Shelby County, Tennessee — Tax Sale & Surplus Procedure
Local operations layer. The legal framework (redemption periods, surplus rights, statutes, case law) lives on the parent page → tennessee. This page covers how Shelby County actually runs it. Legal information, not legal advice. Last verified: 2026-06-02.
C0. Identity
- County seat: Memphis
- Population: approximately 929,000 (U.S. Census Bureau est., FIPS 47157)
- Recording unit: county
- Parent legal framework: tennessee
- Tax sale type: tax deed (judicial — chancery court in rem proceeding); see tennessee Module 1.
C1. Local Tax Sale
Conducts own sale? Yes. The Shelby County Chancery Court Clerk & Master administers the sale under the delinquent-tax judgment; the Shelby County Trustee collects taxes and certifies delinquents to the delinquent-tax attorney, who files suit in chancery court.
Platform: Online via Zeus Auction (operated by SRI). Effective April 2024, all Chancery Court Clerk & Master tax sales moved online.
- Auction site: https://zeusauction.com
- Shelby County information page: https://www.shelbycountytn.gov/330/Tax-Sale-Information
Sale calendar:
- Frequency: Two sales per year — one in spring (April) and one in fall (October).
- Next known scheduled sales (as listed on the Trustee schedule page):
- Sale #2202: April 21, 2026 (publication date March 17, 2026; published in Memphis Daily News)
- Sale #2301: October 27, 2026 (publication date August 26, 2026; published in Memphis Daily News)
- Calendar source: https://www.shelbycountytrustee.com/191/Tax-Sale-Schedule
Delinquent list / properties available for sale:
- Beginning 30 days before the auction opening date, properties are listed on ZeusAuction.com.
- The same list is advertised in the Memphis Daily News 30–45 days before the sale.
- Each notice contains: parcel number, names of all owners, amount due, brief description, time and location of sale.
needs_verification: A CSV or other bulk download of tax-sale properties from the Trustee’s website — the live “Properties Available for Sale” page (shelbycountytrustee.com/161/Properties-Available-for-Sale, retrieved 2026-06-02) does not mention any CSV or file-download option; properties are listed on ZeusAuction.com and published in the Memphis Daily News.- Trustee “Properties Available for Sale” page: https://www.shelbycountytrustee.com/161/Properties-Available-for-Sale
- 2024 Delinquent Realty Lawsuit List (Exhibit A): https://www.shelbycountytrustee.com/DocumentCenter/View/1504/ExhibitA (lawsuit filed March 31, 2026; contact Trustee Collections at 901-222-0250 for questions)
Registration and deposit requirements:
- Bidders must register on ZeusAuction.com — registration opens as early as four weeks before the auction opening date.
- Must register with an available bank account (ACH or wire transfer required for payment).
needs_verification: a $15 wire-transfer processing fee — the Zeus Auction FAQ and the county Bidder Registration page (both retrieved 2026-06-02) do not publish any such fee; contact SRI/Zeus at 800-800-9588 or the Trustee’s office for current payment charges. - Employees of Shelby County or their immediate family members (spouse, children living at home) are not eligible to bid.
- Bidder registration page: https://www.shelbycountytrustee.com/157/Bidder-Registration
needs_verification: specific dollar deposit amount (if any) required before bidding; the county pages direct to ZeusAuction.com for account funding but do not publish a fixed pre-bid deposit figure.
Bidder requirements — state statutory disqualifications (inherited from tennessee):
- A person who has a “moral or legal obligation to pay the taxes” on the parcel and fiduciaries of the taxpayer are disqualified from bidding (Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-2501 et seq.; CTAS Tax Sale).
Rate within statutory range: needs_verification — Shelby County does not appear to set a local interest/penalty rate separate from the state statutory rate.
Unsold properties: Properties not purchased by a third-party bidder are sold to Shelby County. After the redemption period expires, such properties are conveyed to the Shelby County Land Bank for resale.
