Skip to content
Tax Sale Atlas

Blair County, PA tax sales

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

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

Next sale
September 16, 2026 - Upset Tax Sale (Pre-Registration ends September 4, 2026).Wednesday · 2026
Format
In person
Registration
Pre-registration is mandatory.
County office
(814) 317-2361
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 10, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Blair County sells delinquent taxes

No tax lien certificate sale

Pennsylvania counties do not sell tax lien certificates to investors. The county Tax Claim Bureau holds the delinquent claim itself and later sells the property.

Tax deed sale

In person
Run by
Blair County Tax Claim Bureau
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
September 16, 2026 - Upset Tax Sale (Pre-Registration ends September 4, 2026).
Registration
Pre-registration is mandatory.
Sale list
Upset, judicial and repository sale lists (PDF)
When it runs
Two live sales a year, a judicial sale in June and an upset sale in September, both starting at 9:00 AM. The Bureau's Tax Sales page states: "Pending Scheduled Sales for 2026 are as follows: June 17, 2026 - Judicial Sale (Pre-Registration ends June 5, 2026)" and "September 16, 2026 - Upset Tax Sale (Pre-Registration ends September 4, 2026)". The 2026 Upset Sale Conditions set the sale for "Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 9:00 A.M." and the 2026 Judicial Sale Conditions set that sale for "June 17, 2026, at 9:00 AM". Repository bids are accepted year round by mail or in person, except during the 30 day appeal period after a judicial sale.
Registration and deposit

Pre-registration is mandatory. The Bureau states: "AS OF AUGUST 30, 2021 A NEW LAW REQUIRES ALL BIDDERS TO PRE-REGISTER BEFORE ANY TAX SALE." Separate individual and corporation/partnership registration forms are posted for each sale and must be delivered to the Tax Claim Bureau by 4 PM on the posted deadline, June 5, 2026 for the judicial sale and September 4, 2026 for the upset sale. Bidding without an approved application is not permitted. On sale day, check-in runs from 8:00 AM to 8:55 AM and the county warns you "MUST be through security & checked in by 8:50 AM"; no one is admitted after bidding begins. Bring current photo ID to collect a bid card. Repository bidders instead submit a Repository Bid Form plus a Bidder Verification Form and a photocopy of a valid driver's license or state ID, by mail or in person only, and the Bureau will not accept a bid by email or fax.

Sale format and venue
Blair County runs the standard Pennsylvania three-step ladder. The upset sale is the annual sale of parcels with two or more years of delinquent taxes, and the county is explicit that buyers take title subject to existing tenancies and record liens: the bid must equal or exceed the upset price, which covers outstanding taxes plus mortgages, judgments, non-tax liens, municipal liens and Bureau costs, and "The winning bidder is responsible for all of the aforementioned burden." Parcels that do not sell move to the judicial sale, where a court order divests most record liens and the county sells "free and clear of all tax and municipal claims ... mortgages, liens, charges and estates of whatsoever kind, except ground rents separately taxed." Two carve-outs matter at the judicial sale: the 2026-2027 school real estate tax is NOT divested and passes to the winning bidder, and trailers may carry an encumbrance on the certificate of title. Parcels unsold at judicial sale fall into the repository, a standing bank of properties open to private bids that need written consent from the county, municipality and school district; the county warns approval can take two to three weeks just to reach the taxing bodies plus up to 30 more days for their decision. Payment terms are strict at both live sales: money order or certified check only, one instrument per property, covering the bid plus a $25.00 deed prep fee, an $87.75 recording fee and 2 percent realty transfer tax, all paid before 3:00 PM the day of the sale. Missing that deadline forfeits the purchase and leaves the bidder liable for the bid price as liquidated damages plus collection costs. Upset sale deeds await confirmation by the Court of Common Pleas within 60 days and take roughly four months to reach the buyer; judicial sale deeds issue after 30 days. The Bureau sells with no warranty of title, description or marketability and states that caveat emptor applies. Because the sale is held live at the courthouse, no online bidding platform is confirmed for this county; third-party auction websites that publish Pennsylvania tax sale notices are not the venue, so verify any listing you see against the Bureau's own lists and conditions. In person at the Blair County Courthouse. No online auction platform.
Source: Blair County 2026 Upset Sale Conditions· Verified Aug 10, 2026

Blair County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Blair 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.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Use Upset, judicial and repository sale lists (PDF) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Pre-registration is mandatory. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    September 16, 2026 - Upset Tax Sale (Pre-Registration ends September 4, 2026). The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the county office before you go.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Blair County Tax Claim Bureau as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Blair County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Upset, judicial and repository sale lists (PDF). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Pre-registration is mandatory. The Bureau states: "AS OF AUGUST 30, 2021 A NEW LAW REQUIRES ALL BIDDERS TO PRE-REGISTER BEFORE ANY TAX SALE." Separate individual and corporation/partnership registration forms are posted for each sale and must be delivered to the Tax Claim Bureau by 4 PM on the posted deadline, June 5, 2026 for the judicial sale and September 4, 2026 for the upset sale. Bidding without an approved application is not permitted. On sale day, check-in runs from 8:00 AM to 8:55 AM and the county warns you "MUST be through security & checked in by 8:50 AM"; no one is admitted after bidding begins. Bring current photo ID to collect a bid card. Repository bidders instead submit a Repository Bid Form plus a Bidder Verification Form and a photocopy of a valid driver's license or state ID, by mail or in person only, and the Bureau will not accept a bid by email or fax.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Pennsylvania due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.

