Arizona law, for title research

Arizona tax lien sales and tax deeds: a February auction, then a court-ordered deed or excess proceeds sale

Every rule below is quoted from the Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 42, Chapters 17 and 18 or another official source, linked and checked on the date shown. General information, not legal advice.

Does Arizona sell tax deeds or tax liens?

At the county treasurer's February sale, Arizona sells tax liens. Section 42-18101 has the treasurer sell the lien and then foreclose the right to redeem, so the buyer gets a certificate of purchase and not the land. Deeds come in later, in four ways: a treasurer's deed after a foreclosure judgment, a qualified entity's deed after an excess proceeds sale, a treasurer's deed to the state on a lien assigned to it, and the county board's deed on a sale of land the state already holds by tax deed.

How does the Arizona tax lien sale work?

By September 1 the treasurer mails notice of delinquent taxes, and by December 31 prepares the list and notice of sale. A copy goes to each owner at the last known address. The notice is posted for at least two weeks and published two to three weeks before the sale. A sale may not start later than five years after delinquency unless it was advertised within that time or a court order prevented it. An insubstantial failure to comply does not affect the sale's validity, and a wrong owner name does not invalidate it if the description identifies the property and the amount of taxes is included.

The winning bidder pays everything due and accepts the lowest rate, which may not exceed sixteen percent a year simple. Payment is in cash within fifteen days after the close. Section 42-17153(C)(3) makes the tax lien prior and superior to all other liens and encumbrances on the property, except liens or encumbrances held by this state and liens for taxes of other years. The sale leaves easements and listed assessment liens in place. On separately owned minerals, taxes and sales on the minerals and on the rest of the land do not affect each other.

A lien with no bid is assigned to the state, and the treasurer then assigns that certificate to anyone paying the full amount due plus later taxes. A holder may pay later years' taxes at the certificate rate from June 1, and in a county of more than three million people the treasurer issues a separate certificate by assignment for each year, on the section's conditions. If the holder does not, a later buyer may be required to acquire the earlier certificates. If a mistake or wrongful act of the treasurer, recorder or assessor, or a double assessment, led to a lien sale on property with no tax due, the buyer is held harmless, at the lesser of the bid rate or ten percent simple.

How long can an Arizona owner redeem a tax lien?

Past three years. Section 42-18152 allows full redemption within three years of the sale, and after that before delivery of a treasurer's deed. Section 42-18206 allows redemption at any time before judgment, even after suit is filed, and section 42-18204(C) says foreclosed parties have no further right, title or interest after judgment, subject to appeal and stay of execution. For an excess proceeds sale, the notice form in section 42-18232(C) says the sale will be final unless the outstanding taxes are paid. How those end points fit in a given case is for an Arizona attorney.

The owner, the owner's agent, assignee or attorney, a person paying on the owner's behalf as a charitable gift, or anyone with a legal or equitable claim may redeem. A partial owner can redeem that share. The price is the lien amount, later taxes the holder paid and statutory fees, generally at the certificate rate. A lien assigned to the state redeems at the section 42-18053 rate, and once the board has applied for a treasurer's deed, the treasurer's costs must be paid first. In a county of more than three million people, the treasurer accepts partial payments of at least twenty-five percent on qualifying certificates, until receiving a foreclosure notice. A partially paid lien must still be fully redeemed before delivery of the deed, and impounded payments are refunded after the deed or an excess proceeds judgment. A holder of a certificate of redemption may record it with the county recorder.

How does a certificate holder get an Arizona tax deed?

Through a superior court action. From three years after the sale until ten years after the last day of the month the lien was acquired, the holder may sue to foreclose the right to redeem, naming the county treasurer as a party. If a law or court order prohibits the action, section 42-18201(A) extends the limit by twelve months. Without a timely suit the certificate expires and the lien is void under section 42-18127, and subsection B of that section has the treasurer notify the purchaser within 365 days before expiration. Notice of intent goes out at least thirty days before filing and not more than 180 days before the action is commenced or may be commenced, by the mail section 42-18202 specifies, to the owner of record or the listed addresses and to the treasurer. The court may not enter judgment until the holder sends it.

If the sale is valid, the lien is unredeemed and the defendant's request for an excess proceeds sale is unreasonable, or the defendant did not request one, the court forecloses the defendant's right to redeem and directs a treasurer's deed. Section 42-18204(A) speaks of the defendant's request, although subsection (B) also lets the holder ask, so how a holder's request fits is for an Arizona attorney. The deed issues on the copy of the judgment that section 42-18205 specifies and a 50 dollar parcel fee. A person who redeems after the notice under section 12-1191 is recorded owes the plaintiff's costs and reasonable attorney fees.

