Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania — Tax Sale & Surplus Procedure

Local operations layer. The legal framework (RETSL redemption rules, surplus rights, statutes, case law) lives on the parent page → pennsylvania. This page covers how Lackawanna County actually runs it: the in-person auction at the Scranton Cultural Center, the upset/judicial/private/repository sale sequence, registration requirements, surplus distribution, the county Land Bank, and all offices/portals. Legal information, not legal advice. Last verified: 2026-06-02.

C0. Identity

• County seat: Scranton, PA 18503
• Population (2020 census): ~215,615 (task figure ~215,918)
• FIPS: 42069
• Recording unit: county (Recorder of Deeds)
• Parent legal framework: pennsylvania — Lackawanna is one of the ~65 third-through-eighth-class counties governed by RETSL (Act 542, 72 P.S. §§ 5860.101–5860.803). The Tax Claim Bureau (not the sheriff) conducts the upset, private, judicial, and repository sales. There is no post-sale right of redemption. The sheriff conducts mortgage-foreclosure sales. — https://www.lackawannacounty.org/government/departments/tax_claim/index.php
• Bureau head: Barbara Lynady, Director of Tax Claim (signs the sale terms as “Deputy Director” on the upset terms document). — https://www.lackawannacounty.org/government/departments/tax_claim/index.php

C1. Local Tax Sale

Conducts own sale? Yes — the Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau runs all four RETSL sale stages: Upset Tax Sale → Private Sale → Judicial Sale → Repository. — https://www.lackawannacounty.org/government/departments/tax_claim/index.php

Platform: In-person auction at the Scranton Cultural Center, 420 North Washington Ave., Scranton, PA 18503. The county does not use Bid4Assets, RealAuction, or a comparable online bidding platform; all bidding occurs at the physical venue. Property/sale lists and registration documents are posted under the Tax Claim department pages and the county Document Center. — 2025 Upset Sale registration notice (PDF directly extracted) and 2026 Judicial registration notice (PDF directly extracted).

Sale Calendar

• Upset Sale timing (statutory window): the upset sale is scheduled “between the second Monday in September and the first day of October” — i.e., late September annually. — Upset Tax Sale Terms & Conditions (PDF, OCR-extracted).
• Judicial Sale timing: “conducted in spring following the Upset Sale” — the 2026 judicial sale fell on May 13, 2026. — Tax Claim landing page; 2026 Judicial dates PDF (OCR-extracted).
• Next known sale: 2026 Judicial Sale, May 13, 2026 (confirmed). The fall 2026 upset sale date had not been published in retrieved sources as of last_verified. — 2026 Judicial registration notice (directly extracted).

Sources: 2025 Upset registration notice (PDF directly extracted, cms8.revize.com/revize/lackawanna/2025%20Upset%20Reg.pdf); 2026 Judicial registration notice + 2026 Judicial dates (PDFs directly extracted/OCR’d, cms8.revize.com/…/26JUD.DATES.pdf, …/Registration.26JUD.pdf); Upset Tax Sale Terms (PDF, OCR-extracted).

Registration & Deposit

• Registration is in person only — “A person that intends to bid must personally appear at the Tax Claim Bureau during this timeframe to register.” (RETSL Act 33 of 2021: a bidder “must appear and register at the bureau not less than 10 days before the scheduled upset sale or judicial sale.“) — 2025 Upset notice; 2026 Judicial notice (both directly extracted); 72 P.S. § 5860 (Act 33 of 2021 bidder-registration amendment).
• Registration window: opens ~3 weeks before and closes ~10 days before the sale (2025 upset: Sept 2–11 for the Sept 22 sale; 2026 judicial: Apr 24–May 1 for the May 13 sale). — directly-extracted notices.
• Registration fee: $35.00 — NONREFUNDABLE and CASH ONLY (stated for both the upset and judicial sales). — 2025 Upset notice; 2026 Judicial notice (directly extracted).
• No deposit / same-day full payment: the successful bidder “shall immediately pay the upset price” upon the fall of the hammer (cashier’s check, certified check, money order payable to the Lackawanna County Treasurer, or credit card); any remaining balance is due before 4:00 p.m. on the day of the auction at the Bureau office. Non-payment voids the bid and the property is re-exposed; the minimum bid is forfeited to the County. — Upset Tax Sale Terms ¶8 (OCR-extracted).