- Land Bank portal:
needs_verification— landbank.shelbycountytn.gov returned HTTP 403 on 2026-06-02; the Land Bank program is confirmed as operational per county Tax Sale Information page, but the direct portal URL could not be verified. Try https://www.shelbycountytn.gov/330/Tax-Sale-Information for current links. - Land Bank property map: https://gisapps.shelbycountytn.gov/landbank/ (GIS map — verify current availability)
C2. Local Redemption → framework: right-of-redemption
Where to redeem: The Chancery Court Clerk & Master’s Tax Sale Department — redemption is a court proceeding; the Trustee’s office does not handle redemptions.
Redemption periods (per Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-2701(a), confirmed on county FAQ):
| Years delinquent | Redemption period |
|---|---|
| 5 years or less | 1 year from confirmation order |
| 5–7 years | 180 days from confirmation order |
| 8+ years | 90 days from confirmation order |
| Vacant/abandoned | 30 days from confirmation order |
IRS-lien note: if the IRS holds a lien on the property, the redemption period extends to 120 days from the sale date (federal statutory right).
Cost to redeem: Full minimum bid + 12% per annum on the final bid price from sale date to the date the motion to redeem is filed + a $125 filing fee + any court-ordered lawful charges (additional taxes paid, reasonable improvements, etc.) within 30 days of notice of redemption. Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-2701(b),(d),(e).
Procedure: File a Motion to Redeem Property from Tax Sale with the Chancery Court; pay the required amounts to the Clerk. The county strongly recommends using an attorney.
Contact for redemption:
- Chancery Court Clerk & Master’s Tax Sale Department: (901) 222-3900
- Right of Redemption page: https://www.shelbycountytrustee.com/163/Right-of-Redemption
Deviations from state default: None identified; Shelby County follows the standard Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-2701 tiered schedule without local modification.
C3. Local Surplus / Excess Proceeds → framework: surplus-funds
BUSINESS-CRITICAL: Surplus/excess proceeds in Shelby County are a chancery court matter, not a trustee administrative claim.
Claim filing venue:
- Chancery Court of Shelby County (via the Clerk & Master’s Tax Sale Department)
- Office: Chancery Court Clerk & Master — Tax Sale Department
- Address: 140 Adams Avenue, Room 308, Memphis, TN 38103
- Phone: (901) 222-3900
- Fax: (901) 222-3909
- Online chancery court system:
needs_verification— chancerydata.shelbycountytn.gov/chweb/ck_public_qry_main.cp_main_idx returned HTTP 403 on 2026-06-02; the Chancery Court Clerk’s main page at https://www.shelbycountytn.gov/222/Chancery-Court is the confirmed alternative and links to current case-search resources.
How to file: File a Motion to Claim Excess Proceeds (requesting disbursement of funds) in the same chancery court case in which the delinquent-tax proceeding was pending. Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-2702(a).
Claim form: No standard county form is provided. The motion is a legal pleading that must be individually typed and drafted because it depends on fact-specific information about the particular property and claimant. Source: Shelby County Chancery Court FAQ on excess proceeds (https://shelbycountytn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/42034/FAQs-ExcessProceeds).
Filing fee: **54, but confirm the current amount with the Chancery Court Clerk at (901) 222-3900 before filing.
Who may claim: Any “interested person” — owner-interest holder, lienholder, or lienholder’s assignee — at the time of the tax sale. Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-2502(c). A tax-sale purchaser may not claim excess proceeds.
Local deadline notes: A motion may be filed until the funds are actually forwarded to the state under the Unclaimed Property Act. The abandonment presumption does not arise until the final determination of all redemption/excess-proceeds motions or one year after the redemption period expires, whichever is later. Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-2702(c)(5). Once escheated, funds are reclaimable from the Tennessee Department of Treasury under the unclaimed-property regime.
Unclaimed list published? Not published by Shelby County as a standalone surplus/excess-proceeds list. The Trustee does maintain a separate Unclaimed Refunds page (for overpaid property-tax refund checks, not tax-sale surplus); when refund checks go uncashed, the funds are forwarded to the Tennessee Department of Treasury Unclaimed Property Division. For state-level unclaimed property search: https://treasury.tn.gov/unclaim/.
