Donley County, TX tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Donley County, seat of Clarendon: 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 Donley County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Donley County Sheriff's Office (tax foreclosure sales conducted by the Sheriff under orders of sale and tax warrants from the 100th District Court of Donley County)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- First Tuesday of the month, held only when foreclosed properties are pending. The May 7, 2024 notice reads: "I will proceed to sell, at 10:00 O' Clock AM on the 7th day of May, 2024, which is the first Tuesday of said month, at the Official Door of the Courthouse of said DONLEY County, in the City of CLARENDON, Texas." The September 7, 2021 notice sets the start at "11:00 a.m. on the 7th day of September, 2021 at the East Door of the Donley County Courthouse, in Clarendon, Texas," and the May 1, 2018 notice also used 11:00 A.M. Start time therefore varies between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m.; read the specific posted notice.
Registration and deposit
No online bidder portal and no pre-registration form is published by the county. Each posted notice states the statutory bidder requirement: "ALL BIDDERS MUST COMPLY WITH SECTION 34.015 OF THE TEXAS PROPERTY TAX CODE" (2024 notice), and the 2021 notice states "ALL BIDDERS MUST NOW DISPLAY PROOF OF COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 34.015 OF THE TEXAS PROPERTY TAX CODE." Under that section a bidder must present a written statement from the county tax assessor-collector showing no delinquent taxes are owed. Bidders appear in person at the courthouse door and pay cash.
Donley County runs its redeemable tax deed sales IN PERSON at the Donley County Courthouse in Clarendon. There is no online auction platform. The county posts every notice on one page: "All Foreclosure and Sheriff Sale Notices will be posted to this page by date of sale. For questions, please contact the County Clerk's office at 806-874-3436." That page mixes two different sale types, so read each PDF before assuming it is a tax sale. Notices titled "Notice of Sheriff's Sale" or "Notice of Sheriffs Sale" are the tax foreclosure sales; notices titled "Notice of Substitute Trustee's Sale" or "Notice of Trustee's Sale" are private deed-of-trust foreclosures with no redemption right under Chapter 34. Tax sale plaintiffs seen in the notices include Clarendon Independent School District, the City of Clarendon, the City of Howardwick, Donley County, Donley County Hospital, Clarendon Junior College and Panhandle Water District. Volume is very low: this rural Panhandle county posts only a handful of sheriff sale notices per year, and many months have no tax sale at all. Much of the inventory is small platted lots in the Sherwood Shores IX subdivision near Howardwick and lots in the Original Town of Clarendon, with judgment amounts in the low thousands. No county-published struck-off or resale list was found.
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
Notes for Donley County
- Sale location is the courthouse door: the Donley County Courthouse, 300 Sully St, Clarendon, TX 79226. The 2021 notice specifies the East Door.
- Sheriff conducting the sales: Donley County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Charles "Butch" Blackburn, PO Box 910, 300 S. Jefferson, Clarendon, TX 79226, phone (806) 874-3533, fax (806) 874-3458.
- County Clerk fields questions on posted sale notices at (806) 874-3436.
- Tax office hours are limited: Monday through Thursday 8:00 AM to 12:00 noon and 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM; Friday 8:00 AM to 12:00 noon with no afternoon hours. Request the Section 34.015 written statement well before sale day.
- Underlying suits are filed in the 100th District Court of Donley County; cause numbers carry a DTX or DCV prefix.
- No delinquent-tax law firm is named on the county website or on the sale notices reviewed, and Donley County was not found on the MVBA or Perdue Brandon public sale listings.
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 Donley County, Texas sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Donley County follows Texas's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Donley 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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