Delaware County tax sales

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Delaware runs the bureau system on a shifted calendar: the upset sale usually sits in early September with a continued upset sale in early December, and for 2026 the published upset date is in December. The judicial sale follows in the spring, free and clear by permission of the court.

Selling office: Delaware County Tax Claim Bureau (under the County Treasurer; Government Center, Ground Floor, 201 West Front Street, Media)

Next event: Thursday, December 10, 2026, 10:00 AM: Upset Price Sale (registration November 16 and 17, 2026). From the Bureau's upset sale pages, read November 9, 2026; the 2026 upset list was updated November 4, 2026. For the judicial sale the Bureau publishes no 2026 date: 'Next Judicial Sale: TBA; check back in mid January 2027 for dates.'

No parcel total is stated on the Bureau pages read; the upset list is a linked document.

Dates and stages

Next event	Thursday, December 10, 2026, 10:00 AM: Upset Price Sale (registration November 16 and 17, 2026)
Upset sale	Annually, usually late summer or early September, with a continued upset sale in early December. The 2026 Upset Price Sale is Thursday, December 10, 2026 at 10:00 AM.
Judicial sale	In the spring, for properties unsold at upset, free and clear of liens by permission of the court. No 2026 date is published; the Bureau points to mid January 2027 for dates.
Repository	Published on the Bureau's Repository Sales page, with the list and instructions. Parcels can be purchased at any time, except the weeks immediately following the auction sales, by visiting the Tax Claim Bureau.
Format	In person: In person. Sales and registration run through the Bureau in Media; registration is in person and capped (see the registration section).
Selling office	Delaware County Tax Claim Bureau (under the County Treasurer; Government Center, Ground Floor, 201 West Front Street, Media)
The list	The upset list is a Bureau document, updated November 4, 2026 for the December sale, advertised in the Spirit (August 12, 2026), the Philadelphia Inquirer (August 13, 2026) and the Delaware County Legal Journal (August 14, 2026).

Sources: Delaware County Treasurer, Back Year Taxes and the Tax Claim Bureau. Delaware County Tax Claim Bureau, Upset Sale Instructions and Procedures. Delaware County Tax Claim Bureau, Repository Sales. Confirm with the selling office before relying on any date on this page: sales move, terms change, and owners can pay and stop a sale at any point before it starts.

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The three stages, and what title you get at each

Delinquent taxes go to the Tax Claim Bureau. When real estate taxes stay unpaid, the claims are returned to the county Tax Claim Bureau, which collects for the county, the municipality and the school district and runs the sales (Real Estate Tax Sale Law, 72 P.S. Section 5860.101 and following). Two counties in this set are outside the system by law: Philadelphia (a county of the first class) and Allegheny (second class). Their delinquent tax sales run through their sheriffs instead, and their pages say how.
Stage one: the upset sale. The bureau must schedule the upset sale no earlier than the second Monday of September and before October 1, and may continue it within the calendar year (Section 5860.601). The opening price is the upset price (Section 5860.605): the tax claims and interest, any other tax claims and judgments, all accrued taxes including the current year, municipal claims, and the record costs and costs of sale. No bid below the upset price can be accepted. An upset buyer takes the property subject to mortgages, liens and ground rents that were not part of the upset price (Section 5860.609): the taxes are paid, the liens may not be.
Stage two: the judicial sale. What does not sell at upset can be exposed again at a judicial sale, which the bureau petitions the Court of Common Pleas to order (Sections 5860.610 and 5860.612). This is the prize of the system: a judicial sale conveys the property freed and cleared of all tax and municipal claims, mortgages, liens, charges and estates, except separately taxed ground rents. Judicial lists draw the serious buyers precisely because the court order clears the title.
Stage three: the repository. What does not sell at judicial sale is placed in the repository for unsold properties, and the bureau must keep the list available to the public (Section 5860.626). At any time of year, the bureau may accept an offer of any price for a repository parcel, with the written consent of every taxing district where the property sits and without court approval (Section 5860.627). Repository deeds convey the same cleared title as judicial deeds, except separately taxed ground rents. Counties set their own minimum bids, forms and fees; each county page carries its own.
The owner's rights end at the sale. An owner can pay the claim and stop the process at any point before the sale, including by an installment agreement with the bureau. After an upset or judicial sale there is no redemption: the owner's remaining route is objections to the bureau's return in court, on the confirmation timetable in the terms table below. Philadelphia is the exception in this set: an owner-occupier there can redeem within nine months after the sheriff's deed is acknowledged (see the Philadelphia page).

