Property struck off to the county: how it works
Property struck off to the county
There is no over-the-counter certificate list in Utah, because there are no certificates. What exists instead is land the county already owns. Any parcel offered at the tax sale with no purchaser is struck off to the county, fee simple title vests in the county, and the conveyance is recorded. Utah Code 59-2-1351.5 then lets the county legislative body dispose of that property for a price and on terms it sets, with the county clerk executing the deed in the county's name and passing the title of all taxing entities. The same section lets the county rent or lease the property, and lease its minerals, oil and gas, with a royalty of at least 12.5 percent on oil and gas. Nothing escheats to the state: the county simply holds the land until it decides to sell. Because each county legislative body sets its own price and terms, there is no statewide list and no statewide process. Ask the county auditor or clerk what the county holds from prior tax sales and how it disposes of it, and check whether the county routes those parcels through a surplus property program rather than the next tax sale.
This route skips the live auction, which means these are the parcels nobody bid on, so the due diligence matters even more. Every state names this inventory differently, and the state-held and struck-off land table maps each local name to the same mechanism. The over-the-counter guide has the cross-state playbook.
Verified Sep 10, 2026 against Utah 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.