Morgan County, WV tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Morgan County, WV tax sale, one of 2,862 counties in 36 states. West Virginia sells tax lien certificates paying up to 12%, redeemable for Until the deed issues. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from state rules plus what the county publishes on Sep 11, 2026.
How tax lien sales work in Morgan County, seat of Berkeley Springs: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how West Virginia tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- on a date the State Auditor sets, in practice between April and June, 2027
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- Register with the State Auditor, not with Morgan County.
- County office
- (304) 258-8562
On this page
How Morgan County sells delinquent taxes
From lien to deed
West Virginia holds no separate tax deed auction. The deed goes to whoever bought the tax lien at the Auditor's auction, or bought the parcel afterward as unsold land, and it comes from the Auditor rather than from a second sale. Within 120 days after the Auditor approves the sale the purchaser must give the Auditor a list of everyone entitled to notice to redeem, supply the property's physical mailing address if it is Class II property, and deposit the cost of preparing and serving the notice. Miss that and the purchaser loses all benefits of the purchase. A written request filed within the following 30 days buys another 60 days, for one hundred dollars or ten percent of the amount paid at the sale, whichever is greater, plus a twenty five dollar certificate fee. The Auditor then serves the notice at least 45 days before the first day a deed may be issued, and no deed may issue sooner than 30 days after the notices were served.
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- West Virginia State Auditor's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Registration
- Register with the State Auditor, not with Morgan County.
- Next expected
- on a date the State Auditor sets, in practice between April and June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Register with the State Auditor, not with Morgan County. Land Sale Pre-registration is online at wvsao.gov, and one sign-up covers every county in the state for the year, with multiple companies registered individually. The form asks for the name to appear on the deed, the bidding agent, full mailing and contact details, and your prior-year Bidder ID if you have one. You must certify that you have not defaulted on payment at a prior auction, are not delinquent on West Virginia property taxes, have no history of county or municipal code enforcement violations, are not in active code enforcement proceedings, and have not failed within five years to comply with a raze or repair order; an entity must be registered with the West Virginia Secretary of State. Confirm who to make the check out to before you travel: the Auditor's Land Sale Listings page says payment is by check or money order payable to the sheriff of the county, while W. Va. Code 11A-3-45 says payable to the Auditor. Either way it is due before the close of business on the day of sale. Registration questions go to the State Auditor's Office at 304-558-2251 or 877-982-9148.
Sale format and venue
Morgan County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Morgan 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 State Auditor Land Sale Listings and Certified to State search for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
on a date the State Auditor sets, in practice between April and June, 2027 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.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use West Virginia State Auditor's Office as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Morgan County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from State Auditor Land Sale Listings and Certified to State search. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Register with the State Auditor, not with Morgan County. Land Sale Pre-registration is online at wvsao.gov, and one sign-up covers every county in the state for the year, with multiple companies registered individually. The form asks for the name to appear on the deed, the bidding agent, full mailing and contact details, and your prior-year Bidder ID if you have one. You must certify that you have not defaulted on payment at a prior auction, are not delinquent on West Virginia property taxes, have no history of county or municipal code enforcement violations, are not in active code enforcement proceedings, and have not failed within five years to comply with a raze or repair order; an entity must be registered with the West Virginia Secretary of State. Confirm who to make the check out to before you travel: the Auditor's Land Sale Listings page says payment is by check or money order payable to the sheriff of the county, while W. Va. Code 11A-3-45 says payable to the Auditor. Either way it is due before the close of business on the day of sale. Registration questions go to the State Auditor's Office at 304-558-2251 or 877-982-9148.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the West Virginia 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 certificates
A parcel that draws no bid at the auction, or whose sale the Auditor disapproves, or that was sold at one of these auctions within the previous five years and was neither redeemed nor deeded because the purchaser did not follow through, may be sold by the Auditor with no further auction and no additional advertising. The statute sets a priority order rather than a price contest: an owner of an adjacent tract or parcel first, with the highest bidder taking it if more than one adjacent owner wants the same parcel; then the municipality; then the county commission; then the West Virginia Land Stewardship Corporation for its Land Bank Program; then any willing buyer. The price is agreed between the Auditor and the buyer, and the Auditor may require the buyer to reimburse the cost of a licensed attorney's title examination or let the buyer engage one at their own cost. These are handled as written bids sent with a check to the Auditor's land department inside a bid window the Auditor posts on its Land/County Collections page.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what West Virginia calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
County notes
- The Morgan County sheriff does not run the tax lien sale. The Sheriff and Treasurer's own notice states that "Effective for the delinquent 2021 Taxes, the Sheriff will no longer conduct the annual Real Estate Tax Lien Sale which is usually held on the first Monday of November," because Senate Bill 552 made the West Virginia State Auditor responsible for conducting these sales. Anything describing a first Monday in November sheriff sale in Berkeley Springs is describing repealed law, not an event you can bid at.