- Trustee Unclaimed Refunds page: https://www.shelbycountytrustee.com/149/Unclaimed-Refunds
Contact for excess proceeds: Chancery Court Clerk & Master’s Tax Sale Department, (901) 222-3900.
C4. Offices & Contacts
| Office | Name | Address | Phone | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trustee (Tax Collector) | Regina Morrison Newman | 157 Poplar Avenue, Suite 200, Memphis, TN 38103 (walk-in); P.O. Box 2751, Memphis, TN 38101 (mail) | (901) 222-0200 | shelbycountytrustee.com |
| Chancery Court Clerk & Master (Tax Sale + Redemption + Surplus) | W. Aaron Hall | 140 Adams Avenue, Room 308, Memphis, TN 38103 | (901) 222-3900 | shelbycountytn.gov/222/Chancery-Court |
| Register of Deeds | Willie F. Brooks | 1075 Mullins Station Road, Bldg W3, Suite W165, Memphis, TN 38134 | (901) 222-8100 | register.shelby.tn.us |
| Assessor of Property | Melvin Burgess | 1075 Mullins Station Road, Memphis, TN 38134 (also 157 Poplar Ave.) | (901) 545-4301 | needs_verification — assessormelvinburgess.com returned HTTP 403 on 2026-06-02; the county government portal at shelbycountytn.gov/68/Assessor-of-Property is the confirmed alternative. |
| Sheriff (Civil Division) | Floyd Bonner, Jr. | Civil Division: 1075 Mullins Station, Bldg C, Memphis, TN 38134; Main: 201 Poplar Ave., 9th Floor, Memphis, TN 38103 | (901) 222-5500 | shelby-sheriff.org |
Note: The Sheriff does not conduct the tax sale (that is the Chancery Court Clerk & Master’s role). The Sheriff’s Civil Division serves process and handles mortgage-foreclosure deed-of-trust trustee sales.
C5. Local Procedure Notes
-
SRI / Zeus Auction transition (April 2024): Prior to April 2024, Shelby County tax sales were conducted differently (in-person or prior platform). The current online Zeus Auction process through SRI has been in effect since at least April 2024. Source: https://www.shelbycountytn.gov/330/Tax-Sale-Information
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Chancery Court confirmation required: All sales must be confirmed by chancery court order before the redemption period and excess-proceeds window begin running.
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Memphis Daily News publication: The statutory delinquent-tax notice is published in the Memphis Daily News 30–45 days before the sale, satisfying Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-2501’s publication requirement.
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Land Bank as county buyer of last resort: Properties not purchased at auction go to Shelby County automatically; they transfer to the Shelby County Land Bank after the redemption period expires. This is a local operational feature not universal across Tennessee counties.
-
No standard excess-proceeds form: Unlike some jurisdictions, Shelby County Chancery Court does not offer a fill-in-the-blank form for the motion to claim excess proceeds. Claimants must draft a legal pleading; the court recommends using an attorney.
-
Two-sales-per-year cadence: Unlike many Tennessee counties that hold one annual sale, Shelby County holds two (April and October), consistent with the volume of delinquent properties in the state’s largest county.
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Federal litigation: Shelby County’s tax sale process was the subject of a federal lawsuit filed in 2024 (relating to judicial recusal); that litigation does not alter the statutory procedure but is worth monitoring for operational changes. Source: Action News 5, June 14, 2024 (https://www.actionnews5.com/2024/06/14/shelby-county-tax-sales-center-judges-recusal-federal-lawsuit/).
