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Calcasieu Parish, LA

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Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana — Tax Sale & Surplus Procedure

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

REGIME NOTE: Louisiana converted from a tax-sale-title system to a tax lien certificate regime effective January 1, 2026 (La. Const. art. VII, § 25 as amended by Acts 2024, No. 409). Tax sales and certificates issued before Jan 1, 2026 remain governed by the prior tax-sale-title law. See louisiana for the full statutory analysis.

C0. Identity

  • Parish seat: Lake Charles
  • Population: ~216,783 (FIPS 22019)
  • FIPS: 22019
  • Recording unit: parish (Louisiana term for county)
  • Recorder: the parish Clerk of Court is the ex-officio Recorder of Mortgages and Register of Conveyances. The Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court operates from the Historic Calcasieu Courthouse, 1000 Ryan Street, Lake Charles, LA 70601, serving the 14th Judicial District Court, and maintains the parish mortgage, conveyance, civil, criminal, UCC, and marriage records. See louisiana § 0 Identity. (source: calcasieuclerk.gov/about-us and /recording-dept, retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Tax collector: the parish Sheriff, ex-officio tax collector — Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office (CPSO), currently Sheriff Gary “Stitch” Guillory (took office July 2024; predecessor Tony Mancuso). The CPSO Tax Division mails parish property tax bills each November and collects payment. (source: lsa.org/calcasieu-parish; calcasieu.info 2023/2024 property-tax notices; retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Parent legal framework: louisiana

C1. Local Tax Sale

Calcasieu Parish runs two distinct disposition tracks that should not be conflated:

  1. The annual delinquent-tax sale (post-2026: a tax lien certificate auction) conducted by the CPSO Tax Division — the lien-acquisition track investors care about.
  2. The judicial sheriff’s sales held every Wednesday (mortgage foreclosures and post-judgment seizures, including post-redemption tax-lien enforcement sales) — moved online to Bid4Assets on October 1, 2025.

A separate third track, adjudicated property (parcels that drew no bid and reverted to the parish), is handled by the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury — see C5/C10.

Annual delinquent-tax sale (tax lien auction)

  • Conducts own sale? Yes — the CPSO Tax Division organizes the annual delinquent property tax sale for the parish.
  • Platform: (needs_verification — the specific vendor/platform for the CPSO annual delinquent-tax/tax-lien auction was not confirmed on any retrieved CPSO page. Note: CivicSource hosts Calcasieu adjudicated-property listings (state=22, politicalSubDivision=22019), and Bid4Assets hosts the weekly judicial sheriff’s sales — but neither was confirmed as the annual tax-lien-sale vendor.)
  • Calendar: Annual cycle. Tax bills mailed in November; payment due December 31 without interest/penalty; 1% interest per month accrues from January 1 plus statutory costs. Louisiana annual tax sales typically occur May–June after the statutory certified-mail notice and two newspaper publications within 30 days. (needs_verification — exact date of the 2026 Calcasieu annual tax-lien sale; no CPSO announcement retrieved as of 2026-06-02) (source: americanpress.com 2024-11-24 sheriff payment-methods article; calcasieu.info 2023 tax-notice article; retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Bidding method (post-2026 / current): Under the new tax lien certificate system (eff. Jan. 1, 2026, R.S. 47:2154), the auction is a bid-down-interest-rate sale: bidding opens at 1%/month (statutory maximum) and bidders bid the monthly rate down in 0.1% increments to a floor of 0.7%/month (8.4%/yr); lowest rate wins a 100% collateral interest in the lien. See louisiana § 1.
    • Prior regime (pre-2026, applicable to outstanding certificates): bidders bid down the percentage of ownership taken; winner received a tax-sale-title certificate earning 5% penalty + 1%/month, subject to a 3-year redemption. See louisiana § 1.
  • Newspaper of record (statutory publication): Louisiana requires the collector to publish the delinquent-property notice twice within 30 days in the parish official journal. Calcasieu’s daily of record is the American Press (Lake Charles). (needs_verification — confirmation that the American Press is the designated official journal for the CPSO tax-sale advertisement; outlet inferred from CPSO press coverage, not from a retrieved CPSO statement)
  • Registration / deposit / bidder requirements: (needs_verification — registration procedure, deposit amount, and bidder eligibility for the annual tax-lien sale were not stated on any retrieved CPSO page. The $1,000 deposit and Bid4Assets registration below apply to the weekly judicial sheriff’s sales, not necessarily the annual tax-lien sale.)
  • Delinquent list location: Delinquent parcels are searchable through the CPSO online tax portal (snstaxpayments.com/calcasieu) and published in the parish official journal before the sale. (needs_verification — dedicated pre-sale tax-lien parcel list URL) (source: snstaxpayments.com/calcasieu, retrieved 2026-06-02)

