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Tax Sale Atlas

Escambia County, AL tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Escambia County, AL tax sale, one of 2,553 counties in 30 states. Alabama sells tax lien certificates paying up to 12%. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from state rules plus what the county publishes on Jul 27, 2026.

How tax lien sales work in Escambia County, seat of Brewton: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how Alabama tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

Next sale
Not scheduled.
County office
(251) 867-0209 (Brewton); (251) 368-1032 (Atmore satellite office)
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Jul 27, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Escambia County sells delinquent taxes

From lien to deed

Alabama holds no routine county tax deed auction under the tax lien regime. A holder of all the sold, unexpired, outstanding tax lien certificates on a parcel may file an action in circuit court to foreclose the right to redeem and quiet title, but only once four years have passed since the tax lien auction and no later than ten years after it. The holder must mail a notice of intent at least 30 days and no more than 180 days before filing, to the owner of record, every recorded lienholder, the tax collecting official, and anyone else who may reasonably be believed to hold an interest.

Tax certificate sale (lien)

Run by
Escambia County Tax Collector (Tim Pettis, Tax Collector)
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
The Tax Collector publishes the sale list in spring.
Next expected
between March 1 and June 15, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
ADOR Escambia County tax delinquent property transcript (state-held inventory, PDF)
When it runs
The Tax Collector publishes the sale list in spring. The county page states of the delinquent tax file: "View the Delinquent Tax File Here: TAX LIEN SALE LIST (This file will only be available from April to May)". No specific auction date or time is published on the county site. The page also notes that under Title 40-10-180(c), Code of Alabama, notice must be advertised "once a week for three consecutive weeks, prior to Tax Lein Sale, in a newspaper with general circulation of said county, or on the tax collecting official's website".
Registration and deposit

The county site publishes no bidder registration form, deposit amount, or registration deadline. It directs buyers to contact the office: "Please contact Tim Pettis, Amanda Carpenter or Rhonda Benjamin for all inquiries into purchasing these liens." Phone (251) 867-0209 in Brewton or (251) 368-1032 in Atmore.

Sale format and venue
Escambia County has elected the tax lien auction method rather than the sale of property. The Tax Collector's notice reads: "As the tax collecting official for Escambia County, please accept this notice as a declaration of my intentions to conduct a Tax Lien Auction and Sale for the collection of delinquent taxes for the year 2020-2021 forward." No online auction platform is named anywhere on the county's official site, and no platform URL was verified, so buyers should confirm the format and location directly with the Tax Collector before assuming an online sale. The county page links a "Tax Lien Report" PDF and a "TAX LIEN SALE LIST" file; at the time of research the Tax Lien Report link returned a 404 and the sale list was plain text with no working link, consistent with the stated April to May availability window. The county cautions that the report "will not be updated daily and the total due will not be the actual amount owed to purchase the lien." Liens not sold at auction pass to state-held inventory, which the Alabama Department of Revenue Property Tax Division publishes as a per-county transcript and sells by price quote; ADOR gives 10 calendar days from the quote date to remit payment, issues an assignment of certificate if the state has held it under three years and a tax deed if over three years, and warns that neither "gives the holder clear title to the parcel."
Source: Escambia County, AL Tax Collector - Delinquent Taxes (tax lien auction declaration)· Verified Jul 27, 2026

Escambia County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Escambia 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.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Use ADOR Escambia County tax delinquent property transcript (state-held inventory, PDF) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.

  3. Sale day

    Not scheduled. The auction platform is still being verified. Confirm the next sale date and registration window with the county before you bid.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Circuit court of the county; the circuit clerk executes the deed as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Escambia County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from ADOR Escambia County tax delinquent property transcript (state-held inventory, PDF). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    The county site publishes no bidder registration form, deposit amount, or registration deadline. It directs buyers to contact the office: "Please contact Tim Pettis, Amanda Carpenter or Rhonda Benjamin for all inquiries into purchasing these liens." Phone (251) 867-0209 in Brewton or (251) 368-1032 in Atmore.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Alabama due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.

  4. 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

Liens that draw no bid at the auction stay with the county. At any time after the auction date the tax collecting official may sell an unsold lien at private sale for no less than all taxes, interest, penalties, costs and fees due, plus any amount owed to a prior certificate holder. The rate is agreed with the tax collecting official and cannot exceed 12 percent, so over-the-counter liens often carry the full rate. Ask the county for its list of unsold liens.

