el-paso-tx

El Paso County, Texas — Tax Sale & Surplus Procedure

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

C0. Identity

• County seat: El Paso · Recording unit: county (one of Texas’s 254 counties)
• Population: ~870,000 (estimated; 6th most-populous county in Texas) (not a primary-source figure)
• FIPS: 48141
• Parent legal framework: texas — redeemable tax-deed state; judicial delinquent-tax suit → district-court judgment → officer’s (sheriff’s) sale on the first Tuesday of each month; excess proceeds under Tex. Tax Code § 34.04. Texas does not sell tax-lien certificates.
• Central Appraisal District: El Paso Central Appraisal District (EPCAD) — 5801 Trowbridge Dr., El Paso, TX 79925, (915) 780-2000, https://epcad.org/ — assesses all taxable property; the Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office collects for the county. — https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/county-directory/elpaso.php
• Tax Assessor-Collector: Ruben P. Gonzalez — 301 Manny Martinez Dr., 1st Floor, El Paso, TX 79905, phone (915) 273-3430, email ctaxassessor@epcounty.com, https://www.epcounty.com/240/Tax-Assessor-Collector
• City Tax Office (consolidated): The El Paso Consolidated Tax Office at 221 N. Kansas, Suite 300, El Paso, TX 79901, (915) 212-0106, email citytaxoffice@elpasotexas.gov, https://www.elpasotexas.gov/tax-office — collects property taxes on behalf of the City of El Paso and several other taxing entities within the county. Both offices serve the same county; bidders should obtain their Written Statement from the office responsible for the relevant taxing units. — https://www.elpasotexas.gov/tax-office/forms-and-faqs/ ; https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/county-directory/elpaso.php
• Delinquent-tax collection firm: Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP, El Paso office: 221 N. Kansas St., Suite 1400, El Paso, TX 79901, (915) 545-5481. — https://www.lgbs.com/office/el-paso/

C1. Local Tax Sale

• Conducts own sale? Yes — El Paso County holds its own monthly tax-foreclosure sale, conducted by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office pursuant to Tex. Tax Code §§ 34.01 and 34.05. — https://www.epcounty.com/1192/Sheriff-Sales ; https://www.einpresswire.com/article/547328619/el-paso-county-tx-moves-to-online-sheriff-sales-with-national-software-provider-realauction-com
• Platform: RealAuction — online-only auction (no in-person bidding). The county-specific storefront is at https://elpaso.texas.sheriffsaleauctions.com/. The system launched August 3, 2021, after Commissioners Court approval, in collaboration with El Paso County Administration, the El Paso County Auditor’s Office, the City of El Paso Tax Office, and Realauction.com. — https://www.einpresswire.com/article/547328619/el-paso-county-tx-moves-to-online-sheriff-sales-with-national-software-provider-realauction-com
• Delinquent-property listing URL: Tax sale property listings are posted to the RealAuction storefront and to https://taxsales.lgbs.com/ (Linebarger’s interactive Texas tax-sale map), published on the 15th of each month. The City of El Paso Tax Office also maintains a Delinquent Tax Roll (DTR) available via the DTR Request Form (fee $73.20) or by online review; form at https://www.elpasotexas.gov/tax-office/forms-and-faqs/. — https://www.epcounty.com/1192/Sheriff-Sales ; https://www.elpasotexas.gov/tax-office/forms-and-faqs/
• Calendar: First Tuesday of every month (first Wednesday if that Tuesday falls on January 1 or July 4), per Tex. Tax Code § 34.01(r). Property listings are posted to the auction site on the 15th of the preceding month. — https://www.epcounty.com/1192/Sheriff-Sales ; texas § 34.01(r)
• Sale venue: Online via https://elpaso.texas.sheriffsaleauctions.com/ — bidding is entirely electronic. The County Clerk also notes that public sales of real property are held at the El Paso County Coliseum on the first Tuesday of the month for mortgage (non-judicial trustee) sales, which are separate from the online tax-foreclosure auction. — https://www.epcounty.com/204/County-Clerk
• Registration & deposit:
  1. Written Statement (Tex. Tax Code § 34.015 “bidder’s certificate”): Before bidding, all prospective purchasers must obtain a written statement from the county tax assessor-collector (and, where applicable, the City of El Paso Consolidated Tax Office) confirming they owe no delinquent property taxes. El Paso’s Request for Written Statement Form is available at https://www.elpasotexas.gov/tax-office/forms-and-faqs/; the statutory fee is up to $10.00 per statement. Bidders must also pay all taxes due before a certificate is issued. — https://www.elpasotexas.gov/tax-office/forms-and-faqs/ ; Tex. Tax Code § 34.015
  2. RealAuction account registration: Bidders must register and establish an account at https://elpaso.texas.sheriffsaleauctions.com/ before participating. The platform accepts electronic deposits; deposits for winning bids are applied toward payment, and deposits for non-winning bids are refunded. — https://www.einpresswire.com/article/547328619/el-paso-county-tx-moves-to-online-sheriff-sales-with-national-software-provider-realauction-com
  • Specific deposit amount and pre-registration deadline: needs_verification — exact dollar/percentage deposit requirements and any advance registration deadline are not confirmed from a currently-accessible county or RealAuction primary source.
• Bidder requirements: (a) unexpired Written Statement (no delinquent taxes); (b) active RealAuction account; (c) all taxes paid. The officer may not execute/deliver a deed to a purchaser who cannot exhibit the Written Statement. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.015(a)
• Minimum bid / rate within statutory range: per Tex. Tax Code § 34.01(b) — the lesser of the total judgment (taxes, penalties, interest, court costs, attorney fees) or the adjudged/market value of the property. Specific minimum bids for each property appear in the RealAuction listing for that sale cycle.
• Tax sale vs. mortgage (trustee) sale: Both occur on the first Tuesday, but they are separate proceedings. El Paso County’s online RealAuction platform handles tax-foreclosure (officer’s) sales only; non-judicial mortgage (deed-of-trust) trustee sales are not on this platform. Foreclosure notices for mortgage sales are filed with the County Clerk and mapped at https://apps.epcountytx.gov/publicrecords/Foreclosures.

