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 Sheriff sale auction calendar (Realauction) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.Sale day
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 Franklin County Sheriff's Office, Real Estate Sales Unit as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Franklin County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Sheriff sale auction calendar (Realauction). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Every person who wants to bid must register with Realauction and complete the Purchaser Information Form. Properties open for bidding at least seven days before the sale date, generally as a proxy bid, and each Friday at 9:00 a.m. Eastern the auction runs one property at a time. Minimum deposits are set by law at $2,000, $5,000 or $10,000; wire deposits must be received by Realauction by 5 p.m. Eastern two business days before the Friday auction and ACH debit deposits by 4 p.m. Eastern seven days before. Plaintiffs and judgment creditors named in the court order are not required to meet the advertised deposit. All bids begin at two thirds of the appraised value unless the court directs otherwise, and the balance is due thirty days after confirmation of sale. Realauction runs bidder webinar training and its customer service line is 1-877-361-7325.
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
County notes
- Franklin County runs both Ohio paths: an annual Treasurer bulk tax lien certificate sale and weekly Sheriff judicial foreclosure auctions.
- The certificate sale is one portfolio sold to a single buyer for a price the county estimates in the millions, so the Sheriff auction is the practical entry point for individual investors in this county.
- Treasurer foreclosure page: after the Franklin County Auditor delivers the Delinquent Land Tax Duplicate, the County Prosecutor may bring a foreclosure action in the Treasurer's name, and a political subdivision such as the city of Columbus may request an expedited Land Bank foreclosure on unoccupied property. The Delinquent Tax Division line for foreclosure questions is 614-525-3431.
- For parcel research the Treasurer points certificate bidders to the Franklin County Auditor property search, which uses district and parcel numbers formatted like 010-003214-00.
- Certificate holders may foreclose only after one year from the sale unless the property is deemed vacant and abandoned, and may use private counsel or the County Prosecuting Attorney, who may charge a fee that changes year to year.
- RC 5721.43 bars certificate purchasers and their agents from contacting the owner to encourage or demand payment during the first month after purchase, and the Treasurer asks to review written correspondence before it is sent.
- Both county sites sit behind an Akamai edge filter that returns 403 to plain automated requests; the pages resolve normally with standard browser request headers.
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 Franklin County, Ohio sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Franklin County tax certificate sale?
How often does Franklin County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Franklin 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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