When the sale is held
Not applicable. No certificate is ever offered to the public. The foreclosure judgment orders every parcel sold directly to the county for the taxes and interest owed, and the certified judgment serves as the county's certificate of sale.
When taxes go delinquent
Oregon property taxes are payable in thirds: the first on or before November 15, the second on or before February 15, and the last on or before May 15, with discounts for paying by November 15. Taxes on real property not paid on or before May 15 are delinquent. Late installments accrue interest at one and one-third percent per month, or fraction of a month, until paid, which is 16 percent a year. The tax is a lien on the property from July 1 of the year it is levied, and the tax lien has priority over all other liens, judgments, mortgages, and encumbrances regardless of when they were recorded. A parcel becomes subject to foreclosure when three years have elapsed from its earliest date of delinquency.
What happens after the sale
A statutory clock, not an investor's application. Real property taxes go delinquent after May 15. Once three years have elapsed from the earliest delinquency, the parcel is subject to foreclosure; within two months after the day of delinquency each year the tax collector prepares the foreclosure list, and three months after the day of delinquency the tax collector, with the district attorney, institutes one general in rem proceeding in circuit court. The court gives judgment and orders the parcels sold directly to the county. The owner then has two years from the judgment to redeem, and every parcel not redeemed is deeded to the county by the tax collector. Only after that deed can the county offer the property to the public. A county may by ordinance shorten the wait for property subjected to waste or abandonment under ORS 312.122.
Leftover parcels between sales
Oregon has no standing statewide over-the-counter list. Under ORS 275.200, when land the county ordered sold remains unsold after the sheriff's sale, the county governing body may sell it at private sale without further notice for not less than the largest bid made at the sheriff's sale or, if there was no bid, at a price the county considers reasonable but no less than 15 percent of the sheriff's-sale minimum. ORS 275.225 separately allows a private sale, after a published notice and a 15-day wait, of parcels with a real market value under 15,000 dollars that cannot be built on. Many counties keep an available-property list for these sales and take sealed or first-come offers. For property governed by ORS 312.520, a parcel that fails to sell at the second auction may instead be kept by the county or transferred to a nonprofit, so post-auction inventory varies by county and must be confirmed with the county office.
These dates are the statewide statutory schedule. The exact auction date, registration deadline, and platform are set county by county, so confirm them on the Oregon county pages before you plan a bid. For the mechanics of the sale itself, see how to buy in Oregon.
Verified Sep 25, 2026 against Oregon 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.