Bidder Eligibility Requirements

• Must be at least 18 years old. — Upset Terms ¶1.
• Bidder Registration Application / affidavit required (Act 33 of 2021). A bidder who submits an inaccurate or false affidavit “will not be delivered a tax claim bureau deed and their bid shall be forfeited to the County.” — Upset Terms ¶6.
• The Bureau enforces Act 133 delinquency checks and “may disqualify bidders with unpaid taxes.” — Tax Claim landing page.
• Prospective bidders are urged to perform independent due diligence including a thorough title review. — Upset Terms ¶4.

Interest Rate

9% per year, accruing from February 1. “Interest accrues at 9% annually beginning February 1.” (Delinquent taxes are returned to the Bureau by January 31 annually.) — Tax Claim landing page (directly fetched).

Delinquent List / Sale Lists

• 2026 Judicial Advertising List posted at cms8.revize.com/revize/lackawanna/Document_center/Department/Tax%20Claim/2026%20Judicial%20AD%20List%205.12.pdf.
• Repository (unsold-property) List, updated February 12, 2026, posted on the Resources & Links page.
• County Assessment Database (parcel search, iasWorld / Tyler Technologies “Public Access”): https://lcao.lackawannacounty.org/.

Upset-Sale Lien Trap

The upset-sale deed “does not divest any existing lien or encumbrance on the property, other than those for real estate taxes, municipal claims, and claims of the Commonwealth that are included in the upset price. The property is subject to all other liens and claims… including mortgages, judgment liens, mechanic’s liens, easements, covenants, servitudes, ground rents or the like.” (RETSL § 609.) Only the judicial sale (RETSL § 612) delivers free-and-clear title. — Upset Tax Sale Terms (OCR-extracted). — undivested-liens-upset-sale

Private & Repository Sales

• Private Sale: parcels unsold at the upset sale may be sold from the Non-Repository List at prices approved by the Bureau and taxing districts — also not free-and-clear. — Tax Claim landing page.
• Repository: parcels unsold after upset, private, and judicial sales go to the Repository List, sold “without court approval” thereafter; offers use the Repository Offer Form and Repository Terms & Conditions of Sale (Rev. 1-4-23). — Tax Claim landing page; Resources & Links page.

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

No post-sale right of redemption under RETSL. Once the Court of Common Pleas confirms the sale absolutely and the deed is delivered, title is final. — pennsylvania Module 2; Upset Terms (confirmation-absolute requirement).

Pre-sale cure (bureau discretion): “The Tax Claim Bureau maintains the discretion and reserves the right to permit an owner of tax-delinquent real estate to redeem a property slated to be sold at the upset tax sale.” — Upset Tax Sale Terms ¶9 (OCR-extracted). The owner stops the sale by paying the delinquent taxes, interest, and costs before the sale; payment is made to the Tax Claim Bureau.

Where to pay / redeem (pre-sale):

• Walk-in: Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau, Government Center, 123 Wyoming Avenue, 2nd Floor, Scranton, PA 18503 (the Upset Terms letterhead also lists “Suite 267”).
• Phone: (570) 963-6734 (x 1640 for the Director).
• Online delinquent-tax payment portal: https://govpaynow.com/gps/user/cyg/plc/a006xw (GovPayNow).
• Email: LynadyB@lackawannacounty.org | Fax: (570) 496-1733.

— https://www.lackawannacounty.org/government/departments/tax_claim/index.php ; Upset Tax Sale Terms (OCR-extracted).

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

Governing mechanism (RETSL § 205). The upset terms state that the Bureau’s consolidated return to the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas (filed within 60 days of the sale) “provides judicial confirmation of the Bureau’s proposed distribution of the sale proceeds among the interested parties.” Distribution follows the RETSL § 205(d) waterfall — Commonwealth liens → taxing districts → municipal claims → lienholders by priority → former owner last. — Upset Tax Sale Terms (OCR-extracted); 72 P.S. § 5860.205(d)–(e); pennsylvania Module 3.

Claim Filing Venue

Claim deadline: 3 years from the sale date (RETSL § 205(f)); after 3 years an unclaimed owner balance is re-distributed to the taxing districts. — 72 P.S. § 5860.205(f); surplus-3-year-forfeiture.