New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Alabama calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)

Escambia County Tax Collector

(251) 867-0209 (Brewton); (251) 368-1032 (Atmore satellite office)

Escambia County Tax Collector, Post Office Box 407, Brewton, AL 36427. County Courthouse: 314 Belleville Ave, P.O. Box 856, Brewton, AL 36427. Atmore satellite office: 8600 Highway 31, Atmore, AL 36502.

Official website

County notes

  • Escambia County is a tax LIEN county by the Tax Collector's own election under Title 40-10-180(b), Code of Alabama, covering delinquent taxes "for the year 2020-2021 forward".
  • Office hours listed for the county courthouse are 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Taxes are due October 1 and become delinquent January 1.
  • No auction platform is published. The county site contains no reference to GovEase, RealAuction, Bid4Assets, or any other online auction vendor, and the Tax Collector section of the site sitemap has no dedicated tax lien auction page beyond the Delinquent Taxes page.
  • Search results pointing to lienhub.com/county/escambia refer to Escambia County FLORIDA, not Alabama, and were excluded.
  • Named office contacts for lien purchase inquiries: Tim Pettis (Tax Collector), Amanda Carpenter, and Rhonda Benjamin. Shirley Hubert is listed as Office Manager at the Atmore office.
  • Parcel data for the county is hosted on Delta Computer Systems (Online Property Information link, AL30) rather than a county-run GIS.
  • Verification gap for a future pass: the exact auction date, the auction location or platform, and the bidder registration process are not published online and would need a call to (251) 867-0209 or the newspaper legal notice.

Alabama rules

Max interest rate
12% per year, bid down at auction
Minimum return
No statutory minimum; interest accrues at your bid rate
Redemption
A tax lien can be redeemed at any time before the circuit court enters judgment in a foreclosure action, and the holder cannot file that action until four years after the auction or the tax official's private sale. If the holder does not commence a foreclosure action within ten years of the auction or sale, the certificate expires and the lien becomes void. A certificate holder has no right to enter or possess the property, make repairs, or charge rents before it receives the circuit clerk's deed. In a county that uses the Article 1 property tax sale instead, land sold to a purchaser other than the state may be redeemed within three years from the date of sale, and land bid in for the state may be redeemed at any time before title passes out of the state.
Surplus proceeds
In a court-ordered auction the proceeds pay the cost of the auction first, then the certificate holder up to the redemption amount plus taxes it paid before filing and the court-allowed costs and fees. Any surplus goes to the owner or the owner's heirs or successors as the court determines, and Alabama's unclaimed property law applies to whatever is left. In a county that instead uses the Article 1 property tax sale, the excess over the decree is held in a separate county account for three years for a party who redeems, and Section 40-10-28 opens later windows in which the owner or a redeeming party can claim it.
Governing statute
Ala. Code § 40-10-180

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.

See the full Alabamarules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Escambia County, Alabama sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax lien certificates. In Alabama investors buy the lien, not the property; the County tax collecting official runs the sale.

When is the Escambia County tax certificate sale?

The Tax Collector publishes the sale list in spring. The county page states of the delinquent tax file: "View the Delinquent Tax File Here: TAX LIEN SALE LIST (This file will only be available from April to May)". No specific auction date or time is published on the county site. The page also notes that under Title 40-10-180(c), Code of Alabama, notice must be advertised "once a week for three consecutive weeks, prior to Tax Lein Sale, in a newspaper with general circulation of said county, or on the tax collecting official's website". Always confirm the exact date with the County tax collecting official before the sale.

How often does Escambia County hold tax deed sales?

Escambia County holds its tax deed sale none (court action, not a scheduled auction). Not scheduled. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Alabama's redemption rule: Redeemable until the circuit court enters judgment; the holder cannot file to foreclose until 4 years after the tax lien auction, and the certificate expires 10 years after it. Call the Circuit court of the county; the circuit clerk executes the deed as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Where can I find the Escambia County tax sale list?

Escambia County posts its tax sale list at revenue.alabama.gov. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.

Verified Jul 27, 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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Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

Alabama tax salesDue diligence guide
Call Escambia County Tax Collector