Judicial sheriff’s sales (mortgage foreclosures + post-redemption tax-lien seizures)

  • Platform: Bid4Assets — https://www.bid4assets.com/CPSOSheriff (moved online October 1, 2025; previously in-person).
  • Schedule: Every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. (unchanged from the in-person format).
  • Deposit: $1,000 per participant on Bid4Assets; applied to purchases, refunded to unsuccessful bidders, or retained for future auctions.
  • Registration: Create a Bid4Assets account before bidding; proxy bidding, watchlists, and email notifications available. CPSO Civil contact for sheriff sales: (337) 491-3733; Bid4Assets support (301) 650-9193. (source: calcasieu.info “Sheriff Sales Move Online…Bid4Assets” article; cpso.com/sheriffSales; retrieved 2026-06-02)

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

  • Where to redeem: CPSO Tax Division, Magnolia Life Building, 1011 Lakeshore Drive, Suite 100, Lake Charles, LA 70601. A second payment counter operates at the CPSO Law Enforcement Center, 1525 Cypress Street, Sulphur (cards/checks only, no cash).
  • Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (open through lunch).
  • Phone: (337) 491-3680 (Tax Division). General CPSO main line (337) 491-3700.
  • Payment methods: cash, check, money order, cashier’s check, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover (credit cards not accepted by phone). Sulphur site: no cash. (source: americanpress.com 2024-11-24; calcasieu.info 2023 tax-notice article; snstaxpayments.com/calcasieu; retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Online tax payment / search portal: https://snstaxpayments.com/calcasieu — search by notice/bill number, parcel number, or taxpayer name; tax years 2014–2025; multiple notices payable in one transaction; ~24 hours to post. Also payable via cpso.com and the Calcasieu mobile app. (source: snstaxpayments.com/calcasieu; americanpress.com 2024-11-24; retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Redemption period: 3 years from recordation of the tax lien certificate (18 months for blighted/abandoned property declared before the sale). La. Const. art. VII, § 25(B). See louisiana § 2.
  • Redemption procedure: Contact the CPSO Tax Division; they compute the redemption/termination amount — base taxes + interest at the bid rate (≤1%/month, noncompounding) + 5% penalty + noticing costs capped at $500 (R.S. 47:2243). Pay in full; CPSO issues and records the termination certificate in the mortgage records (R.S. 47:2243–2245). See louisiana § 2.
  • Deviations from state default: None identified. CPSO follows the statutory formula; the 1%/month delinquency interest stated in CPSO notices matches the constitutional cap.

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

Under the post-2026 tax lien regime, surplus arises at the judicial seizure-and-sale (sheriff’s sale on Bid4Assets) conducted after the 3-year redemption period expires unredeemed. The former owner receives any residue after satisfying the lien, costs, and ranked encumbrances. See louisiana § 3.

  • Surplus statute (post-2026): R.S. 47:2211 (“Disposition of proceeds,” Acts 2024, No. 774; Acts 2025, No. 411, eff. Jan. 1, 2026) and R.S. 47:2206 (notice to tax lien auction parties). Under these articles the political subdivision must notify each tax lien auction party of excess proceeds (per louisiana § 3 / § 3b: within 30 days of the sale), and interested persons submit an affidavit proving their interest and proportional entitlement. See louisiana § 3, § 3b. (needs_verification — full primary text of R.S. 47:2211 was not retrieved [legis.la.gov returned the adjacent R.S. 47:2206 on fetch; Justia returned 403]; the exact claim window and whether unclaimed excess reverts to the selling political subdivision vs. the State Treasurer is carried as a state-level open item on louisiana § 3b.)
  • Claim filing venue: Surplus from a post-redemption judicial sheriff’s sale is distributed through the 14th Judicial District Court (Calcasieu Parish). The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office (executing officer of the judicial sale, (337) 491-3733 Civil) and the Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court (1000 Ryan Street, Lake Charles, LA 70601; (337) 437-3550) are the operative offices; affidavits asserting an interest go to the political subdivision (CPSO as tax collector). (needs_verification — specific 14th JDC division/desk handling post-redemption judicial-sale surplus claims; no dedicated surplus desk identified on retrieved CPSO or Clerk pages)
  • Claim form: Under R.S. 47:2211, the claimant submits an affidavit to the political subdivision. No standard published surplus-claim form was identified on CPSO, Clerk of Court, or Police Jury sites. (needs_verification — published Calcasieu form/instructions for former owners to claim post-sale surplus under the 2026 articles)
  • Unclaimed-funds list / escheat: Funds that ultimately escheat are searchable at the Louisiana State Treasurer Unclaimed Property database: https://unclaimedproperty.la.gov/ (phone (225) 219-9400; unclaimed@treasury.la.gov). See louisiana § 3. (needs_verification — whether Calcasieu/CPSO publishes a parish-level surplus list)
  • Contact for surplus inquiries:
    • CPSO Civil (sheriff sales): (337) 491-3733
    • CPSO Tax Division: (337) 491-3680 | 1011 Lakeshore Dr., Suite 100, Lake Charles 70601
    • Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court (14th JDC): (337) 437-3550 | 1000 Ryan St., Lake Charles 70601
    • Louisiana Unclaimed Property: (225) 219-9400 | unclaimed@treasury.la.gov

