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Wyoming Tax Lien Certificate Sales

Wyoming sells tax lien certificates paying up to 15%, redeemable for 4 years minimum under W.S. Title 39, Chapter 13. Tax Sale Atlas holds the sale calendar, auction platform and list locations for all 23 Wyoming counties, each read from the county’s own official pages and checked against the statute on Sep 25, 2026.

Wyoming is a tax-lien state. Each summer the county treasurer sells certificates of purchase on real property with unpaid taxes. Read more…

The price is fixed at the taxes, interest, penalties and costs due, so nothing is bid: where several registered buyers want the same parcel, counties commonly draw a buyer number for each parcel, and the holder of that number may buy or pass. On redemption the certificate pays a 3 percent penalty plus 15 percent a year from the date of sale. If the parcel is not redeemed, the holder may apply to the treasurer for a tax deed between four and six years after the sale, after serving notice at least three months before applying. The rules are in W.S. Title 39, Chapter 13, mainly 39-13-108 and 39-13-109.

Rules verified Sep 25, 2026 against Wyoming Statutes.

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Sale type: Tax lien
Maximum rate: 15%
Redemption: 4 years minimum
Over-the-counter: Available

Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Sep 25, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify

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Tax lien certificates

You pay the overdue taxes and receive a certificate that earns a rate fixed by statute. Nothing is bid: the price is the debt itself and every buyer earns the same rate, so what is decided is who gets which parcel rather than what it costs. Compare bidding methods to see how that changes what you earn.

Bidding method: Fixed rate, no bidding
Maximum rate: 15% per year, fixed by statute (nothing is bid)
Minimum return: 3% one-time penalty at redemption, added on top of the interest
Certificate life: Expires 6 years after issuance

Sale timingOnce a year, in summer, on a date each county treasurer sets. More…

The statute fixes the notice rather than the date: the sale must be advertised once a week for three weeks in a legal newspaper in the county, the first publication at least four weeks before the sale and before the first week in September. Sales are held at the county courthouse or a county building between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Sundays excluded, and may be adjourned day to day until all lands are sold. County practice puts most sales from late July into early September: Laramie County holds its sale the Thursday after Cheyenne Frontier Days, Sweetwater County scheduled its 2026 sale for August 6, and Natrona County held its 2026 lottery drawing on September 3. No state agency assigns or publishes a statewide sale calendar, and no shared law firm or auction contractor runs the sales; each treasurer runs its own.

Zero-bid ruleWyoming runs no auction on rate or price. More…

Under W.S. 39-13-108(e)(iii)(B) any person who offers to pay the taxes, interest, penalties and costs due on a parcel is considered its purchaser and must pay immediately, so every buyer pays the same figure and earns the same statutory return. The statute says nothing about choosing among several people making that same offer, and the county treasurers fill that gap with a lottery: Laramie, Campbell and Albany counties each assign every registered buyer one number, draw a number for each parcel as it is announced, and let the holder of the drawn number buy or pass, and Natrona County runs the same drawing in the treasurer's office. A parcel that cannot be sold for the amount due is bid in for the county by the treasurer at the same sale, which is not a separate event and is not open to investors. Other things a date-scraper will find that are NOT an investor sale: the newspaper notices of intent to apply for a tax deed that certificate holders publish under 39-13-108(e)(v)(B), the county clerk's 60-day notice before a tax deed issues to the county under 39-13-108(e)(iv)(A), and a county commissioners' private sale of land the county already took by tax deed under 39-13-108(e)(iv)(B), which sells the parcel itself and has no statutory schedule.

Redemption, delinquency, and over-the-counter at a glance

Redemption

How longThe legal owner may redeem at any time after the sale until a valid tax deed application has been filed with and accepted by the county treasurer. More…

Because the treasurer cannot accept an application until four years after the sale, every owner has at least four years; after that the window stays open until the holder applies, and the holder must apply by the sixth year or lose the deed route. Redemption money is paid to the county treasurer, who holds it for the certificate holder, issues a certificate of redemption and notifies the holder. Where the county holds the certificate, the treasurer deeds the parcel to the county after four years. Where the holder instead forecloses in district court, anyone with an interest in the property may redeem until the court confirms the sheriff's sale.

What the owner paysThe amount the parcel sold for at the tax sale, including the advertising charge and the certificate fee, plus a 3 percent penalty, plus interest at 15 percent a year since the date of sale; plus any later taxes the certificate holder paid, with 15 percent a year on those; plus, if the holder has already given notice of intent to apply for a tax deed, the holder's actual expenses up to 250 dollars on a sworn statement. More…

The treasurer charges up to 20 dollars for the certificate of redemption. Attorney's fees are excluded. A redemption from a county-held certificate pays the interest and the later taxes but not the 3 percent penalty.

Delinquency

How it startsWyoming property taxes are payable in two halves. More…

The first half is payable on and after November 10 and the second half on and after May 10 of the following year, and no interest is charged if the whole tax is paid by December 31. Any balance not paid when payable is delinquent after that day and bears interest at 18 percent a year until paid. Each year the county treasurer declares taxes still unpaid on May 11 delinquent and certifies the delinquent tax roll by May 21, which sets up the summer sale. Taxes on real property are a perpetual lien on the parcel against all persons except the United States and the State of Wyoming. A homestead may be sold only for the taxes due on it alone.

Over-the-counter

How to buyA parcel that cannot be sold at the sale for the taxes, interest, penalties and costs due is bid in for the county by the treasurer, who issues the certificate of purchase to the county without a fee. More…

The board of county commissioners may sell and assign any such certificate at public or private sale at any time, and at a public sale may reject bids and continue the sale until the property is sold. Certificates are assignable by endorsement, and the assignee takes all the original purchaser's rights. The statute leaves the price and procedure to the commissioners, so whether a county offers its certificates over the counter, and on what terms, is a county-level fact to confirm with the treasurer.

What is availableWyoming keeps no statewide lands available list. More…

Four years after the sale the treasurer deeds unredeemed county-held parcels to the county, and the county commissioners may then dispose of the property at private sale by a deed signed by the commission chairman and the county clerk. That is a sale of the parcel itself, not of a certificate, and it runs on no statutory schedule.

Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Wyoming calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.

Governing statutes

W.S. Title 39, Chapter 13 W.S. 39-13-107(b)W.S. 39-13-108(b)W.S. 39-13-108(d)W.S. 39-13-108(e)W.S. 39-13-109(e)W.S. 39-13-110

All 23 Wyoming counties

Sales are organized by county. Search your city or county and compare the available sale details. Where deed-sale formats are listed, filter for online or in-person sales. Certificate platforms appear where that sale type is available.

Frequently asked questions

Does Wyoming sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Wyoming sells tax liens. The county treasurer sells a certificate of purchase on each delinquent parcel at an annual summer sale. There is no county tax deed auction: an unredeemed certificate holder applies to the treasurer for a tax deed between four and six years after the sale, or forecloses the lien in district court.

What does a Wyoming tax lien certificate earn?

On redemption the holder receives the amount paid at the sale plus a one-time 3 percent penalty plus interest at 15 percent a year from the date of sale. Later taxes the holder pays on the parcel also earn 15 percent a year. The rate is fixed by statute and is not bid down.

How are Wyoming tax lien certificates awarded if several buyers want the same parcel?

The statute makes anyone who offers to pay the amount due the purchaser, so nobody bids a rate or a premium. Counties choose among registered buyers by lottery: each buyer gets one number, a number is drawn for each parcel as it is announced, and the holder of that number may buy or pass. Confirm the format with the county treasurer before registering.

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