Documentation required: needs_verification — Lackawanna County has not published a standalone surplus-claim-procedure document comparable to Cumberland County’s. Based on RETSL § 205(e) practice statewide, a notarized claim form + photo ID is expected, and an estate claim requires a short certificate (Letters). Contact the Bureau directly for current forms.

Unclaimed-funds list published: needs_verification — no dedicated Lackawanna County surplus/overbid funds list was located in retrieved sources (unlike Luzerne, Lancaster, or Wayne County). Distribution is handled through the § 205(e) Court of Common Pleas confirmation process.

Sources: Upset Tax Sale Terms (OCR-extracted); Tax Claim landing & Resources pages (directly fetched); RETSL § 205 (parent page, statute directly retrieved there).

▸ For Investors / Operators — Lackawanna surplus runs the RETSL § 205(d) waterfall, confirmed by a Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas distribution schedule on the Bureau’s 60-day consolidated return. The threshold acquisition question is the sale stage: an upset-sale deed is taken subject to undivested mortgages, judgments, and liens (§ 609) with no post-sale redemption, while the May judicial-sale deed is free and clear (§ 612). See pennsylvania §5b for the marketable-title path (quiet title in Common Pleas, 2–3-year insurer seasoning) and §7b for surviving liens (HSCA § 509 super-lien, UPCA § 5315 six-month HOA super-priority, IRS § 7425 120-day redemption).

▸ For Former Owners — When a Lackawanna County tax sale produces more than the taxes, claims, interest, and costs, the residual balance is paid to the property’s former owner last in the § 205(d) waterfall, confirmed by the Court of Common Pleas on the Bureau’s consolidated return. Present the claim to the Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau (123 Wyoming Ave., 2nd Floor, Scranton). Note the 3-year deadline under § 205(f).

C4. Offices & Contacts

C5. Local Procedure Notes

• In-person-only registration, $35 cash-only non-refundable fee, 10-day pre-registration cutoff (Act 33 of 2021). No online bidding platform.
• Same-day full payment — successful bidders pay the upset price immediately and any balance before 4:00 PM the day of the auction; cashier’s/certified check, money order (payable to the Lackawanna County Treasurer), or credit card.
• Owner-occupied constable service — Lackawanna’s upset notice procedure adds personal service by a constable at least 10 days before the sale when the property is owner-occupied (on top of RETSL § 602 publication, certified mail, and posting). A defective notice can void the upset sale. — Upset Tax Sale Terms (OCR-extracted).
• Consolidated return within 60 days; objection/exception window — interested parties may challenge the regularity of the upset sale; after confirmation, the only issue an owner can raise is the adequacy of the Bureau’s notice. — Upset Terms (OCR-extracted); RETSL § 607.
• Bid assignment allowed within 10 days of the sale (assignment instructions/forms on the Bureau site); both the original bid and the assignment are separately subject to PA real estate transfer tax (61 Pa. Code § 91.170(b)). — Upset Terms ¶13; Resources & Links page (Assignment of Tax Sale Bid Form).
• Subsequent taxes — “All county, municipal, and school district real estate taxes accruing after the date of the sale are the responsibility of the successful bidder.” — Upset Terms ¶14.
• Possession — “If any problem with possession of the premises arises after purchase, it shall be the responsib[ility] of the purchaser to resolve the same.” — Upset Terms ¶17.
• Mobile/manufactured homes — a lien on a mobile/manufactured home’s certificate of title is not affected by a real estate tax sale. — Upset Terms ¶16.
• Caveat emptor — 72 P.S. § 5931 codified buyer-beware applies; no refunds. — Upset Terms ¶8.
• Sheriff (mortgage) sales — held at the Courthouse, 200 N. Washington Ave., normally 10:00 AM, roughly every 2–3 months; 10% deposit (cash/cashier’s/certified check) due immediately, balance by 2:00 PM; schedule of distribution prepared within 30 days. — Sheriff Sales page (directly fetched).

C6. Records Access

C8. Title & Quiet Title

Title type: Tax deed — RETSL upset-sale deed (subject to undivested liens, § 609) or judicial-sale deed (free and clear, § 612). Not a lien-certificate state. The Bureau “does not provide any warranty of title through a tax claim bureau deed.” — Upset Tax Sale Terms (OCR-extracted).

Quiet title required? Practically yes for insurable title, especially after an upset-sale purchase. The Upset Terms expressly warn: “Land title insurance companies may elect not to insure the title of properties sold at an upset tax sale. Bidders should consult legal counsel concerning the title and the advisability of bringing a court action to quie[t] title.” — Upset Tax Sale Terms ¶10 (OCR-extracted).

