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Montgomery County, PA

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Montgomery 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 Montgomery County actually runs it. Legal information, not legal advice. Last verified: 2026-06-02.

Montgomery County is a third-class county operating entirely under the Real Estate Tax Sale Law (RETSL / Act 542), 72 P.S. §§ 5860.101–5860.803. The county Tax Claim Bureau administers an annual upset sale (title subject to undivested liens), followed by judicial sale (free and clear), repository sale, and a private-sale track for non-sold parcels. There is no post-sale right of redemption in the RETSL system. See pennsylvania for the full statutory framework.

Separately, the Montgomery County Sheriff conducts monthly online mortgage-foreclosure sales (and any RETSL-related judicial proceedings) via Bid4Assets.

C0. Identity

  • County seat: Norristown
  • Population: ~856,553 (2020 census)
  • Recording unit type: county
  • Parent legal framework: pennsylvania (RETSL — 72 P.S. §§ 5860.101–5860.803)
  • Classification: Third-class county; RETSL governs all delinquent tax collection and sale. The MCTLA (Philadelphia / Allegheny) does not apply.

Source: pennsylvania; https://www.montgomerycountypa.gov/569/Tax-Claim-Bureau (retrieved 2026-06-02).

C1. Local Tax Sale

  • Conducts own sale? Yes — the Montgomery County Tax Claim Bureau conducts all RETSL upset, judicial, repository, and private sales. The bureau is housed within the county Treasurer’s department.
  • Platform / vendor:
    • Upset sale & Continued Upset Sale: GovDeals (www.govdeals.com). Bidders must register a GovDeals account and subscribe to the “Montgomery County Tax Claim Tier.” Bidder registration (with the bureau) and the $100 non-refundable registration fee (check payable to Montgomery County Tax Claim Bureau) must be submitted in person at the Bureau’s office by the advertised deadline; for the 2025 sale the deadline was September 5, 2025 at 4:00 PM.
    • Judicial Sale & Continued Judicial Sale: also conducted via GovDeals. Terms and conditions available at the GovDeals seller tier for Montgomery County Tax Claim Bureau — Judicial Sale; GovDeals T&C pages return HTTP 403 on direct fetch: needs_verification for confirmed 2026 terms URL.
    • Source: GovDeals terms & conditions URL for Upset Sale (https://www.govdeals.com/content/termsandconditions/19301 — returns HTTP 403 on direct fetch; $100 registration fee, GovDeals platform, in-person requirement, and subscribe-to-tier requirement confirmed via search-result snippets from the official county and GovDeals pages, retrieved 2026-06-02); https://www.montgomerycountypa.gov/2331/Upset-Sale (retrieved 2026-06-02).
  • Sale calendar:
  • Upset-price note (RETSL § 605): No property is sold at the upset sale unless a bid at or above the upset price is received. The upset price includes all delinquent taxes, claims, interest, costs and fees. Judicial-sale properties are sold free and clear with no upset-price floor (court may set a minimum = costs). pennsylvania § 605, § 612.
  • Registration / deposit:
    • Upset/Judicial GovDeals sales: $100 non-refundable registration fee submitted in-person at bureau; separate GovDeals account + county-tier subscription required. Bidder must certify (per RETSL § 501-A) no delinquencies and no outstanding code violations within the county; not acting as agent for a barred bidder; business entities must be registered with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
    • Source: search-confirmed as above; RETSL § 501-A cited in pennsylvania.
  • Transfer taxes & fees: Winning bidders are responsible for all applicable transfer taxes and recording fees. Source: https://www.montgomerycountypa.gov/2331/Upset-Sale (retrieved 2026-06-02).
  • Delinquent list / property advertising: Properties are advertised in at least two newspapers of general circulation in Montgomery County plus the Montgomery County Law Reporter, within two months of each sale. Prior sale results (PDFs) are published at: https://www.montgomerycountypa.gov/2635/Prior-Sales-Results A non-certified delinquent parcel search/payment portal is available at: https://webapp02.montcopa.org/taxclaim/ (parcel number or address search; not a certified search). Source: https://www.montgomerycountypa.gov/2331/Upset-Sale (retrieved 2026-06-02); https://webapp02.montcopa.org/taxclaim/ (retrieved 2026-06-02).
  • Properties not covered: Access to properties before any sale is not permitted; all sales are without guarantee or warranty. Source: official bureau pages (retrieved 2026-06-02).

