Lancaster County tax sales

Verified

Lancaster is one of the fully online bureaus in this set. The September upset sale, the November continued upset sale and the November judicial sale all run on GovDeals with a single pre-registration covering both November sales. The county also adds a $250 demolition and rehabilitation fee per parcel under Act 48 of 2024, collected from purchasers at tax sales effective January 1, 2026, on top of the bid, transfer tax and recording costs.

Selling office: Lancaster County Tax Claim Bureau, 150 N. Queen Street, Suite 122, PO Box 1447, Lancaster, PA 17608, phone 717-299-8232 as shown on the repository offer form

Next event: Continued Upset Tax Sale and Judicial Tax Sale on Monday, November 16, 2026, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST, online via GovDeals. Determined from the bureau Notice for the November sales read Nov 9, 2026, which states both sales will be held online on Monday, November 16, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST, with pre-registration from October 5, 2026 to November 6, 2026 at 4:00 PM, after the September 14, 2026 upset sale had already run.

No official total is published for the repository. The GovDeals summaries state over 600 properties at the September upset sale and over 90 properties at the November continued upset sale, but those are platform summaries, not a bureau published repository total.

Dates and stages

Next event	Continued Upset Tax Sale and Judicial Tax Sale on Monday, November 16, 2026, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST, online via GovDeals
Upset sale	The upset sale runs in September online via GovDeals. The 2026 upset sale bidding ran on Monday, September 14, 2026, with registration open August 3 through September 4, 2026 at 4:00 PM, for over 600 properties as listed on the GovDeals sale page. Unsold properties return at the continued upset sale on Monday, November 16, 2026.
Judicial sale	The judicial sale runs in November online via GovDeals for properties exposed at a prior upset sale but not sold. The 2026 judicial sale is Monday, November 16, 2026, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST, held together with the continued upset sale and covered by the same registration.
Repository	A repository offer form is published by the bureau. The current form dated November 19, 2025 sets a minimum bid of $1,000 plus costs, with a $100 non-refundable bid administrative processing fee, plus 2 percent transfer tax, $135 deed preparation, $10 Prothonotary fee and the $250 demolition fee. No standalone repository list size is published in the form.
Format	Online only: Online via GovDeals. The bureau directs bidders to govdeals.com/lctcb2026ContinuedUpsetTaxSale for the continued upset sale and govdeals.com/lctcb2026JudicialTaxSale for the judicial sale, and to the GovDeals upset sale page for the September upset sale.
Selling office	Lancaster County Tax Claim Bureau, 150 N. Queen Street, Suite 122, PO Box 1447, Lancaster, PA 17608, phone 717-299-8232 as shown on the repository offer form
The list	Sale lists, conditions of sale and registration publish on GovDeals at the sale specific pages linked in the bureau Notice (continued upset and judicial) and on the GovDeals upset sale page. The repository offer form publishes on the county DocumentCenter.

Sources: Notice: Continued Upset and Judicial Tax Sale Nov 16, 2026. Offer to Purchase From Repository, updated Nov 19, 2025. Tax Claim page. 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.

Research Lancaster County parcels before you bid

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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 Lancaster County

Pre-registration is required online via GovDeals. For the November 16, 2026 sales registration began Monday, October 5, 2026 and the deadline was Friday, November 6, 2026 at 4:00 PM, with no exceptions, and one registration covers both sales. Bidders must submit a notarized affidavit and agree to the terms and conditions and be approved by the county. Corporate bidders must also provide photo ID, articles of incorporation and a letter authorizing the bidder. For the September upset sale registration was August 3 through September 4, 2026 at 4:00 PM. This satisfies the Act 33 ten day floor.

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, Lancaster County	No separate bidder deposit is published in the bureau Notice or the GovDeals sale summaries read Nov 9, 2026. The $100 amount in Lancaster is the repository bid administrative processing fee in the repository form, not an upset or judicial deposit, and no upset or judicial registration fee amount is published in the Notice.
Payment, Lancaster County	Historical bureau conditions of sale published by the county state payment in full by cash, certified check or money order payable to County of Lancaster at the time the property is struck down, plus recording cost and transfer tax, with bids in at least $100 increments. A clean 2026 GovDeals conditions of sale payment deadline was not read in full Nov 9, 2026, so the 2026 online settlement deadline is not cleanly published in the sources read and should be confirmed in the GovDeals conditions for the specific sale.
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

Repository properties are those placed in the repository for unsold properties after upset and judicial exposure. By statute and by the bureau offer form, the bureau may accept any price with the written consent of all taxing districts where the property is located. In Lancaster the offer is made on the bureau Offer to Purchase From Repository form with a minimum bid of $1,000 plus deed preparation, recording, Prothonotary fee, 2 percent realty transfer tax and the $250 demolition fee, plus the $100 non-refundable processing fee, paid by certified check, cashier check, money order or cash for the bid amount as stated in the form. Approval is required from the municipality and school district, and the Director may disapprove a bid on behalf of the County. No current repository list size or date is published in the sources read.

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.

Every Pennsylvania county in this set

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