  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

Every Real Estate Tax Sale Law county keeps a repository for unsold properties: anything still unsold after a judicial sale is placed there, and the bureau must make the list available to the public during normal office hours. The bureau may, with the written consent of each taxing district where the property sits, set a minimum purchase price and accept any offer at or above it without court approval and without published notice. Consent is deemed given if a district does not respond within 60 days, and a district may require the buyer to appear before its governing body. The buyer files an affidavit with the same information a bidder registration requires. The deed conveys free and clear of all tax and municipal claims, mortgages, liens, charges and estates except separately taxed ground rents, and the bureau records it at the buyer's expense. A former owner may not buy their own property out of the repository. Prices, forms and turnaround are set county by county, so confirm the process with the tax claim bureau.

New to this path? Read how over-the-counter purchases work.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax sale office

Blair County Tax Claim Bureau

(814) 317-2361

423 Allegheny St., Ste. 143, Hollidaysburg, PA 16648

Official website

County notes

  • Both sales are held in person at the Blair County Courthouse, 423 Allegheny Street, Hollidaysburg. The 2026 Upset Sale Conditions name the venue as the "Public Meeting Room (basement) of the Blair County Courthouse". The 2026 Judicial Sale Conditions name the "BLAIR COUNTY COURTHOUSE, HOLLIDAYSBURG, PA".
  • The county moved its website from blairco.org to blaircountypa.gov. Older blairco.org tax-claim links now redirect to the new site's home page, so bookmark the blaircountypa.gov paths.
  • Three separate PDF lists are published on one Property Lists page: Upset Sale List, Judicial Sale List and Repository List. As checked, the upset list was headed "BLAIR COUNTY 2026 TAX SALE LIST" and dated 7/31/2026, the judicial list was headed "2026 Blair County Judicial Sale List / June 17, 2026" and updated 6/16/2026, and the repository list was updated 6/24/2026. The judicial list carries a MINIMUM BID column with entries as low as $250.00.
  • The Bureau warns the posted repository list is a guideline only and may include properties recently sold or pending approval, and advises calling the office to confirm a parcel is still available before bidding.
  • Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8am to 4pm, except legal holidays, and the office remains open over lunch. General county directory assistance is 814-693-3000.
  • Repository purchase closes on a 20 day clock: after all taxing districts accept the bid, the buyer must send certified check or money order for the bid, plus separate certified payments to the Blair County Recorder of Deeds for recording costs and the 2 percent transfer tax.
  • Repository bidders must sign a verification of non-ownership interest, non-delinquency and compliance with Section 601(d) of the Real Estate Tax Sale Law, confirming they owe no delinquent real estate taxes to the county, municipality or school district and have no municipal utility bills more than one year outstanding.

Pennsylvania rules

Redemption
Under the Real Estate Tax Sale Law there is no redemption of any property after the actual sale. The owner's last opportunity is to discharge the tax claim before the sale by paying the claim and interest, any other tax claim or judgment and interest, all accrued unpaid taxes, and the record costs, or a smaller amount the political subdivision agrees to accept. Payment before July 1 of the year following the notice of claim removes the property from the sale list entirely. Payment after that date but before the actual sale still stops the sale, though the parcel and the owner's name may already appear in the advertising.
Deed deposit
The Real Estate Tax Sale Law sets no deposit and no buyer premium. What it does require is pre-registration: anyone intending to bid at an upset or judicial sale must appear and register at the bureau no less than 10 days before the sale, once per scheduled sale, and a county may charge a fee for filing the application. The application names the applicant, and every officer, member and manager if the applicant is not an individual, and carries an affidavit that the applicant owes no delinquent real estate taxes anywhere in the Commonwealth, has no municipal utility bill more than one year outstanding, is not acting for a person barred under section 601(d), and has not let an uncorrected housing code violation stand after conviction in the last three years. A false statement is prosecutable as a second degree misdemeanor. The bureau sends the list of registered bidders to every municipality in the county at least five days before the sale.
Surplus proceeds
The bureau distributes tax-sale proceeds, after repaying costs advanced by taxing districts and its own 5 percent commission, in this order: Commonwealth tax liens, then the taxing districts in proportion to the taxes due them, then taxing districts or municipal authorities for municipal claims, then mortgagees and other lien holders in order of record priority whether or not the sale discharged them, and last the owner of the property. Before paying anything out the bureau petitions the court of common pleas to confirm the schedule of distribution, and an absolute confirmation is final and nonappealable as to every listed distributee. If no claim for the owner's balance is presented within three years of the sale, that balance goes to the taxing districts pro rata and the county keeps the interest it earned.
Governing statute
72 P.S. 5860.101 et seq.

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.

See the full Pennsylvaniarules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Blair County, Pennsylvania sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax deeds. Pennsylvania sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the County Tax Claim Bureau sells the property itself at a public tax sale.

How often does Blair County hold tax deed sales?

Blair County holds its tax deed sale once a year. September 16, 2026 - Upset Tax Sale (Pre-Registration ends September 4, 2026). 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?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Pennsylvania's redemption rule: None after the sale in the 65 Real Estate Tax Sale Law counties; in Philadelphia, 9 months from acknowledgment of the sheriff's deed, and 3 months in Allegheny County and Pittsburgh. Call the Blair County Tax Claim Bureau 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 Blair County tax sale list?

Blair County posts its tax sale list at blaircountypa.gov. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.

Verified Aug 10, 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.

More Pennsylvania counties

Browse all 67 Pennsylvania counties

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

Pennsylvania tax salesDue diligence guide
Call Blair County Tax Claim Bureau