Live data — updated October 13, 2026
Arkansas Over-the-Counter Tax Deeds (2026): 2,462 County-Held Listings
Quick answer: The Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands holds 2,462 unsold tax-deed properties that did not sell at the yearly public auction. They are re-offered by online bidding at auction.cosl.org, starting at the back taxes, penalties, interest and costs.
What you are buying. The property itself. These drew no bid at an Arkansas tax sale; how they are sold now is set out below.
The catch. A tax deed is not a warranty deed. Title is exactly as good as the sale that produced it.
Budget for what a deed does not clear: surviving liens, occupancy, condition, and in most states a quiet-title action before a normal buyer's lender will touch it.
Arkansas caveat. Arkansas has no redemption after the sale. The owner can pay the taxes until 4 p.m. on the last business day before the sale; once the parcel sells, the sale is final, though it can still be challenged in court for 90 days after the deed (Ark. Code 26-37-202, 26-37-203).
Arkansas works differently. Parcels that do not sell at the public auction are not sold across a counter at a fixed price — they go to Post Auction Sales and are re-offered through an online bidding process run by the Commissioner of State Lands (auction.cosl.org). Expect to bid, and expect the good parcels to be contested.
Ask for it by the county's name, not ours. "OTC" is investor shorthand — call a county asking for their OTC list and you may be told they have none, because that is not what it is called on their side of the desk. In Arkansas, ask for post auction sales.
Elsewhere the same inventory turns up as county-held property, leftover tax deeds, post-auction sales, or land-bank property — and land-bank stock is worth a second look, because once a parcel has been transferred to a land bank the county no longer owns it and is no longer the seller. The question that cuts through all of it, asked of the treasurer or the assessor: what happens to the properties that do not sell at the auction? If the first person says nothing is left, ask a second.
The same due diligence as auction buying applies, and the best time to look is right after a sale has run and the county has moved what did not sell.
See the full Arkansas investor guide and the live Arkansas auction calendar.
Where the inventory is
| County | County-held listings |
|---|---|
| Van Buren | 1,119 |
| Saline | 477 |
| Garland | 389 |
| Jefferson | 117 |
| Baxter | 68 |
| Mississippi | 38 |
| Pulaski | 31 |
| Ouachita | 28 |
| Miller | 22 |
| St Francis | 20 |
Counts update daily.
Frequently asked questions
What does over-the-counter (OTC) mean in tax sales?
Depending on the state, what is sold over the counter is either the property or the county's tax lien certificate. When nothing bids at the county tax sale, the county (or the state) keeps it ("struck off") and sells it afterward. In some states that is at a set minimum — back taxes plus costs — to the first qualified applicant, with no auction. Many work differently: Texas re-offers struck-off property at a public resale or by private sale (Tex. Tax Code 34.05), Alabama's State-held parcels are sold by the Department of Revenue on a price quote, Michigan and Minnesota at a county-set or appraised price, and Arkansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Missouri and West Virginia by bid or offer. Each state page says which.
Why would a property go unsold at auction?
Mostly obscurity, not defects: small rural counties get few bidders, some lists never circulate, and low-value parcels aren't worth a professional's trip. Plenty are genuinely rough — the same title and condition research applies as at auction.
Are OTC properties cheaper than auction properties?
Often, because the opening bid is the back taxes and costs, but in Arkansas these parcels are sold by online bidding, so a contested parcel can go well above that.
How do I buy an OTC property in Arkansas?
Register at auction.cosl.org and bid online. When you win, $100 is charged to your card and the rest is due within 10 days. The owner can still pay the taxes and cancel the sale until 4 p.m. on the last business day before the sale date.