▸ For Investors / Operators — Calcasieu runs three separate tracks: the CPSO annual tax-lien auction (interest bid down 1% → 0.7%/month under R.S. 47:2154), the weekly Bid4Assets judicial sheriff’s sales ($1,000 deposit; Wednesdays 10 a.m.; mortgage foreclosures and post-redemption tax-lien seizures), and adjudicated property sold by the Police Jury (two-thirds-of-appraisal minimum bid; see C10). Before committing capital, weigh the 3-year (18-month blighted) peremptive redemption risk and the absolute-nullity exposure for no-notice sales (see louisiana §2, §5b, smitko-v-gulf-south-shrimp-2012), the marketable-title path (louisiana §5b — judicial enforcement plus quiet-title/monition routes), and which liens survive (louisiana §7b — senior mortgages/privileges, R.S. 33:4754 municipal blight liens, R.S. 30:2276 environmental super-liens, IRS § 7425 120-day redemption).

▸ For Former Owners — If a post-redemption sheriff’s sale brings more than the tax lien, interest, penalty, costs, and ranking encumbrances, the residue belongs to you (La. Const. art. VII, § 25). The political subdivision must notify each tax lien auction party of excess proceeds after the sale; you assert your claim by affidavit to the political subdivision, and the sheriff distributes the residue through the 14th JDC proceeding. Unclaimed funds escheat to the Louisiana State Treasurer, where they remain reclaimable. See louisiana § 3.

C4. Offices & Contacts

OfficeName / TitleAddressPhoneURL
Sheriff / Tax Collector (CPSO)Sheriff Gary “Stitch” Guillory; Tax DivisionTax: 1011 Lakeshore Dr., Suite 100, Lake Charles, LA 70601; Main: 5400 E. Broad St., Lake Charles, LA 70615(337) 491-3680 (Tax); (337) 491-3700 (Main); (337) 491-3733 (Civil/Sheriff Sales)https://www.cpso.com
Clerk of Court (Recorder / 14th JDC)Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court1000 Ryan Street, Lake Charles, LA 70601(337) 437-3550; Recording (337) 437-3558https://www.calcasieuclerk.gov
AssessorWendy Curphy Aguillard, CLA1011 Lakeshore Dr. #101, Lake Charles, LA 70601; Mail: P.O. Box 1346, Lake Charles, LA 70602(337) 721-3000https://www.calcasieuassessor.org
Police Jury — Adjudicated Property (Planning & Development)Calcasieu Parish Police JuryLake Charles, LA(337) 721-3600https://www.calcasieu.gov/services/planning-development/adjudicated-property
Louisiana Unclaimed PropertyState Treasurer900 N. Third St., Baton Rouge, LA 70802(225) 219-9400https://unclaimedproperty.la.gov

C5. Local Procedure Notes

  • CPSO as ex-officio tax collector: The Sheriff collects parish property taxes; the Assessor (Wendy Curphy Aguillard) sets assessed values; the Sheriff mails bills in November and collects. Homestead/assessment questions go to the Assessor at (337) 721-3000. (source: americanpress.com 2024-11-24; calcasieu.info 2023; retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Judicial sheriff’s sales online (Bid4Assets): As of October 1, 2025 all CPSO sheriff’s sales (foreclosures and seizures) run online on Bid4Assets, Wednesdays at 10 a.m., with a $1,000 bidder deposit. (source: calcasieu.info Bid4Assets article; retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Delinquency interest: 1% per month (noncompounding) from January 1 plus additional statutory costs for notices/advertisements. (source: americanpress.com 2024-11-24; retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Adjudicated-property acquisition (Police Jury): Calcasieu sells/donates property adjudicated since Jan. 1, 1975. A prospective buyer of a maintained adjacent parcel submits a signed affidavit (property maintained ≥ 1 year) to the Adjudicated Property Office; adjacent owners get 15 days to object; if none, an appraisal (buyer-paid) is ordered and the minimum bid is set at two-thirds of the appraised value; if an objection is received, the parcel goes to the adjudicated-property auction instead. Paying back taxes/fees does not vest title in a third party — it is treated as redemption and the property returns to the tax debtor’s name. Next adjudicated-property auction: Tuesday, April 28, 2026, 2:00 p.m. Contact (337) 721-3600 / adjudicatedproperty@calcasieu.gov. (source: calcasieu.gov adjudicated-property page; search snippets of same; retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • City of Lake Charles: The City separately maintains adjudicated-property listings within its limits; coordinate parish vs. city jurisdiction on a given parcel. (source: cityoflakecharles.com document center “60 New Adjudicated Properties”; retrieved 2026-06-02)

