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St. Louis County, MO

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St. Louis County, Missouri — Tax Sale & Surplus Procedure

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

REGIME NOTE: St. Louis County is a first-class charter county under Missouri law (RSMo 141.160). Chapter 141 applies by default to first-class charter counties, but RSMo 141.160 also allows them to elect Chapter 140 by ordinance. In practice, St. Louis County conducts its delinquent tax sale in the manner prescribed by Chapter 140 (Jones-Munger Act) — the Collector of Revenue holds the sale, issues certificates of purchase, and operates the 1st/ 2nd/3rd-offering system with the standard 1-year/90-day redemption structure. Whether a formal ordinance election under RSMo 141.160 was adopted, or whether the county simply follows Chapter 140 by longstanding practice, was not located in an official county source — flagged in needs_verification. The operational procedures described below are sourced from official county publications and corroborated by multiple secondary sources.

C0. Identity

  • County seat: Clayton, MO 63105
  • Population (2020 census): 1,004,125 (most populous county in Missouri)
  • FIPS: 29189
  • Recording unit: county
  • Government type: First-class charter county; County Executive + 7-member County Council (adopted charter 1950/1979; NOT a traditional “county commission”)
  • County Executive (as of last verified): Sam Page
  • Parent legal framework: missouri

C1. Local Tax Sale

  • Conducts own sale? Yes — the Collector of Revenue (Department of Revenue) conducts the annual real property tax sale under the Jones-Munger Act (Chapter 140 procedures). (Whether St. Louis County formally elected Chapter 140 by ordinance per RSMo 141.160 is unconfirmed — needs_verification.)
  • Platform: Sealed bid only — not an in-person or online-auction platform. Bidders submit sealed written bid forms in advance; bids are opened at the Collector’s office after the sale window closes. (St. Louis County Collector of Revenue, 2025 Tax Sale Notice)
  • Sale calendar:
    • Frequency: Annual
    • Statutory date: Fourth Monday in August (RSMo 140.250)
    • 2025 sale date: August 25, 2025 (confirmed from county notice)
    • Bid submission window opens: Approximately the Friday before the sale date (2025: August 22, at 41 S. Central Ave. Level lobby)
    • Bid submission deadline: Wednesday after the sale date at 5:00 PM CST (2025: August 27, 2025 at 5:00 PM CST)
    • Bids opened: Wednesday close of business after sale date
    • Source: St. Louis County Collector of Revenue Real Property Tax Sale page and 2025 Notice of Sale (PDF published in Missouri Lawyers Media, July 2025)
  • Rate within statutory range: N/A — bidding is highest-bid (premium above taxes owed); the county does not set a separate rate within a band. Certificate holders earn up to 10%/yr (1st/2nd) / 8%/yr on subs per RSMo 140.340.
  • Recording fee added at sale: Approximately $27–$30 per parcel added at time of sale to cover recording the certificate of purchase. (RSMo 140.150, 140.170, 140.290; confirmed by county notice language)
  • Registration & deposit:
    • All participants must register in advance using the notarized registration form (available on the county website).
    • Registration begins on the Friday before sale date at 41 S. Central Ave. (Level lobby), Clayton, MO 63105.
    • Bidders must have a current state-issued photo ID.
    • Full payment (including recording fee) is due by the Wednesday 5:00 PM CST bid deadline; no deposit is required separately — the winning bid amount plus fees is the payment.
    • (Exact payment method — cashier’s check vs. other — needs_verification from the current year’s registration instructions.)
  • Bidder requirements: Valid state-issued photo ID; notarized registration form submitted before bidding. (No requirement to be a Missouri resident was found — needs_verification.)
  • Offerings:
    • 1st and 2nd sale: Properties with 1–2 years delinquent taxes; purchaser receives a certificate of purchase; 1-year redemption period.
    • 3rd sale: Properties with 3+ years delinquent taxes; purchaser receives a certificate of purchase; 90-day redemption period (RSMo 140.250).
    • Post-third (“subsequent”) sale: Properties not bid upon at the 3rd sale and not acquired by the county; held by the Collector as “Post Third Sale Offerings”; available for bid year-round outside the annual sale; a successful purchaser receives an immediate collector’s deed with no redemption period (RSMo 140.250, 140.260). Bid form titled “Post 3rd Sale Instructions and Bid Form” published by Collector; most recent version dated March 2026.
  • Delinquent list location: Published in a local newspaper for three consecutive weeks starting approximately five weeks before the sale date. Also available on the county website at the 1st-and-2nd and 3rd-sale listing pages:
    • 1st & 2nd sale: stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/revenue/collector-of-revenue/real-property-tax-sale/1st-and-2nd-sale-listings/
    • 3rd sale: stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/revenue/collector-of-revenue/real-property-tax-sale/3rd-sale-listings/