- Morgan County publishes no sale list of its own. The parcels reach bidders in three places: the sheriff's delinquent advertisements in the county legal newspaper, first in May and again in September; the Auditor's notice of auction, run once a week for three consecutive weeks before the sale and carrying the tract descriptions; and the Auditor's statewide pages at wvsao.gov, where the Certified to State search takes Morgan as a county filter and the Land Sale Listings hold the parcels once a sale is scheduled.
- The sheriff's tentative schedule for the 2025 tax year sets the county deadlines that drive payoff figures. Taxes go delinquent May 1, 2026, with a delinquent fee and interest added. May 8, 2026 is the last day to pay before the first publication, which adds a $17 publication fee on May 11. September 4, 2026 is the last day to pay before the second publication, and personal and business checks are refused after that date. The September 8, 2026 publication adds $32 per real property ticket plus $10 per lienholder. Credit cards are accepted through October 2, 2026, and October 30, 2026 at 5:00 pm is the last day to pay at the Sheriff's Tax Office. On November 2, 2026 the remaining properties are certified to the State of West Virginia and must be redeemed through the State Auditor's Office.
- Split your questions between two offices. The Morgan County Sheriff's Tax Office, 77 Fairfax Street, Room 104, Berkeley Springs, (304) 258-8562, Monday through Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, answers on current bills, delinquent amounts and paying off before certification. The West Virginia State Auditor's Office, 1900 Kanawha Blvd. East, Building 1, Room W-100, Charleston, WV 25305, 304-558-2251 or 877-982-9148, answers on the auction itself, bidder registration, redeeming after a sale and buying parcels that drew no bid.
- Parcel research starts with the sheriff's online tax record search at morgan.softwaresystems.com, which filters real property tickets to unpaid only and breaks the county into its eight districts: Allen, Bath, Town of Bath, Cacapon, Town of Paw Paw, Rock Gap, Sleepy Creek and Timber Ridge. It is the quickest way to confirm what is owed on a Morgan County parcel before you bid.
West Virginia rules
- Redemption
- West Virginia runs three redemption windows in sequence, and only the last one involves the investor. Before the sheriff certifies the parcel to the Auditor on October 31, the owner pays the sheriff the taxes, interest and charges due. After certification and before the Auditor certifies the list for sale, the owner redeems from the Auditor at twelve percent a year on the amount due at certification. After the Auditor's auction, the owner or any other person entitled to pay the taxes, or any lienholder, may redeem at any time before a tax deed is issued. There is no fixed number of days on that last window: it closes when the deed issues, which cannot happen until the Auditor has served the notice to redeem at least 45 days beforehand and at least 30 days have passed since service. A person whose primary residence was sold may petition the Auditor, on grounds of financial hardship, to redeem in up to three installments before the deed is issued.
- Surplus proceeds
- The former owner is entitled to the surplus received at the Auditor's sale over and above the taxes and interest charged or chargeable including all costs of the sale, but only if a claim is filed in the circuit court of the county where the land sits within two years after the date the sale was confirmed. Unclaimed surplus is paid to the Auditor for credit to the general school fund.
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 Morgan County, West Virginia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Morgan County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Morgan County tax sale list?
Verified Sep 11, 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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