When the sale is held
No state office assigns sale dates. Each county sheriff sets and publishes its own calendar and its own sale list: the New Castle County Sheriff posts the current real estate list and sale posters as PDFs on its Sale Lists page before each sale (and sells a printed copy for $20); Kent County advertises the parcels in the Wednesday editions of the Delaware State News and Dover Post two to three weeks before each quarterly monition sale and posts them in the Sheriff's section of its site; Sussex County posts notices on the properties and public buildings, advertises in the Sussex Post and one local newspaper two weeks before the sale, and links a sales listing from its Sheriff Sales page. Each list covers mortgage and judgment sales as well as tax (monition) sales, so read the writ type before treating a date as a tax sale.
When taxes go delinquent
County real estate taxes are due July 1 in New Castle and Sussex Counties and June 1 in Kent County. New Castle County adds a 6 percent penalty after September 1 plus 1 percent a month on the unpaid principal, and must send at least one written demand by December 15 warning that legal proceedings follow if the taxes are not paid in December; proceedings may start on or after January 1. Kent and Sussex add 1.5 percent a month after September 30. Taxes are a lien on the real estate for 10 years from July 1 of the levy year, and for as long as the assessed owner still holds the parcel; in Kent and Sussex the lien has priority over all other liens, and priority in every county is otherwise as given in Title 25. A monition may be filed only while the tax is still a lien on the property.
What sends a parcel to the sale
The tax collecting authority files a praecipe in the Prothonotary's office naming the assessed owner, the tax bills and the property. The Prothonotary enters the amount as a judgment on a special judgment docket, then on a further praecipe issues a monition to the sheriff. The sheriff posts the monition on a prominent part of the property and returns it within 10 days; the posting is notice to the owner and everyone with an interest. If the judgment and costs are not paid within 20 days after the sheriff's return, the Prothonotary issues a writ of venditioni exponas commanding the sheriff to expose the property to public sale. For parcels with an unknown owner for more than 5 continuous years the county may proceed without the owner-notice steps it cannot perform.
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 Delaware county pages before you plan a bid. For the mechanics of the sale itself, see how to buy in Delaware.
Verified Sep 25, 2026 against Delaware 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.