Clearfield County Tax Sale: Stages, Notice, and Bidder Rules

A Clearfield County tax sale is a public auction run by the county’s Tax Claim Bureau to sell real estate with unpaid taxes under Pennsylvania’s Real Estate Tax Sale Law. Properties move through up to three stages: an upset sale first, a judicial sale if no one meets the upset price, and a repository listing if the property still has not sold. Each stage gives the buyer a different kind of deed and clears a different set of liens, and the rules governing owners and bidders at each stage carry real financial consequences.

The Three Stages of Sale

The stage matters more than almost anything else at a Clearfield County tax auction. It determines what you pay, what you inherit, and whether the deed you walk away with is worth having.

Upset Sale

Every property at the upset sale carries a minimum bid called the upset price. That figure is the sum of all delinquent tax claims, any other tax judgments, accrued taxes for the current year, municipal claims, and the bureau’s administrative costs.¹ No property can be sold for less.

Here is the catch that burns inexperienced bidders. The winning bidder takes the property subject to every recorded mortgage, lien, ground rent, and other obligation not included in the upset price.² A $50,000 mortgage on the property becomes your problem. The delinquent taxes get wiped out because you just paid them, but everything else follows the deed to you.

Judicial Sale

When no bidder meets the upset price, the bureau can petition the Clearfield County Court of Common Pleas for permission to hold a judicial sale. The bureau must show the court that the property was exposed to public sale, that no sufficient bid was received, and that no owner or lien creditor has arranged to pay the taxes.³

If the court grants the petition, the property sells free and clear of all tax claims, municipal claims, mortgages, liens, charges, and estates. One narrow exception: separately taxed ground rents survive.⁴ That cleaner title is why serious investors often prefer the judicial stage even though the inventory is smaller.

Repository for Unsold Properties

Properties that fail to sell at both the upset and judicial stages land in the county’s repository. The bureau holds these and accepts private bids at any time, without scheduling another public auction.¹ Prices often fall well below the original upset amount because the market has already rejected the property twice. Repository purchases still require approval from the taxing districts, and the same bidder registration rules apply.

How Owners Can Stop a Sale

If your property is on the auction list, you have two ways to pull it off. The first is to pay the full upset price, covering all delinquent taxes, interest, penalties, and bureau costs, before the auction is called to order. Once the bureau receives payment, the property comes off the list.¹

If you cannot pay in full, you can ask the bureau for a written installment agreement. You pay 25 percent of the total owed upfront, then the remaining balance in no more than three installments, all due within one year of signing.⁵ Granting the agreement is at the bureau’s discretion, not an automatic right. Defaulting on the plan puts the property back on the sale list.

One point to understand clearly: once the gavel falls, Pennsylvania law gives you no redemption period. There is no window to buy the property back after the sale.¹ Your only remaining option is to file objections with the court within 30 days after the court issues a confirmation nisi, and those objections must relate to irregularities in the sale procedure, not simply the loss of the property.

The Notice You Should Have Received

Pennsylvania law requires the Tax Claim Bureau to follow a specific notification sequence before any sale. At least 30 days out, the bureau must publish notice in two newspapers of general circulation in Clearfield County and in the designated legal journal. The notice identifies the property, states the time and place of the sale, and lists the approximate upset price.⁶

The bureau must also send personal notice to each property owner by certified mail, restricted delivery, at least 30 days before the sale. If the owner does not sign for that letter, the bureau must send a second notice by regular first-class mail at least 10 days out, using the best address it can find through its own records, the local tax collector, and the county assessment office. The property itself must be physically posted at least 10 days before the sale.⁶

Defective notice is one of the most common grounds for challenging a completed tax sale. If you did not receive the required mailings and no posting appeared on the property, that failure can support an objection after the sale.

Bidder Registration Under Act 33

Pennsylvania’s Act 33 requires anyone planning to bid at a Clearfield County upset or judicial sale to register with the Tax Claim Bureau at least 10 days before the auction date. No exceptions, no same-day registration.⁷

The application requires a sworn affidavit confirming three things:

You owe no delinquent real estate taxes to any taxing district in Pennsylvania.
You have no municipal utility bills more than one year outstanding anywhere in the state.
You have no uncorrected housing code violation that you were convicted of within the three years before filing and allowed to continue unabated.

