Franklin County, AL tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Franklin 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 Franklin County, seat of Russellville: 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.
- Format
- GovEase
- County office
- 256-332-8831
On this page
How Franklin 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
- Franklin County Revenue Commissioner (Stratt Byars, Revenue Commissioner)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No auction date is published on the Revenue Commissioner website.
- Next expected
- between March 1 and June 15, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Register on GovEase at govease.com, sign up or log in, complete your bidder profile, then sign and submit the registration documents for each county you want to bid in, including a W-9. GovEase notes that if the county requires a bank statement or balance letter you upload it in the GovEase system, and that some counties require a deposit to be approved. The Alabama FAQ states deposits are 10 percent of the amount you want to be approved for, and that unused deposits are refunded to your bank account 7 to 10 business days after the payment deadline. Bidding is a bid-down on interest: the maximum bid is 12 percent simple interest per annum prorated monthly, the lowest acceptable bid is 0 percent, bids move in 1 percent increments, and a tie at 0 percent is broken by a random number generator. GovEase also states that for most counties all payments and payment arrangements must be made through the county tax office. Confirm Franklin County's document list, deposit amount, and payment method with the Revenue Commissioner at 256-332-8831 or the GovEase Franklin County contact listed as Rita Fisher at 256-332-8841.
Sale format and venue
Franklin County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Franklin 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
Use ADOR Franklin County transcript of tax delinquent land available for sale (state-held inventory, updated weekly) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.Sale day
Not scheduled. Bidding runs on GovEase; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.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 Franklin County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from ADOR Franklin County transcript of tax delinquent land available for sale (state-held inventory, updated weekly). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Register on GovEase at govease.com, sign up or log in, complete your bidder profile, then sign and submit the registration documents for each county you want to bid in, including a W-9. GovEase notes that if the county requires a bank statement or balance letter you upload it in the GovEase system, and that some counties require a deposit to be approved. The Alabama FAQ states deposits are 10 percent of the amount you want to be approved for, and that unused deposits are refunded to your bank account 7 to 10 business days after the payment deadline. Bidding is a bid-down on interest: the maximum bid is 12 percent simple interest per annum prorated monthly, the lowest acceptable bid is 0 percent, bids move in 1 percent increments, and a tie at 0 percent is broken by a random number generator. GovEase also states that for most counties all payments and payment arrangements must be made through the county tax office. Confirm Franklin County's document list, deposit amount, and payment method with the Revenue Commissioner at 256-332-8831 or the GovEase Franklin County contact listed as Rita Fisher at 256-332-8841.
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.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
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)
Franklin County Revenue Commissioner
Franklin County Courthouse, 410 North Jackson Ave, Russellville, AL 35653 (property mailing address: P.O. Box 248, Russellville, AL 35653)
Official websiteCounty notes
- Platform verified from the county's own site: the Franklin County Revenue Commissioner navigation and Quick Links pages both carry a "Tax Sale Lien" item linking to https://www.govease.com/. GovEase's Alabama county contact article independently lists Franklin County with a county contact (Rita Fisher, 256-332-8841), confirming the county runs its tax lien auction on GovEase.
- No auction date, notice, or bidder packet is published on franklincountyrevenue.com. The site has 15 pages total and none covers the tax sale; the only news post is a 2023 site launch announcement. Timing must be confirmed by phone.
- Office details cross-check: the Alabama Department of Revenue county offices directory lists Franklin County's office as "Revenue Commissioner," official Stratt Byars, P.O. Box 248, Russellville, AL 35653, phone 256-332-8831, matching the county's own Locations page (courthouse at 410 North Jackson Ave; second office at 118 4th Ave SE, Red Bay, AL 35582, 256-356-9805; hours Monday to Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM; property fax 256-332-8417; motor vehicle line 256-332-8833).
- The ADOR website field for Franklin County points to the county GIS viewer at isv.kcsgis.com/al.franklin_revenue, which is a mapping application with no tax sale content. The substantive office site is franklincountyrevenue.com, which the county government site franklincountyal.org also links to as the Revenue Commissioner homepage.
- The ADOR state-held transcript for Franklin County (WWW_TRANS_33.PDF, dated 07/20/2026) was fetched and contains only the report header with zero parcels. Neighboring Geneva County's transcript from the same run contains parcels, so the empty Franklin file reflects no state-held inventory rather than a broken link.
- Bidding mechanics for Alabama on GovEase: bid-down interest starting at 12 percent and going as low as 0 percent in 1 percent increments, ties at 0 percent resolved by random number generator, deposits of 10 percent of the requested approval limit, and payments handled through the county tax office for most counties.
- Not verified and left out deliberately: the exact auction date, the registration open date, whether Franklin County requires a deposit or a bank letter, and whether Franklin accepts payment inside the GovEase portal. Third-party aggregators list Franklin County auction dates but no official county or platform page confirmed them.
Alabama rules
- 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.
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 Franklin County, Alabama sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Franklin County tax certificate sale?
How often does Franklin County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Franklin County tax sale list?
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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