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Tax Sale Atlas

Wells County, IN tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Wells County, IN tax sale, one of 2,553 counties in 30 states. Indiana sells tax lien certificates paying up to 15%, redeemable for 1 year. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the county’s own official pages on Jul 30, 2026.

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

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

Next sale
Mid-October, annually.
Format
In person
Registration
Register online with SRI at sriservices.com.
County office
(260) 824-6512
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Jul 30, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Wells County sells delinquent taxes

From lien to deed

Indiana holds no general public tax deed auction. Once the redemption period runs out, the certificate holder files a verified petition in the same court that entered the judgment of sale, and the court directs the county auditor to issue the deed. That petition must be filed no later than three months after the redemption period expires, or the purchaser's lien terminates. One narrow exception exists: real property a county, city, or town executive has certified as vacant or abandoned is auctioned separately, and there the county auditor deeds fee simple title straight to the highest bidder with no right of redemption.

Tax certificate sale (lien)

In person
Run by
Wells County Treasurer
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Mid-October, annually.
Registration
Register online with SRI at sriservices.com.
Sale list
Wells County Treasurer tax sale notice and certified property list
When it runs
Mid-October, annually. The Treasurer's office states: "The 2026 tax sale is set for October 15th at the Courthouse." The prior year's notice opened "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 10, 2025" at the Courthouse.
Registration and deposit

Register online with SRI at sriservices.com. Per the county notice: "If you are interested in bidding on the tax sale for an Indiana county, you may register online at https://sriservices.com/. This registration is good for all counties that SRI services. You need to register only once for all counties." Bring the completed registration form and a W-9 to the sale, and arrive at least 30 minutes before the 10:00 a.m. start time to receive a bid number. Bidders without internet access may register the morning of the sale. Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1 a business entity must provide the Wells County Treasurer a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Secretary of State.

Sale format and venue
Wells County holds its annual tax lien sale live at the Wells County Courthouse in Bluffton, not on an online-only platform. SRI Incorporated administers registration and publishes the property list; the Treasurer and Auditor both direct tax sale questions to sriservices.com. The 2025 certified list carried 40 parcels. The notice reserves an option to move the sale online: "At the discretion of local officials, the tax sale may switch to an online format. If those measures are taking place, the public auction will be conducted as an electronic sale under IC 6-1.1-24-2 (b) 10 and www.zeusauction.com commencing on the same date/time listed above. All location updates will be posted at www.sriservices.com prior to the tax sale." Confirm the format with the Treasurer's office before you travel. Property will not be sold for less than the delinquent taxes and special assessments, current-year taxes and assessments, penalties, the cost of the sale including a $25 postage and publication charge, and any unpaid costs from a prior tax sale. Minimum bid amounts are set by law and can change before the auction date. In person at the Wells County Courthouse, sale administered by SRI Incorporated
Source: Notice of Real Property Tax Sale, Wells County Indiana, certified by the Wells County Auditor (2025)· Verified Jul 30, 2026

Wells County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Wells 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 Wells County Treasurer tax sale notice and certified property list for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Register online with SRI at sriservices.com. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    Mid-October, annually. 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.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Wells County Treasurer as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Wells County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Wells County Treasurer tax sale notice and certified property list. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Register online with SRI at sriservices.com. Per the county notice: "If you are interested in bidding on the tax sale for an Indiana county, you may register online at https://sriservices.com/. This registration is good for all counties that SRI services. You need to register only once for all counties." Bring the completed registration form and a W-9 to the sale, and arrive at least 30 minutes before the 10:00 a.m. start time to receive a bid number. Bidders without internet access may register the morning of the sale. Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1 a business entity must provide the Wells County Treasurer a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Secretary of State.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Indiana 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

Parcels that draw no bid at the treasurer's tax sale pass to the county executive, which acquires a lien for the minimum sale price and receives a tax sale certificate. The county executive may then adopt a resolution and offer those certificates at a separate advertised public sale, often called the commissioners' certificate sale, priced below the minimum bid that failed at the tax sale. Notice runs once a week for three consecutive weeks with the final advertisement at least 30 days before the sale. This is a scheduled sale rather than a walk-in list, and redemption on a certificate bought this way is 120 days. Check the county auditor page for the next commissioners' certificate sale date.

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

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)

Wells County Treasurer

(260) 824-6512

102 W Market Street, Suite 204, Bluffton, IN 46714

Official website

County notes

  • The Wells County Auditor certifies the sale list and issues tax deeds. Reach that office at (260) 824-6470, 102 W Market Street, Suite 205, Bluffton, IN 46714.
  • Before the sale the county applies for a court judgment: "The county auditor and county treasurer will apply on or after 09/23/2025 for a court judgment against the tracts or items of real property for an amount that is not less than the amount set out below and for an order to sell the tracts or items of real property at public auction to the highest bidder." The certified list is filed with the Wells County Circuit Court.
  • Redemption windows from the 2025 notice: "The period of redemption shall expire on Tuesday, October 13, 2026" for certificates sold at the tax sale, while "For certificates struck to the county, the period of redemption may expire Monday, February 09, 2026."
  • Under IC 6-1.1-24-3(e) the published notice may omit property descriptions for parcels that appear on the certified list in consecutive years, so the newspaper notice can be incomplete. The notice states a complete property list is available at sriservices.com or in an alternative form on request.
  • The sale notice appears in newspapers only once; the county directs bidders to wellscounty.org for later notices. Watch the Treasurer's Tax Sale section for the current year's notice and any change of location.
  • Surplus rights exist for the former owner: if a parcel sells above the minimum bid and is not redeemed, the owner of record divested at the time the tax deed issues may have a claim to the tax sale surplus.

Indiana rules

Max interest rate
15% of the amount paid maximum, as a flat statutory penalty
Minimum return
10% statutory penalty at redemption
Redemption
The standard period is one year after the date of the treasurer's tax sale. Several tracks run 120 days instead: a certificate bought at the county executive's certificate sale, a lien the county executive holds that was never sold on, a sale to a purchasing agency qualified under IC 36-7-17 or IC 36-7-17.1, a certificate the county executive assigns to another political subdivision, and a parcel that was not offered at the tax sale at all. Property on the county auditor's vacant and abandoned list carries no right of redemption after its sale. A county treasurer may also extend redemption by agreement with the owner, in which case the extended period ends one year after the date of that agreement.
Surplus proceeds
The treasurer applies the payment first to the taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs in the minimum bid, then to other delinquent property taxes, then deposits the remainder in a tax sale surplus fund. The owner of record at the time the parcel was certified for sale, or the purchaser on a redemption, may file a verified claim against that fund. Unclaimed surplus transfers to the county general fund three years after it was received.
Governing statute
IC 6-1.1-24

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 Indianarules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Wells County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax lien certificates. In Indiana investors buy the lien, not the property; the County Treasurer runs the sale.

When is the Wells County tax certificate sale?

Mid-October, annually. The Treasurer's office states: "The 2026 tax sale is set for October 15th at the Courthouse." The prior year's notice opened "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 10, 2025" at the Courthouse. The sale is held in person. Always confirm the exact date with the County Treasurer before the sale.

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

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Indiana's redemption rule: 1 year from the date of sale. Call the Wells County Treasurer 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 Wells County tax sale list?

Wells County posts its tax sale list at wellscounty.org. 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 30, 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.

Indiana tax salesDue diligence guide
Call Wells County Treasurer