Cooke County, TX tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Cooke County, seat of Gainesville: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
Verified Jul 27, 2026 against official county and state sources.
New here? Read how Texas tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How Cooke County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Cooke County Sheriff's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- First Tuesday of the month at 10:00 a.m., when a sale is scheduled. The county's Notice of Sheriff's Sale reads: "I, the Sheriff of Cooke County, Texas will proceed to auction and sell, at 10:00 o'clock A.M. on November 5, 2024, which is the first Tuesday of said month, at the East door of the Courthouse of Cooke County, Gainesville, Texas." The 2019 notice uses identical wording for November 5, 2019. Cooke County does not post a sale every month; the November 2024 notice references prior tax foreclosure sales held April 4, 2023 and March 5, 2024.
Registration and deposit
Cooke County publishes no online bidder registration. Bidding is in person at the east door of the Cooke County Courthouse, 101 S Dixon St, Gainesville, on sale day. The Sheriff's Office estimated bid sheet directs bidders to "WATCH FOR SALE POSTINGS ON https://www.co.cooke.tx.us/page/cooke.Sheriff". Texas Tax Code 34.015 requires a bidder to hold a written statement from the county tax assessor-collector showing no delinquent taxes; request it from the Cooke County Tax Assessor-Collector at (940) 668-5500, option 8. Confirm sale terms with the Sheriff's Office at 940-665-3471 before bidding.
Cooke County runs a redeemable tax deed sale in person. The Sheriff conducts the auction at 10:00 a.m. on the first Tuesday, at the east door of the courthouse in Gainesville, under Orders of Sale issued out of the 235th Judicial District Court of Cooke County. Each notice lists the cause number, a property description with the Cooke County Tax Roll property ID, and an Estimated Minimum Bid; struck-off tracts resold by Commissioners Court resolution carried estimated minimum bids as low as $500.00 in the November 2024 notice, while active foreclosure tracts ran from about $2,089 to $20,313. The notice states that all property sold is subject to the right of redemption under Section 34.21 of the Texas Property Tax Code. Mineral interests appear in the notices as well. There is no online platform and no county tax sale web page; notices appear as PDFs under the Sheriff's Office page and under the county's Bid, RFP, RFQ, Legal Notices page, whose LEGAL NOTICES section reads "(none)" when no sale is pending. In person, live outcry at the courthouse (no online auction platform)
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
Texas has no over-the-counter certificate list. Parcels that draw no sufficient bid are struck off to the taxing unit that requested the order of sale, and that unit may resell them at any time by public or private sale. A public resale requested through the sheriff or constable may be sold for any amount. A private sale generally may not go below the lesser of the market value stated in the judgment or the total judgments against the property, unless every taxing unit entitled to proceeds consents. Ask the county or its delinquent-tax law firm for the current struck-off inventory.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for Cooke County
- Cooke County has no standing tax sale web page. Notices of Sheriff's Sale are posted as PDFs, historically under the Sheriff's Office page and under the county's Bid, RFP, RFQ, Legal Notices page. That page's LEGAL NOTICES section currently reads "(none)".
- The Sheriff's estimated bid sheet PDF on the county site is dated September 2023 and reads "COOKE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE / NO SHERIFF'S SALE SCHEDULED AT THIS TIME / WATCH FOR SALE POSTINGS ON https://www.co.cooke.tx.us/page/cooke.Sheriff". Sales were held after that date, so treat the file as a stub and confirm current status by phone.
- Sheriff is Ray Sappington; the November 2024 notice was signed by the Sheriff on October 14, 2024, with levy made October 16, 2024.
- Tax foreclosure suits are filed in the 235th Judicial District Court of Cooke County and styled "Cooke County, Et Al v. ..." or by the taxing unit, for example "Gainesville ISD v. ...". Orders of Sale issue from the clerk of that court.
- Struck-off property is resold by resolution of the Cooke County Commissioners Court. The November 2024 notice cites Resolutions Authorizing Sale of Property signed April 24, 2023 and March 11, 2024, and lists tracts originally struck off at the April 4, 2023 and March 5, 2024 tax foreclosure sales.
- Commissioners Court Resolution No. 10-13-97-001 designates the area within 50 feet of the first floor east entrance of the courthouse as the primary real estate sales area and within 30 feet of the first floor west entrance as the secondary area, effective January 1, 1998. That matches the east door location named in the sale notices.
- Property tax payments in Cooke County go to the Cooke County Appraisal District, 201 N. Dixon, Gainesville, TX 76240, (940) 665-7651, not to the Tax Assessor-Collector. The Tax Assessor-Collector (Brandy Ann Carr) is at 112 South Dixon, Gainesville, TX 76240, phone (940) 668-5500 option 8, fax (940) 668-5497.
- Do not confuse the county's Foreclosure Notices page with tax sales. That page carries deed of trust foreclosure notices filed with the County Clerk (Pam Harrison, 101 South Dixon, Room 108, Gainesville, TX 76240, 940-668-5474), not tax foreclosure sales.
- Neither the Cooke County Appraisal District portal nor the county site lists an online auction platform, and Cooke County was not found on the Linebarger tax sale county list.
Texas statewide rules
- Redemption
- The redemption clock runs from the date the purchaser's deed is filed for record, not from the sale date. Property that was the owner's residence homestead or was land designated for agricultural use when the suit or the warrant application was filed, and any mineral interest, may be redeemed on or before the second anniversary of that filing. Every other property may be redeemed only through the 180th day after the deed is filed. When a parcel is struck off to a taxing unit instead, the period runs from the date the taxing unit's deed is filed for record. The former owner has no right to use, possess, or collect rent from the property while the redemption right runs, and the right of redemption cannot be sold or transferred: any instrument purporting to transfer it is void.
- Deed deposit
- The Tax Code sets no statewide deposit and no buyer premium. Section 34.01 directs the officer to conduct the sale the way similar property is sold under execution, so payment terms are set locally by the officer who runs the sale. Most Texas counties collect the full bid in cash or by cashier's check on the day of the sale. Confirm the terms with the county before you bid.
- Homestead deeds
- Texas sets no separate opening bid for a homestead. What changes on a homestead parcel is the exit: a residence homestead, land designated for agricultural use when the suit or warrant application was filed, and a mineral interest all carry a two-year redemption right instead of 180 days, and the premium the owner pays can reach 50 percent in the second year. Price a homestead parcel for that longer clock.
- Surplus proceeds
- The officer pays any excess proceeds to the clerk of the court that issued the order of sale. The clerk holds the excess for two years after the sale and notifies the former owner when the amount exceeds $25. A claim must be filed before the second anniversary of the sale. The court pays established claims in statutory priority: a purchaser at a sale later adjudged void, taxing units for post-judgment or omitted taxes, other lienholders, taxing units for unsatisfied judgment amounts, and then the former owner. Anything unclaimed is distributed to the taxing units.
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 Cooke County, Texas sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Cooke County follows Texas's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Cooke County hold tax deed sales?
- annual. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.
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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