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

• Periods inherit from state (Tex. Tax Code § 34.21):
  • 2 years — residence homestead, agricultural-use, or mineral-interest property; period runs from the date the purchaser’s deed is filed for record.
  • 180 days — all other property; same trigger.
  • See texas for the redemption-amount formula (bid + recording fee + taxes/costs paid + 25%/50% premium).
• Where to redeem locally: redemption is made directly to the purchaser per the § 34.21 statutory process. If the purchaser cannot be located, the owner may tender payment through the El Paso County Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office, 301 Manny Martinez Dr., 1st Floor, El Paso, TX 79905, (915) 273-3430. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.21(f); https://www.epcounty.com/240/Tax-Assessor-Collector
• Local fees: beyond the statutory premium and costs, no local-specific fee identified. (A county-specific redemption procedure page has not been located — see needs_verification.)
• Deviations from state default: none identified; local process tracks § 34.21.

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

• Legal framework: Tex. Tax Code § 34.04 governs — excess proceeds above the judgment amount are deposited in the court registry of the district court that ordered the sale; claimants file a petition in that same court within 2 years of the date of the sale. See texas for the full waterfall (taxing-unit subs → lienholders → former owner).
• Claim filing venue: El Paso County District Clerk’s Office — 500 E. San Antonio, Suite 103, El Paso, TX 79901. The petition is filed in the district court that issued the underlying tax-foreclosure judgment, under that cause number. — https://www.epcounty.com/211/District-Clerk ; Tex. Tax Code § 34.04(a)
• District Clerk contact:
  • Clerk: Norma Favela Barceleau
  • Address: 500 E. San Antonio, Suite 103, El Paso, TX 79901
  • Phone: (915) 273-3534
  • Fax: (915) 273-3859
  • Email: districtclerk@epcountytx.gov
  • URL: https://www.epcounty.com/211/District-Clerk
• Notice of Excess Funds form: The District Clerk publishes a form titled “Notice of Excess Funds” (PDF). The form URL https://www.epcounty.com/districtclerk/documents/forms/NoticeofExcessFunds_001.pdf returned a 404 at time of retrieval — contact the District Clerk directly to obtain the current form. — https://www.epcounty.com/211/District-Clerk (needs_verification: confirm current URL and exact filing instructions)
• Local deadline notes: the statutory 2-year deadline from the date of sale under Tex. Tax Code § 34.04(a) applies; no shorter local deadline identified. After 2 years with no valid claim, proceeds are distributed to the participating taxing units. § 34.04(e).
• Assignment rules: Tex. Tax Code § 34.04(f) applies statewide — any assignment of a right to excess proceeds is ineffective unless: (1) made on or after the 36th day after proceeds are deposited; (2) in writing and signed; (3) assignee pays the assignor at least 80% of the claim; (4) not procured by solicitation. Assignor must execute a sworn affidavit with prescribed disclosures. — See texas and third-party-recovery-rules.
• Attorney fee cap: 25% of the amount recovered or $1,000, whichever is less. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.04(i).
• Unclaimed-funds list: El Paso County does not appear to publish a standalone excess-proceeds list online. Funds not claimed within 2 years are distributed to the taxing units (not escheated to the state under the typical unclaimed-property mechanism). For funds that do escheat to the state from other sources, see the Texas Comptroller Unclaimed Property Division at https://claimittexas.org / 1-800-654-3463. (needs_verification: confirm whether the District Clerk publishes a court-registry excess-proceeds list or provides one via open-records request)