C6. Records Access
| Resource | URL |
|---|---|
| Parcel / assessor property search (GIS) | https://gis.register.shelby.tn.us/ |
| Assessor property records | needs_verification — assessormelvinburgess.com returned HTTP 403 (2026-06-02); use https://www.shelbycountytn.gov/68/Assessor-of-Property |
| Shelby County ReGIS web map (parcel identification) | https://gis.shelbycountytn.gov/regis/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=dd947065ddf84049aa1756e6bcf3bd73 |
| Register of Deeds / deed search | https://search.register.shelby.tn.us/search/index.php |
| Register of Deeds GIS | https://gis.register.shelby.tn.us/ |
| Tax payment / tax look-up (Trustee) | https://payments.shelbycountytrustee.com/ |
| Chancery Court docket search | needs_verification — chancerydata.shelbycountytn.gov/chweb/ck_public_qry_main.cp_main_idx returned HTTP 403 (2026-06-02); use https://www.shelbycountytn.gov/222/Chancery-Court for current case-search links. |
| Land Bank properties for sale | https://gisapps.shelbycountytn.gov/landbank/ |
| State unclaimed property search | https://treasury.tn.gov/unclaim/ |
C7. Meta
Parent state: tennessee Last verified: 2026-06-02 Confidence: 0.88 Completeness score: 0.82 Gap score: 12
Sources retrieved:
needs_verification:
- Exact dollar deposit or funding amount required before bidding on ZeusAuction.com (county pages direct to Zeus platform without publishing a fixed figure)
- Whether Shelby County sets any local penalty/interest rate within the state statutory range separate from Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5 defaults
- Disability-based tolling of redemption period specific to Shelby County practice
- Third-party surplus-recovery agent fee cap (Tennessee has no verified statutory cap; Shelby County has no verified local ordinance cap) — see tennessee Module 3
- Whether the Chancery Court Clerk & Master has published any local rules on the format/service requirements for the Motion to Claim Excess Proceeds beyond the FAQ description
- Current physical walk-in hours for Chancery Court Clerk & Master Tax Sale Department
- Status of the 2024 federal lawsuit and any resulting procedural changes
- CSV or bulk-download option for tax-sale property list (Trustee’s live page does not mention one as of 2026-06-02)
- $15 wire-transfer processing fee for Zeus Auction payments (not confirmed by Zeus FAQ or county Bidder Registration page as of 2026-06-02)
- Current working URL for Land Bank portal (landbank.shelbycountytn.gov returned HTTP 403 on 2026-06-02)
- Current working URL for Chancery Court docket search (chancerydata.shelbycountytn.gov returned HTTP 403 on 2026-06-02; alternative: shelbycountytn.gov/222/Chancery-Court)
- Current working URL for Assessor property records (assessormelvinburgess.com returned HTTP 403 on 2026-06-02; alternative: shelbycountytn.gov/68/Assessor-of-Property)
- Exact excess-proceeds filing fee post-January 1, 2026 (FAQ PDF states $54 but fee schedule updated 2026-01-01; confirm with Clerk at (901) 222-3900)
Cross-links: tennessee, right-of-redemption, surplus-funds, unclaimed-property, tyler-v-hennepin-county, bankruptcy-automatic-stay, scra-protections
Changelog:
- 2026-06-02: Page created; research conducted against official Shelby County Trustee and Chancery Court sources.
- 2026-06-02: Five citation corrections: (1) removed unsupported CSV-download claim (Trustee page does not mention one) and moved to needs_verification; (2) flagged landbank.shelbycountytn.gov as needs_verification (HTTP 403); (3) flagged chancerydata.shelbycountytn.gov docket-search URL as needs_verification (HTTP 403), noted shelbycountytn.gov/222/Chancery-Court as confirmed alternative; (4) added needs_verification caveat to 54 corroborated by two independent search-result excerpts from the same official FAQ); (5) flagged assessormelvinburgess.com as needs_verification (HTTP 403), substituted shelbycountytn.gov/68/Assessor-of-Property as confirmed alternative; moved $15 ACH/wire fee to needs_verification (not confirmed by Zeus FAQ or county Bidder Registration page).
Disclaimer: This page contains legal information, not legal advice. Laws, procedures, deadlines, and contact details change. Verify all information against current official sources before acting. Consult a licensed attorney for advice specific to your situation. The authors of this wiki assume no liability for errors or omissions.