These requirements are statewide, not county-specific. Delinquent taxes in Philadelphia or an unpaid water bill in Pittsburgh will disqualify you from bidding in Clearfield County.⁷ The bureau verifies the information. A false affidavit exposes you to criminal prosecution for unsworn falsification, a misdemeanor under Pennsylvania law.⁸

Registration forms are available at the Clearfield County Tax Claim Bureau and must be signed in the presence of a notary or bureau official. The bureau’s tax sale page at clearfieldcountypa.gov lists current sale dates and downloadable forms.

Research Before You Bid

Registration is paperwork. The real preparation is figuring out what you are actually buying. Tax sale properties are sold as-is, and the bureau makes no representations about condition.

Start with a title search at the Clearfield County Recorder of Deeds. For an upset sale, you need to know every lien, mortgage, and judgment on the property because you will inherit them all. Even for a judicial sale, confirm there are no separately taxed ground rents or federal tax liens that could complicate your ownership.

Drive by every property you plan to bid on. Check for occupants, obvious structural damage, environmental concerns like old fuel tanks, and whether the boundaries match the legal description. If the property is occupied, be aware that you may need to file an ejectment action in the Court of Common Pleas to gain possession after closing, which adds legal costs and months of delay.

Check with the local municipality for outstanding code violations, demolition orders, or special assessments. A property with a condemned structure can carry mandatory demolition costs that exceed the purchase price. Verify zoning before you bid.

Paying for a Winning Bid

Clearfield County tax sale auctions typically take place at the county courthouse. The winning bidder must pay the full purchase amount by 3:00 PM on the day of the sale. Confirm accepted payment methods with the bureau in advance, as requirements can change from year to year.

On top of the bid price, you owe recording fees to file the new deed and Pennsylvania’s realty transfer tax. The state imposes a 1 percent realty transfer tax, and most municipalities add their own local transfer tax, commonly bringing the combined rate to around 2 percent of the sale price.⁹ Budget for these closing costs before you bid.

Missing the bureau’s payment deadline means you forfeit the property and may face additional penalties. Bring enough funds to cover your maximum bid plus fees for every property you plan to pursue.

Confirmation, Title Insurance, and Quiet Title

The sale is not final the moment you pay. The bureau files a consolidated return with the Court of Common Pleas, and the court issues a confirmation nisi. Former owners and lien holders then have 30 days to file objections challenging the regularity of the sale. If none are filed, the court enters a decree of absolute confirmation and the bureau delivers your deed.¹

Even after confirmation, title insurance on a tax sale property is often hard to get. Title companies frequently refuse to insure a tax sale deed because of the risk that sale procedures were defective, that a prior owner’s due process rights were violated, or that some lien was not properly extinguished. Without insurance, reselling the property or using it as mortgage collateral becomes difficult.

The standard fix is a quiet title action, a lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas asking the judge to declare your title valid and superior to all other claims. You must name as defendants any parties who could challenge your ownership, including the former owner and any lien holders of record. The process adds legal costs and takes several months, but it is often the only path to a marketable, insurable title. Factor the expense into your total investment before you bid.

The Federal Tax Lien Exception

If the property has a federal tax lien attached, the IRS has a statutory right to redeem it within 120 days of the sale. During that window, the IRS can reimburse you and take the property.¹⁰ This is federal law and overrides anything in the state statute.

The IRS rarely exercises the right, especially on low-value rural parcels. But the possibility is real, so avoid significant improvements to a property with a known federal tax lien during the first 120 days. Check for federal liens during your pre-auction title search, and decide whether the risk fits your bid.

1
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code – Real Estate Tax Sale Law
2
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 72 PS 5860.609 – Nondivestiture of Liens
3
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 72 PS 5860.610 – Petition for Judicial Sale
4
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 72 PS 5860.612 – Judicial Sale
5
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 72 PS 5860.603 – Removal From Sale; Agreements to Stay Sale
6
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 72 PS 5860.602 – Notice of Sale
7
Justia. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Act 33 – Real Estate Tax Sale Law
8
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18 4904 – Unsworn Falsification to Authorities
9
Department of Revenue. Realty Transfer Tax
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7425 – Discharge of Liens