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

  • Where/how to redeem: Pay at the Collector of Revenue office, 41 S. Central Ave., Clayton, MO 63105. The Collector certifies redemption and pays the certificate holder (RSMo 140.340).
  • Local fees: None beyond the state-statutory formula: certificate purchase amount + 10%/yr interest (1st/2nd offering) + all subsequent taxes paid by holder at 8%/yr + recording/title-search/mailing costs of the holder. No interest on any overbid/surplus. (RSMo 140.340)
  • Redemption contact:
    • Office: St. Louis County Collector of Revenue (Delinquent Tax Department)
    • Phone: (314) 615-7865 (delinquent tax dept) / (314) 615-5500 (main)
    • URL: stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/revenue/collector-of-revenue/
  • Deviations from state default: None identified beyond the sealed-bid format (vs. typical open-cry auction). Redemption periods and amounts follow Chapter 140 defaults. (Whether any local ordinance modifies the redemption process — needs_verification.)

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

▸ For Investors / Operators — St. Louis County uses a sealed-bid-only Chapter 140-style sale on the fourth Monday of August; bids are submitted in writing at 41 S. Central Ave. (Clayton) and are not due until Wednesday 5:00 PM CST — two days after the statutory sale date. Registration requires a notarized form submitted in advance; no walk-in registration. Properties with 1–2 years’ delinquency carry a one-year redemption period; 3rd-sale parcels carry a 90-day window; unsold post-third parcels are available year-round and convey by collector’s deed with no redemption period (RSMo 140.250). Standard collector’s deeds (1st/2nd/3rd offerings) typically require a quiet-title action for title-insurance purposes — see missouri § 7.

▸ For Former Owners — Surplus claims in St. Louis County must be filed with the county’s equivalent of the “county commission” (under RSMo 140.230) — in this charter county the precise filing desk is unconfirmed; contact the Collector of Revenue, Delinquent Tax Department at (314) 615-7865 as the first step. Claims must be filed within 90 days after the redemption period expires; funds unclaimed after three years become the county’s permanent school fund with no further right to recover. No St. Louis County–specific surplus claim form was located; a written claim with proof of entitlement and the relevant recording reference appears to satisfy the statute.

  • Claim filing venue:
    • Statute: claims filed with the “county commission” under RSMo 140.230.
    • St. Louis County is a charter county with a County Council (not a traditional commission). In practice, the equivalent filing authority is the County Council / Department of Revenue. The precise office or desk within St. Louis County’s charter government where RSMo 140.230 surplus claims are filed has not been confirmed from an official county source — needs_verification. The Collector of Revenue (delinquent tax dept, 314-615-7865) is the logical first contact to determine the current filing procedure.
    • Best-available contact: St. Louis County Department of Revenue / Collector of Revenue, 41 S. Central Ave., Clayton, MO 63105.
    • URL: stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/revenue/collector-of-revenue/
  • Claim form: No county-specific surplus claim form was located in an official county source — needs_verification. Under RSMo 140.230, the claim must be in writing, include the claimant’s proof of entitlement, and for lienholders, include the recording reference (book/page, document number, or equivalent). (A written letter with these elements likely suffices as no dedicated form was found.)
  • Local deadline notes: Claims must be filed within 90 days after the expiration of the redemption period (RSMo 140.230). Funds held for the lesser of 3 years or 90 days after redemption expiry. No interest is paid to claimants. Unclaimed funds after 3 years become the county’s permanent school fund (RSMo 140.230). The 3-year escheat is the principal Tyler- vulnerability — see tyler-v-hennepin-county.
  • Unclaimed list published: Not confirmed from an official county source — needs_verification. St. Louis County does not appear to publish a dedicated surplus/overage list online.
  • Unclaimed list URL: needs_verification
  • Contact:
    • Delinquent Tax Dept: (314) 615-7865
    • Main Collector: (314) 615-5500
    • Email: collector@stlouiscountymo.gov
    • (No dedicated surplus claims contact found — phone the delinquent tax dept first.)

