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Butler County, PA

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Butler County, Pennsylvania — Tax Sale & Surplus Procedure

Local operations layer. The legal framework (redemption periods, surplus rights, statutes, case law) lives on the parent page → pennsylvania. This page covers how Butler County actually runs it. Legal information, not legal advice. Last verified: 2026-06-02.

C0. Identity

  • County seat: Butler, PA 16001
  • Population: ~193,716 (FIPS 42019)
  • Recording unit: county
  • Parent legal framework: pennsylvania — Butler is not Philadelphia (1st class) or Allegheny (2nd class), so it operates exclusively under the Real Estate Tax Sale Law (RETSL / Act 542), 72 P.S. §§ 5860.101–5860.803. The MCTLA / tax-sheriff’s-sale path does not apply here. Mortgage foreclosures follow standard PA judicial procedure (sheriff’s sale on a foreclosure judgment; see pennsylvania Module 4).
  • Selling authority: Butler County Tax Claim Bureau (upset, judicial, repository sales); Butler County Sheriff (mortgage-foreclosure sales). — https://www.butlercountypa.gov/356/Tax-Claim-Bureau (retrieved 2026-06-02)

C1. Local Tax Sale

Upset Sale

Judicial Sale

Repository

C2. Local Redemption → framework: right-of-redemption

  • Post-sale redemption: None. Butler is a RETSL county. The county’s own upset-sale notice states the owner/reputed owner “shall not be permitted to redeem the property after the sale,” and in fact may not redeem after 10:00 A.M. on the date of the upset sale. This tracks RETSL § 501 (“[T]here shall be no redemption of any property after the actual sale thereof”). — https://butlercountypa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/7228/2024-Upset-Tax-Sale-List (retrieved 2026-06-02); 72 P.S. § 5860.501; pennsylvania §2; fouse-v-saratoga-partners (Pa. 2020)
  • Pre-sale cure (stop a scheduled sale): The Bureau may, at its option, stay the sale if the owner or any lien creditor pays the taxes and costs owing on or before the commencement of the actual sale, in the manner provided by RETSL. Practically, payment must be made before 10 A.M. on the upset-sale date to remove the parcel. RETSL § 603 installment agreements (commonly cited as 25% down) are available pre-sale through the Bureau. — https://butlercountypa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/7228/2024-Upset-Tax-Sale-List (retrieved 2026-06-02); 72 P.S. §§ 5860.501, 5860.603 (exact § 603 percentage needs_verification against statute text — inherited from pennsylvania)
  • Where to cure/pay: Butler County Tax Claim Bureau, 124 W. Diamond Street, Butler, PA 16003 (mailing P.O. Box 1208, Butler, PA 16003); also the County Treasurer’s delinquent-tax tools. — https://www.butlercountypa.gov/356/Tax-Claim-Bureau ; https://www2.co.butler.pa.us/taxes/ (retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Redemption contact: Tax Claim Bureau, 724-284-5326 (fax 724-284-5430); Director Janet L. Mentel, 724-284-5323, jmentel@co.butler.pa.us. Hours Mon–Fri 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
  • Deviations from state default: None identified beyond the explicit “no redemption after 10 A.M. on sale day” cutoff stated in the county notice.