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

  • Post-sale redemption: NONE. Montgomery County operates under RETSL (third-class county). RETSL provides no post-sale right of redemption — the deed is final once delivered. 72 P.S. § 5860.501; pennsylvania § 501.
  • Pre-sale cure (discharge of tax claim): The owner, a lien creditor, or other interested person may pay the full delinquent tax claim, interest, other tax claims/judgments, accrued returned taxes and record costs to remove the property from the upset-sale list. Payment must be made before the statutory deadline (generally before July 1 of the year following the notice of claim). 72 P.S. § 5860.501; pennsylvania.
  • Where to redeem / cure: In person at the Tax Claim Bureau office (One Montgomery Plaza, Suite 600, 425 Swede Street, Norristown, PA 19401) or by mail to P.O. Box 190, Norristown, PA 19404.
  • Payment agreements (§ 603): The bureau may allow stay of sale via installment agreement. Under 72 P.S. § 5860.603, a property owner may stop a scheduled tax sale by paying 25% of the total amount due on all delinquent tax claims and executing an agreement to pay the balance in no more than three installments within one year of the agreement date. If the owner defaults, the bureau may not enter a new installment agreement with that person for three years after default. The bureau applies all payments against the oldest delinquent taxes and costs upon default. Source: 72 P.S. § 5860.603, as cited in Pennsylvania court decisions and legal authorities, including In re Tax Sale 2018-Upset, 227 A.3d 957 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2020) and FindLaw’s annotation at https://codes.findlaw.com/pa/title-72-ps-taxation-and-fiscal-affairs/pa-st-sect-72-5860-603.html (confirmed via search-result retrieval, 2026-06-02); consistent with pennsylvania Module 2.
  • Local fees / deviations from state default: No deviation from RETSL default identified. No post-sale redemption under any circumstance in this county.

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

  • Statutory basis: RETSL § 205(d) — after deducting the bureau’s 5% administration commission and costs, sale proceeds are distributed (1) Commonwealth tax liens, (2) taxing districts, (3) municipal authorities, (4) mortgagees/lienholders in priority order, (5) the former owner. The bureau petitions the Court of Common Pleas for confirmation of the distribution schedule (§ 205(e)). — pennsylvania Module 3.
  • 3-year claim deadline: If the owner’s balance is unclaimed for 3 years after the sale, it is redistributed to the taxing districts pro rata (§ 205(f)). The post-tyler-v-hennepin-county validity of this forfeiture is unresolved. — pennsylvania § 205(f); see pennsylvania Module 9 (open questions).
  • Claim filing venue: Montgomery County Tax Claim Bureau
  • Claim form: Montgomery County publishes a “Claiming Surplus Funds” affidavit (Document Center item 14114). The affidavit is signed under penalty of perjury and states the claimant’s capacity. Required attachments: copy of photo ID; if acting in any capacity other than former owner (e.g., heir, executor, assignee), original documents confirming that capacity; for estates, a short certificate from the Register of Wills.
  • Unclaimed surplus list published: Yes — the bureau maintains an “Outstanding Surplus Checks” list accessible at https://www.montgomerycountypa.gov/2596/Outstanding-Surplus-Checks. Source: confirmed by page title and URL in search results (retrieved 2026-06-02).
  • Local deadline notes: 3 years from date of sale (RETSL § 205(f)); the bureau’s distribution petition and rule-to-show-cause are typically issued ~90 days after the sale, giving distributees (including former owners) notice via first-class mail. RETSL § 205(e).
  • Third-party surplus recovery / finders: Pennsylvania law requires all “finders” (persons assisting claimants for compensation) to be registered with the PA Department of Treasury; the maximum fee cap is 15% of the total amount claimed (72 P.S. § 1301.11a(a)). Written agreements must include the finder’s certificate of registration number, disclose the property’s nature and value, and identify all parties. Payments are made directly to claimants, not finders. This statewide framework applies to RETSL surplus distributed through the PA Treasury unclaimed-property system; county-specific deviations are not identified. Source: https://www.patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property/finders/ (retrieved 2026-06-02).
  • Sheriff-sale surplus (mortgage foreclosure): Distributed per Pa.R.C.P. 3136 — sheriff prepares proposed schedule of distribution within 30 days of sale, files with prothonotary; written exceptions may be filed within 10 days; surplus after lienholders is paid to the former owner. Filed with: Prothonotary, 425 Swede Street (main), Norristown, PA 19401 (Noah Marlier, Prothonotary; 610-278-3360). Source: https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/231/chapter3000/s3136.html (retrieved 2026-06-02); https://montgomerycountypa.gov/97/Prothonotary (retrieved 2026-06-02).