Quiet title action:

• Required? Not legally mandated, but practically required for insurable/mortgageable title (upset deeds especially).
• Type: Judicial — civil action filed with the Clerk of Judicial Records / Prothonotary, Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County (200 Adams Ave., 1st Floor, Scranton).
• Governing rules: Pa.R.C.P. 1061–1066 (231 Pa. Code Subchapter D); action brought in the county where the land lies. — see pennsylvania §5b.
• Typical timeline: ~6 months uncontested; 12–24 months if contested. — pennsylvania §5b (statewide).
• Typical cost: generally $2,500–$5,000+ uncontested (attorney fees + filing + service/publication). needs_verification for current Lackawanna County Prothonotary filing fees specifically.
• Deed seasoning: PA title insurers typically wait 2–3 years post-sale absent a quiet-title decree (or a Tax Title Services certification accepted by some underwriters). — pennsylvania §5b.

Title insurers active locally: needs_verification — no Lackawanna County-specific underwriter list was retrieved. National underwriters (Fidelity, First American, Stewart, Old Republic) and PA agents operate in the county; willingness to insure tax deeds varies by underwriter and sale stage (judicial > upset).

C9. Purchaser Obligations

Subsequent tax payment office: Post-sale county, municipal, and school real estate taxes are the buyer’s responsibility (Upset Terms ¶14). Delinquent/returned prior-year balances are paid to the Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau (123 Wyoming Ave., 2nd Floor, Scranton; GovPayNow portal). Current-year county taxes are paid to the County Treasurer; municipal/school taxes to the applicable local tax collector (in Scranton, the Scranton Single Tax Office). needs_verification for the consolidated current-year collector roster.

Notice to owner procedure: Under RETSL § 205(e), the Tax Claim Bureau (not the purchaser) serves the former owner and other distributees with the rule to show cause on the proposed distribution schedule via the consolidated return to the Court of Common Pleas. The purchaser has no separate statutory owner-notice duty. needs_verification for any Lackawanna local rule imposing purchaser notice.

Redemption payment office: None — RETSL provides no post-sale redemption for Lackawanna (third-through-eighth-class county). Pre-sale cure (at Bureau discretion) is paid to the Tax Claim Bureau (see C2). — Upset Terms ¶9; pennsylvania Module 2.

Occupancy and access: No redemption period and thus no purchaser possession obligation during one. After the deed is delivered (post-confirmation), the purchaser holds title and must resolve any possession problem itself (“it shall be the responsib[ility] of the purchaser to resolve the same,” Upset Terms ¶17) — typically via ejectment. Upset-sale buyers take subject to all undivested liens and should not assume the property is free of encumbrances.

C10. Local Restrictions

Right of first refusal / land-bank “trump bid” active locally? Yes (land bank). The Lackawanna County Land Bank acquires tax-delinquent property through judicial tax-claim sales, the tax-claim repository, and donations, and has acquired parcels at the Tax Claim Judicial Sale (e.g., Price Street and Hampton Street parcels at the May 2023 judicial sale). Pennsylvania’s Land Bank Act authorizes a land-bank “trump bid” at judicial sale under 68 P.S. § 2117(c)(3) (the property is sold to the land bank where there is a prior agreement and no higher bid). needs_verification for the specific Lackawanna County ordinance/intergovernmental agreement text invoking § 2117(c)(3) and the precise list of covered municipalities.

Land Bank:

• Name: Lackawanna County Land Bank (established 2015).
• Authority: Pennsylvania Land Bank Act (68 Pa.C.S. §§ 2101–2117, Act 153 of 2012) + Lackawanna County Land Bank ordinance.
• Coverage: cooperation agreements with 15 municipalities and 9 school districts in Lackawanna County; ~300 formerly tax-delinquent properties returned to the rolls (228 conveyed in Scranton).
• Contact: 123 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, PA 18503; (570) 963-6830 x1358; Ralph Pappas, Business Relations Manager (pappasr@lackawannacounty.org).
• Website: http://www.lackawannalandbank.com/ ; county page https://www.lackawannacounty.org/government/departments/land_bank/index.php

Entity / insider restrictions: RETSL bars the owner of a property from purchasing their own property at the sale, and bidders must certify (Act 33 / Act 133 affidavit) that they are not delinquent and not acting on behalf of a barred person; a false affidavit forfeits the bid and the deed. Entities (LLCs, corporations) are permitted bidders subject to the registration/affidavit. — Upset Terms ¶6; pennsylvania §11b. needs_verification for the exact Lackawanna affidavit text and any local landlord-license certification.

