Highland County, OH tax sales
Highland 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 Hillsboro, under R.C. Chapter 5721.
New to tax sales? Read how Ohio tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- No tax certificate sale date is published for Highland County.
- Format
- RealAuction
- Registration
- Sales are online only and cannot be attended in person.
- County office
- (937) 393-1421
On this page
How Highland County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Highland County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No tax certificate sale date is published for Highland County.
- Registration
- No certificate sale registration process is published.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
No certificate sale registration process is published. Contact the Treasurer's office at (937) 393-9951 or [email protected] to confirm whether certificates are ever offered.
Sale format and venue
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Highland County Sheriff's Office, Civil Process Division
- Frequency
- annual
- Registration
- Sales are online only and cannot be attended in person.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Sales are online only and cannot be attended in person. Register for a username and password on the auction site and complete the Ohio Real Estate Judicial Sale Purchaser Information Form, which transmits to the Sheriff's office once the sale closes. A cleared deposit is required before bidding: wire deposits must be received by 5 p.m. Eastern two business days before the auction, and ACH debit deposits must be initiated by 4 p.m. Eastern five business days before the auction. Standard deposits are $2,000 when appraised value is $10,000 or less, $5,000 from just above $10,000 through $200,000, and $10,000 above $200,000. On tax lien and delinquent tax cases the deposit is set by the Treasurer instead, and no appraisal is performed, so the value shown on the site reflects taxes owed rather than market value. Tax cases follow ORC 5721.19, so a bidder who owns Ohio property with delinquent taxes assessed against it cannot buy. Bidding moves in $100 increments with proxy bidding, and a bid inside the last 30 seconds extends the clock by one minute.
Sale format and venue
Highland County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Highland 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 Current Sheriff Sales and auction calendar for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
No tax certificate sale date is published for Highland County. 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 Highland County Sheriff's Office, Civil Process Division as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Highland County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Current Sheriff Sales and auction calendar. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Sales are online only and cannot be attended in person. Register for a username and password on the auction site and complete the Ohio Real Estate Judicial Sale Purchaser Information Form, which transmits to the Sheriff's office once the sale closes. A cleared deposit is required before bidding: wire deposits must be received by 5 p.m. Eastern two business days before the auction, and ACH debit deposits must be initiated by 4 p.m. Eastern five business days before the auction. Standard deposits are $2,000 when appraised value is $10,000 or less, $5,000 from just above $10,000 through $200,000, and $10,000 above $200,000. On tax lien and delinquent tax cases the deposit is set by the Treasurer instead, and no appraisal is performed, so the value shown on the site reflects taxes owed rather than market value. Tax cases follow ORC 5721.19, so a bidder who owns Ohio property with delinquent taxes assessed against it cannot buy. Bidding moves in $100 increments with proxy bidding, and a bid inside the last 30 seconds extends the clock by one minute.
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
- Highland County Treasurer contact: Vickie L. Warnock, P.O. Box 824, Hillsboro, OH 45133, phone (937) 393-9951, fax (937) 393-5852, [email protected], open Monday through Friday 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM.
- Sheriff's administrative hours are Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM at 130 Homestead Dr #1, Hillsboro, OH 45133; dispatch runs 24/7. The office's structured contact data lists the street number as 30 Homestead Dr, while the contact page body reads 130 Homestead Dr, so confirm before mailing funds.
- The Sheriff's sheriff sales page carries template text borrowed from another Ohio county, including a reference to an appraisal department at a county administration building on East 9th Street in Cleveland and a deed fee line for a fiscal officer. Treat the Highland-specific items as authoritative, meaning online-only sales on the county auction site, the payment terms and the ORC references, and verify publication and appraisal details with the Civil Process Division at (937) 393-1421.
- The Sheriff's page says legal notices of foreclosure and tax delinquent property are published before the sale in the Saturday edition of The Daily Legal News. That publication is Cleveland based and appears in the same borrowed template text, so confirm the local publication of record with the Sheriff or the Clerk of Courts.
- For case-level detail the Sheriff directs buyers to the Docket Division of the Highland County Clerk's Office on the first floor of the Justice Center, with the case number in hand.
- Realauction customer service for deposit, escrow and refund questions is 1-877-361-7325 or [email protected]. Realauction.com LLC operates the site from 861 SW 78th Avenue, Suite 102, Plantation, FL 33324.
- The Highland County Land Reutilization Corporation, the county land bank, meets the third Thursday of each month at 9:00 AM in the Commissioners' Chambers, 119 Governor Foraker Place, Suite 211, Hillsboro. The county page describes meetings only and no property sale process.
- The Highland County Auditor site at highlandcountyauditor.org is behind a bot challenge and could not be read, so no forfeited land sale logistics under Ohio Rev. Code Chapter 5723 were verified for this county.
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 Highland County, Ohio sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Highland County tax certificate sale?
How often does Highland County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Highland 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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