The short answer
1 year after the certificate sale before the holder can request foreclosure; redemption then stays open until confirmation of sale
How the clock works
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.
Who can redeem
The owner of record of the parcel or any other person entitled to redeem it. Once a foreclosure action is on file, a person redeeming under R.C. 323.25 or R.C. 5721.25 must also show that the property complies with applicable zoning regulations, land use restrictions, and building, health, and safety codes. The treasurer may also enter a redemption payment plan with the owner within one year of a certificate sale, or the owner may agree a plan directly with the holder of a negotiated certificate.
What the owner pays to redeem
The sum of the certificate redemption prices of every tax certificate sold on the parcel. For an auction certificate each redemption price is the certificate purchase price plus the greater of simple interest at the bid rate or 6 percent of the purchase price, except that a certificate bid at 0 percent redeems at the purchase price plus the treasurer's fee. A negotiated certificate redeems at the purchase price plus interest actually accrued at the certificate rate plus any treasurer and recording fees, with no 6 percent floor. Once the holder has paid to initiate foreclosure, add 18 percent per year on the certificate purchase price from the day that payment was made, the prosecuting attorney's fee plus 18 percent on it, reasonable private attorney fees under R.C. 5721.371, and any other costs and fees allocated to the parcel. On the direct foreclosure track the redemption amount is the taxes, assessments, penalties, interest, and charges due and unpaid plus the costs of the action.
How your interest accrues
Interest under the tax certificate sections is simple, never compounded. The monthly charge is one twelfth of the annual bid rate on the principal, accruing on the first day of the month following the start of the interest period and on the first day of each month after that. For a certificate bought at public auction the redemption price is the purchase price plus the greater of the interest accrued at the bid rate or a flat 6 percent of the purchase price, and that 6 percent applies even when the parcel is redeemed before the first monthly accrual date. A certificate bid at 0 percent has no floor, and a certificate bought in a negotiated sale has no 6 percent floor either. Interest stops accruing at the bid rate on the day the holder files for foreclosure and submits the required payment, or the day the parcel is redeemed. Once the holder pays to start foreclosure, the rate on the certificate purchase price becomes 18 percent per year until the parcel is redeemed or the sale proceeds are paid out.
Why some certificates are bid to zero
At a public auction the treasurer or a designee opens the bidding at 18 percent per year simple interest and takes lower bids in even quarter-percent steps all the way to 0 percent, awarding the certificate to the lowest rate bid. Ties are decided by the treasurer, and that decision is not appealable. A certificate bid at 0 percent is the one case where the 6 percent minimum return does not apply: its redemption price is only the certificate purchase price plus the treasurer's fee, so the investor is buying the foreclosure right rather than a yield. Ohio also allows a second route entirely. Under R.C. 5721.33 a treasurer may negotiate a sale or transfer of a block of certificates to an eligible purchaser, setting the rate, any premium or discount, and the foreclosure timetable by agreement instead of by auction, so a county that uses the negotiated route holds no public certificate auction at all. Certificates are never sold to the owner of the parcel, and no bidder may contact the owner to demand payment during the first month after purchase.
What happens when it ends
Ohio has three routes to a sale. A tax certificate holder may file a request for foreclosure, or a private attorney may file a notice of intent to foreclose, at any time after one year from the date the certificate was sold and no later than the end of the certificate period. Where no certificate has been sold, the county treasurer sues to enforce the lien once taxes stay unpaid 60 days after the delinquent land duplicate reaches the treasurer, and the county prosecuting attorney forecloses the state's lien on the auditor's certification, with the in rem route available after the end of the second year from the date the delinquency was first certified. The treasurer may not enforce the lien for taxes that are already covered by an outstanding tax certificate.
A redeemed certificate, plus your accrued interest, is what makes the wait profitable; see how redemption periods work across states. An unredeemed certificate is instead your path to the property through a tax deed sale, which still does not convey marketable title on its own, so budget for a quiet title action.
Verified Aug 6, 2026 against Ohio statutes.
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.