Sources: Land Bank county page + lackawannalandbank.com (fetched 2026-06-02); WVIA/WNEP coverage of land-bank acquisitions at the judicial sale (search-verified); 68 P.S. § 2117 (Land Bank Act, statute identified); Upset Tax Sale Terms (OCR-extracted).

C7. Meta

sources:

• {type: official, url: https://www.lackawannacounty.org/government/departments/tax_claim/index.php, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — Tax Claim Bureau landing page; Director Barbara Lynady; address 123 Wyoming Ave., 2nd Floor, Scranton; phone (570) 963-6734 x1640; fax 570-496-1733; email LynadyB@lackawannacounty.org; 9% interest from Feb 1; upset (late Sept) / private / judicial (spring) / repository sale structure; Act 133 bidder disqualification; GovPayNow + ICWS tax-lien-certificate portals.
• {type: official, url: https://cms8.revize.com/revize/lackawanna/2025%20Upset%20Reg.pdf, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — 2025 Upset Sale registration notice (pdftotext directly extracted). Confirms Sept 22, 2025 sale, Scranton Cultural Center (420 N. Washington Ave.), registration Sept 2–11, $35 non-refundable cash-only fee, Act 33 of 2021 10-day in-person pre-registration.
• {type: official, url: https://cms8.revize.com/revize/lackawanna/Document_center/Department/Tax%20Claim/Registration.26JUD.pdf, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — 2026 Judicial Sale registration notice (pdftotext directly extracted). Confirms May 13, 2026 judicial sale, Scranton Cultural Center, registration Apr 24–May 1, 2026, $35 non-refundable cash-only fee.
• {type: official, url: https://cms8.revize.com/revize/lackawanna/Document_center/Department/Tax%20Claim/26JUD.DATES.pdf, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — 2026 Judicial Sale dates (OCR-extracted). Sale May 13, 2026 10:00 AM; advertisement Apr 10, 2026; rule to show cause Apr 28, 2026 9:30 AM; registration Apr 24–May 1, 2026.
• {type: official, url: https://cms8.revize.com/revize/lackawanna/Document_center/Department/Tax%20Claim/Resources%20%26%20Links/Upset-Tax-Sale-Terms9.2.pdf, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — Upset Tax Sale Terms & Conditions (Rev. 09/01/21; OCR-extracted via tesseract). Source for: late-Sept window; four notice forms incl. constable personal service for owner-occupied; § 609 non-divestiture language; 60-day consolidated return + distribution confirmation; three deed conditions; same-day payment (payable to Lackawanna County Treasurer); bureau-discretion pre-sale redemption (¶9); title-insurer warning + quiet-title advice (¶10); bid assignment within 10 days + transfer-tax (61 Pa. Code § 91.170(b)); subsequent-tax responsibility (¶14); mobile-home lien note (¶16); possession is purchaser’s burden (¶17); caveat emptor 72 P.S. § 5931; signed Barbara Lynady.
• {type: official, url: https://www.lackawannacounty.org/government/departments/tax_claim/resources_and_links.php, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — Tax Claim Resources & Links; forms (bidder registration, assignment of bid, repository offer/terms, judicial terms, tax-lien-certificate request); Repository List updated Feb 12, 2026; portal links (GovPayNow, ICWS, assessment DB, Eagle/Tyler deed search).
• {type: official, url: https://www.lackawannacounty.org/2026_judicial_tax_sale_information_may_13,_2026/index.php, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — 2026 Judicial Tax Sale page; links to registration, dates, and 2026 judicial advertising list PDFs.
• {type: official, url: https://www.lackawannacounty.org/government/elected_officials/recorder_of_deeds/index.php, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — Recorder of Deeds; Evie Rafalko-McNulty; Gateway Center, 135 Jefferson Ave., Scranton; (570) 963-6775; M–F 9–4, recording to 3:45.
• {type: official, url: https://www.lackawannacounty.org/government/elected_officials/sheriff/sheriff_sales.php, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — Sheriff Mark McAndrew; mortgage-foreclosure sales at Courthouse 200 N. Washington Ave., 10:00 AM, ~every 2–3 months; 10% deposit immediately, balance by 2:00 PM; schedule of distribution within 30 days; no online platform.
• {type: official, url: https://www.lackawannacounty.org/government/departments/land_bank/index.php, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — Lackawanna County Land Bank; 123 Wyoming Ave., Scranton; (570) 963-6830 x1358; Ralph Pappas; acquires via judicial sale, repository, donation; 15 municipalities + 9 school districts; website lackawannalandbank.com.
• {type: official, url: https://lcao.lackawannacounty.org/, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — County Assessment / parcel search (iasWorld Public Access, Tyler Technologies).
• {type: official, url: https://gis.lackawannacounty.org/arcgis/rest/services/GISViewer/Parcels/MapServer, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — County GIS parcel map service (ArcGIS REST endpoint).
• {type: secondary, url: https://www.wvia.org/news/local/2023-11-17/hundreds-of-properties-are-back-on-the-tax-roles-in-lackawanna-county, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — Land Bank established 2015; ~300 properties returned to rolls; judicial-sale acquisitions (corroborating).
• {type: secondary, url: https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/US/HTM/2012/0/0153..HTM, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — Pennsylvania Land Bank Act (68 Pa.C.S. §§ 2101–2117); § 2117(c)(3) judicial-sale land-bank acquisition (statute identified; corroborates trump-bid framework).
• {type: secondary, url: https://www.taxsaleresources.com/counties/scranton-city-lackawanna-pennsylvania, retrieved: 2026-06-02} — commercial summary (corroborating only; not relied on for any legal claim).

