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Tax Sale Atlas

Washington County, OR tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Washington County, OR tax sale, one of 3,131 counties in 51 states. Oregon sells tax-foreclosed land the government already owns, so no statutory investor interest rate applies. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the county’s own official pages on Sep 26, 2026.

How tax deed sales work in Washington County, seat of Hillsboro: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how Oregon tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

Next tax deed sale
No fixed month.
Format
In person
Registration
No pre-registration.
County office
503-846-8741
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Sep 26, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page
Look up a sale detail

Washington County Board of County Commissioners, through Facilities and Parks Services (Real Property). In person. irregularly, with no fixed schedule

Record quality: high. Last verified: 2026-09-26.

Real Property Auctions, Washington County Facilities and Parks Services (source accessed 2026-09-26)

Recorded reference information. Verify current sale conditions with the county. Read the full sale details.

Link to this detail

How Washington County sells delinquent taxes

No tax lien certificate sale

Oregon counties do not sell tax lien certificates to investors. The only certificate of sale in the process is the certified copy of the foreclosure judgment, which ORS 312.100 makes a certificate of sale to the county itself.

Tax deed sale

In person
Run by
Washington County Board of County Commissioners, through Facilities and Parks Services (Real Property)
Frequency
irregularly, with no fixed schedule
Typical timing
No fixed month.
Registration
No pre-registration.
Sale list
Real Property Auctions page (auction PDF and parcel list posted when a sale is scheduled)
When it runs
No fixed month. The county's FAQ says: "The auctions are held whenever there is property available for sale," with no specific date set in advance. The time, date and location are advertised at least 30 days before the auction. On auction day doors open at 9:00 AM for registration and bidding begins at 10:00 AM.
Registration and deposit

No pre-registration. Complete a Bidder Registration Form at the door on auction day, before bidding starts at 10:00 AM; late registrations are not accepted. Bring the required deposit for each parcel you plan to bid on: 20 percent, in cash, cashier's check or certified funds. The deposit is not refundable if the buyer fails to complete the sale.

Sale format and venue
The auction is held in person and conducted orally, most recently at the Washington Street Conference Center, 102 SW Washington Street, Hillsboro. The county's Real Property Auctions page is where the sale list appears: it posts an auction PDF with the parcel list once a sale is scheduled. Sign up for the county's email list on that page for notice about a month before each sale. Properties sell as is by quitclaim deed, and parcels come from tax foreclosure and other surplus county land. Foreclosure starts after three years of delinquency, the circuit court judgment starts a 2-year redemption period, and the property is deeded to the county when it ends.
Source: Real Property Auctions, Washington County Facilities and Parks Services· Verified Sep 26, 2026

Washington County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Washington 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. If the parcels on this list are vacant land rather than houses, what buying land at a tax sale hands you is the place to start.

  1. Confirm the advertised parcel list

    Use Real Property Auctions page (auction PDF and parcel list posted when a sale is scheduled) as a starting reference. Check which sale or list it covers; a Lands Available or office information page is separate from an auction parcel list. Ask the sale office for the advertised parcels for the auction you plan to attend.

  2. Register to bid

    No pre-registration. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    No fixed month. The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the Washington County Board of County Commissioners before you go.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use the Washington County Board of County Commissioners as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Washington County

  1. Confirm the parcel list before pricing

    Open Real Property Auctions page (auction PDF and parcel list posted when a sale is scheduled). Confirm whether this reference contains the auction parcels or covers a different list. Get the advertised parcel list from the county before you price a bid, and recheck it before the sale.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    No pre-registration. Complete a Bidder Registration Form at the door on auction day, before bidding starts at 10:00 AM; late registrations are not accepted. Bring the required deposit for each parcel you plan to bid on: 20 percent, in cash, cashier's check or certified funds. The deposit is not refundable if the buyer fails to complete the sale.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Oregon due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth. Which liens survive is state law, so read what survives a tax deed in Oregon before you price the title work.

  4. 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

Oregon counties keep no statewide over-the-counter list. Land left unsold after the sheriff's sale may be sold privately under ORS 275.200 at not less than the highest bid received or, with no bid, at a price the county considers reasonable but at least 15 percent of the sale minimum. Whether this county holds any such inventory must be confirmed with the county office that manages tax-foreclosed property.