C3. Local Surplus / Excess Proceeds → framework: surplus-funds

  • Claim filing venue: Butler County Tax Claim Bureau — the same office that conducts the sale holds and distributes surplus. Address: 124 W. Diamond Street / P.O. Box 1208, Butler, PA 16003. Distribution of sale monies (after deduction of costs) is “made in accordance with said Act” — i.e., the RETSL § 205(d) waterfall confirmed by the Court of Common Pleas (§ 205(e)). — https://www.butlercountypa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/6878/Terms-and-Conditions-for-Judicial-Sale ; https://www.butlercountypa.gov/356/Tax-Claim-Bureau (retrieved 2026-06-02); pennsylvania §3
  • Claim form: The Bureau’s website lists an “Excess Funds List” and a downloadable Tax Certification Request Form; a dedicated standardized “excess funds application” form was not separately published as a distinct PDF at the time of verification. Claimants present a notarized claim with photo ID per RETSL practice (estates: short certificate + executor claim — see pennsylvania §3). — https://www.butlercountypa.gov/356/Tax-Claim-Bureau (retrieved 2026-06-02). needs_verification — exact county surplus-claim form name/URL.
  • Unclaimed list published? Yes. The Bureau publishes a “Surplus List” / “Excess Funds List” PDF (titled “Butler County Tax Claim Bureau — Janet Mentel, Director — Surplus List”). The retrievable version is dated “as of January 20, 2016,” itemizing tax-sale and judicial-sale surplus by date, owner/purchaser, municipality, and amount. — https://www.butlercountypa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/801/Butler-County-Excess-Funds-List-PDF (retrieved 2026-06-02). needs_verification — whether a more current list has superseded the 2016 PDF.
  • Local deadline notes: RETSL § 205(f)‘s 3-year claim window applies (after which unclaimed surplus is redistributed to the taxing districts). The county does not state a separate local deadline. — 72 P.S. § 5860.205(f); pennsylvania §3 / §3b / §9 (surplus 3-year forfeiture edge case)
  • Third-party finder rules: Inherited from state practice — finders must be registered with the PA Department of Treasury; no Butler-specific fee cap or cooling-off rule located. — pennsylvania §3. needs_verification for any Butler-specific finder policy.
  • Contact: Tax Claim Bureau, 724-284-5326 | Director Janet L. Mentel, jmentel@co.butler.pa.us

▸ For Investors / Operators — Butler runs the standard RETSL ladder: an in-person upset sale (second Monday of September, $20 registration 10 days out) where the deed is taken subject to undivested mortgages and liens (§ 609 — the county prints the CAUTION itself), then a free-and-clear judicial sale (§ 612.1), then a repository reviewed the 4th Monday of February/August. There is no post-sale redemption here. Watch the local deed caveats the Bureau flags expressly: mineral (oil/gas/coal) interests and PA Inheritance Tax liens are not guaranteed divested even at judicial sale. For marketable title and surviving-lien analysis see pennsylvania §5b (quiet title in Common Pleas; ~2–3-yr insurer seasoning) and §7b (HSCA § 509 environmental super-lien, UPCA § 5315 six-month HOA super-priority, IRS § 7425 120-day right).

▸ For Former Owners — When a Butler tax sale yields more than the taxes, claims, interest, and costs, the residual balance is paid last in the § 205(d) waterfall and is held by the Butler County Tax Claim Bureau (124 W. Diamond Street / P.O. Box 1208, Butler, PA 16003; 724-284-5326). The Bureau publishes a Surplus / Excess Funds List. Note the 3-year deadline (§ 205(f)) — an unclaimed balance is re-distributed to the taxing districts three years after the sale (a forfeiture whose post-tyler-v-hennepin-county validity is unsettled; see pennsylvania §11).

C4. Offices & Contacts

OfficeNameAddressPhoneURL
Tax Claim Bureau (Director)Janet L. Mentel, Director124 W. Diamond Street, Butler, PA 16003 (mailing P.O. Box 1208, Butler, PA 16003)724-284-5326 (Director 724-284-5323; fax 724-284-5430)https://www.butlercountypa.gov/356/Tax-Claim-Bureau
Prothonotary (Court of Common Pleas civil records; tax-sale §607 confirmations, quiet-title filings)Kelly Ferrari, ProthonotaryFirst Floor, Government Center, 124 W. Diamond St., Butler, PA 16001 (mailing P.O. Box 1208, Butler, PA 16003)724-284-5214https://www.butlercountypa.gov/243/Prothonotary
Recorder of DeedsMichele Mustello, RecorderCounty Government Center, Floor L, 124 W. Diamond Street, Butler, PA 16001724-284-5340https://www.butlercountypa.gov/262/Recorder-of-Deeds
Sheriff (mortgage-foreclosure sales)Butler County SheriffCounty Courthouse, 1st Floor, 300 S. Main Street, Butler, PA 16001724-284-5245https://www.butlercountypa.gov/360/Sheriff-Sales
Treasurer (current-year/delinquent tax)Butler County Treasurer124 W. Diamond Street, Butler, PA 16001—https://www2.co.butler.pa.us/taxes/

