Ocean County, NJ tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Ocean County, NJ tax sale, one of 3,131 counties in 51 states. New Jersey sells tax lien certificates paying up to 18%. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the county’s own official pages on Sep 28, 2026.
How tax lien sales work in Ocean County, seat of Toms River: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how New Jersey tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- Upcoming: Seaside Park on October 5, 2026 and Manchester Township on October 6, 2026.Monday · 2026
- Format
- In person
- County office
- 732-341-1000 ext. 8342
On this page
How Ocean County sells delinquent taxes
From lien to deed
New Jersey holds no tax deed auction. A certificate holder who is not redeemed files an action in the Superior Court to foreclose the right of redemption: a private purchaser at any time after two years from the sale, the municipality (or anyone who takes the certificate from it by assignment or transfer) after six months, and any holder at any time if the property meets the statutory definition of abandoned property. Judgment bars redemption and vests title in the holder. Since P.L.2024, c.39 the owner or the owner's heirs may, before final judgment, demand that the foreclosure proceed by a sheriff's sale or a sheriff's Internet auction to preserve equity; that sale is run by the county sheriff and is a foreclosure sale of one parcel, not a tax sale, so a sheriff's sale listing is never the date of a municipality's certificate sale. Separately, a municipality holding its own certificates may foreclose by an in rem action once more than six months have passed since the sale and 21 months of taxes are unpaid.
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Each municipal Tax Collector (33 municipalities in Ocean County); the county does not hold a tax sale
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Upcoming: Seaside Park on October 5, 2026 and Manchester Township on October 6, 2026.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
For towns on RealAuction, register on that municipality's own newjerseytaxsale.com site, which opens about a month before the sale. The documented towns require a deposit of 10% of intended winnings (premium bids included), paid by ACH about a week before the sale, with a $1,000 minimum in most towns. Stafford's rules require winning bids to be paid by wire by 2:00 PM ET on sale day. Brick Township's in-person sale requires payment before the end of the sale day by certified check, cash, money order or wire.
Sale format and venue
Ocean County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Ocean 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
Each city or town sells separately and posts its own list. The municipal notes on this page say where each one appears.Register to bid
Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.Sale day
Upcoming: Seaside Park on October 5, 2026 and Manchester Township on October 6, 2026. 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 Each municipal Tax Collector (33 municipalities in Ocean County); the county does not hold a tax sale as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Ocean County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
There is no county list: each town posts its own. Get the list from the town whose sale you plan to attend and confirm the advertised parcels with its collector before you price a bid.Confirm registration and deposit
For towns on RealAuction, register on that municipality's own newjerseytaxsale.com site, which opens about a month before the sale. The documented towns require a deposit of 10% of intended winnings (premium bids included), paid by ACH about a week before the sale, with a $1,000 minimum in most towns. Stafford's rules require winning bids to be paid by wire by 2:00 PM ET on sale day. Brick Township's in-person sale requires payment before the end of the sale day by certified check, cash, money order or wire.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the New Jersey 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
Certificates on parcels that drew no bid are struck off to the municipality at 18 percent. A municipality's governing body may later sell a certificate it holds by assignment or at a separate public sale, at its discretion. Ask the tax collector of the specific municipality.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what New Jersey calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Township of Toms River Tax Collector (county seat; each municipality has its own collector)
33 Washington Street, Toms River, NJ 08753 (mailing: P.O. Box 607, Toms River, NJ 08754)
Official websiteCounty notes
- Manchester Township holds its online sale of 2025 and prior-year charges on October 6, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET at manchester.newjerseytaxsale.com. Deposits are due by 4:00 PM ET on September 29, 2026, and the full list of parcels is free to view on that auction site and in the township's legal notice.
- Seaside Park holds its online sale on October 5, 2026 at 8:00 AM ET at seasidepark.newjerseytaxsale.com, with deposits due by 4:00 PM ET on September 28, 2026. The list appears on the auction site and on the borough Tax Collector's page.
- Brick Township sells in person. Its 2026 sale was held April 7, 2026 at 10:00 AM in a public meeting room at the Municipal Building, 401 Chambers Bridge Road, and its list is posted on the township's online tax sale list page. Tax Collector: 732-262-1021.
- Toms River Township, the county seat, links its tax sale site on the RealAuction platform (tomsriver.newjerseytaxsale.com) from the Tax Collector's page; no sale is posted there yet, so call 732-341-1000 ext. 8342 for the next date.
- Stafford Township held its 2026 online sale on February 13, 2026 at stafford.newjerseytaxsale.com, where past results remain posted.
- Barnegat Township held its 2026 online sale on June 15, 2026 at barnegat.newjerseytaxsale.com. The 2026 Tax Sale List is posted on the Tax Collector's page. Phone: 609-698-0080 ext. 140 or 142.
- Lacey Township held its 2026 online sale on January 13, 2026 at lacey.newjerseytaxsale.com.
- Ocean Gate (June 17, 2026) and Tuckerton (May 6, 2026) also held 2026 online sales on their own newjerseytaxsale.com sites.
- Bay Head and Lakehurst held online sales on December 2, 2025, Beach Haven on December 3, 2025 and Seaside Heights on December 29, 2025, each on its own newjerseytaxsale.com site, which suggests a late-year schedule for these towns.
- Lakewood, Jackson, Beachwood, South Toms River, Island Heights, Long Beach Township and Plumsted also have RealAuction tax sale sites, but none currently lists a scheduled sale.
- Berkeley Township includes delinquent taxes in an annual tax sale. Contact the Tax Collector at 732-244-7400 ext. 1240 for the date and list.
- For the other Ocean County municipalities, sale notices and the list appear in the local newspaper and at the municipal Tax Collector's office.
New Jersey rules
- Redemption
- The right to redeem lasts until it is cut off by a foreclosure judgment, not for a fixed term. What varies by parcel is how soon the holder may start that action: two years after the sale for a private purchaser, six months for the municipality or its assignee, and any time for abandoned property. Once a foreclosure complaint is filed and notice of it is filed with the tax collector, redemption is made in that court action and carries the court-fixed attorney's fees and costs. All other redemptions must go through the municipal tax collector's office; a lienholder who knowingly takes a redemption outside that office forfeits the certificate.
- Surplus proceeds
- Surplus arises only from a sheriff's sale or Internet auction demanded by the owner under N.J.S.A. 54:5-87(b). The sheriff deducts the cost of the sale and deposits the surplus with the Clerk of the Superior Court, and the owner or heirs claim it by motion under N.J.S.2A:50-37 and the Rules of Court; that is the exclusive route. If the owner does not demand a sale, the holder may foreclose without one and the owner has no claim against the holder for any equity. In an abandoned-property foreclosure the court may bar claims to surplus equity and no sheriff's sale is required.
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 Ocean County, New Jersey sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Ocean County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Verified Sep 28, 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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