How registration works in Delaware County

Upset registration is in person on Monday, November 16 and Tuesday, November 17, 2026, 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, limited to the first 120 bidders. Before you register, print and complete the Bidder Application, the notarized Bidder Affidavit, and the Conditions of Sale. Bring current photo ID. A bidder may not have delinquent taxes in any taxing district in Pennsylvania. Judicial registration is also in person only and also capped at the first 120 bidders; if you bid in both the continued judicial and upset sales, both sets of conditions must be read and signed before registering.

Registration closes early everywhere that matters. In the bureau counties, Pennsylvania law requires registration at least 10 days before the sale, and several counties in this set close weeks ahead or cap the room. Philadelphia's deposit deadline runs about a week ahead of its sale dates.
You certify you are clean. A bureau bidder certifies they owe no delinquent real estate taxes or municipal utility bills and are not bidding for someone who does. Philadelphia requires tax compliance proof at settlement instead.

Terms: what a bid actually costs

Deposit, Delaware County	Upset: a $25 non-refundable application fee (certified check, money order or cash; cards accepted with a 3 percent convenience fee) plus a $1,000 registration fee by certified check or money order. Judicial: the $1,000 registration fee must be a certified check or money order, payable to the bidder, to the Tax Claim Bureau, or left blank. Fail to finalize a purchase on the upset side and the $1,000 is forfeited and the bidder is barred from future sales for five years.
Payment, Delaware County	Payment in full is due by noon the day after the sale. From January 1, 2026, a $250 per parcel fee (County Ordinance 2025-07, Demolition and Rehabilitation Fund) is also charged to purchasers at tax sales; budget it into the bid.
What the upset price is	The upset price is the sum of the Commonwealth tax liens, the tax claim and interest on it, any other tax claim or tax judgment due with interest, all accrued taxes including taxes levied for the current year, municipal claims against the property, and the record costs and costs of sale (72 P.S. Section 5860.605). The bureau cannot accept a bid below it.
Title at an upset sale	An upset sale conveys title subject to every recorded obligation, claim, lien, estate, mortgage, ground rent and Commonwealth tax lien that was not included in the upset price (Section 5860.609). Paying the taxes does not clear the mortgage.
Title at judicial and repository sales	A judicial sale, ordered by the Court of Common Pleas, sells the property freed and cleared of all tax and municipal claims, mortgages, liens, charges and estates, except separately taxed ground rents (Section 5860.612). A repository sale conveys the same cleared title (Section 5860.627).
Bidder registration (state law)	Act 33 of 2021 (Section 5860.501a) requires a bidder at an upset or judicial sale to appear in person and register with the bureau at least 10 days before the sale, and to certify they are not delinquent on real estate taxes or municipal utility bills and are not bidding for someone who is. Counties add their own fees, forms and earlier deadlines; the county version is in the registration section above. Philadelphia and Allegheny run sheriff sales instead and set their own bidder rules.
After the sale	In the bureau counties there is no redemption after the sale. The bureau files its consolidated return with the court within 60 days of the sale; the court confirms the sale nisi, and owners and lien creditors then have 30 days to file objections, limited to the regularity of the bureau's proceedings (Section 5860.607). Absolute confirmation follows if no objections are filed.

Repository: the year round list

Delaware publishes its repository list and sells from it year round at the Bureau. Bids start at $1,000, and repository parcels are sold free and clear of all delinquent taxes and liens, with no guarantee or warranty. The weeks immediately after the auction sales are closed to repository buying; otherwise it is a walk in purchase at the Bureau in Media.

Before you bid

Know which stage you are buying at. An upset price pays the taxes and leaves mortgages and liens standing; a judicial or repository deed clears them, except separately taxed ground rents. The cheapest parcel at the wrong stage is the expensive one.
Check the list again in sale week. Owners can pay and stop the process at any point before the sale, and lists shrink hard between posting and sale day.
Read the post sale rules before you bid, not after. In the bureau counties your protection is the court confirmation process; in Philadelphia it is the nine month owner-occupier redemption the buyer has to price in.
Set the maximum before the sale opens. The free Max-Bid Calculator below works backwards from your resale or hold value to the highest bid you can pay, with the costs shown.

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