needs_verification:

• Surplus claim form / standalone procedure document — Lackawanna County publishes no Cumberland-style surplus-claim procedure; required documentation (notarized form + photo ID; short certificate for estates) inferred from RETSL § 205(e) statewide practice, not a directly-retrieved county document.
• Unclaimed surplus / overbid funds list — no dedicated Lackawanna County list located (unlike Luzerne/Lancaster/Wayne).
• Fall 2026 Upset Sale date — not yet published in retrieved sources (2026 judicial = May 13, 2026 confirmed; upset falls late Sept by statute).
• Treasurer’s office officer name + address and Assessment Office officer name — not retrieved from official pages.
• Land-bank trump-bid ordinance/IGA text and covered-municipality list under 68 P.S. § 2117(c)(3) — existence of land bank and judicial-sale acquisitions confirmed; the specific local ordinance invoking the trump bid not directly retrieved.
• Lackawanna County Prothonotary quiet-title filing fee — statewide $250–$500 range cited; county-specific schedule not retrieved.
• Title insurers active in Lackawanna County for tax deeds — no underwriter-specific list retrieved.
• Lackawanna County official class designation — third-through-eighth class (RETSL) confirmed by sale practice; exact class number not retrieved.
• Current-year municipal/school tax-collector roster (Scranton uses the Scranton Single Tax Office) — full county roster not consolidated.
• GIS public web-app viewer URL — REST/MapServer endpoint and assessment DB confirmed; a consumer-facing parcel-explorer web-app URL not pinned.

cross_links: pennsylvania, right-of-redemption, surplus-funds, third-party-recovery-rules, due-process-notice, undivested-liens-upset-sale, surplus-3-year-forfeiture, tyler-v-hennepin-county, tracy-v-county-of-chester, bankruptcy-automatic-stay, federal-tax-lien-redemption, land-bank-programs

changelog:

• 2026-06-02 — Initial population. Upset Tax Sale Terms & Conditions OCR-extracted via pdfimages+tesseract; 2025 upset and 2026 judicial registration notices and 2026 judicial dates extracted via pdftotext/OCR from county-published PDFs. All offices, portals, and the Land Bank sourced from directly-fetched official lackawannacounty.org pages. Surplus handled through RETSL § 205 Court of Common Pleas confirmation (parent page); no county-specific surplus form/list published — flagged needs_verification.

Legal information, not legal advice. This page summarizes Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania tax-sale and surplus-recovery procedure from official county sources as of the last_verified date. Lackawanna County operates under RETSL (Act 542, 72 P.S. §§ 5860.101–5860.803) — verify current sale dates, registration requirements, and claim deadlines directly with the Tax Claim Bureau before acting. Last verified: 2026-06-02.