C5. Local Procedure Notes

  • Butler is a RETSL county. All tax-claim sales follow Act 542 — upset → judicial → repository. The MCTLA sheriff’s-tax-sale path used by Philadelphia/Allegheny does not apply.
  • Tax-claim sales are in person; sheriff (mortgage) sales are online. The upset/judicial sales occur at the Government Center Annex, while mortgage-foreclosure sheriff’s sales moved fully online as of January 19, 2024 at https://butler.pa.realforeclose.com/ (Realauction). Do not conflate the two venues. — https://sheriffofbutlercounty.com/sheriffsale/ ; https://www.butlercountypa.gov/360/Sheriff-Sales (retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Owner/family purchase bar. RETSL judicial-sale terms expressly bar the owner or immediate family from buying back the property at sale, and bar parties with taxes in collection. — https://www.butlercountypa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/6878/Terms-and-Conditions-for-Judicial-Sale
  • Mineral & inheritance-tax caveats printed on the deed terms. The Bureau will not guarantee divestiture of oil/gas/coal interests or a PA Inheritance Tax lien even at judicial sale (Dept. of Revenue position). — https://www.butlercountypa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/6878/Terms-and-Conditions-for-Judicial-Sale
  • Repository review cadence: 4th Monday of February and August at 10 a.m.; two-check payment (Bureau + Recorder); 30-day payment window.
  • Defaulting-bidder penalties: judicial-sale default → 2-year ban; repository non-compliance → current year + 2 years; same-day re-exposure of unpaid judicial parcels at 3:00 p.m.
  • Confirmation / distribution: Per RETSL, the Bureau files its consolidated return and distribution petition with the Court of Common Pleas (Prothonotary) (§§ 607, 205(e)); rule to show cause served by first-class mail on distributees including the former owner. — pennsylvania §3, §5b

C6. Records Access

C8. Title & Quiet Title → framework: pennsylvania §5b

  • Title type: tax_deed (RETSL bureau deed — upset deed subject to undivested liens; judicial/repository deed free and clear). Not a lien-certificate state. — https://www.butlercountypa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/6878/Terms-and-Conditions-for-Judicial-Sale
  • Quiet title — required? Practically yes for insurable/mortgageable title, especially after an upset-sale purchase (deed taken subject to liens, § 609). The Bureau deeds carry no warranty and the Bureau expressly recommends a title examination before bidding. — https://butlercountypa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/7228/2024-Upset-Tax-Sale-List
  • Action type / court: Judicial — civil action to quiet title in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas (50th Judicial District), filed with the Prothonotary (Pa.R.C.P. 1061–1066; Rule 1061(b)(4) authorizes quiet-title to obtain possession of land sold at a tax sale). — pennsylvania §5b; https://www.pacourts.us/courts/courts-of-common-pleas/individual-county-courts/butler-county (retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Typical timeline / cost: Inherited from state: ≥6 months uncontested, 12–24+ months contested; cost commonly >$4,500. Butler-specific figures needs_verification. — pennsylvania §5b
  • Deed seasoning: Most title insurers will not insure a PA tax-sale deed for ~2–3 years absent a completed quiet-title action or a third-party certification. Butler-specific insurer practice needs_verification. — pennsylvania §5b
  • Title insurers active locally: needs_verification — no Butler-specific underwriter list retrieved; PA-statewide agents (e.g., those certifying tax-sale deeds) operate in the county but the specific local roster was not confirmed from an official source.

