Ross County, OH tax sales
Ross 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 Chillicothe, under R.C. Chapter 5721.
New to tax sales? Read how Ohio tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- Sales are set case by case rather than on a fixed monthly calendar.
- Format
- RealAuction
- Registration
- Create a RealAuction account on the county sale site before bidding.
- County office
- (740) 702-3080
On this page
How Ross County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Ross County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No tax lien certificate sale date is published.
- Registration
- No certificate sale registration process is published by the county.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Sale format and venue
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Ross County Sheriff's Office, Civil Division, on orders of sale issued by the Ross County Clerk of Courts
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Sales are set case by case rather than on a fixed monthly calendar.
- Registration
- Create a RealAuction account on the county sale site before bidding.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Create a RealAuction account on the county sale site before bidding. Properties open for proxy bidding seven days before the sale date. A deposit must sit in the account first, wired directly to RealAuction, sized by the appraised value: appraised $0 to $10,000.00 requires a $2,000.00 deposit; $10,000 to $200,000.00 requires $5,000.00; $200,000.00 and above requires $10,000.00. Per the Sheriff, wire transfers must be made two days before the sale (Monday by 5pm) and ACH transfers five days before (Wednesday by 4PM). The day counts and the named weekdays on that page do not line up exactly, so confirm the cutoff for a specific sale with the Civil Division. Deposits are not accepted at the Sheriff's office, and without a deposit in the account you cannot bid. Winning bidders must complete a Purchaser Information Form through the RealAuction account before the sale, since it drives the deed. Plaintiffs must also open an account to bid. RealAuction support is at 954-734-7401 or 877-361-7325.
Sale format and venue
Ross County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Ross 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 Ross County Sheriff Sales page (sales set through this office) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Sales are set case by case rather than on a fixed monthly calendar. 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 Ross County Sheriff's Office, Civil Division, on orders of sale issued by the Ross County Clerk of Courts as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Ross County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Ross County Sheriff Sales page (sales set through this office). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Create a RealAuction account on the county sale site before bidding. Properties open for proxy bidding seven days before the sale date. A deposit must sit in the account first, wired directly to RealAuction, sized by the appraised value: appraised $0 to $10,000.00 requires a $2,000.00 deposit; $10,000 to $200,000.00 requires $5,000.00; $200,000.00 and above requires $10,000.00. Per the Sheriff, wire transfers must be made two days before the sale (Monday by 5pm) and ACH transfers five days before (Wednesday by 4PM). The day counts and the named weekdays on that page do not line up exactly, so confirm the cutoff for a specific sale with the Civil Division. Deposits are not accepted at the Sheriff's office, and without a deposit in the account you cannot bid. Winning bidders must complete a Purchaser Information Form through the RealAuction account before the sale, since it drives the deed. Plaintiffs must also open an account to bid. RealAuction support is at 954-734-7401 or 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
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
County notes
- Ross County does not advertise a tax lien certificate sale. The Treasurer's published delinquency route is payment plans first, then collection through the Prosecutor by legal action.
- The working investor path here is the Sheriff's judicial foreclosure auction, which runs online at ross.sheriffsaleauction.ohio.gov under the state RealAuction contract the county cites as R.C. 2329.153.
- Delinquent taxpayer names are published by the County Auditor in the newspaper. The Treasurer's site posts no downloadable delinquent list.
- The Ross County Auditor site at auditor.rosscountyohio.gov sits behind a bot challenge and could not be read during this check, so any forfeited land sale conducted by that office is unconfirmed.
- Sale volume is thin. The auction calendar showed two foreclosure auctions in May 2026 and one scheduled for August 12, 2026, with no sales listed for June, July, September, October, or November 2026.
- Some foreclosure cases bypass the Sheriff entirely and are sold by private selling officers on other platforms. The Sheriff's Office says it cannot help with those cases, so a property absent from the Sheriff's page may still be selling elsewhere.
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 Ross County, Ohio sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Ross County tax certificate sale?
How often does Ross County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Ross 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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