C4. Offices & Contacts

Office	Name	Address	Phone	URL
Tax Assessor-Collector (county)	Ruben P. Gonzalez	301 Manny Martinez Dr., 1st Floor, El Paso, TX 79905	(915) 273-3430	https://www.epcounty.com/240/Tax-Assessor-Collector
Consolidated Tax Office (city / multi-entity)	El Paso Consolidated Tax Office	221 N. Kansas, Suite 300, El Paso, TX 79901	(915) 212-0106	https://www.elpasotexas.gov/tax-office
District Clerk (court registry / surplus claims)	Norma Favela Barceleau	500 E. San Antonio, Suite 103, El Paso, TX 79901	(915) 273-3534	https://www.epcounty.com/211/District-Clerk
County Clerk (deed recording / mortgage foreclosure notices)	Delia Briones	500 E. San Antonio, Suite 105, El Paso, TX 79901	(915) 273-3532	https://www.epcounty.com/204/County-Clerk
Sheriff (conducts officer’s sale; civil section)	Sheriff Oscar Ugarte	3850 Justice St., El Paso, TX 79938 (Sheriff sales civil section: 500 E. San Antonio, El Paso, TX 79901)	(915) 273-3800 (main); civil section (915) 273-3200	https://www.epcounty.com/163/Sheriffs-Office
El Paso Central Appraisal District (EPCAD)	—	5801 Trowbridge Dr., El Paso, TX 79925	(915) 780-2000	https://epcad.org/

C5. Local Procedure Notes

• Online-only tax-foreclosure auction: Unlike many Texas counties that conduct in-person courthouse sales, El Paso County migrated to a fully online RealAuction platform in August 2021. All tax-foreclosure bidding takes place at https://elpaso.texas.sheriffsaleauctions.com/ — there is no in-person option for tax-lien judgment sales. — https://www.einpresswire.com/article/547328619/el-paso-county-tx-moves-to-online-sheriff-sales-with-national-software-provider-realauction-com
• Two separate first-Tuesday sale types: (1) Online tax-foreclosure (officer’s) sales via RealAuction — Sheriff’s Civil Section; (2) In-person mortgage (non-judicial trustee) sales held at the El Paso County Coliseum, every first Tuesday. The County Clerk records the trustee’s notices. Do not conflate them. — https://www.epcounty.com/204/County-Clerk
• Delinquent-property list publication timing: listings go live on the RealAuction site and at taxsales.lgbs.com on the 15th of each month, giving bidders approximately 2 weeks before the first-Tuesday sale. — https://www.epcounty.com/1192/Sheriff-Sales
• Two-office Written Statement requirement: El Paso has a fragmented tax-collection structure. The county tax assessor-collector and the City of El Paso Consolidated Tax Office are separate entities each covering different taxing units. Depending on which taxing units are party to the foreclosure suit, a bidder may need statements from both offices. — https://www.elpasotexas.gov/tax-office/forms-and-faqs/ ; Tex. Tax Code § 34.015
• Delinquent-tax collection firms: Linebarger (LGBS) handles collection for many El Paso taxing entities. The LGBS taxsales.lgbs.com interactive map lists El Paso County properties scheduled for sale. — https://www.lgbs.com/office/el-paso/
• Struck-off properties: properties not sold at the tax-foreclosure auction are struck off to the taxing unit. Resale of struck-off properties by taxing units follows Tex. Tax Code § 34.05. (Specific El Paso County resale/surplus-inventory procedures not located in a primary source — see needs_verification.)
• Local civil rules: El Paso County has local court rules (approved March 30, 2023) governing district court civil proceedings. See https://www.epcounty.com/DocumentCenter/View/2044/El-Paso-County-Local-Rules---Civil-PDF. These govern petition format and service requirements for excess-proceeds claims filed under § 34.04.