C9. Purchaser Obligations → framework: pennsylvania §10b

C10. Local Restrictions → framework: pennsylvania §11b

  • Land bank — yes. Butler County designated the Butler County Housing & Redevelopment Authority (HRA) to act as the county land bank in November 2020 under the PA Land Bank Act (68 Pa.C.S. § 2101 et seq.). The land bank acquires vacant, blighted, tax-delinquent and abandoned parcels (many transferred by former owners/heirs in exchange for exoneration of delinquent tax liens) to return them to productive use; by early 2024 it had acquired ~38 parcels (concentrated in the Woodlands area of Connoquenessing Township). — https://www.butlereagle.com/20201119/authority-to-act-as-land-bank/ ; https://www.butlereagle.com/20240106/county-land-bank-gathering-properties-for-reuse/ (secondary, retrieved 2026-06-02). needs_verification — official HRA/land-bank page (county HRA site returned 404 at verification); land-bank existence corroborated by multiple Butler Eagle reports and the pennsylvania Land Bank Act framework.
  • Right of first refusal: No Butler-specific tax-sale ROFR ordinance located. Under the PA Land Bank Act, a land bank may receive or acquire tax-delinquent property and use the Act’s expedited quiet-title proceeding (120-day decision, 68 Pa.C.S. § 2117), but no county document confirms a standing ROFR exercised at the Bureau’s upset/judicial sales. — pennsylvania §5b, §11b. needs_verification for any local ROFR.
  • Entity / insider restrictions: RETSL judicial-sale terms bar the owner and immediate family from repurchasing, and bar parties delinquent on taxes/utilities from bidding (registration affidavit, § 501-A). No additional Butler-specific entity restriction identified. — https://www.butlercountypa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/6878/Terms-and-Conditions-for-Judicial-Sale

C7. Meta

sources:

needs_verification:

  • Exact county surplus-claim form name/URL (only an Excess Funds List and a Tax Certification Request Form were located; a distinct standardized claim form was not published as a separate PDF).
  • Whether the published Surplus/Excess Funds List has been updated since the retrievable “as of January 20, 2016” version.
  • Butler-specific quiet-title timeline/cost and the local roster of title insurers active on tax-sale deeds (state-level figures inherited from pennsylvania §5b).
  • Exact statutory percentage for RETSL § 603 installment down payment (25% cited in practice; inherited open item from pennsylvania).
  • Official Butler County land bank / HRA web page (county HRA site returned 404 at verification); land-bank designation corroborated by Butler Eagle reporting + PA Land Bank Act framework.
  • Any Butler-specific right-of-first-refusal or finder-fee ordinance (none located).
  • Post-Tyler validity of RETSL § 205(f) 3-year surplus forfeiture — inherited open question from pennsylvania §11; no Butler-specific ruling or policy change identified.

cross_links: pennsylvania, right-of-redemption, surplus-funds, third-party-recovery-rules, due-process-notice, tyler-v-hennepin-county, fouse-v-saratoga-partners, tracy-v-county-of-chester, bankruptcy-automatic-stay

changelog:

  • 2026-06-02 — Initial population (autoresearch). Official butlercountypa.gov pages and three text-extracted sale PDFs (upset notice, judicial terms, repository terms) verified; surplus list PDF extracted (2016). Confirmed in-person upset/judicial venue (Government Center Annex), $20 registration 10 days prior, no post-sale redemption (10 AM sale-day cutoff), § 612.1 free-and-clear judicial deed, mineral/inheritance-tax caveats, repository 4th-Monday-Feb/Aug cadence, online sheriff (mortgage) sales at butler.pa.realforeclose.com, and the HRA land-bank designation. Quiet-title/insurer specifics and current surplus-form/list flagged needs_verification.

Legal information, not legal advice. This page summarizes Butler County, Pennsylvania tax and mortgage foreclosure procedures from official and primary sources as of the last_verified date. Butler County operates under RETSL (Act 542); there is no post-sale redemption for tax-claim sales (cutoff 10 A.M. on the upset-sale date). Verify all procedures, deadlines, and fee amounts against official county pages (butlercountypa.gov) and the cited statutes before acting. Last verified: 2026-06-02.

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