Richland County, OH tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •County seat is Mansfield. The county's official site is richlandcountyoh.gov, and richlandcountyoh.us redirects to it.
• •Richland County runs only the deed-side path in practice. The Sheriff's tax foreclosure sale is the auction investors can bid at; no tax lien certificate sale is advertised by the Treasurer.
• •Treasurer contact for delinquent balances, payoff figures and payment contracts: Office of the Richland County Treasurer, Bart Hamilton, 50 Park Avenue East, Mansfield, OH 44902-1861, phone 419-774-5622, fax 419-522-5069, open Monday through Friday 8am to 4pm. Property tax payments run through billpay.forte.net/richlandcoohtax.
• •The Sheriff's main office line is 419-524-2412 (Sheriff J. Steve Sheldon); the Civil Section line 419-774-3570 is the one that handles sales.
• •The Prosecutor's Office, 38 South Park Street, 2nd Floor, Mansfield, OH 44902-1717, phone 419-774-5676, works the tax foreclosure cases with the Treasurer's delinquent tax collector.
• •The County Auditor (Patrick Dropsey, 419-774-5501, 50 Park Avenue East) publishes no forfeited land sale or land bank sale page, so the Sheriff's docket is the only auction surface found.
• •Two URLs serve the same sheriff sales page: /SheriffSales and /departments/sheriff/sheriffsales. Both load. The page carried a last-updated stamp of August 5, 2026.
• •The county's online auction host at richland.sheriffsaleauction.ohio.gov returned an HTTP 403 to automated fetching, so its vendor branding could not be confirmed directly; the URL itself is quoted from the county page. It covers bank foreclosures only, not the tax foreclosure sales.

Ohio rules

Max interest rate

18% per year, bid down in 0.25% stepsOhio Revised Code 5721.30 - Tax certificate definitionsR.C. 5721.30Verified Aug 6, 2026

Minimum return

6% floor at redemptionOhio Revised Code 5721.30 - Tax certificate definitionsR.C. 5721.30Verified Aug 6, 2026

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.Ohio Revised Code 5721.38 - Right to redeemR.C. 5721.38Verified Aug 6, 2026

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.Ohio Revised Code 5721.19 - Finding; appraisal and saleR.C. 5721.19Verified Aug 6, 2026

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.Ohio Revised Code 5721.20 - Excess foreclosure proceedsR.C. 5721.20Verified Aug 6, 2026

Governing statute

R.C. Chapter 5721Ohio Revised Code 5721.30 - Tax certificate definitionsR.C. 5721.30Verified Aug 6, 2026

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.

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