C6. Records Access

• Parcel / appraisal search — EPCAD: https://epcad.org/Search — search by owner name, property address, or account number; El Paso Central Appraisal District official source. — https://epcad.org/
• Property tax payment portal: https://actweb.acttax.com/act_webdev/elpaso/index.jsp — El Paso Tax Office online payment portal (credit/debit with 1.98% fee; e-Check no fee). — https://actweb.acttax.com/act_webdev/elpaso/index.jsp
• Recorder / deed search — County Clerk official records: https://apps.epcountytx.gov/publicrecords/OfficialPublicRecords — deed index books (1874–1963+); also accessible via QuickLink portal at https://kofilequicklinks.com/ElPaso/Default.aspx. — https://apps.epcountytx.gov/publicrecords/OfficialPublicRecords
• Mortgage foreclosure notices / GIS foreclosure map: https://apps.epcountytx.gov/publicrecords/Foreclosures — County Clerk’s foreclosure search (by instrument number, sale date, property details) and interactive GIS foreclosure map at https://apps.epcountytx.gov/publicrecords/Foreclosures/Map. — https://apps.epcountytx.gov/publicrecords/Foreclosures
• GIS / property viewer (City of El Paso): https://gis.elpasotexas.gov/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0515df3f7d12431aabb3ddc76de4c30b — City of El Paso Property Viewer GIS portal. — search result citation
• Tax-sale property listing: https://elpaso.texas.sheriffsaleauctions.com/ (RealAuction — El Paso storefront) and https://taxsales.lgbs.com/ (Linebarger LGBS interactive Texas tax-sale map). — https://www.epcounty.com/1192/Sheriff-Sales

C7. Meta

• sources:

  • {type: press_release, url: “https://www.einpresswire.com/article/547328619/el-paso-county-tx-moves-to-online-sheriff-sales-with-national-software-provider-realauction-com”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — official EINPresswire announcement of El Paso County’s transition to online RealAuction platform (August 3, 2021 launch); Commissioners Court approval; auction URL https://elpaso.texas.sheriffsaleauctions.com/; registration, electronic deposits, RealAuction customer service (1-877-361-7325), Sheriff Richard Wiles quote, Tex. Tax Code §§ 34.01/34.05 authorization
  • {type: county_sheriff, url: “https://www.epcounty.com/1192/Sheriff-Sales”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — El Paso County Sheriff Sales page; RealAuction URL; listings posted on the 15th; civil section address (500 E San Antonio, 79901); phone 915-273-3200; note that listed sales are Sheriff’s Office only (not constable)
  • {type: county_tax_office, url: “https://www.elpasotexas.gov/tax-office/forms-and-faqs/”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — City of El Paso Consolidated Tax Office forms & FAQs; DTR Request Form ($73.20);RequestforWrittenStatementFormforbidders;TaxCertificate($10 fee, 15-digit geo number); interactive tax-sale search at taxsales.lgbs.com; tax office phone 915-212-0106
  • {type: county_district_clerk, url: “https://www.epcounty.com/211/District-Clerk”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — District Clerk (Norma Favela Barceleau); 500 E San Antonio Ste 103; (915) 273-3534; districtclerk@epcountytx.gov; Notice of Excess Funds form referenced (PDF 404 at retrieval)
  • {type: county_clerk, url: “https://www.epcounty.com/204/County-Clerk”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — County Clerk (Delia Briones); 500 E San Antonio Ste 105; 915-273-3532; countyclerk@epcounty.com; mortgage-sale notices every 1st Tuesday at El Paso County Coliseum (as of 2021); foreclosure database and Property Fraud Alert
  • {type: county_sheriff_office, url: “https://www.epcounty.com/163/Sheriffs-Office”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — Sheriff Oscar Ugarte; 3850 Justice St, El Paso TX 79938; 915-273-3800; epsheriff@epcounty.com
  • {type: county_tax_assessor, url: “https://www.epcounty.com/240/Tax-Assessor-Collector”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — Tax Assessor-Collector Ruben P. Gonzalez; 301 Manny Martinez Dr. 1st Floor; 915-273-3430; ctaxassessor@epcounty.com; delinquent-tax collection via lgbs.com
  • {type: state_comptroller, url: “https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/county-directory/elpaso.php”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — Texas Comptroller property-tax directory for El Paso; EPCAD at 5801 Trowbridge Dr.; Tax Assessor-Collector Ruben P. Gonzalez contact
  • {type: county_records, url: “https://apps.epcountytx.gov/publicrecords/OfficialPublicRecords”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — El Paso County official public records; deed index 1874+; QuickLink at kofilequicklinks.com/ElPaso
  • {type: county_records, url: “https://apps.epcountytx.gov/publicrecords/Foreclosures”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — County Clerk foreclosure search; instrument number / sale date / property search; includes GIS map link
  • {type: city_gis, url: “https://gis.elpasotexas.gov/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0515df3f7d12431aabb3ddc76de4c30b”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — City of El Paso Property Viewer GIS portal
  • {type: tax_payment_portal, url: “https://actweb.acttax.com/act_webdev/elpaso/index.jsp”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — El Paso property-tax payment and search portal; 1.98% credit-card fee; e-Check no fee; managed by City Tax Office
  • {type: delinquent_tax_firm, url: “https://www.lgbs.com/office/el-paso/”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — Linebarger LGBS El Paso office; 221 N Kansas St Ste 1400; (915) 545-5481; tax-sale listings at taxsales.lgbs.com
  • {type: city_tax_dtr, url: “https://www.elpasotexas.gov/assets/Documents/CoEP/Tax-Office/DTR-Info.pdf”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — El Paso Consolidated Tax Office DTR info document (revised 1/2/2026); citytaxoffice@elpasotexas.gov; $73.20 DTR file fee
  • {type: appraisal_district, url: “https://epcad.org/”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — El Paso Central Appraisal District; 5801 Trowbridge Dr., El Paso TX 79925; (915) 780-2000; parcel search at epcad.org/Search