C6. Records Access

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

  • Title type: tax_lien_certificate (post-2026). The CPSO auction issues a recorded tax lien certificate, not a deed; collateral title passes only at the post-redemption judicial sheriff’s sale (sheriff’s deed/process verbal, no warranty). Pre-2026 certificates conveyed a tax-sale-title. See louisiana § 7, § 5b.
  • Quiet title action: Under the post-2026 regime the judicial seizure-and-sale enforcement proceeding (R.S. 47:2206 et seq.) is itself the title-clearing vehicle; a separate quiet-title suit is needed only where a defect is suspected. For pre-2026 certificates, the holder confirms title via an R.S. 47:2266 ordinary action or a monition proceeding. See louisiana § 5b.
    • Type: judicial. Court: 14th Judicial District Court, Calcasieu Parish (the parish where the property lies).
    • Typical timeline: roughly 8–14 months uncontested for an R.S. 47:2266 action (service + 6-month nullity period + judgment); longer if contested. See louisiana § 5b. (needs_verification — Calcasieu-specific docket timing)
    • Typical cost range: roughly $3,000–$10,000+ uncontested (attorney fees plus court/publication costs), higher if contested. See louisiana § 5b. (needs_verification — current 14th-JDC-area attorney-fee rates)
  • Deed seasoning: Insurers historically required a quiet-title judgment or years of seasoning before insuring Louisiana tax-derived title because a no-notice sale is an absolute nullity attackable indefinitely (smitko-v-gulf-south-shrimp-2012). Post-2026 insurer practice on the judicial sheriff’s-sale route is unsettled. See louisiana § 5b.
  • Title insurers active locally: Stewart Title, Fidelity National Title, and Old Republic have historically written Louisiana real-estate title (including tax-sale-related); Tax Title Services also operates in Louisiana. See louisiana § 5b. (needs_verification — specific insurers/underwriters writing Calcasieu tax-derived or post-2026 sheriff-sale title without a quiet-title judgment)

C9. Purchaser Obligations → framework: louisiana §10b

  • Subsequent-tax payment office: CPSO Tax Division, 1011 Lakeshore Dr., Suite 100, Lake Charles, LA 70601, (337) 491-3680; online at snstaxpayments.com/calcasieu. Later-year delinquencies generate their own liens/auctions; pay subs through the Tax Division. See louisiana § 1 (subs treatment). (needs_verification — exact 2026 mechanism for a certificate holder to pay/secure subsequent-year delinquencies on the same parcel in Calcasieu)
  • Notice-to-owner procedure: The certificate holder/political subdivision must send the mandatory redemption-rights notice to all tax lien auction parties before filing the post-redemption seizure suit (R.S. 47:2206 timing — 60 days or 6 months pre-sale depending on whether the certificate was recorded more than five years prior), and post-sale notice (R.S. 47:2156). The 14th JDC enforcement proceeding effects service. See louisiana § 6, § 3b. (source: legis.la.gov R.S. 47:2206 [retrieved 2026-06-02]; louisiana § 6)
  • Redemption-payment office (where owner redeems): CPSO Tax Division (same as C2); CPSO computes the termination price and records the termination certificate (R.S. 47:2243–2245).
  • Occupancy / access during redemption: Until the post-redemption sheriff’s sale, the certificate is a recorded lien, not title; the holder has no possessory right during the 3-year redemption period. See louisiana § 10b. (needs_verification — Calcasieu local practice on possession/access pending the enforcement sale)