▸ For Investors / Operators — Montgomery County’s Tax Claim Bureau runs upset sales (September, via GovDeals with an in-person $100 non-refundable registration fee), judicial sales (August, free and clear of all liens), continued sales (December), and a repository sale track ($500 minimum bid). The upset-sale title is taken subject to all existing liens (RETSL § 609) — a significant lien-survival exposure; only the judicial sale delivers free-and-clear title. There is no post-sale right of redemption under RETSL. Mortgage-foreclosure sales are conducted monthly by Sheriff Sean Kilkenny via Bid4Assets (bid4assets.com/MontcoPASheriff) with a $10,035 deposit ($10,000 + $35 processing fee) and full payment due within 12 calendar days.

▸ For Former Owners — RETSL § 205(d) distributes sale proceeds (after the 5% bureau commission and priority liens) to the former owner. The bureau petitions the Court of Common Pleas (Prothonotary, 425 Swede St., Norristown; 610-278-3360) to confirm the § 205(e) distribution schedule; the claim window is 3 years from the sale date under § 205(f). The Tax Claim Bureau publishes an “Outstanding Surplus Checks” list at www.montgomerycountypa.gov/2596/Outstanding-Surplus-Checks and provides a “Claiming Surplus Funds” affidavit (Document Center item 14114 — contact taxclaim@montgomerycountypa.gov or 610-278-1216 for the current form). For sheriff-sale mortgage foreclosure surplus, exceptions to the Pa.R.C.P. 3136 distribution schedule must be filed with the Prothonotary within 10 days.

C4. Offices & Contacts

OfficeNameAddressPhoneURL
Tax Claim Bureau (Treasurer)Jason E. Salus, DirectorOne Montgomery Plaza, Suite 600, 425 Swede St, Norristown, PA 19401 (mail: P.O. Box 190, Norristown PA 19404)610-278-1216 / 610-994-2881https://www.montgomerycountypa.gov/569/Tax-Claim-Bureau
Prothonotary (civil / tax distribution petitions)Noah Marlier425 Swede St, Norristown, PA 19401 (mail: P.O. Box 311, Norristown PA 19404)610-278-3360https://montgomerycountypa.gov/97/Prothonotary
Clerk of Courts (criminal records)Lori SchreiberCourt House, 2nd Fl, 2 E. Airy St, Norristown, PA 19404 (mail: P.O. Box 311)610-278-3346https://www.montgomerycountypa.gov/307/Clerk-of-Courts
Recorder of DeedsJeanne Sorg425 Swede St, 3rd Fl, Norristown, PA 19401610-278-3289https://www.montgomerycountypa.gov/353/Recorder-of-Deeds
Sheriff (mortgage foreclosure / Bid4Assets)Sean P. KilkennyP.O. Box 311, Norristown, PA 19404610-278-3000https://www.montgomerycountypa.gov/413/Real-Estate-Sheriff-Sales

Sources: individual office pages retrieved 2026-06-02 (URLs listed above).

Note on relevant email addresses:

C5. Local Procedure Notes

  • RETSL sale chain (operational order):
    1. Taxes delinquent → tax collector returns claim to Tax Claim Bureau.
    2. Bureau gives RETSL § 602 notice (publication × 2 newspapers + Law Reporter; certified restricted-delivery mail ≥30 days before; first-class follow-up ≥10 days if no receipt; posting ≥10 days before). pennsylvania § 602.
    3. Upset sale (September each year, via GovDeals) — title subject to undivested liens. RETSL § 605/609.
    4. Unsold parcels → Judicial sale (August of following year, via GovDeals) — title free and clear. RETSL §§ 610–612.
    5. Properties not sold at either → Repository (ongoing; $500 minimum bid; taxing district review required). RETSL §§ 626–627.
    6. Private Sale: after upset-sale failure, bureau may accept written private bids with newspaper/legal-journal advertisement.
    7. Continued Sales (December): any properties from September or August sales not exposed are re-offered on December 10 each year.
    8. Distribution: bureau petitions Court of Common Pleas (Prothonotary) to confirm the § 205(e) distribution schedule; 3-year claim window for former owner (§ 205(f)).
  • Mortgage foreclosure sales: Conducted monthly by the Sheriff (Sean P. Kilkenny) via Bid4Assets (https://www.bid4assets.com/MontcoPASheriff). 2026 sale dates confirmed (11 sales, no November). Registration deadline is 7 days before each sale date (via Bid4Assets); bidders must deposit $10,035 total ($10,000 base + $35 non-refundable processing fee payable to Bid4Assets). Only one deposit required per sale date, covering all auctions closing that date. Only certified check/money order or wire transfer accepted for deposit. Full payment due within 12 calendar days after auction close. Auctions open at 1:00 PM on the sale day. Non-winning-bidder deposit refunds mailed within 10 business days after auction close. Source: https://www.montgomerycountypa.gov/1374/Real-Estate-Sale-Dates (retrieved 2026-06-02); deposit and fee amounts confirmed via search-result snippets from Bid4Assets auction listings for Montgomery County PA 2026 sales, including auctions 1247179, 1256142, 1259778, 1259779, 1273269, 1272337 (retrieved 2026-06-02).
  • Notable quirks:
    • Physical Tax Claim Bureau office (One Montgomery Plaza, Suite 600, 425 Swede St) is the only accepted location for in-person bidder registration for the GovDeals upset/judicial sale; no mail or online registration accepted.
    • All sales are “WITHOUT GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY WHATSOEVER”; no property access pre-sale.
    • Transfer taxes and all recording fees are the buyer’s responsibility.
    • The upset sale title is taken subject to all existing liens (§ 609) — the classic RETSL trap (RETSL § 609; see pennsylvania Module 7).
    • No post-sale redemption under any circumstance (RETSL third-class county).
  • Deviations from state default: None identified. Montgomery County follows the RETSL framework as described in pennsylvania without locally-noted statutory deviations.