New to this path? Read how over-the-counter purchases work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Oregon calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax sale office

Washington County Assessment and Taxation

503-846-8741

MSC 9, 155 N First Avenue, Room 130, Hillsboro, OR 97124

Official website

County notes

  • Washington County sells tax-foreclosed land at a Real Property Auction run by the Board of County Commissioners. There is no set annual date; a sale is scheduled when the county has inventory, and it is advertised at least 30 days ahead.
  • Auction logistics and the parcel list are handled by Facilities and Parks Services (169 N First Avenue, Hillsboro). For questions about a foreclosed parcel's tax history, the county's FAQ points buyers to Assessment and Taxation, Recording Division, at 503-846-8752.
  • The county decides whether to keep, transfer or auction each foreclosed parcel, so not every deeded property reaches the auction.

Oregon rules

Redemption
Redemption in Oregon runs before the public ever buys. After judgment the parcels are held by the county for two years from the date of the judgment of foreclosure, unless redeemed sooner, and the former owner keeps possession during that period unless waste is committed. At least one year before the period ends the tax collector mails a notice of expiration of redemption, and 10 to 30 days before it ends the tax collector publishes a general notice. Unredeemed parcels are then deeded to the county, and all rights of redemption terminate when the deed to the county is executed. A buyer at the county's later sale therefore takes property that is no longer subject to any redemption right. ORS 275.180 separately lets the county governing body sell a parcel back to the record owner or contract purchaser of record at any time, without notice, for the taxes and interest charged when the county acquired it plus six percent a year; that is a discretionary repurchase, not a redemption right.
Deed deposit
No statewide deposit amount. ORS 275.110 leaves the conditions and terms of sale to the county governing body's order, and the notice of sale states them. Deposits, bidder registration, and accepted forms of payment therefore vary by county; read the county's notice of sale before the auction.
Surplus proceeds
Oregon now returns equity to the former owner. Under ORS 312.530 the surplus is the value of the property, which is the sale price at a broker or auction sale, less the county's allowable costs: the judgment and post-judgment interest, taxes that would have accrued through the sale, county maintenance and title costs, local improvement liens filed with the county, nuisance abatement costs, and reasonable foreclosure and disposition fees including legal, appraisal, commission, and auction fees. The county holds the gross proceeds in a separate interest-bearing account, determines the surplus within 60 days, notifies the former owner of the surplus amount, and delivers the surplus to the State Treasurer as unclaimed property within 30 days of determining it, with an itemized accounting of the allowable costs in its report to the Treasurer. The former owner, or heirs and certain successors, claim it from the State Treasurer; a creditor with a valid lien or debt may also claim against it. These rules apply to claims where the owner received the ORS 312.125 notice on or after May 25, 2023.
Governing statute
ORS Chapter 312

What the deed conveys: When the county takes its deed after foreclosure, ORS 312.270(1) vests title in the county free from all liens and encumbrances except local improvement assessments of a municipal corporation, and ORS 312.270(2) gives a private purchaser at the county's resale title free and clear of those local improvement assessments as well. ORS 312.214 to 312.230 declare that the county's tax-foreclosure title should have the utmost stability. Buyers should still order a title report before bidding, because the statutes do not address every interest, such as federal liens. See the due diligence guide.

See the full Oregon rules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Washington County, Oregon sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax deeds. Oregon sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the county sells the property itself at a public tax sale.

How often does Washington County hold tax deed sales?

Washington County tax deed sale schedule: irregularly, with no fixed schedule. No fixed month. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Not by redeeming once the county has taken its deed: the right to redeem ends when the county takes title, before it offers the parcel for sale. Oregon's redemption rule: 2 years from the foreclosure judgment. Call the Washington County Board of County Commissioners as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Where can I find the Washington County tax sale list?

The recorded official list reference is at washingtoncountyor.gov. Check whether it covers auction parcels, office information or Lands Available, then obtain the advertised parcel list for the sale you plan to bid on. Confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement.

Verified Sep 26, 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 office that runs the sale before you bid.

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Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

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Call Washington County Assessment and Taxation