Bedford County, TN tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Bedford County, seat of Shelbyville: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Tennessee tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- No fixed annual sale month is published.
- Registration
- The county publishes no bidder registration procedure online.
- County office
- (931) 684-1672
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 18, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page
How Bedford County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Clerk and Master of the Bedford County Chancery Court
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No fixed annual sale month is published.
- Registration
- The county publishes no bidder registration procedure online.
When it runs
No fixed annual sale month is published. The county states the Clerk and Master is "responsible for selling properties to satisfy tax judgments for delinquent property taxes (county and city) when ordered" by the Chancery Court, so sale dates follow the court's orders in each delinquent tax suit. Call the Clerk and Master's office at (931) 684-1672 for the next scheduled sale date.
Registration and deposit
Sale format and venue
In Bedford County, suits to collect delinquent county and city taxes are filed in Chancery Court, and the Clerk and Master collects the delinquent taxes plus statutory interest, penalty, court costs, and attorney fees before any sale. Delinquent parcels in the Clerk and Master's office can be searched, and taxes paid, through the county's CitiSen Portal. No online auction platform is confirmed for this county; verify the sale format, location, and date with the Clerk and Master's office.
Source: Bedford County Chancery Court, Delinquent Taxes· Verified Aug 18, 2026
Bedford County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Bedford 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 Clerk and Master delinquent tax search for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
No fixed annual sale month is published. The auction platform is still being verified. Confirm the next sale date and registration window with the county before you bid.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Clerk and Master of the Bedford County Chancery Court as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Bedford County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Clerk and Master delinquent tax search. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Tennessee 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 properties
Parcels struck to the county at the tax sale can be bought from the county afterward. Each county mayor must publish a list of county-held parcels by July 1 every year, and any person may file a written offer for one. The county advertises the offer, competing bidders have ten days to raise it by 10 percent or more, and the highest offer wins, sometimes through an online resale. A parcel bought before the redemption period expires stays subject to redemption. Ask the county mayor's office or the clerk and master where the current list is posted.
County-held parcel listings are published per county under Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2511; find the current list on the county's website or newspaper of record
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
County notes
- The Clerk and Master is Curt M. Cobb; the Bedford County Chancery Court sits in Tennessee's 17th Judicial District, which also serves Lincoln, Marshall, and Moore counties.
- Delinquent taxes less than two years old stay with the Bedford County Trustee, 100 Public Square West, Suite 102, Shelbyville, TN 37160, phone (931) 684-4303, before the suit transfers collection to the Clerk and Master.
- The county's online delinquent tax search, labeled Bedford CM Delinquent Tax on the CitiSen Portal, covers taxes already in the Clerk and Master's office for collection and accepts payment by check or credit card.
Tennessee rules
- Redemption
- The right to redeem vests when the court enters the order confirming the sale and never runs longer than one year from that date. The court sets each parcel's period before the sale on a statutory scale: one year when the taxes were delinquent 5 years or less, 180 days when delinquent more than 5 but less than 8 years, 90 days when delinquent 8 years or more, and 30 days when the court finds the property vacant and abandoned. To redeem, an interested person files a motion in the same lawsuit and must first pay the clerk the full redemption amount; the purchaser then has 30 days after notice to ask the court for additional reimbursements. When the court declares the redemption complete, title divests from the purchaser and the clerk refunds the purchase money plus everything owed. During the redemption period the purchaser owes no duty to insure the parcel and is not liable for damage to it except from the purchaser's own intentional acts. Separately, a suit attacking the validity of the sale itself must normally be filed within one year of the confirmation order, with an absolute three-year outer limit.
- Deed deposit
- No statewide deposit percentage exists. The statute fixes the form of payment (cash, certified funds, cashier's check, money order, or ACH transfer) and each court sets its own payment terms. Davidson County takes cashier's checks only, Rutherford County requires payment by close of business the day after the sale, and counties selling through GovEase collect payment through the platform. Confirm the terms with the clerk and master that runs the sale before bidding.
- Surplus proceeds
- Sale proceeds pay the delinquent tax attorney, then court costs, then the taxing entities. Any excess is claimed by motion in the same case: remaining taxes are paid first, then lienholders in order of priority (pre-sale liens before post-sale liens), then the former owner. Filing the motion ends any remaining redemption period as to the movant. Excess proceeds nobody claims pass to the state under the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act.
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 Bedford County, Tennessee sell tax liens or tax deeds?
Tax deeds. Tennessee sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the county sells the property itself at a public tax sale.
How often does Bedford County hold tax deed sales?
Bedford County holds its tax deed sale once a year. No fixed annual sale month is published. 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. Tennessee's redemption rule: Up to 1 year from entry of the order confirming the sale, tiered by how long the taxes were delinquent. Call the Clerk and Master of the Bedford County Chancery Court 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 Bedford County tax sale list?
Bedford County posts its tax sale list at citisenportal.com. 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 18, 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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