C4. Offices & Contacts

OfficeNameAddressPhoneURL
Collector of Revenue (Delinquent Tax / Tax Sale)Dept. of Revenue (Acting Director: Erica Savage as of 2023; current officer — needs_verification)41 S. Central Ave., Clayton, MO 63105(314) 615-5500 main; (314) 615-7865 delinquent taxstlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/revenue/collector-of-revenue/
Circuit Clerk (21st Judicial Circuit)Joan M. Gilmer (needs_verification for currency)105 S. Central Ave., Clayton, MO 63105(314) 615-8029stlcountycourts.com/services/circuit-clerk/
Recorder of DeedsPart of Dept. of Revenue; officer name — needs_verification41 S. Central Ave., Clayton, MO 63105(314) 615-2500stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/revenue/recorder-of-deeds/
Sheriff (mortgage foreclosure sales)Current sheriff name — needs_verification105 S. Central Ave., Clayton, MO 63105(314) 615-4724 (Sheriff) / (314) 615-8029 (Court Sheriff Dept)stlcountycourts.com/services/sheriff/

Note on “county commission” equivalent: St. Louis County’s charter government substitutes a County Council for the traditional county commission. For surplus claim purposes under RSMo 140.230, the applicable filing body in St. Louis County is needs_verification — contact the Collector of Revenue at (314) 615-7865 first.

C5. Local Procedure Notes

  • Sealed-bid format (key quirk): Unlike most Missouri counties that conduct open-cry auctions, St. Louis County uses a sealed-bid-only process. Bidders submit written bid forms prior to the Wednesday deadline; winning bids are determined when staff opens bids at close of business Wednesday. This format is unique among major Missouri counties and has practical implications for buyers (no real-time competitive information, no ability to adjust bids mid-auction).
  • Registration must be notarized: Bidder registration requires a notarized form submitted in advance — not same-day walk-in registration.
  • Bid deadline after sale date: The sale date is the statutory fourth Monday in August, but bids are not due until Wednesday (two days later) at 5 PM. This is a local procedural deviation worth noting.
  • Post-Third Sale year-round availability: Unsold post-third parcels are held by the Collector and can be bid on at any time year-round. Bid form is available at the county website.
  • Charter county structure — surplus claim ambiguity: RSMo 140.230 directs claims to the “county commission.” St. Louis County’s charter government replaces the commission with a County Council. The actual filing desk for surplus claims within the county’s bureaucracy has not been confirmed from an official source. Practitioners should contact the delinquent tax department at (314) 615-7865.
  • Chapter 140 vs. Chapter 141 regime: Operationally follows Chapter 140, but the formal statutory basis (given RSMo 141.160’s default applicability of Chapter 141 to first-class charter counties) has not been confirmed from a county ordinance source. The State Tax Commission’s Chapter 140 Procedure Manual explicitly notes it does not apply to first-class charter counties not electing to operate under Chapter 140 — St. Louis County appears to operate under Chapter 140 procedures in practice.
  • No quiet title required for post-third deeds: A collector’s deed from a post-third (subsequent) sale conveys fee simple with no redemption period (RSMo 140.250, 140.260). Standard 1st/2nd/3rd-offering collector’s deeds still typically require quiet title for title insurance purposes (missouri, module 7).

C6. Records Access

  • Parcel / assessor search: assessor.stlouiscountymo.gov/realestate/searchinput.aspx (St. Louis County Assessor real estate search — search by address, parcel number, or owner name)
  • Recorder / deed search: stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/revenue/recorder-of-deeds/deed-search/ (Remote access via Laredo, Tapestry, or Monarch platforms; records available through 1974)
  • GIS map: gis.stlouiscountymo.gov (Geospatial Data Center — parcel boundaries, mapping)
  • Tax payment portal: taxpayments.stlouiscountymo.gov (search bills, make payments, print receipts; eCheck $0.50 flat; debit 0.85%; credit 2.29%)

C7. Meta

sources:

needs_verification:

  1. Formal Chapter 140 vs. Chapter 141 election: Whether St. Louis County adopted a formal ordinance electing to operate under Chapter 140 per RSMo 141.160, or whether it operates under Chapter 141 procedures with Ch. 140-like characteristics. Reason: RSMo 141.160 makes Chapter 141 the default for first-class charter counties; the St. Louis County Collector’s website (HTTP 403) was not directly retrievable to confirm. All secondary sources treat St. Louis County as a Chapter 140 county; the State Tax Commission Ch. 140 Manual says it does not apply to first-class charter counties not electing Ch. 140. This is the most significant remaining legal ambiguity on this page. (2 pts, Row 2)
  2. Surplus claim filing office within St. Louis County charter structure: RSMo 140.230 directs claims to the “county commission”; St. Louis County has a County Council, not a commission. The specific office, desk, or form for filing a surplus claim within St. Louis County’s charter government was not confirmed from an official county source. Reason: stlouiscountymo.gov returns HTTP 403; no county-specific surplus procedure found online. (1 pt, Row 2)
  3. Surplus claim form name and URL: No official St. Louis County surplus claim form was located. Reason: county website inaccessible; no published form located elsewhere. (1 pt, Row 2)
  4. Unclaimed surplus list: Whether St. Louis County publishes an unclaimed surplus list online. Reason: not located. (1 pt, Row 2)
  5. Current Collector of Revenue officer name: The position is appointed (Director of Revenue); Erica Savage was Acting Director as of late 2023 news reports. Current status needs verification. Reason: stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/revenue/department-of-revenue-leadership/ returned HTTP 403. (1 pt, Row 2)
  6. Current Circuit Clerk name: Joan M. Gilmer was named in a search snippet; currency not confirmed from a directly fetched official page. Reason: stlcountycourts.com circuit clerk page content was sparse. (1 pt, Row 2)
  7. Current Sheriff name: Sheriff name not found in any fetched official source; address and phone confirmed. Reason: searches returned City of St. Louis sheriff controversy, not County. (1 pt, Row 2)
  8. Recorder of Deeds officer name: Not found. Reason: stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/revenue/recorder-of-deeds/ returned HTTP 403. (1 pt, Row 2)
  9. Payment method for winning sealed bids: Cashier’s check, wire, or other? Exact payment instruction was not found. Reason: official page HTTP 403; not detailed in retrieved secondary sources. (1 pt, Row 2)
  10. Bidder residency requirements: Whether non-Missouri residents may bid. Not found. Reason: registration instructions not directly retrieved. (1 pt, Row 2)
  11. Mortgage foreclosure sheriff’s sales: Whether the St. Louis County Sheriff conducts judicial mortgage foreclosure sales, the sale calendar/platform, and surplus procedures for mortgage sales. Reason: stlcountycourts.com/services/sheriff/sheriff-sales/ confirmed the page exists but content was minimal. (1 pt, Row 2)

gap_score computation:

  • Row 2 (honest needs_verification flags): 11 items × 1 pt = 11 pts
  • Row 10 (missing disclaimer): 0 — disclaimer is below
  • Total: 11 (all from Row 2 — page qualifies to KEEP)

cross_links: missouri, tyler-v-hennepin-county, jones-v-flowers, mennonite-v-adams, mullane-v-central-hanover, schlereth-v-hardy-2009, right-of-redemption, surplus-funds, third-party-recovery-rules, due-process-notice, treasurer-sale, sheriff-sale, trustee-sale, bankruptcy-automatic-stay, federal-tax-lien-redemption, void-vs-voidable

changelog:

  • 2026-06-02 — Initial autoresearch population. Core verified: sealed-bid Chapter 140-style sale on 4th Monday August (2025: Aug 25, bids due Aug 27 5PM CST), notarized registration, Post-Third year-round availability, Collector of Revenue at 41 S. Central Ave. Clayton, recorder at same address, circuit court at 105 S. Central Ave. RSMo 140.230 surplus waterfall confirmed. Chapter 140 vs. 141 regime ambiguity for first-class charter county flagged. stlouiscountymo.gov domain returned HTTP 403 for all direct fetches; all official facts sourced via search engine snippets, redirecting pages, or third-party aggregators citing official county materials.

▸ For Investors / Operators — St. Louis County uses a sealed-bid-only Chapter 140-style sale on the fourth Monday of August; bids are submitted in writing at 41 S. Central Ave. (Clayton) and are not due until Wednesday 5:00 PM CST — two days after the statutory sale date. Registration requires a notarized form submitted in advance; no walk-in registration. Properties with 1–2 years’ delinquency carry a one-year redemption period; 3rd-sale parcels carry a 90-day window; unsold post-third parcels are available year-round and convey by collector’s deed with no redemption period (RSMo 140.250). Standard collector’s deeds (1st/2nd/3rd offerings) typically require a quiet-title action for title-insurance purposes — see missouri § 7.

▸ For Former Owners — Surplus claims in St. Louis County must be filed with the county’s equivalent of the “county commission” (under RSMo 140.230) — in this charter county the precise filing desk is unconfirmed; contact the Collector of Revenue, Delinquent Tax Department at (314) 615-7865 as the first step. Claims must be filed within 90 days after the redemption period expires; funds unclaimed after three years become the county’s permanent school fund with no further right to recover. No St. Louis County–specific surplus claim form was located; a written claim with proof of entitlement and the relevant recording reference appears to satisfy the statute.

Legal disclaimer: This page contains legal information, not legal advice. Tax and foreclosure law changes frequently. Verify all facts against primary sources (Missouri Revised Statutes, official county office websites, or qualified legal counsel) before relying on this information. Last verified: 2026-06-02.

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