Foreclosure does not extinguish easements or the listed assessment liens. The judgment operates on the defendant's right to redeem. We did not find a list of required parties in chapter 18, so who had to be named and served, and the effect of missing someone, is for an Arizona attorney.

What is an Arizona excess proceeds sale?

It is a court-ordered public auction of the land, so that value above the tax burden can reach the owner. The owner or the holder may ask the court, at any time before the judgment takes effect, whether the sale is reasonable, and the complaint may include that request. The holder supplies its listed amounts, and the owner supplies a reasonable estimate of the market value. It is reasonable if the price is likely to be more than $2,500 above the holder's listed amounts, which include fees and costs, the lien and fees with interest at sixteen percent whatever the bid rate, recorded state liens and sale costs. If the sale goes ahead, the judgment sets the opening bid at the total of listed amounts in that subsection plus any other reasonable fees the court determines. The foreclosure notice must tell owners they have to request this sale to protect their equity.

A qualified entity runs it, within sixty days after judgment except as the article otherwise provides, and the sale may be postponed. Notice is recorded, posted and published. Anyone may bid, only the holder may credit bid, and other bidders post a deposit of ten percent of the opening bid or $2,500, whichever is greater. Deposits go back to all but the high bidder, who pays by 5:00 p.m. the next business day or forfeits the deposit and can be liable for resulting loss. People mailed notice waive objections not raised in an action that produces an injunction before the sale date.

Section 42-18235(E) makes the deed absolute, without right of redemption and clear of all subordinate liens, claims or interests. Section 42-18234(G) separately extinguishes other liens held by this state, apart from the preserved assessments and property tax liens. Proceeds go to sale costs, the holder, property taxes, other state lien and encumbrance holders, and then the foreclosed owner, within ninety days.

These sections were amended in 2026. Laws 2026, chapter 256 carries no effective date of its own in the text we read, so the general effective date of September 12, 2026 on the Legislature's page applies, and chapter 66 adds versions of some sections that apply from October 1, 2028. Check the section's current version for a sale near those dates.

What are Arizona's state tax deed land sales?

If a lien assigned to the state stays unredeemed from five years after assignment, the board of supervisors may apply for a treasurer's deed. The treasurer first runs a limited title search for recorded interests, then mails notice at least ninety days before delivery, publishes for two weeks, and in some cases posts the property. On delivery, all redemption rights end, whether or not the person was named in the notice, and the section preserves easements.

The board then advertises the land and may sell it to the highest bidder for cash, live or online. Direct sales to public bodies, certain contiguous owners and homeowners' associations are carved out, and land unsold at auction can be sold over the counter. The board's deed conveys the title of the state. Any balance after taxes, interest, penalties, fees and costs goes to the dispossessed owner.

Can an Arizona tax lien be removed or reduced?

Sections 42-18351 and 42-18352 address removing all or part of a lien or abating tax for listed situations, such as an error in imposing the tax, an event invalidating the lien or its sale, or a sale not advertised within five years. The treasurer may act alone and must make the determination on the application of a property owner or certificate holder, and if a situation exists must grant appropriate relief, subject to board approval. Section 42-18124 lets the board compromise with the owner or holder when the property is not worth what is owed or the lien would not sell for that amount, and it has separate rules for contaminated property.

What a title search checks on an Arizona tax lien

An auction title report verifies tax lien sales, assignments and redemptions with the tax office, looks for a foreclosure filing and its named parties in the court record, and reports any treasurer's deed or qualified entity's deed it finds. It lists recorded easements and the assessment liens the statute preserves. Whether a foreclosure cut off a particular interest is for an Arizona attorney.

The Arizona tax lien rules on this page, with their sources

Sources: Section 42-18101; Section 42-18112; Section 42-18105; Section 42-18108; Section 42-18109; Section 42-18111; Section 42-18114; Section 42-18113; Section 42-18262; Section 42-18053; Section 42-18116; Section 42-18115; Section 42-17154; Section 42-18118; Section 42-18119; Section 42-18121; Section 42-18121.01; Section 42-18122; Section 42-18125; Section 42-18124; Section 42-18352; Section 42-18151; Section 42-18152; Section 42-18153; Section 42-18056; Section 42-18154; Section 42-18201; Section 42-18127; Section 42-18202; Section 42-18203; Section 42-18206; Section 42-18204; Section 42-18205; Section 42-18231; Section 42-18232; Section 42-18233; Section 42-18235; Section 42-18234; Section 42-18236; Section 42-18261; Section 42-18263; Section 42-18264; Section 42-18267; Section 42-18303; Section 42-18302; Section 42-18117; Section 42-17153. Each row links the section it summarizes.

Questions people ask

More on how Arizona property law shapes a title search: title research in Arizona.