When the sale is held
Once a year, in summer, on a date each county treasurer sets. 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.
When taxes go delinquent
Wyoming property taxes are payable in two halves. 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.
What happens after the sale
Wyoming holds no county tax deed auction. A certificate holder whose certificate is not redeemed may apply to the county treasurer for a tax deed not less than four nor more than six years after the original sale, returning the certificate, paying the 25 dollar deed fee and proving notice. At least three months before applying, the holder must serve written notice on every person in actual possession or occupancy and on the person the property was taxed to, if they can be found in the county; if nobody occupies the property and the taxpayer cannot be found, the holder instead publishes the notice once a week for three weeks in a county newspaper, the first publication not more than five months and the last not less than three months before applying. Either way the holder must also send notice by certified or registered mail to the record owner and any mortgagees whose addresses are known. The notice states when the holder bought, the name the parcel was taxed in, its description, the tax year, when redemption expires, when the deed application will be made, and any special assessments. Where the county itself holds an unredeemed certificate, the treasurer issues and records a tax deed to the county after four years, following at least 60 days' notice from the county clerk to the person assessed and any mortgagees. The published notices of intent to apply are not sales.
Leftover parcels between sales
A 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. 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.
These dates are the statewide statutory schedule. The exact auction date, registration deadline, and platform are set county by county, so confirm them on the Wyoming county pages before you plan a bid. For the mechanics of the sale itself, see how to buy in Wyoming.
Verified Sep 25, 2026 against Wyoming statutes.
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.