• needs_verification:

  • Exact RealAuction registration deadline and deposit amount/percentage — the 2021 press release confirms electronic deposits but does not state a specific dollar figure or percentage; the auction site (elpaso.texas.sheriffsaleauctions.com) returned HTTP 403 at time of retrieval. Contact RealAuction customer service at 1-877-361-7325 or the Sheriff’s Civil Section at (915) 273-3200.
  • Notice of Excess Funds PDF form URL — https://www.epcounty.com/districtclerk/documents/forms/NoticeofExcessFunds_001.pdf returned HTTP 404 at retrieval; contact District Clerk (915-273-3534 / districtclerk@epcountytx.gov) for the current form.
  • Struck-off / taxing-unit resale procedure — no El Paso County-specific resale policy page located; statutory framework in Tex. Tax Code § 34.05 applies, but county-specific contact/process not confirmed.
  • Court-registry excess-proceeds list — unclear whether El Paso District Clerk publishes an accessible list of deposited excess proceeds; may require an open-records request to the District Clerk.
  • Two-office Written Statement requirement — confirmed structurally (separate county and City Consolidated Tax Offices), but the exact coordination process for a bidder needing statements from both offices is not documented in a retrievable primary-source page.
  • Next known sale date — not pinned to a county-published calendar entry; statutory cadence is first Tuesday monthly; property list posts the 15th of each month at taxsales.lgbs.com (JS app; content not fully renderable by WebFetch).
  • Sheriff’s civil section sale information page (https://www.epcounty.com/sheriff/cp_saleinfo.htm) returned HTTP 404 at retrieval; the archived 2021 blog post (cp_sales.htm) also returned 404. Current civil-section sale instructions may exist at a different URL.
  • Population figure (cited as approximate; no primary-source census citation confirmed).

• cross_links: texas, right-of-redemption, surplus-funds, third-party-recovery-rules, sheriff-sale, due-process-notice

• changelog:

  • 2026-06-02 — Initial population. Sources retrieved: RealAuction press release (2021 launch), Sheriff Sales page, City Tax Office forms/FAQs, District Clerk contact, County Clerk contact, Sheriff’s Office, Tax Assessor-Collector, Texas Comptroller directory, County public-records portal, County foreclosure database, City GIS portal, tax-payment portal, LGBS El Paso office, DTR info PDF, EPCAD. Key findings: online-only RealAuction platform since Aug 2021; first-Tuesday monthly sale; listings published the 15th; Written Statement required from tax office(s); surplus claims filed in district court registry via District Clerk. Gaps flagged in needs_verification.

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Legal information, not legal advice. This page summarizes El Paso County’s local tax-sale and surplus procedures from the county’s own official sources as of the last_verified date. Procedures, venues, contacts, and sale dates change; verify against the cited county pages and consult a licensed Texas attorney before acting.