C10. Local Restrictions → framework: louisiana §11b

  • Land bank: No dedicated parish land-bank entity identified. Adjudicated property is administered directly by the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, Division of Planning & Development (Adjudicated Property Section) — (337) 721-3600, adjudicatedproperty@calcasieu.gov — under the statewide adjudicated-property framework (sales/donations limited to property adjudicated since Jan. 1, 1975). The City of Lake Charles separately handles adjudicated parcels within city limits. (source: calcasieu.gov/services/planning-development/adjudicated-property; retrieved 2026-06-02) (needs_verification — whether Calcasieu operates any formally chartered land-bank authority distinct from the Police Jury adjudicated-property program)
  • Right of first refusal / adjacent-owner preference: The adjudicated-property process gives adjacent landowners a structured role — a maintaining neighbor may initiate a purchase by affidavit, and adjacent owners receive 15 days to object before an appraisal-based sale proceeds; an objection diverts the parcel to public auction. This functions as an adjacent-owner preference rather than a statutory ROFR on tax-lien-sale parcels. (source: calcasieu.gov adjudicated-property page/snippets; retrieved 2026-06-02) (needs_verification — whether any formal statutory right of first refusal applies to CPSO tax-lien-sale or Bid4Assets sheriff-sale parcels in Calcasieu)
  • Entity / insider restrictions: Purchasers must not be persons prohibited from buying the delinquent obligation under R.S. 47:2162 (e.g., the tax debtor, certain officials). See louisiana § 11b. No additional Calcasieu-specific entity/insider restriction identified. (needs_verification — any local CPSO bidder-eligibility rule)

C7. Meta

sources:

needs_verification:

  • Specific vendor/platform for the CPSO annual delinquent-tax (tax lien) auction (distinct from Bid4Assets judicial sales and CivicSource adjudicated listings); no CPSO page confirming it was retrieved.
  • Exact date of the 2026 Calcasieu annual tax-lien sale (Louisiana pattern is May–June; no CPSO announcement retrieved).
  • Registration procedure, deposit amount, and bidder eligibility for the annual tax-lien sale (the $1,000 deposit is confirmed only for the weekly Bid4Assets judicial sales).
  • Confirmation that the American Press is the designated official journal for the CPSO tax-sale advertisement.
  • Dedicated pre-sale delinquent-parcel list URL for the annual tax-lien sale.
  • Full primary text of R.S. 47:2211 (Justia 403; legis.la.gov fetch returned adjacent R.S. 47:2206); exact surplus claim window and whether unclaimed excess reverts to the parish vs. State Treasurer (carried on louisiana §3b).
  • Specific 14th JDC division/desk and any published Calcasieu form/instructions for former-owner surplus claims after a post-2026 judicial sheriff’s sale.
  • Whether CPSO publishes a parish-level surplus/excess-funds list.
  • Calcasieu-specific quiet-title docket timing and current local attorney-fee rates.
  • Title insurers/underwriters actually writing Calcasieu tax-derived or post-2026 sheriff-sale title without a quiet-title judgment.
  • Exact 2026 mechanism for a certificate holder to pay subsequent-year delinquencies (“subs”) on the same Calcasieu parcel.
  • Calcasieu local practice on possession/access pending the enforcement sale.
  • Whether Calcasieu routes adjudicated-property auctions through the CivicSource (politicalSubDivision=22019) listing vs. the Police Jury affidavit/appraisal process.
  • Whether any formally chartered land-bank authority exists distinct from the Police Jury adjudicated-property program, and whether any statutory ROFR applies to tax-lien-sale/sheriff-sale parcels.
  • Name of the current Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court (office confirmed; individual name not on retrieved pages).

cross_links: louisiana, right-of-redemption, surplus-funds, tyler-v-hennepin-county, sheriff-sale, treasurer-sale, due-process-notice, smitko-v-gulf-south-shrimp-2012, bankruptcy-automatic-stay

changelog:

  • 2026-06-02 — Initial page. Sources: CPSO official pages (sheriffSales, payTaxes), Calcasieu Clerk of Court (about-us, recording-dept, online-search-services), Calcasieu Assessor (Search), CPSO tax portal (snstaxpayments), Bid4Assets CPSO landing, Police Jury adjudicated-property page, Calcasieu GIS portals, LSA directory, R.S. 47:2206/2211, and Lake Charles press coverage (American Press, calcasieu.info) on tax notices and the Bid4Assets transition. Three disposition tracks (annual tax-lien sale, weekly Bid4Assets judicial sales, Police Jury adjudicated property) separated explicitly. All claims sourced to retrieved official/secondary URLs or flagged needs_verification. No fabricated facts.

Legal information, not legal advice. This page summarizes publicly available records and official sources for informational purposes only. Laws, fees, and procedures change; verify all facts against current official sources before acting. Last verified: 2026-06-02.

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