Clear Creek County

The sale, hour by hour

The auction site opened for registration and research on October 15, 2026 at zeusauction.com. Registration closes Thursday, November 5 at 5:00 p.m. MST. Owners have until noon that same day to pay everything due, fees and costs included, and keep their property out of the sale.

On Friday, November 6 bidding opens at 8:00 a.m. MST and the whole auction closes at 5:00 p.m. MST the same day. Unlike counties that close in batches over two or three days, Clear Creek runs one day only, and no tax payments are accepted while it is open.

The delinquent list is published in the Clear Creek Courant for three consecutive weeks (October 8, 15 and 22), with no deletions, and from the week of October 15 it is also on the county website for research, updated periodically. Liens nobody buys are struck off to the county and can be bought from the Treasurer's office after December 1.

Who can register

Only bidders with a U.S. taxpayer ID may take part, and every document must match the name tied to that number, because the IRS W-9, the certificates, the redemption checks and any refunds all come from your registration. Each year you register for that year's auction; if your details changed, you may need a new login. No deposit is required.

County employees and officials, their immediate families and their agents cannot buy liens (C.R.S. 39-11-151). A demo site is available on Zeus, and SRI answers questions at 1-800-800-9588.

Bids, the bonus, and payment

Bidding starts at the taxes, interest, advertising and fees due at the time of sale. Clear Creek calls anything above that a bonus or premium bid. The bonus is not returned if the property is redeemed and earns no interest. The highest bidder receives a Tax Lien Certificate of Purchase, which is a lien on the property; the county repeats in capital letters that you are not buying the land and get no right of possession, use, improvement or access.

Payment is by ACH from the account used at registration, the only form accepted. The transfer starts after midnight on November 6 or as soon as practical after that. A rejected payment can cancel your bids (C.R.S. 39-11-116), and a high bidder who does not pay loses the item and is barred from future auctions on the site.

When a lien redeems, it pays nine points over the September 1 federal discount rate (C.R.S. 39-12-103); the county states the 2026 rate as 13%. A wrongful sale pays two points over the discount rate, at least 8% (C.R.S. 39-12-111). Redemptions are paid by check mailed to your address on file, and redemptions of liens from this sale will not be processed until after December 1, 2026.

Endorsements and assignments

If the owner leaves the next year's taxes unpaid past August 1, you get the chance to pay them. Clear Creek mails an Endorsement Eligibility Statement as soon as possible after August 1, and the amount you pay is endorsed onto your certificate at the original rate. With several lien holders on one parcel, the first payment received wins; the owner can also pay the current taxes before any investor does. Endorsements are possible even if the property is in bankruptcy; the county asks you to call first.

A certificate can be transferred with a notarized affidavit or the assignment form on its face. Tell the Treasurer's office when you assign one, so the redemption money goes to the right person.

The deed: a public auction and a queue

The Treasurer's October 15, 2026 letter to investors traces the change. After Tyler v. Hennepin County, Colorado passed House Bill 24-1056 (signed May 13, 2024), and then Senate Bill 26-144, effective June 1, 2026, which the Treasurer says completely changed how an investor can obtain a Treasurer's Deed and made it very similar to a foreclosure. The lien process and the interest earned did not change.

Three years after the original sale, a holder of an unredeemed certificate can apply for a public auction of a certificate of option for Treasurer's Deed (C.R.S. 39-11.5-102). The auction is scheduled once all statutory steps are done, with a minimum bid equal to all prior-year taxes, interest and fees in the certificate. After it, the county emails you the result and you may file an Intent to Repurchase, which must reach the office by noon within three business days, with a new $100 fee (C.R.S. 39-11.5-301).

The letter adds that the current waiting list for applications reaches August 2027. Liens sold before 2026 remain valid for 15 years; liens sold this year are valid for seven, and none can go to deed unless an application is pending when that period ends (C.R.S. 39-11-148).

Three ways people lose money here

1. 1. Treating it like a multi-day sale

   Bidding opens and closes on November 6, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. MST.

2. 2. Expecting redemption money by ACH

   Clear Creek mails redemption checks, and none from this sale before December 1, 2026.

3. 3. Missing the three-day repurchase window

   After a certificate-of-option auction, the Intent to Repurchase is due by noon within three business days, with $100.