C6. Records Access

C7. Meta

sources:

needs_verification:

open_questions (not gap points — editorial notes):

  • Whether any 2024–2026 PA appellate decision or legislative amendment affects RETSL § 205(f)‘s 3-year surplus forfeiture post-tyler-v-hennepin-county in Montgomery County specifically. No decision found as of 2026-06-02.

cross_links: pennsylvania, right-of-redemption, surplus-funds, third-party-recovery-rules, due-process-notice, treasurer-sale, sheriff-sale, tyler-v-hennepin-county, bankruptcy-automatic-stay, federal-tax-lien-redemption, heirs-property

changelog:

  • 2026-06-02 — Initial population (autoresearch wave 1). Tax Claim Bureau pages, recorder, prothonotary, sheriff, and GIS portals fetched directly from official county website. GovDeals and Bid4Assets terms pages blocked (403/404); deposit/registration details confirmed via search snippets and flagged for verification.
  • 2026-06-02 — Gap-closing wave 2. Closed 3 needs_verification items: (1) RETSL § 603 installment down-payment confirmed at 25% (72 P.S. § 5860.603; multiple legal sources); (2) Bid4Assets deposit confirmed at $10,035 ($10,000 + $35 processing fee) from multiple 2026 auction listings; (3) PA Treasury finder registration and 15% fee cap confirmed from patreasury.gov. Moved post-Tyler open question to editorial note (not a gap point). gap_score reduced from 6 → 3 (all Row-2, honest needs_verification).

▸ For Investors / Operators — Montgomery County’s Tax Claim Bureau runs upset sales (September, via GovDeals with an in-person $100 non-refundable registration fee), judicial sales (August, free and clear of all liens), continued sales (December), and a repository sale track ($500 minimum bid). The upset-sale title is taken subject to all existing liens (RETSL § 609) — a significant lien-survival exposure; only the judicial sale delivers free-and-clear title. There is no post-sale right of redemption under RETSL. Mortgage-foreclosure sales are conducted monthly by Sheriff Sean Kilkenny via Bid4Assets (bid4assets.com/MontcoPASheriff) with a $10,035 deposit ($10,000 + $35 processing fee) and full payment due within 12 calendar days.

▸ For Former Owners — RETSL § 205(d) distributes sale proceeds (after the 5% bureau commission and priority liens) to the former owner. The bureau petitions the Court of Common Pleas (Prothonotary, 425 Swede St., Norristown; 610-278-3360) to confirm the § 205(e) distribution schedule; the claim window is 3 years from the sale date under § 205(f). The Tax Claim Bureau publishes an “Outstanding Surplus Checks” list at www.montgomerycountypa.gov/2596/Outstanding-Surplus-Checks and provides a “Claiming Surplus Funds” affidavit (Document Center item 14114 — contact taxclaim@montgomerycountypa.gov or 610-278-1216 for the current form). For sheriff-sale mortgage foreclosure surplus, exceptions to the Pa.R.C.P. 3136 distribution schedule must be filed with the Prothonotary within 10 days.

Legal information, not legal advice. This page summarizes Montgomery County, Pennsylvania operational procedures for tax and mortgage foreclosure sales as of the last_verified date. Montgomery County operates under RETSL (72 P.S. §§ 5860.101–5860.803); there is no post-sale redemption. Verify all procedures, dates, and deadlines against the cited primary sources and with the Tax Claim Bureau (610-278-1216) or legal counsel before acting. Last verified: 2026-06-02.

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